article from hoops hype...

All Daye
by Dave McMenamin / July 12, 2009

It sounded like, “All day! All day!” as a fan screamed from the stands at the Thomas & Mack Center in the first game of the second day of action at the NBA Summer League on Saturday.

He was really yelling, “All Daye!” as in Austin Daye, Detroit’s first-round draft pick. The “e” in his name may be silent, but his game certainly is not.

It literally was all Daye as the 6-foot-11 forward selected No. 15 out of Gonzaga played all 40 minutes for the Pistons (after playing just 19 minutes on Friday), tying fellow rookie DaJuan Summers for the team lead in points with 19 and also swiping eight rebounds.

“He has a chance to be a real nice basketball player,” Pistons summer league head coach Darrell Walker said. “That’s going to come with age and Arnie [Kander].”

Kander is Detroit’s legendary strength and conditioning coach charged with bulking up the lithe 200-pound Daye the same way he helped pad the frame of Tayshaun Prince when he entered the league in 2002.

Daye is the latest summer league participant to be scrutinized for his skinniness. Last summer it was Golden State’s Anthony Randolph. Two years ago it was Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. Instead of questioning his weight, Daye left the packed gym marveling at his length. Standing nearly 7-foot with an even longer wingspan, Daye is the type of guy who can scratch his shins without bending his knees.

Daye, whose father Darren played for the Celtics in the ‘80s, credited his dad for stressing the importance of his all-around game even after he grew from a 6-foot-2 point guard as a freshman in high school to the sky scraper he is now.

On Saturday his skill set was on full display from shooting from deep (2-for-4 from three), to getting a dunk after collecting an offensive rebound, to knocking down a midrange jumper off the glass from the short corner to even dishing out two Steve Nash-style assists in the first quarter (a one-handed whip off the pick and roll and a thread-the-needle bounce on the fastbreak).

Walker said that other than Daye improving his body, the rookie needs work on defense. Daye was matched up with Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, the No. 9 pick in the draft, and DeRozan finished with 20 points on 9-for-20 shooting.

However, Walker pointed out that the notion of the 6-foot-11 Daye even being up for the challenge of guarding the 6-foot-7 DeRozan, who is listed as a small forward but plays a lot of two guard, is a sign of good things to come.

“I did a lot of different things today,” Daye said. “I was dedicated to get my shot ready for the game early this morning. We did a good job of that and it showed in the game today.”

GAME 1: Detroit Pistons (2-0) 91, Toronto Raptors (0-2) 87

STUDS: If there has been one player who has established himself as a second-round steal after the second day of action, it’s been Detroit’s DaJuan Summers without a doubt. Summers, who wears No. 35 to represent the spot where he was finally nabbed in the draft, racked up 19 points and six rebounds on Saturday after going for 24 and seven on Friday. Standing at 6-foot-8, 240-pounds, Summers is one of the more physically mature rookies out there and uses his size well after banging around the Big East for three seasons with the Georgetown Hoyas.

All of Motown’s fresh faces played well. Jonas Jerebko, the Pistons other second-round pick (No. 39) out of Sweden was very active, racking up 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and comparisons to the Knicks’ David Lee by Detroit’s coaching staff. Team officials say that Deron Washington, a second-round pick last year, has a good shot to make the regular season roster. Racking up 13 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block certainly helps that cause.

DeRozan, who had a ho-hum debut with 10 points on 5-for-12 shooting and three turnovers, shot better from the field in his second game and had zero turnovers in 35 minutes. He showed subtle command of the game with little things like using screens and taking good angles, but his jump shot still needs some work as he has a tendency to short arm his attempts.

DUDS: There was a running joke being circulated around the gym that went, “You know it’s Summer League if Smush Parker is on the court.” That about sums it up. The former Lakers point guard had more fouls (seven) than points (six) and also had an unfavorable assist-turnover ratio with three miscues compared to two dimes.


i cut out the rest it was running down studs an duds of all the games