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Armstrong attempts career reboot inD.C.
BYMICHAEL LEE Hilton Armstrong was in the
place he wants to be — on the court, being loose and carefree. He slid over to the foul line, made a jumper and immediately start- ed shouting instructions to his Washington Wizards teammates as he backpedaled on defense in practice on Saturday. He leapt into the lane to catch a lobfromAl Thornton, made a difficult shot off the glass in one motion. And, he later tried to chase down a loose ball and hurdled a row of chairs in front of him. Through an undistinguished
first four seasons in the NBA, Armstrong always grappled with thinking too much and worrying about what he could do wrong instead of accomplishing some- thing on the floor. The 6-foot-11 2006 lottery pick
was blessed with athleticism and talent, but no matter what en- couraging words he heard from Byron Scott, his former coach in NewOrleans, or his father,Hilton Sr., Armstrong could never get over his own lack of confidence. But Armstrong said he is starting to feel that wall coming down in Washington— a place close to his native New York, that his fiancee and daughter have already come to enjoy, and where the Wizards provided him with “a new begin- ning.” “Here, everyday, Coach [Flip Saunders] would tell me, ‘Don’t worry about anything, just play. We have confidence in you,’ ” Armstrong said after practice, as the Wizards prepared to face the New York Knicks on Sunday. “I’m very grateful that I’mhere in this situation with these coaches and this front office. I’m very appre- ciative.”
Saunders praised Armstrong
during training camp at George Mason—thesameschool that cut short his career at Connecticut in the Elite Eight in2006—claiming that he had outplayed expected starting center JaValeMcGee. Armstrong has been limited
some, and missed two preseason games, after developing a bizarre right shoulder injury that he still cannot explain. He just knows that he woke up one morning with some soreness and swelling that may have been caused by sleeping the wrong way or ab- sorbing a hit in agameor practice that had a delayed impact. “I’m not really sure,” how it happened, Armstrong said. As for his battles with confi-
dence, Armstrong said those be- gan in college, where he struggled under a demanding, hard-nosed coach in Jim Calhoun, who gave him little room for error. “Coach Calhoun, he’s a great coach. He knows how to win, get players to the NBA. But for me, personally, talent-wise, he didn’t work with me,” he said. “My confidence was broke. It’s not even a secret. Any time I’d mess up on the court, I’d
come straight out. That really messed upmy mind a little bit.” Armstrong played sparingly
his first three years at Connecti- cut,thenhadabreakoutseasonas a senior, when he says he started seriously considering playing in the NBA. He admits to being overwhelmed when he heard that he could go in the lottery and was invited to attend theNBA draft at Madison Square Garden. “At the time, I didn’t evenknow
what the green room was. I thought the room was really green. I had no clue,” Armstrong, whom New Orleans drafted 12th overall, said with a laugh. “I just didn’t know how I ended up in this position.” Armstrong developed a much
better off-the-court relationship with Scott than he did with Cal- houn, but Scott had little pa- tience. New Orleans eventually gave up on Armstrong, sending him to Sacramento for a condi- tional second-round pick.He last- ed about a month with the Kings before he was dealt to Houston, which cuthimthe lastweekof the regular season. He signed a one- year deal worth the league mini- mum with Washington in July after posting career averages of 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. “Hilton is a guy with a lot of
talent, but very unsure of himself. That’s one of his biggest prob- lems,” said Scott, now coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I tried the best I could to install that in him. He told me, when I made a mistake in college, they took me out. I said, ‘Well you’re not in college. I’mnot going to take you out.Keep playing.’Sometimes, it’s hard forsomeguys to break out of that habit.” Armstrong said he takes full responsibility for his shortcom- ings thus far and would not dis- pute Scott’s claims. “I’ve been hearing that for so long. I know that’s a huge thing that’s holding me back,” he said. “I’m slowly getting out of that. I can feel myself improving with that confi- dence part.” Saunders hasn’t been com- plaining about what Armstrong brings to the floor, with his work ethic and knowledge of the game. “Hilton has been solid,” he said. “He graded better than any of our bigs, as far as being in position, help defense, sets some of the better screens, gets guys open. He’s not going to make mistakes. He’smoreathletic than you think, because he’s so big.He had a little bit of setback [with the shoulder], but he’s come out of camp and done pretty well.” Armstrong said he is thrilled to
be with a team that has confi- dence in him. “I love it.As soon as I got here, everybody welcomed me; laughs and jokes the first couple days,” he said. “I felt real comfortable, and as the year goes on, I know it’s going to get better and better. I just have to take as much advantage of it as possible.”
leem@washpost.com
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
“I love it.As soon as I got here, everybody welcomed me; laughs and jokes the first couple days,” saidHilton Armstrong, on the ground.
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST “Everyday, Coach [Flip Saunders] would tell me, ‘Don’t worry about anything, just play.We have confidence in you,’ ”Hilton Armstrong said.
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NFL to talk to Favre NFL Commissioner Roger
Goodell says a league official will meet with Brett Favre next week as part of an investigation into allegations the quarterback sent racy e-mails and lewd photos to a Jets game hostess in 2008 when he played forNewYork. Goodell made his comments
Saturday during a sideline inter- view with NBC at the Western Michigan-Notre Dame game. The commissioner said someone “from our staff” would meet with the Vikings quarterback. . . . The New York Giants have
signed place kicker Shayne Gra- hambecause of Lawrence Tynes’s ankle injury. Graham was the Baltimore Ravens’ final cut this season. . . . The Detroit Lions and tight
only from Comcast.
endTonySchefflerhave agreed to a three-year extension that in- cludesa$2million signing bonus. Scheffler has 24 receptions for 212 yards and a touchdown.
HOCKEY San Jose captain Joe Thornton
has signed a $21 million, three- year contract extension that will keep him with the Sharks through the 2013-14 season. The 31-year-old center has
scored more points than anyone else in the league since 2002-03.
COLLEGES Purdue senior forward Robbie Hummel will miss the upcoming basketball season after injuring his right knee again. The school said he tore his
anterior cruciate ligament in practice Saturday. He first in- jured the knee in February, knocking him out for the season and leading to surgery in March. . . .
Connecticut basketball Coach
Jim Calhoun was back at practice one day after spending more than 13 hours in front of the NCAA committee on infractions in Indi- anapolis to answer questions about eight major recruiting in- fractions by the program.
Calhoun declined to comment
on the hearing after the team’s first practice.
GOLF Rocco Mediate holed out with
a pitching wedge from 111 yards onthe par-5 15th hole for his third eagle of the week and finished with a4-under-par 67 to maintain a three-stroke lead in the
Frys.com Open in San Martin, Calif. The 47-year-old Mediate, look-
ing for his first PGA Tour victory in eight years, became the first player to make three eagles in a tournament since TigerWoods in the 1998 Sprint International. . . . In Danville, Calif., Michele
Redmanholed out from 126 yards for an eagleonthe par-4 18th hole for a4-under68anda share of the third-round lead in the CVS/ pharmacy LPGA Challenge with Spain’s Beatriz Recari and South Korea’s Ilhee Lee. . . . Pablo Martin of Spain shot a
9-under 63 to take a three-shot lead into the final round of the
Portugal Masters in Vilamoura. . Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark is tied for second after matching the course record with a 61.
MISC. Roger Federer defeated Novak
Djokovic, 7-5, 6-4, to set up a final against Andy Murray at the Shanghai Masters. Murray dis- patched Juan Monaco, 6-4, 6-1, in his semifinal. . . . Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm
remains on track to become the oldest player to win a WTA sin- gles title after beating Israel’s Shahar Peer, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, in the semifinals of the JapanWom- en’s Open. Date Krumm, who turned 40 last month, will play 33-year-old Tamarine Tanasug- arn of Thailand, who upset sec- ond-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, 6-2, 7-5. . . . LeBron James returned to
practice with the Miami Heat, reporting no problems with his ailing right hamstring. —From news services and staff reports
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