The Province and other Media Coverage Rob in the Draft

[ZagNative]

I liked this story from The Province by Rob's old pal Howard Tsumura:

ven after a four-and-a-half-hour ordeal in which he heard the names of 59 others called before him, North Vancouver’s Robert Sacre was his inimitable self when he picked up the phone early Friday morning at a family gathering in Louisiana.

“The best for last,” Sacre said without effort. “That is what I was expecting.”

If that is any indication of his calm under pressure, Sacre is going to carve out a nice NBA career for himself.

acre had auditioned or interviewed with 15 teams during a marathon session of pre-draft workouts, but the Lakers were not one of them.

So when they called his name, it’s no stretch to say he was shocked.

“Nothing,” he said when asked of any prior contact with the Western Conference powerhouse. “I had no knowledge.”

“I am so excited to be a part of a program like that,” said Sacre, “a prestigious team. Whatever I need to do to help my team, that’s what I need to do.”

Sacre’s next order of duty will be to play with the Lakers rookies in the NBA Summer League, which begins on July 9, following in the footsteps of another Canadian, Toronto Raptors executive Jay Triano, who himself was picked in the eighth round of the 1981 draft by the Lakers.

Sacre didn’t have to think too long about what he’d like to make happen with the Lakers.

“I would love to help Kobe get another ring and help make him the greatest ever,” Sacre said, when asked how much he was looking forward to coming out and setting a nice, hard screen for superstar guard Kobe Bryant.

Other than that, wasn’t it just another night on the couch with family and friends?

“We were all watching [the draft], but I could feel the room starting to go down a bit,” Sacre said as the marathon evening neared an end. “I was expecting everybody trying to pick me up, but once I heard my name get called, it just blew up in the room.”

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/dr...#ixzz1zA12asDr

[ZagNative]

SI story ... not much about Rob but a lot about the offseason for the Lakers.

Sacre is a 7-foot Canadian who was the West Coast Conference's defensive player of the year. He made his second straight all-league first team last season, averaging 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots.

"First thing I thought of was, best for last,'' Sacre said of being the NBA's Mr. Irrelevant. "I was selected to go to one of the greatest teams in NBA history.''

Sacre also didn't work out for the Lakers because he couldn't accommodate their late request for a tryout this week: "It was kind of ironic. They knew what they wanted, I guess. I'm fortunate.''

Sacre is friendly with Ronny Turiaf, another former Gonzaga big man and Lakers draft choice. He envisions himself as a defensive stopper and a backup for Gasol and Andrew Bynum, calling them "the greatest two big men'' and "a combo punch.''

Although Kupchak was pleased with his prospects, draft day hasn't been particularly important for several years to a salary cap-pushing franchise that once drafted everybody from Elgin Baylor to Derek Fisher.

The Lakers haven't even made a first-round pick since 2009, when they immediately traded Toney Douglas to New York, and they haven't drafted a regular starter since picking the 17-year-old Bynum in 2005.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1zA44haeP

[ZagNative]

Really funny video of one fan's reaction to the Sacre draft.

[Bogozags]

Great gets ZN...THANKS!

[ZagNative]

Seen in my travels on the net tonight:

[ZagNative]

Jim Meehan:

I had a few minutes on the phone with Sacre, who watched the draft at his home away from home in Ville Platte, La., where he spent a lot of time as a youngster visiting relatives during summer months. Sacre had to leave the noisy room so he could hear questions on his cell phone.

Sacre was completely surprised when the Lakers' selection was announced. He thrilled to be going to a franchise on the West Coast and he's quite familiar with Los Angeles from GU's annual visits to play LMU and Pepperdine.

“The great thing about it being the Lakers,” Sacre said, “is I get to watch my Zags play twice.”

And from his linked story:

Surrounded by family in Ville Platte, La., former Gonzaga Bulldog Robert Sacre was trying to get 9-month-old son Quinton to sleep when Sacre’s name popped up on the TV screen as the last pick of the two-round NBA draft Thursday night.

“I had my son in my arms and everyone screamed and my son just jumped,” Sacre said in a phone interview. “It’s great to be part of something like that, especially being with my family at the time.”

Sacre was selected 60th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. The 7-foot, 260-pound center from North Vancouver, B.C., worked out for 15 NBA teams but not the Lakers. He didn’t hear from the Lakers prior to the team’s selection.

“So I found out when everybody else did,” Sacre said. “It feels pretty damn good. It makes it even crazier that I didn’t work out for the Lakers. Just to part of a franchise like that is unbelievable.”

Sacre is the first Bulldog drafted since Austin Daye went to Detroit in the first round in 2009. He becomes the fifth Zag drafted by the Lakers’ franchise – Ronny Turiaf (2005), Paul Rogers (1997), Frank Burgess (1961) and Jean Claude Lefebvre (1960).

Sacre averaged 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds and blocked 47 shots as a senior. He was named the West Coast Conference defensive player of the year. Sacre’s rebounding averages increased every season. His highest scoring average was 12.4 points per game as a junior.

He was awaiting a phone call from the Lakers to learn details of his summer schedule.

[ZagNative]

Lakers Blog cover story:



And there's a great audio of Rob in a conference call with LA media. Repping the Zags well, as usual, giving props to Coach Daniels for his help with his defense.

Toward the end of KUPchak's video interview linked in the story he has some nice things to say about the Zags program and staff.

[ZagMan in Philly]

Really funny video of one fan's reaction to the Sacre draft.

Thanks ZN for your great work.

[gu03alum]

Video of Rob being drafted

SBNation's Mr. Irrelevant

[Baldwinzag]

Congratulations to Big Rob -- much deserved.

An exciting opportunity awaits him!

Unbelievably tough/hard-pressed to get picked amongst the Top-60 nowadays, especially with the International presence, global prospects, and basketball picking up popularity everywhere with everyone.

For instance, here's a short list of very good players who went UNDRAFTED this year:

-- New Mexico's Drew Gordon
-- Xavier's Tu Holloway
-- Alabama's JaMychal Green
-- Alabama's Tony Mitchell
-- Georgetown's Hollis Thompson
-- Georgetown's Henry Sims
-- Cinncinati's Yancy Gates
-- Long Beach State's Casper Ware
-- Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor
-- Ohio State's William Buford
-- Texas' J'Covan Brown
-- West Virginia's Kevin Jones
-- Iona's Scott Machado

The above list were ALL dominating players at the college level, several of them averaged double-doubles, 20+ ppg, 10 apg, Conference POY's, etc etc.

Huge honor to be drafted. Anywhere.

Fwiw, last year's "Mr. Irrelevant" started every game last season for the Sacramento Kings.

[rijman]

Congrats to Sacre. Regarding this Sacre quote, “The great thing about it being the Lakers,” Sacre said, “is I get to watch my Zags play twice.” Only twice in the LA games? When Ronny was with the Lakers he also went down to San Diego to see the Zags play at USD.

[gamagin]

Nice find, gray's - THANKS

Great Yahoo article on Sacre.
Love the last paragraph:

This information makes me really excited for Rob becoming an inside stopper, or obstruction, for LA. I believe he could change the other team's shots enough to make a good living. And that is what they are looking for. win-win.