Anyone else remember when Chevon Troutman, for no reason that made sense other than “what the hell,” would launch a 3-point shot? And the abject shock when it actually went in. I’ve always been grateful that Aaron Gray never tried that at Pitt. He’s apparently willing to take them, though, in the workouts.
”It’s something that I’m willing to do,” said Gray, who was measured at 7 feet, 2 inches in last week’s NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando, which is two inches taller than he was listed at in college.
His height is not the question. There are more pressing questions about the former Emmaus High star that the Sixers and other NBA teams which will be working out Gray over the next 19 days want to know.
Gray is more than willing to show them how much he has improved his overall skills and how much leaner, trimmer and NBA-ready he’s become since his final college basketball game in March.
His 3-point shot was a start. It wasn’t Dirk Nowitzki-type accuracy, but he shot from beyond the arc with a light touch and with confidence.
That’s just an unnerving image of Gray launching a 3. Gray still has workouts with Sacramento, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Toronto, San Antonio and Utah over the next 8 days.
As for the secret of how Gray slimmed down 20 more pounds and dropped his body fat to around 10.1%, well it involved individualized workouts at the Joe Abunassar Impact Training Program in Las Vegas. Abunassar is one of the top trainers to help kids get ready for the draft — and points to NBA players like Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince as pros with which he has worked. It also isn’t cheap. For just taking part in his summer camps it runs $750/week (PDF).
That’s why you don’t see players still in college going there during the off-season. When you are going pro, it’s a direct investment and your agent will be able to put the money up for you.
