Following a stint with Team USA at the Pan American Games, Renaldo Major will report to Wizards camp in Bismarck.
The Dakota Wizards announced their training camp invites this afternoon and for fans of the franchise there will be plenty of familiar faces. Nate Bjorkgren had said he wasn't overly impressed with the talent level at the team's open tryout in the Bay Area a few weeks ago and that is reflected in who will be reporting to Bismarck following the D-League Draft. Not a single invitation was extended to a player who participated in an open tryout event. Here's a look at the list:
This group is a far cry from where the Wizards were at this time last year, with just a handful of returning players reporting to training camp. While talent is an overwhelming deciding factor in this league, the value of experience can't be overstated. Given that Dakota currently has only seven picks in tomorrow's draft, logic seems to dictate that the majority of the names above will be on the opening night roster. We'll delve deeper into each player during our annual training camp scouting report series, but just a few general comments based on what we know currently:
- The trio of Baker, Goods and Major gives the Wizards a strong backcourt rotation with two players capable of running the offense, some scoring punch and in the case of Major, someone who has already played an elite level of basketball in the last couple of weeks.
- I'm happy Mike Anderson will be returning to this team, not only because he's a stand-up individual who makes for a great interview, but he's a good player. Anderson was one of the best stories from a sub-par season last year, going from open tryout invite to dynamic starter by the end of the season. Having both he and Dove on the roster makes for a nice one-two punch at the small forward position.
- Mickell Gladness and Chris Ayer gave Dakota some much needed size down low towards the end of last season and proved to be quite the pair. Gladness, statistically, was one of the best defenders in the D-League during his stretch with the Wizards and Ayer was an efficient inside scoring presence. I wrote this of the duo last season: After watching these two in conjunction for just a few weeks it`s readily apparent that had they been with the Wizards from day one, Dakota would be a lot closer to a playoff spot than they are right now. But for the time being, they certainly give them a shot to a certain degree moving into the final stretch of the regular season. It'll be nice to have them potentially for a full season now.
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