After watching their team play golf at the annual Pacers Foundation Golf Outing, fans of Indiana might be a little worried. If their game on the putting greens of the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course shows any resemblance to their skills on the hardwood, the 2009-2010 Pacers will be in big trouble.
"I'm on the level of Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh," told second year Pacer Roy Hibbert. "It's up there. I'm not showing everybody too much, you know have some fun out here without embarrassing them."
There was no word on how many strokes Roy lost for committing too many fouls on the course, but the sarcastic Hibbert has as good as a chance of hitting a six foot putt as he does making a full-court shot.
But the lack of signs of an improving golf game can only mean positive things for the Indiana Pacers, who finished with a 36-46 overall record, good enough to finish just three games shy for the final spot of the Eastern Conference bracket for the 2009 playoffs. Instead of working on adding yardage to their driving game, the Pacers have been preparing hard all off-season long to get ready for a potential return to the post-season for the first time since 2005.
One of the players that improved his summer work ethic is sophomore Brandon Rush. After finishing his rookie year with averages of eight points and three rebounds per game, the shooting guard has worked diligently on improving his dribbling and his defense. But it's not hard to improve your game when your spending time in the gym with first time all-star Danny Granger.
"We play one-on-one all the time, every single day," said Rush. "I think I've gained a little bit more confidence in my defensive game because I've been guarding him."
And for those wondering about Danny Granger's progress this off-season, the standings between his and Rush's one-on-one games will answer that question.
"The majority of the time he'll win, because he's an all-star, of course he's going to win some games," said Rush with a huge grin.
Like a ball being hit out of the sand trap, rookie and number 13 pick in the draft Tyler Hansbrough has had an up and down offseason. First in the NBA Summer League, the all-time leading scorer in University of North Carolina history impressed NBA scouts with his three-point shooting, but was quickly sidelined with a shin injury that kept him in a boot through August. It's at this point that Hansbrough learned that he's not just playing the game for pleasure anymore, but basketball at the professional level is also a business.
"It's not just fun and games, you know. I'm out here competing still like I did in college, but it's a business to me now too," said the always intense Hansbrough, who feels as if his shin is getting a lot better.
Head Coach Jim O'Brien has been around the league long enough to know the business side of the game. Entering his third year with the Pacers, O'Brien is entering the season with an overall 254-250 record, but is just as excited for the season to get started as any rookie in the league might be.
"It wakes you up at night, and we're very anxious to get started," said O'Brien. "I was talking to Larry Bird today, and we just can't wait to start practice. We're watching our guys go down five on five, without being able to coach them. It's not a thing of beauty when they're on their own."
Indiana Pacers pre-season action begins on October 2nd, when Pacers host the Chicago Bulls.
"I'm on the level of Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh," told second year Pacer Roy Hibbert. "It's up there. I'm not showing everybody too much, you know have some fun out here without embarrassing them."
There was no word on how many strokes Roy lost for committing too many fouls on the course, but the sarcastic Hibbert has as good as a chance of hitting a six foot putt as he does making a full-court shot.
But the lack of signs of an improving golf game can only mean positive things for the Indiana Pacers, who finished with a 36-46 overall record, good enough to finish just three games shy for the final spot of the Eastern Conference bracket for the 2009 playoffs. Instead of working on adding yardage to their driving game, the Pacers have been preparing hard all off-season long to get ready for a potential return to the post-season for the first time since 2005.
One of the players that improved his summer work ethic is sophomore Brandon Rush. After finishing his rookie year with averages of eight points and three rebounds per game, the shooting guard has worked diligently on improving his dribbling and his defense. But it's not hard to improve your game when your spending time in the gym with first time all-star Danny Granger.
"We play one-on-one all the time, every single day," said Rush. "I think I've gained a little bit more confidence in my defensive game because I've been guarding him."
And for those wondering about Danny Granger's progress this off-season, the standings between his and Rush's one-on-one games will answer that question.
"The majority of the time he'll win, because he's an all-star, of course he's going to win some games," said Rush with a huge grin.
Like a ball being hit out of the sand trap, rookie and number 13 pick in the draft Tyler Hansbrough has had an up and down offseason. First in the NBA Summer League, the all-time leading scorer in University of North Carolina history impressed NBA scouts with his three-point shooting, but was quickly sidelined with a shin injury that kept him in a boot through August. It's at this point that Hansbrough learned that he's not just playing the game for pleasure anymore, but basketball at the professional level is also a business.
"It's not just fun and games, you know. I'm out here competing still like I did in college, but it's a business to me now too," said the always intense Hansbrough, who feels as if his shin is getting a lot better.
Head Coach Jim O'Brien has been around the league long enough to know the business side of the game. Entering his third year with the Pacers, O'Brien is entering the season with an overall 254-250 record, but is just as excited for the season to get started as any rookie in the league might be.
"It wakes you up at night, and we're very anxious to get started," said O'Brien. "I was talking to Larry Bird today, and we just can't wait to start practice. We're watching our guys go down five on five, without being able to coach them. It's not a thing of beauty when they're on their own."
Indiana Pacers pre-season action begins on October 2nd, when Pacers host the Chicago Bulls.
