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Muresan's Aching Again, And 5 More Invited To Camp

Nobody knows what caused Muresan's latest injury, but it's sure to keep him on the shelf for at least part of camp. According to Ric Bucher of the Washington Post, Gheorghe Muresan will be resting a strained tendon in his right ankle for the near future. Surgery is unlikely, though the option has not been ruled out.

New Radio Announcer Named

Also in the Muresan article, the Wizards have hired Dave Johnson to do play-by-play to replace Charlie Slowes, who's leaving to do play-by-play for the Tampa baseball franchise. Johnson has filled in for Slowes in the past, and also does play-by-play for the George Mason men's basketball team.

No one is willing to lay any blame right now. GM Wes Unseld believes it can result from just being a 300+ pound guy. Muresan's agent, Bill Sweek, has said that Muresan hasn't been doing much basketball training in recent weeks, with his obligations for starring in the Billy Crystal movie, My Giant. He has been hitting the weights during that time, however.

So, Muresan is limited for his second training camp in a row. That just provides more opportunities for the 5 players the Wizards invited earlier this week. They are:

• Guard Jimmy Oliver, the only invitee with real experience, though he's never been able to stick anywhere, even with bad teams.
• Guard Johnny Rhodes, former standout guard at the University of Maryland, who spent last season playing in Germany. A good defender in college, last I saw he still needed some serious polish on the other parts of his game. A good invite, though.
• Forward Darvin Ham, a explosive leaper from Texas Tech who you may remember broke a backboard dunking against UNC in the 1996 NCAAs. A fave of Bickerstaff, as he was with Denver last year.
• Forward Chuck Kornegay, a decent player from Villanova, but his game never really stuck in my mind. I do remember he was a scrapper and reasonably active.
• Center/forward Amal McCaskill, who was on the Orlando Magic's roster last year. A wide body, not much else I can think to set him apart.

The Wizards are also looking at inviting centers Eric Leckner and Charles Shackleford, although Shackleford may not pass a physical.

Should be interesting. I'm not sure if any of these invitees stand a chance of making the roster, unless Muresan starts the season on IR (which would favor Kornegay, Leckner, or McCaskill) or Shammgod is a bust. We'll see. The players report today and begin practice tomorrow.

wtf 2 October 1997

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