Cam Long has already been living “an NBA lifestyle,” as Washington Wizards General Manager Ernie Grunfeld put it. He has worked out with five NBA teams and traveled overnight to make it from one workout to the next, culminating with a hometown workout for the Wizards’ brass.
Long, an outgoing George Mason University men's basketball player, has been known as a team leader during his last three years with the Patriots. But in a one- to two-hour workout, it is the intangibles that are hard to show. Often, those who come to the workouts have the one stat that jumps off the paper, be it Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins’ scoring or the high rebounding and scoring marks of James Madison’s Denzel Bowles.
“The NBA is the highest level basically. Coaches see things that you would be surprised that they could see,” Long said on Wednesday.
Even still, Jenkins and Bowles and Long all accepted workouts with the Wizards. But it takes more for them to stand out from players from the major conferences.
“Even the world is starting to notice that, after what happened in the NCAA tournament this year, a lot of mid-major schools are doing big-time things,” Long said. “The only thing is I think that CAA schools are more of a team-based team than individuals.”
That may make him and others in his shoes more valuable to a team. While some NBA teams are near-obviously a collection of individuals, a player who can hold his own and bond with his teammates has something to add beyond the stats.
“The type of person I am – I can bond with anybody,” Long said. “The same progress I made from high school to college – what I did is I learned the game. I let the people that were already there continue to do their thing while I played my role. My role was to come in and learn.”
And he has the support of those around him from his old teammates to his family.
“My family is always supportive,” he said. “It was more of ‘What do you really want to do?’ It was more of a life plan.”
A series of stories have been told about the support he received from his brother while in high school. Fans saw the impact when his family walked onto the court with him on senior night. He made it clear that he wants to play in the NBA, and his family is there for him.
The 2011 NBA Draft begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN live from Newark, N.J. After trying out for Golden State, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Minnesota and Washington, he only has to wait a few more hours to learn his fate.
“I think I’m not going to pay attention really,” Long said.
He is planning on going back home to the beaches to wait for a phone call. He hopes it will be a positive one. Even if he does not get that phone call tonight, there is the possibility of a free agency tryout following the draft.
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