Former Hoosiers teammates together again in NBA
By Jeff Latzke, The Associated Press
“Robert Vaden is a worker. Robert Vaden is a guy that spends a lot of time in the gym,” Presti said. “We think he’s a guy that’s about winning, and we like his dedication to shooting the ball.”
Left without as many weapons around him, Vaden’s scoring average dropped from 21.1 to 17.6 points last season and his 3-point shooting percentage fell to 35 percent, three points lower than it was over the course of his four years in college.
If he can regain his stroke, he could be a boon for a team that ranked 28th out of 30 NBA teams last season with by shooting 34.6 percent from 3-point range.
“I feel like I can score from just about anywhere on the floor. I feel like I have unlimited range,” Vaden said. “I know a lot of people may disagree, but I feel like I’m a very confident when I’m on the offensive end, so hopefully I can bring that to the table.”
Vaden said he didn’t know exactly what his role would be with the Thunder but “if I didn’t fit in, they wouldn’t have picked me.” Oklahoma City has 2008 Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant at small forward, while starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha now has competition with No. 3 overall pick James Harden from Arizona State.
“It’s a young, up-and-coming team,” Vaden said. “I feel like we’ve got a chance to win a lot of games here with the nucleus that they already have.”
White will also practically be a rookie next season. He missed all but the final seven games of last season after having a benign growth removed from his jaw, but has now had all restrictions removed on what he can eat and how much he can lift.
“I’m pretty much feeling like my old self,” White said. “I had the chance to do a lot of things I haven’t done in the past couple months.”