And all the stories today reflect that. This article concludes that it’s best that he goes in the second round, since he’ll be a back-up player for his career. That way no one can call him a bust.

Part of it is simply that the style in the NBA has changed in the last few years. I keep mentioning this, but Chris Mihm (who Gray reminds me a lot of for the NBA) was the #7 pick. Now, it’s about being able to penetrate the lane and showing much more athleticism.

Gray’s agent is rightly stressing that getting drafted by the right team will help his career a lot more than being drafted in the first round.

”He’s a big center, who can score with his back to the basket, and in today’s NBA that’s not something that all NBA teams use or reserve roster spots for,” Zanik said.”It’s not about being on a roster. It’s about him being able to contribute, so we’ve targeted some teams where that would make sense.”

…

”It really has to do with the fit of the team,” Zanik said. ”That’s what we’ve been concentrating on in the draft process, regardless of the number, because he can step in and help a team right away.

”Whether it’s a team at No. 25 or 45, his ability is going to allow him to get guaranteed years and an opportunity. I have teams where Aaron is going to play.”

On Phoenix’s roster, Gray would have no chance, and would be released or traded quickly. A team like San Antonio, Indiana, Miami or Washington would fit him much better.

Still, there’s a big difference in Gray’s shape and his game from his freshman year to now.

For Gray, this is a time to reflect and celebrate how far he has come. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas described Gray as a “non-prospect” coming out of Emmaus High in 2003. Four years later, he is on the verge of being drafted by an NBA team.

“It’s ridiculous to think about,” Gray said. “If you saw me as a freshman in high school, people wouldn’t even believe it was me. The NBA was just a dream.

“Things have worked out really well for me. I was surrounded by great people at Pitt. The coaches gave me an opportunity. I wouldn’t change a thing that’s happened to me over the last four years.”

This was the from the first time I noticed Gray playing. It was the February 2004 game against UConn.

Okay, who the hell is the big slow white guy for Pitt that just scored on the nice pass from Brown? Looking at the box score, it’s a 7′ freshman named Aaron Gray from outside of Allentown. This was the 13th game he’s made an appearance in, but the first one I’ve seen.

I believe Gray recounted that story at times this past year about his poor physical conditioning and how he huffed and puffed too late to stop an Okafor score.

For the record, I’ll be liveblogging the NBA Draft tomorrow, as I did last year.

A couple days ago the P-G had an article about how Aaron Gray could be the first 1st round draft pick of the Howland-Dixon era. That was after Gray had already dropped to the second in most mock drafts. So, now they get around to revising and noting he will likely go in the second round.

That’s what NBA draft experts are saying about Pitt’s All-American and his immediate future on the eve of the draft. No matter what Gray did in those big games on the national stage, he would be in the same position today — a borderline late first- or second-round pick.

“He has established a body of work as a player over time,” ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said. “That’s what the NBA people will look at. They’ll look at what he did over his four years.”

Gray will be staying home with his folks to watch the draft. He’s actually enjoyed traveling all over the place to do workouts for teams.

”It’s been exciting,” Gray said. ”I was in San Antonio, and they just won the championship. The city was crazy. We [other draft candidates] were walking around, and people were thinking that were were part of the team.

”And I was like, ‘Nah, nah, I’m not part of ya’ll yet.”

Yeah, I can see how a bunch of really tall young athletic men would be assumed to be members of the Spurs.

The timing was impeccable. The article on Aaron Gray being a potential 1st round pick. The first 1st round pick in the modern renaissance of Pitt basketball. So in 6 different mock drafts, naturally Gray is outside the 1st round in 4 of them.

• DraftExpress — #41 to the T-Wolves
• Hoops Hype.com — #41 to the T-Wolves
• NBAdraft.net — #38 to the Sixers
• RealGM.com — #38 to the Sixers
• InsideHoops.com — #30 to the Sixers
• CollegeHoops.net — #22 to the Bobcats

I’m trying to figure out how Sean Williams keeps being listed ahead of Gray. A guy who failed multiple second chances with BC. A guy who you can guarantee a couple suspensions for failed drug tests. Someone who is a shot blocker and little else.

Otherwise, I do understand how Gray can be outside of the first round. A few years ago, Gray would have been a top-15 pick on his size. Now, for centers, the focus is on which players can get up and down the floor and shoot from further out.
In a big number breakdown of college centers, Aaron Gray comes out pretty good, and Spencer Hawes has bust written all over him. Oden, obviously dominated the stats.

In the last GrayWatch post, I noted that Aaron Gray went out to Vegas for a specific conditioning program and 1-on-1 service. The intense (and expensive) program really made a noticeable difference. Reducing his body fat and making him look more defined. Joe Starkey did a column on Gray’s draft status and condition that takes a slight shot at Gray being in great condition.

Pitt was hoping Gray would whip himself into that kind of shape for his senior year, after eschewing the 2006 NBA Draft. It didn’t happen.

See, he didn’t directly say he expected Gray to be in this kind of condition for the past season. Nor did he make a direct allegation that Gray was out of shape. Just that others had hoped that Gray would be able to get to this kind of condition, and maybe implying that because Gray wasn’t in NBA draft shape he wasn’t in shape. He’s merely taking note of what others hoped.

For example, the rest of the article is simply a rehashing from other stories on Gray’s draft status, the Orlando camp, and quotes from other papers and web sites. At that point I could say something like, “a more paranoid blogger would think Starkey merely skimmed the links and quotes from prior posts to do his own article.” That way I’m not actually saying I think he did it. Merely making an observation, and making it appear like a slimy action of stealing my work.

In all honesty, I think Starkey probably did. And that’s good. There’s nothing wrong with that. That means he’s reading (considering the daily referrer logs contain hits from Trib computers I already knew some were reading) and taking advantage of one of the things I do with this blog — aggregating the information.

Plus Starkey added some quotes from Gray’s agent doing a bit of spinning on Gray’s conditioning.

“He’s finally healthy,” Zanik said. “Nagging injuries didn’t allow him to condition properly. Also, he can concentrate on basketball every day now. It’s not anything Pitt didn’t do, it’s just having more time to focus on conditioning. I’m excited to see what he’s going to look like six months from now.”

Pretty much what you would expect the agent to say.

Congrats to the three current Pitt baseball players who were selected in this week’s MLB Draft.

Three current Pitt baseball players were selected on day two of the Major League Baseball draft on Friday, including Kyle Landis, Paul Nardozzi and Jordan Herr. Also drafted was Pitt signee David Kaye, a right-handed pitcher from Oakmont, Pa.

Landis was picked by the Cleveland Indians in the 18th round. He led the Panthers in earned run average and earned All-Big East Third Team honors in 2007. Nardozzi is the only Pitt senior who was selected, taken by the Detroit Tigers in the 31st round. He’s a RHP who became Pitt’s all-time leader in strikeouts earlier in the season and completed his four years with the Panthers with 260 strikeouts. Herr is an outfielder picked in the 41st round by the Chicago Cubs. He played in 49 games on the year and batted .263 on the year with a .983 fielding percentage.

Also picked was a Pitt signee, David Kaye, from Riverview High School. Kaye was selected in the 30th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. He led the WPIAL in strikeouts this season with 95.

The road to making the Major Leagues is a long and tough one with a ton of work being put in through the minor league systems. Realistically, we’ll probably never hear of these guys again as MLB players unless they excel on the farm clubs they’ll be playing for. Either way, good luck to these guys with their baseball careers.

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.

Aaron Gray has a workout with 3 other players today for the 76ers.

Yesterday, Gray was in Miami working out for the Heat.

Gray, a 7-0 prospect and third-team All-American, averaged 13.9 points and 10 rebounds his final two seasons with the Panthers.

Boston College forward Jared Dudley (6-7), Villanova forward Curtis Sumter (6-7) and Syracuse center Darryl Watkins (6-11) also participated in the Heat workout.

Gray and Dudley, the ACC player of the year last season, are projected as high as late first-round picks and would likely be available at No. 20. Sumter and Watkins are considered late second-round prospects who might come into play if the Heat were to acquire an additional pick.

Gray, rated third among American-born centers in the draft, said he would welcome the chance to learn behind O’Neal and Mourning.

”It would be a great opportunity,” Gray said. “To learn from two of the best centers in my time of watching basketball — it would definitely help me going against them every day.”

Miami has the 20th pick, which might be too high to grab Gray. The Heat, though, lacking a 2nd round pick might try to get one from Orlando as compensation if the Magic want to hire Stan Van Gundy.

The Rockets have the 26th pick and might be looking for a big man. This writer is not wild about that idea.

Finally Aaron Gray is also being talked about in terms of potentially ending up in Houston. Gray is a project, for certain. Think Dave Feitl. He has soft hands and can catch in the post, but he gets pushed around and isn’t quick enough to be an impact rebounder or shot blocker.

But apparently Gray did a good job in that semi-private workout after the Orlando camp, earlier in the week.

“Aaron Gray was really good. He ran well, his body looked great, he’s smart and understands the game. He shot the ball really well. He definitely solidified himself here. He could play for you right now.”

Other thing worth noting is that Dominic James was horrible in the same workout — reportedly he couldn’t finish. All signs point to his return to Marquette despite a Krauser-esque desire to remain in the draft even if he was a second round pick.

Orlando went well enough for Aaron Gray that he likely will be drafted before the end of the 1st round. What will likely help Gray to be considered the 3d best college Center prospect is the withdrawal of Hibbert and two other Center prospects who bailed on Orlando (ESPN Insider subs.).

Reasons weren’t given but the feeling among teams is that all of the players were advised not to play for fear that it would unnecessarily hurt their status. BC’s Jared Dudley was surprised that Williams wasn’t here Tuesday after he said [Sean] Williams had texted him to say he was coming. So Dudley said he figured that Williams was told not to come by his representation. Hardin is the only player on this list that hasn’t signed with an agent. Cal’s staff claims that [DeVon] Hardin will return to the Bears unless he were assured that he is in the top 20. Currently, he is not projected to go that high. Hardin has been nursing multiple injuries the past two seasons.

Sean Williams was kicked off of the BC basketball team after numerous suspensions and second chances for various infractions. The final was testing positive (again) for marijuana. So Sean Williams representation thinks that not sending him to Orlando to compete after not playing for over half this past season and big red flags about character and work ethic. He’s got potential, but the risks make him a late-second or free agent signing. Oddly enough, the rumors are that the Knicks or the Nets might go with him in the first round and that’s why he didn’t show.

DeVon Hardin has been seriously injury prone at Cal, and now doesn’t show to even get a physical. Yeah, that’s a solid choice for a pick. Nothing to worry there. Maybe some rank them ahead of Gray, but Hardin is likely heading back to Cal unless some team makes him a guarantee in the first round.

Additionally, Ante Tomic out of Croatia is also out of the NBA Draft (Insider subs). That further reduces the big man pool.
Gray made a positive impression.

Thus far, he has shown scouts that he’s been working on his body by coming into the camp in good shape after losing weight and he’s done well in drills that focus on half-court offense (pick and rolls, etc.).

He’s now got to go through the individual workouts. No, he’s not going to be a star, but he will likely be a solid role-player/back-up for a team. He’s going to get drafted late in the first or early-second. When there are only 60 picks in a draft, that isn’t too bad. If he goes to a team that plays half-court and doesn’t try to run, he will be a valuable addition. And if he ever grasps the concept of footwork, he could become a draft steal.
The sad thing, is that some Pitt fans would be more pissed if he did improve and succeed in the NBA. If like so many big men, he still gets better after appearing to plateau at times. If his game continued to improve and he became a starter or god forbid, an all-star. They’d complain that he obviously didn’t work hard enough at Pitt, a choker. That he was a bust or that the coaches failed to get more out of him.

Yes, Gray is a 7-footer. He was closing in on that height coming out of high school. And who exactly did Pitt have to battle for his services? Not Temple (when they were still relevant), Villanova, UConn, Syracuse and other powers in the Philly/East Coast area. Pitt’s main competition to get Gray was Rutgers. His size didn’t matter when his game was completely lacking.
He was a complete project that in his 4 years at Pitt got to 2nd Team All-American in his final year, All-Big East for two straight years, Most Improved in the Big East in 2006, got to the Big East Championship in the past two years and the Sweet 16.

We all wanted more.  Hell, many of us have been wanting more for years.  In some ways, it’s getting a little more frustrating the last couple of years because things seem to be so much closer than ever. Yet, Pitt still hasn’t made it.

It seems that for some, if Pitt hasn’t made it yet, then the individual players shouldn’t be able to succeed.

Overall, Aaron Gray was one of the most consistent performers at the Orlando camp, and that as much as anything else probably solidified his status.

While it is important to remember that Aaron Gray will have limitations in the NBA, he has a great chance at carving out a long career as a rotation big man at the next level, particularly if he continues to shed weight the way he has nicely over the past two months.

…

The physical limitations of Gray were also displayed this week in Orlando, and were especially apparent on the defensive end of the floor. The 7-footer lacks the speed to get up and down the floor quickly, and will be much better off in a half-court oriented system in the NBA. Gray lacks the reaction time to be an active defensive player, and at times will stand flat-footed on the ground as a rebound sails by him in his area. He isn’t afraid to use his body against players down on the block, but this can only take you so far in the NBA.

Today Gray will be taking part in a workout session with about 20 other players.

As a result, a large number of other teams also are expected to be present when approximately 20 players take the floor today, including Boston College’s Jared Dudley and Florida point guard Taurean Green.

Jason Smith, a 240-pound 7-footer from Colorado State whose stock reportedly has risen, also is expected to be part of the group along with Daequan Cook – a gifted freshman shooter who played with Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. at Ohio State – Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray, Nevada forward Nick Fazekas and North Carolina swingman Reyshawn Terry. Arizona’s LaMarcus Williams and UCLA’s Arron Afflalo, two players who didn’t participate last week, may work out today or tomorrow.

Four teams tried to share the cost of this workout and keep it to themselves, but the NBA rules about when the “private” workouts could take place prohibited it from being closed. Instead they had to open it up to all the other teams or having to cancel it.

After seeing some reports killing Gray early in the week, it seems he has been among the most consistent performers at Orlando.

Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray is the only player in Orlando who is averaging more than six rebounds and 14 points per game. Gray has posted averages of 15.5 points and seven rebounds in his two games to date, with another game this afternoon.

That naturally has the revisions going on how Gray has looked at the camp and his draft status. At the very least, the concession is that he hasn’t slid in the draft projections.

Aaron Gray had yet another solid performance here today, following up on his good performance yesterday, and he’s thus far succeeded in not hurting his stock here at the camp, though not really improving it much either. Gray got all his scores coming off post-ups and pick-and-rolls, getting to the basket and hitting a lay-up or going to the line, or by settling for a turnaround jumper from about five feet away from the basket.

…

Gray had two very nice back-to-the-basket plays on the game, one coming on a turnaround jumper off the glass from five feet out, and the other coming on a fake spin one way into a spin back the other, where he laid the ball perfectly in the basket after spending just a second with his eye on the hoop, showing good awareness of where he was with the ball.

Gray scored 16 points of 5-9 shooting and a stunning 6-7 of FTs.

Apparently, a lot of teams and people watching this are still most impressed that Gray has slimmed down further (Insider subs.)

Gray probably will move up a few spots in the draft just by showing up to camp in great shape. His body is clearly more chiseled, his abs ripped and his stamina better than at Pittsburgh.

He put up a very solid performance on both ends of the floor — though he was lacking much in the way of competition.

Again, being in such great shape, in preparation for the NBA draft camp goes a ways to showing NBA scouts and people how serious and willing to work hard Gray is.

Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray continued to show off his streamlined physique and bulked-up offensive game. After delivering 15 points and nine rebounds Wednesday, Gray returned with a 16-point, five-rebound effort Thursday. Gray has shown scouts that he has a traditional big man’s power game, muscling up shots close to the basket while also being active on both backboards. Gray has been a bigger presence in the lane than he was when I saw him during the season for the Panthers.

Over at Hoopsworld, they have several writers offering takes and reporting on players.

One current NBA assistant coach had this to say: “Everyone wants to talk about what he can’t do, but he’s an NBA player.” The scout noted that he will likely be a late first round or early second round selection which was right about where most people had him slotted before he came to camp.

…

At 7’ 270 pounds, Gray provides the presence in the middle that so many teams are after. But don’t look for Gray on a running team. He isn’t the fastest big man out there — “He is what he is,” said one scout — but another assistant coach contends that he can succeed with the right guards getting him the ball inside.

You know, I know I mentioned Eastern Conference teams would likely grab him, but I could also see him working in the Spurs system.

Again, something of mixed views. No one seemed to think he dominated, but the views varied from decent to bad. The squad he is on looked really bad. Considering all the players are trying to get drafted, none of them were really helped as they got smacked 106-84.

In practice, before the actual game, Gray apparently got abused by a smaller teammate.

In a full-court practice against players from his own team – there are six squads at the camp – Gray was dominated by unheralded Coleman Collins, an undersized power forward from Virginia Tech who at 6-foot-8 and 205 pounds has a major physical disadvantage against the former Pitt star.

Collins had his shot working and did not look the least bit tentative against Gray, who was being outworked at both ends of the floor and could not find his shot.

Things got a little better during the scrimmage when he didn’t have to worry about Collins – who scored a camp-high 22 in his game – but Gray still was poor defensively and seemed to get the bulk of his 15 points (seven at the foul line) due to his size advantage, a dominating edge he won’t always have in the NBA.

When asked if he felt the need to dominate, considering he is one of a small group of players at the camp with first-round potential, Gray admitted to feeling some extra pressure.

“Maybe a little bit, you definitely think about it,” Gray said. “You just wanna go out there and show teams there’s a lot of positives to your game and I think I did that. Hopefully, I’ll continue to do that.”

Hopefully, Gray will relax a little and just play rather than seek to impress. The Collins kid apparently had a bit of a breakout game — or he just had his shot that day. He abused Syracuse’s Daryl Watkins in the game. Not that Gray should want to be compared to Watkins — ever. Demetris Nichols led the winning squad with 18 points and looked good.

Gray was 7-10 at the free throw line, which of course is a bit surprising. Part of the problem was that on Gray’s squad, the point guard was Virginia’s Sean Singletary, who showed nothing but inconsistency. Gray may not have been as bad as that report made him seem.

Aaron Gray was solid though unspectacular with 15 points and a game high 9 boards. He attempted a few dunks where he was just a bit too far from the rim and either got his shot stuffed or had the ball go off the rim. Gray got to the line bunch converting 7-10.

Gray still did the job on rebounds. Getting to the line at least meant he was trying to go to the basket. With his size, he will be drafted. Gray has to remember he is simply playing to get drafted before the end of the first round. This isn’t about being a fringe draft pick.

The other thing Gray needs to remember is that he has to be looking to Eastern Conference teams. Teams that prefer the half-court offense.

Aaron Gray, who struggled mightily on Tuesday, redeemed himself with his play on Wednesday… that is when he could catch the ball. Gray again struggled to catch passes with any amount of force behind them, and it’s obvious he really struggles in a high-tempo game. However, when the game slows down and he has time to get low-post position, he’s very tough to stop. He finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds during the scrimmage.

That’s going to be the part of his game that needs more work regardless of the style of play. Catching the ball on the move. He’s got to improve on his cut and catch. It’s not an uncommon problem for big centers, and takes time. The one thing Gray can point to is that he has been willing to work and improve on his game his whole time at Pitt.

Well, in the time since the season ended and yesterday’s start of the NBA Orlando Pre-draft camp, Aaron Gray has had a lot of time to really work on getting ready. Physically, he seems to look great.

Aaron Gray 7-1 280 C Pittsburgh Sr. — It appears as though he’s lost a good 15-20 pounds. He’s still a plodder, but he’s moving a little better than he was during the season. It’s obvious he’s put some hard work into losing weight and adding mobility. We’ll see how that added cardio translates to his play over the next three days.

He is on Team 5 that includes Curtis Sumpter (Villanova) as the only other Big East player.

While Gray’s improved physique is noticeable, his opportunities to show what he can do aren’t.

The first thing that stands out about Gray is his improved physique. Gray is much closer to obtaining his ideal playing shape, a testament to the work he’s been putting into his draft preparation.

Unfortunately for Gray, the pre-draft camp doesn’t cater to his strengths as a half-court player who is best when being fed in the post. The first day of scrimmages proved this point out as Gray didn’t act as much more than an observer. He’ll have to be more vocal if he wants to command the attention of his teammates to the point of having an impact.

That would be the concern at this draft camp. The style is definitely a lot more running. Not many other big men in camp, so a lot more wing players and guards.

Still Gray is a 7-footer and with noticeable work on his body, that will help. It lets NBA teams know how serious he is about playing in the NBA and his willingness to work hard.

UPDATE (2:34): One other observation, was less flattering to Gray’s performance.

One player predicted by many to be a late first round pick or early second rounder is Pittsburgh 7-footer Aaron Gray. On Tuesday, Gray didn’t look like a player who fit the aforementioned criteria. He had trouble catching the ball in traffic and often looked clumsy in transition. He was at least competing on the defensive end which left a number of GM’s with hope for the big man heading into play Wednesday.

Gray looked awkward and clumsy at times?

Last week’s NBA Draft Lottery was a huge surprise. I was about as shocked by that as I’ll get for anything related to the NBA. With all of the teams set in their draft spots (and as I write this I’m laughing at the Celtics), it’s much easier to accuartely predict where draft prospects will go once the order is known. Teams with needs at a certain spot who draft higher will allow a player to rise a few spots.

With that, it’s time to look at where old friend Aaron Gray is predicted to go. With the draft about a month away, he rose from the mid-late 2nd round all the way to the first pick of the second (and final) round. That pick belongs to Seattle, who is either going to land Greg Oden or Kevin Durant based on who Portland takes. Simply put, if Durant goes first and Oden falls to the Sonics, Gray won’t being their second round pick. Chances are, however, that Oden goes #1 and Seattle picks up Durant who will be playing the small forward spot in the NBA.

Again, this is all speculation and guesswork. It’s pretty safe to say he won’t be going Top 10 though, like some thought he might before the 2006-07 season tipped off.

Reports are that Roy Hibbert will announce this afternoon that he is returning to Georgetown for another season (and possibly Jeff Green as well). If Hibbert returns, the Hoyas will be the strong favorites to win the Big East in 2008 (and if Green returns as well, they will be favored to win the whole thing).

Obviously, this is not great news for Pitt and the other teams in the Big East that would face Georgetown.

For Aaron Gray and every other center in the NBA draft not named Greg Oden, this is very good news. Spencer Hawes (from Washington) becomes the clear #2 Center in the draft.

Aaron Gray suddenly gets vaulted back into the discussion as being among the 3d best center prospects in the draft. His competition are a couple Euro players (Marc Gasol [Spain, and yes, Pau Gasol’s little brother] and Ante Tomic [Croatia]), the troubled Sean Williams — who managed to actually be kicked off the team for good by Al Skinner at BC — and the injury prone DeVon Hardin of Cal.

Yep, if Hibbert stays at Georgetown, Aaron Gray should send him a thank you card.

You can always bet that after the draft teams will always say they got guys they were “secretly hoping” would fall to them. The Washington Redskins were no exception, but the numbers on their roster does suggest that H.B. Blades has a better chance than most 6th round picks of staying with the team.

They only had five NFL-level linebackers entering the draft, and there are concerns about the status of two key linebackers, Marcus Washington (hip) and 2006 second-round pick Rocky McIntosh (knee), both of whom will be monitored closely. Linebackers are also usually the lifeblood of special teams, and with veterans Warrick Holdman and Jeff Posey departed, Sartz and Blades could make their first impact on those units.

“We were short on numbers at linebacker, and that’s one of the things we had highlighted,” Coach Joe Gibbs said. “We were kind of holding our breath there [in the sixth round], because there were a couple of linebackers we thought could make the team.”

Blades is excited to get to minicamp to show the Redskins that “they made a great pick.”

Blades will get a chance to learn how to stick in the NFL from another undersized LB, with London Fletcher.

Blades’ lack of height obviously doesn’t bother the Redskins, who signed 5-10 middle linebacker London Fletcher in free agency. Fletcher is 32, which should give Blades a couple of years to learn the position before he’d be called on to step in. Watching Fletcher on film, Gibbs said, helped convince the Redskins that Blades was worth grabbing.

“I might be a sixth-round pick, but you put me out there with anyone and I’m going to make plays,” Blades said.

As an Eagles fan, I really don’t want to see the Redskins win. I am rooting for Blades to succeed.