Day: June 18, 2018

Orlando Magic add to basketball operations department

The Orlando Magic have named Ernest Eugene head athletic trainer, Luke Storey head strength and conditioning coach, Sameer Mehta physical therapist and Nathan Spencer performance and rehabilitation coach, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

In addition, Christian Espinoza, who served as an intern last season, has been promoted to full-time as assistant athletic trainer. Chad Gerhard (applied sports scientist) and Aki Tajima (athletic trainer/manual therapist) will remain on the staff.

Eugene joins Orlando after spending four seasons (2014-18) as assistant athletics director for sports medicine at Virginia Tech. He came to Virginia Tech following six seasons (2008-14) as the athletics trainer for the men’s basketball program at Marquette University, where he was promoted to director of sports medicine during his final year.

Storey comes to Orlando after spending more than five years (2013-18) at Peak Performance Project (P3), a sports performance facility that utilizes advanced sports science technologies to assess and train professional athletes.

Mehta comes to Orlando after spending 12 years at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He joined MedStar in March 2006 as a physical therapist, then spent the last six years as clinical supervisor/outpatient physical therapy.

Spencer joins Orlando after spending three seasons (2015-18) as head strength and conditioning coach with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League in Australia. Prior to his time with Illawarra, he was a strength and conditioning coach in professional rugby.

DeAndre Ayton talks big, Marvin Bagley objects

Here’s the Boston Herald reporting on some pre-draft talk that will add fun and intrigue not only to draft day but to the first few seasons of several top prospects:

DeAndre Ayton talks big, Marvin Bagley objects

DeAndre Ayton, generally considered the best player in this year’s draft, recently worked out for his local Phoenix Suns, the team with the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s draft.

In the brash style of someone he is often compared to — Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid — the Arizona center made a pronouncement.

“I know I’m going No. 1,” he said, which didn’t thrill the next big man in the anticipated draft order.

“It’s disrespectful and I use it as drive every single day,” Duke’s Marvin Bagley said after his own workout for the Suns. “At the end of the day, this is all talk right now. Eventually we’ll have to go on the court and we’ll have to play. That’s where all the talking ends.”

Full article