Coming off screens in Summer League, Kelly Oubre Jr. ran into resistance he had not seen before. Other teams had scouted Oubre’s strong left-handed tendencies and aligned themselves accordingly. Even in Summer League, with less time to prepare and even less structure being applied, the Wizards’ first-round pick was receiving a dose of the meticulous counters his new life would bring.
At 19 years old, Oubre is living in dual dimensions. His comments lurch from confident to humble, wanting it now, to knowing he will need to wait. At the least, he’s anxious.
“I’m ready to get it cracking,” Oubre said at the start of training camp.
It’s not that easy in the NBA. If Oubre remained in college, he would be one of three true sophomores on the Kansas roster. He does not turn 20 years old until December. Oubre is also not in a need-you-now setup with the Wizards. His time is down the road.
So, as he starts camp, he is trying to corral the speed of the game. Coach Randy Wittman does not have time or inclination to coddle Oubre. The Wizards feel they should have been in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. That’s the goal this season, which leaves the rate in which Oubre develops in large part his responsibility.
After missing the first preseason game because of a sprained ankle, Oubre was shut out in his first appearance on an NBA floor. He went 0-for-7 from the field last week during the game against the New York Knicks. He scored in his second game, a rout of a professional team from Brazil, but finished just 1-for-3. He’s shooting 10 percent from the field in two games.
Mixed in were signs of the versatility the Wizards expected when they traded for Oubre’s rights after he was selected 15th overall. He has two blocks in two games. The first time on the floor, Oubre picked up four rebounds. In the second game, he took six foul shots.
“The thing we’ve got to be careful of is to not let him get frustrated and lose his confidence,” Wittman said. “Things are going [fast] … whether it’s drills, whether it’s game speed. Things at different points in time, when we add things, from a defensive philosophy as well as an offensive, and it’s a lot coming at a kid like that. We’ll see.
“A lot of his mistakes is, he’s out there thinking, ’Where I am supposed to be? What am I supposed to do?’ and you can’t play that way, so we’ve got to be patient with that until he gets to the point he starts to get the swing of it.”
Wittman said even the ferocious, on-point teachings of Bobby Knight at Indiana did not prep him enough for the NBA.
“I thought I knew what to expect of everything after playing for Bobby Knight and going through what I went through, and it was a total eye-opener still for me,” Wittman said of entering the league in 1983.
Oubre joins the Wizards at a time when they are filled with wing players. Bradley Beal and Otto Porter will start at shooting guard and small forward, respectively. Veteran Alan Anderson had ankle surgery Tuesday and is out indefinitely, but Jared Dudley, who can play small forward in a pinch and “stretch four,” returned to practice on Wednesday. Dudley had been held out because of offseason back surgery. He said he feels no pain, has been “like Lance Armstrong” on a stationary bike the last month to stay in shape, and should be ready for the season opener on Oct. 28.
Martell Webster continues to have a hip problem and did not practice on Wednesday. Guard Garrett Temple did not participate in practice because of a hamstring injury, but took shots afterward. Oubre is part of that jumbled group.
The veterans appear to be supplying Oubre with more understanding than hazing. On Wednesday, Temple tried to lay out the pointed differences between the NBA, college and high school as an explanation for the process Oubre is going through.
“The thing that you hope for is a guy coming in is willing to learn,” Temple said. “The sky’s the limit for this guy if he continues to accept teaching, accept coaching and apply it. He’s done a great job of that.”
Which, again, presents Oubre as a dichotomy. Oubre has said he “can get to the rack any time I want.” Midway through training camp, one of the team’s more tuned-in voices, Temple, is praising him for listening and trying to adapt.
If the two sides, the cocksure and the curious, are able to ascend together, the Wizards could find validation for their draft-night gamble. They just won’t know that for a couple years.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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