CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: WILCOX HAS BECOME A LEADER IN SEATTLE.Byline: JOE STEVENS Staff Writer A recent story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is one of two daily newspapers in Seattle, Washington, United States, the other being the Seattle Times. History The P-I, Seattle's first newspaper, was founded on December 10, 1863 as the Seattle Gazette reported that former Clipper Chris Wilcox Chris Ray Wilcox (born September 3 1982 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. was ``striving to help Ray Allen Not to be confused with Ray Alan or Allan Ray. Walter Ray Allen (born July 20, 1975) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics, for whom he plays shooting guard. He has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics. and Rashard Lewis Rashard Quovon Lewis (born August 8, 1979 in Pineville, Louisiana) is an American professional basketball player. After playing his first nine seasons for the Seattle SuperSonics, Lewis joined the Orlando Magic having agreed to a 6-year sign-and-trade deal (believed to be worth at with leadership responsibilities.'' Those words could have come as a shock to many in the Clippers' organization, because Wilcox never got a chance to consistently play with the Clippers, let alone be a leader. Before the Clippers met the Sonics for an exhibition on Saturday night, Wilcox confirmed that he is a front-court leader for the Sonics, and he is happy with his new role in Seattle. ``We just have a group of young guys,'' Wilcox said. ``For me, I just got to get them on track. All I got is high school big men, high school kind of cats. So I just have to get in their heads what's right, what's wrong, be in the right spot at the right time.'' Wilcox turned 24 last month, and with ``high-school kind of cats,'' he is referring to the Sonics' two 20-year-old 7-footers -- Robert Swift Robert Swift (born December 3, 1985, in Bakersfield, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. The "Big Red Head" stands 7 feet tall and plays the center position. and Johan Petro Johan Petro (born January 27 1986, in Paris) is a French professional basketball player currently with the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association. A 7'0", 247 lbs. center, Petro was selected by the Sonics in the 1st round (25th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft. . With that in mind, maybe it isn't as odd to see the former Clipper as a leader. With the Clippers, Wilcox sometimes showed breathtaking athleticism, but coach Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy is the name of two notable persons in basketball, father and son:
Wilcox was complimentary of the Clippers, who made him the eighth overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. ``It's a great organization,'' he said. ``I can't complain because they made my dream come true, coming out of college. I can't complain about that.'' Still shorthanded: The Clippers still were without Chris Kaman (strained left hamstring), Sam Cassell (strained left calf) and Aaron Williams (sore lower back). Zeljko Rebraca (lower back) has not been with the team and probably won't be available until December. Clippers win: The Clippers held on to beat the Sonics 86-82, behind 15 points from both Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley. The Clippers had led by as many as 15 points, but Seattle tied it at 80-80 with 3 minutes left. joe.stevens@presstelegram.com (562) 499-1286 |
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