SeniorBearcat
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RE: Gates invited to Portsmouth Invitational
Here are a couple recent articles about Gates and his NBA draft workouts. I have read articles from sites that have the Knicks, Spurs, Warriors and Pistons taking a hard look at Gates in the second round. I sure hope he gets drafted...selfishly want him to be a Piston! I think a smart team like the Spurs getting him as a second round pick would be a steal. The Spurs have Duncan and Splitter as centers, Bonner and Blair as PFs locked up for next season, and possibly Borris Diaw if he re-signs (might become to costly for the Spurs after a great postseason). With 5-6 Bigs on a roster, Gates might just snag a guaranteed roster spot.
Quote:Knicks Work Out Gates, ‘Spoon & Brown
BY ADAM ZAGORIA
MAY 29, 2012
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — One veteran NBA scout said he kept waiting and waiting for Yancy Gates to realize his potential during his time at Cincinnati.
And he never did.
“I kept waiting and kept waiting and that’s all I did, was wait for Yancy to come around and he never did,” the NBA scout told SNY.tv.
“I expected him to kick ass and take names and he didn’t do it.”
Gates was one of several players to work out for the Knicks Tuesday, along with former Memphis wing Wesley Witherspoon, former Texas guard J’Covan Brown, former Gonzaza center Robert Sacre, former Mississippi State guard Dee Bost and former New Mexico State forward Troy Gillenwater, who left the workout midway through complaining of stomach problems. The workouts were closed to the media.
The Knicks, who pick at No. 48 in the second round, are in need of another big and another point guard.
“We have two guards who are restricted free agents, so we’ll be able to retain them,’’ Knicks GM Glen Grunwald said last week of Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields. “The question is then how we fill out the rest because Baron [Davis] suffered a pretty bad injury and he’s not going to be able to play next year. And Shump [Iman Shumpert] is going to be out a bit recovering from his injuries. We’re going to have to see if we can upgrade the rest of the roster while Shump is out.”
Despite the knocks on him, the 6-foot-9 Gates believes he could contribute to the Knicks’ frontcourt.
“Looking at the Knicks roster, I think I can come in, kind of be that guy that…can get a lot of garbage buckets, maybe guard different people,” Gates said. “Just try to do different things. Some things don’t show up on the stat sheet, but it’s a big part of winning.”
Gates said he’s currently weighing 270 and wants to get down to 260 or 265, but believes he could play some center in addition to power forward.
“Oh yeah, definitely, I think I could because of my strength,” said Gates, who is projected as the No. 72 best prospect in the NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com. “I’m big enough to be able to guard and hold a center off.”
Gates averaged 12.2 points and 8.9 rebounds last season at Cincinnati, but comes from a defensive-oriented program at Cincinnati, which is something the Knicks need under coach Mike Woodson.
“That’s how we played at Cincinnati,” he said. “We relied on playing defense and usually it proved to help us win. So playing for a defensive-minded coach would find right into what I’m used to.”
http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/05/29/knick...oon-brown/
Quote:Noted for brawl, Yancy Gates tries out for Warriors
Rusty Simmons
Monday, May 28, 2012
If you do a simple online search for Yancy Gates, one site suggests "Yancy Gates brawl" and another recommends "Yancy Gates fight."
The University of Cincinnati forward knows his violent actions during an on-court December melee forever will be attached to his name, but he's hoping to prove that the event won't define him.
"My actions were not what I am about as a person," Gates said Saturday when he participated in a predraft workout at the Warriors' downtown Oakland facility. "I learned a lot. I think the brawl helped me grow up a little bit. It taught me how to deal with different situations and adversity.
"The time I wasn't playing gave me time to sit and reflect on the opportunity I had been blessed with."
The 6-foot-9 prospect with the massive frame had plenty of time to ruminate, because Gates was suspended for six games and, per Big East rules, wasn't allowed in the Cincinnati basketball facility.
He thought about how wrong it was to throw the ball at a Xavier player in the closing minute of that December game. He thought about how disgusting it was to sucker-punch Kenneth Frease, opening a huge, bloody gash under Frease's left eye. Gates thought about how he exacerbated the situation by hitting at least one other Xavier player during a fracas that brought an end to the game with time remaining on the clock.
Mostly, he thought about how his name had become synonymous with terms like "villain" and "punk" in the college basketball community.
Gates knew he would need to take drastic measures to repair his image, and he started with a heartfelt apology.
No speechwriter. No script. Nothing but emotion and remorse.
"A lot of people have been calling me a thug or a gangster, and that really affected me," Gates said. "I felt like I let down myself, my family, my teammates and the fans."
Now Gates is making the rounds - through San Antonio, Oakland and New York last week - trying to prove that he has matured enough to start a professional career. He's trying to prove that he's worth it to an NBA team that's considering using a draft pick and investing in his future.
There's little question that Gates has the game and the size to win that argument.
He weighed a prospect-high 287 pounds at the Portsmouth Invitational last month, but said he was down to 270 by the time he worked out for the Warriors. He wants to be down to 260 pounds by next month's draft, a playing weight that would allow him to showcase his power and athleticism.
Gates displayed some of that in Oakland. His wingspan was 7-foot-3, and he shocked with his vertical jump. On his first jump, he leaped more than 30 inches, causing the Warriors to raise the testing pole for his second jump.
The Warriors need a backup big man and more rebounding. Gates fits that mold and is expected to be available when they pick 52nd overall. Gates averaged 11.5 rebounds, including 4.1 offensive boards, per 40 minutes his senior season.
"I think I was able to show them how athletic I am, which is something I didn't really get to show as much as I would have liked to in college," Gates said.
"As far as getting up and down (the court), I was able to show some skills I've been working on. I'd be comfortable in a fast-paced (offensive) system and still be a physical presence on defense."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...1OOFQV.DTL
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Gates invited to Portsmouth Invitational
