在海裡飛翔的魚

Ben Hunt Blog
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 03:47 PM
Ben Hunt, Perth Wildcats

Perth Wildcats recruit Ben Hunt shares his experiences from his time playing with the Dallas Mavericks in their Summer League.

The success the Texas Wesleyan Men’s Basketball team had this year, winning the NAIA National Championship, certainly gained a lot of attention. Being in the fortunate position of having the ball in my hands with the game on the line also opened a few eyes, ones of which belonged to the President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks, Donnie Nelson. With this being said, no more than two days after the championship game, I was invited to attend the Mavericks summer league tryout camp in July.

After three months of preparation, both mentally and physically, I was ready for an experience of lifetime. Needless to say I had never in my wildest dreams pictured myself being invited to an NBA team try-out, let-a-lone the 2006 Western Conference Champions and NBA Finalist.

Saturday July 1st had arrived and I had been assigned to report at the American Airlines Centre at 1pm for physicals and walk through prior to that night’s exhibition game against the Nigerian National team. Head Coach and Mavericks legend Rolando Blackman put us through an afternoon of listening and learning the offensive and defensive sets before heading off to Texas Christian University (TCU), in Fort Worth for the game. After a tight first half, we eventually held on down the stretch to win 89 – 85. Getting an opportunity to play along side the 1st round draft pick Maurice Ager, and Mavericks young stars Josh Powell and Rawle Marshall certainly was a great experience.

The next two days were very intense with two, three hour session per day. They involved lifting, station work, introduction of new sets, and scrimmaging. At the conclusion of Tuesdays practice I was told that I did not make the squad of 12 which would play in Toshiba Las Vegas Summer League. However, I was invited back to tryout for the team which would compete in the Summer Pro League, held in Long Beach, California.

As I arrived on Wednesday for practice I felt very comfortable and confident, having spent the past four days which the Mavericks 1st team, and having knowledge of all the offensive and defensive philosophies. This put me in a good position, and as a consequence I performed well enough to be selected for the team.

After a long, but exciting week at camp, I was ready to get on the plane for California. Our flight was schedule for 6.55am on Saturday, July 8th so there was not much time for rest and recovery. On arrival in LAX we grabbed our luggage and traveled south down 405 to the Long Beach Marriot. My roommate for the week was David Noel of North Carolina, who has recently signed a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. In the afternoon we had a light practice in preparation for the LA Lakers at noon the next day.

Heading into the game I was a little nervous, but felt quietly confident that I could hold my own at this level, like I had done all week at camp. As Coach Drieling gave his pre-game address he announced the starting five, which included me at the point.
As we headed to the court and warm-ups began, I was pleased to look up in the crowd and see a very familiar and friendly face. Coach Connor Henry was sitting three rows back behind our bench. I got a chance to speak to speak to him briefly, and after I told him that I was starting, I think he was more excited than I was.

Unfortunately the game did not turn out the way we would have liked, losing quite comfortable. However I was pleased with my contributions and felt I made the most of my opportunities. Playing against former UCLA star and Lakers rookie Jordan Farmer was certainly an experience.

The next day we faced the Memphis Grizzles and the outcome was much the same. We lost soundly to a very athletic team which included Hakim Warrick and Rudy Gay.

As the week went on we had one team member depart and a couple of injuries to key players. With this being the case two new guys were added to the roster mid week, which meant I would take a back seat from that point on and did not play in the last two games. One of which was a convincing 21 point victory over the Washington Wizards, which was certainly a highlight of the week.

Another highlight was being the presence of some basketball greats who made appearances throughout the tournament. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Mike Fratello, Craig Hodges, and Horace Grant were just a few.

I have had many great experiences throughout my career, and this certainly ranks as one of the best. Others include winning the NAIA National Championship with Texas Wesleyan, as well as signing to play with the Perth Wildcats in the NBL. I believe my NBA experience was a great introduction to professional basketball and I now look forward to arriving in Perth to begin another championship campaign with the Wildcats