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By John DentonOct. 23, 2014
ORLANDO – Perched in the middle of Amway Center’s massive expanse early one morning, Kyle O’Quinn was contently alone – save for two managers to chase down loose balls – with just his thoughts and his steadily improving jump shot.
O’Quinn’s Orlando Magic teammates weren’t due to arrive for another hour for the shoot-around practice and fans wouldn’t pack inside the 18,000-plus seats at the arena for at least 9 more hours.
Still, there was O’Quinn, feeling as if he was in his personal sanctuary while stroking jump shot after jump shot and filling the dead air with swishing sounds and the occasional self-motivating pep talk. ``C’mon, Kyle!’’ he screamed out occasionally.
``I always say if you don’t cheer for yourself, who will? Nobody knows you better than you,’’ O’Quinn said of the rants he often directs at himself. ``Sometimes it’s funny to people when I talk to myself, but that’s the way that I get myself into the zone.’’
For O’Quinn, part of being in the zone is making sure that he always gets in extra work before practice, after practice or sometimes both. He calls his morning shooting sessions, ``my little secret,’’ but on this day O’Quinn planned ahead to have help with him as he got up hundreds of shots from various spots all over the Amway Center court. In games, he knows there will be defenders in his line of sight, fans screaming for or against him and coaches and cameras analyzing his every move. But when he gets to the gym early – something that is uncommon for most 24-year-olds in the NBA – O’Quinn can fix his focus on the task of improving his game.
``When I’m out there by myself, there are no opinions and nobody saying anything to me (about his form). It’s just the guys counting makes and picking me up,’’ O’Quinn said. ``I’m not big on shooting in front of a whole bunch of people because sometimes everybody has an opinion of, `hold your follow through’ or `you’re dipping your wrist.’ I think the best way for me is to get in early, be by myself and get the work done.’’
O’Quinn’s habit of putting in extra work the past two NBA seasons was partly born out of necessity, but it is also a learned behavior. He didn’t start playing basketball until his junior year of high school and he matriculated through college at tiny Norfolk State, meaning he had plenty of catching up to do when he got to the NBA as a long shot second-round pick.
O’Quinn said he was also fortunate to learn the league under the supervision of veteran point guard Jameer Nelson, a fixture of the Magic organization for 10 seasons prior to his release in July. Both loquacious and loud, Nelson and O’Quinn formed a fast friendship and Nelson made sure that the younger O’Quinn developed good habits. On the road, Nelson would often take O’Quinn to dinner for long chats, and in Orlando, he would have him over to his house for meals and chats with his family. Nelson even took O’Quinn shopping once as a rookie so that the 6-foot-10 center could buy a couple of suits so he could present himself in a professional manner.
Nelson, now the starter at point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, makes his first return to the Amway Center tonight since his mutually agreed-upon departure last summer. O’Quinn said instead of playfully talking trash or delivering a hard foul to the 6-foot Nelson he instead will make sure to embrace the person who has meant so much to his career.
``I’ll give him a big hug at half court out of respect. I’m really anxious to see him and my parents have been talking about Jameer because they knew how much he meant to me and helped me out,’’ O’Quinn gushed. ``Honestly, Jameer meant a little bit of everything to me, from teaching me how to handle different aspects of life to growing up. I’m really anxious to see him and it will be all respect for him.’’
The ever-prideful Nelson assuredly will be delighted with the way that O’Quinn has blossomed this preseason following another summer of hard work and plenty of early-morning shooting sessions. Whether he was in Orlando, Las Vegas or his native New York City, O’Quinn usually could be found in a gymnasium lifting weights, doing conditioning drills or getting up shots. Already a rugged rebounder and Orlando’s best shot-blocker, O’Quinn’s goal was to become a more instinctual and dangerous offensive player this season.
The result, so far through seven preseason games for the 4-3 Magic, is O’Quinn is averaging 9.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 blocked shots a game. It’s no shock that O’Quinn is shooting a solid 46 percent from the floor, but it is a surprise that he’s made three of his five 3-point shots, including two threes last Friday night against shocked Detroit Pistons big man Greg Monroe. Prior to this preseason, he had never made a 3-pointer in a NBA game.
The fact that O’Quinn has put in the sweat equity to expand his shooting range speaks to his massive improvement over the past two seasons, Jacque Vaughn said. O’Quinn has always been a favorite of the Magic head coach because of the big man’s willingness to work and his off-the-charts high IQ when it comes to basketball.
``He’s definitely improved tenfold,’’ raved Vaughn, who often relies on O’Quinn to be the team’s passer on big out of bounds plays. ``The game, like I’ve said a little bit, has slowed down for him. ``It’s still in the process of slowing down even more for him. But Kyle’s extremely fun to be around. He loves the game, even though he came to the game late. He’s great with his teammates, and it’s on both ends of the floor (that he helps out the Magic).’’
O’Quinn is so loved by his teammates that they simultaneously consider him the funniest person in the locker room and one of the team’s hardest workers on the court. Unlike teammates Tobias Harris and Maurice Harkless – two of O’Quinn’s closest friends on the Magic – he didn’t grow up playing AAU basketball as a teen and he wasn’t heavily recruited as a high school prospect, prompting him to find ways to thrive as a secondary player. Joked O’Quinn: ``I didn’t have a trophy case full of awards like a lot of these guys.’’
``My task on this team is to make other guys’ jobs easier,’’ O’Quinn continued. ``I wasn’t always the best player on my team and I always had to learn to fit in. I like to let those other guys do what they do well. I know that Mo likes to get on the rim and dunk, so if I can throw him a good pass, I’ve done my job. Or if I can get Tobias a screen and get him open, that’s good for us. If that makes them happy, that makes me happy.’’
O’Quinn makes Magic GM Rob Hennigan and Vaughn very happy because he has the versatility to play both the power forward and center positions. He started last Friday in the Magic’s big lineup against the Pistons and delivered with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. A night later against the Philadelphia 76ers, O’Quinn got the Magic back into the game with his hustle and against filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
``I look at (his versatility) as just trying to get on the court anyway that I can. The things that I bring are valuable to this team,’’ he said humbly. ``I’m not like (former Magic guard) J.J (Redick), who would come in and give us a three. I’m going to do a little bit of everything. If I’m lagging in an area and not shooting the ball well, I’m going to play good defense. I’m not limited to one thing and I try to do a lot of things pretty well.’’
O’Quinn started doing a lot of things pretty well late last season when Vaughn rewarded his improvement with 19 consecutive starts. It was then, O’Quinn admitted on Thursday, when he finally felt like he fully belonged in the NBA and could play basketball at this level for several years. That success motivated him to work harder than ever this offseason to get himself ready for what he knows is a very important season for himself and the young, but improving Magic.
``What makes this fun is that a lot of us on this team are young guys and we’re all on the path together,’’ O’Quinn said. ``Of course, everybody wants to succeed and separate themselves and get to the top. But this is especially fun because we’re doing it with other guys. It’s a big year for all of us because we’ve been through two years together, we have enough experience on the court and it’s time that we turn it around.
``Coach (Vaughn) trusts us young guys to get on the court and make big-boy plays. We’re ready for a big step and personally it’s a big step for me because I know where I have come from as a player,’’ O’Quinn continued. ``Now is not time to look back and reminisce on the bad times. It’s time to keep working and keep getting better.’’