Fifty of the country’s tallest college and pro basketball players had to be mighty disappointed Aug. 7 upon walking into Nevada-Las Vegas’ Cox Pavilion.
Not Kansas University’s Sasha Kaun, who simply shrugged when informed during a Pete Newell Big Man Camp orientation session there was “no dunking allowed” at the five-day event.
“Dunks are nice, but I think if you are over 6-feet anybody can dunk,” said Kaun, KU’s 6-11, 245-pound sophomore pivot. “If teams are playing good defense, you will not be able to dunk it all the time. You need to learn to score over the defense. You will not be able to outjump everybody at this level.”
Kaun, who averaged 2.6 points and 2.3 boards his rookie season, was eager to work on footwork, inside bank shots and hook shots as taught by Newell, the 80-year-old coaching Hall of Famer.
“We had ‘one dribble and shooting the bank shot.’ Coach Newell was emphasizing it’s one of the best shots to take,” Kaun said. “He said with a bank shot all you try to do is throw it off the backboard. With a straight-on shot, you’ve got to worry about depth and whether it’s going left or right.
“He gave an example of Tim Duncan. He’s one of the bank shooters and got MVP two years in a row. I guess it’s a pretty good shot,” Kaun said with a laugh.
Kaun, who was joined at the camp by Oklahoma’s Longar Longar and pro players Brian Cook (Lakers), Andrew Bynum (Lakers), Andris Biedrins (Warriors) and Ike Diogu (Warriors), said he thought he would bring a lot of new knowledge to KU workouts in October.
“I learned some stuff, some different moves I think will help me in the long run,” Kaun said.
In fact, Kaun said it was impossible to place a price on what he learned at the Newell camp. The cost of the session, paid for by Kaun, was $1,500.
“No, I actually don’t,” Kaun said, asked if he had much disposable income in his banking account. “I just saved it from working over the summer (at camps). I’m just trying to commit to the team, trying to get better and help the team any way I can. I think it was definitely worth it.”
KU coach Bill Self says Kaun, who has gained 10 pounds since last season, will gain from the Vegas trip.
“I think Sasha felt he played well,” Self said. “I think he feels it helped him playing against other big guys and NBA guys as well. I’m excited for him. He had a good summer.”
