Shaquille O'Neal

JAMES GREGG / ARIZONA DAILY STAR 2008

Related articles:

Emphasis on defense dominates scrimmage

Other articles by Bruce Pascoe:

UA recruiters look down the road Freshmen mean array of options Now that's a switch Like Fogg, Williams will come in unseen Cats gain one more of USC's recruits NY duo sure they can make it here It's not Rocket science: Chase faces challenge Hill goes No. 8 to Knicks Budinger traded to Houston RocketsHill chosen No. 8 overall by Knicks

Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION

The Suns wrap up a five-day stay in Tucson with an intrasquad scrimmage this afternoon and a final practice Saturday before returning to Phoenix. Here are five trends that became apparent during this week's workouts at McKale Center.

1. Shaq is back. Calling himself the still-reigning "emperor of big men," Shaquille O'Neal may or may not be ready to retire in two years, as speculation has suggested.

"You'll know when I'm gonna retire," Shaq said. "There's going to be parties and gifts at the end of the games."

Meanwhile, O'Neal reported to camp at a fit-and-trim 330 pounds (hey, it's Shaq we're talking about). Then he began getting himself and rookie center Robin Lopez into game shape.

"It gives you a lot of confidence playing against somebody that big every day in practice," Lopez said. "You know you're not going to face someone who knows as much about the game as he does."

Power forward Amare Stoudemire can relate.

"What I noticed about playing with Shaq last year was that he is a real center," Stoudemire said, "and I was not."

2. Amare's hard luck. Stoudemire entered the week questionable to play in today's scrimmage because of a sprained ankle, but made gradual progress by limiting himself in contact drills.

Then, when he tried to play in a full-court drill Wednesday night, he was poked in the eye.

Stoudemire initially appeared to recover, but woke up in pain during the middle of the night. He was sent Thursday to an eye specialist.

"Maybe we'll get him some goggles and he'll be the second-coming of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," coach Terry Porter said. "Who knows? You hate to see that. He was just starting to recover with the ankle."

The Suns definitely will be without guard Leandro Barbosa, who left the team Tuesday to be with his ill mother in Brazil. GM Steve Kerr said Thursday the team has been in touch with Barbosa, and told him to take whatever time he needs.

3. Who let him in the building? You really know the Suns won't be their offensively frenetic selves when a guy wearing a Washington State polo shirt was on the McKale Center floor.

His name: Dick Bennett.

The retired ex-Wazzu coach, whose defensive-minded Cougar teams represented almost the antithesis of Suns basketball, spent four days observing and advising Porter, whom Bennett coached at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

"I'm just going to hand him a set of observations — the attitude, general effort, just everything — and see where we're going defensively," Bennett said. "I would say the key thing would be that there needs to be some sense of urgency about this thing."

But Bennett's presence is more than about defense. Since he coached Porter in the early 1980s, Bennett said he and his wife have considered Porter "part of the family."

The feeling is mutual.

"I respect him not only as a basketball coach but also as a man," Porter said. "He's a very good source for me. We've talked many times about the game."

4. McKale memories don't fade. Six players in the Suns camp played collegiately in McKale Center: Matt Barnes (UCLA), Raja Bell (Florida International), Grant Hill (Duke), Robin Lopez (Stanford), Shaquille O'Neal (LSU) and Sean Singletary (Virginia).

Sometimes the memories are good, sometimes not.

Lopez won twice at McKale, including a controversial win last season when he barely blocked Chase Budinger's shot before the buzzer to preserve a 67-66 Stanford win. According to then-UA guard Jerryd Bayless, Stanford's Taj Finger fouled Budinger on the play.

"It was questionable whether there was a foul on that play," Lopez said, declining to add more detail. "I'll tell (Budinger) myself. I don't want to risk looking like a jerk."

Singletary, whose Cavaliers beat the UA three of four times during his UVA career, also had happy memories. He finished by handing the UA a 75-72 loss at McKale Center last season.

But Barnes didn't have it so good. He played on Steve Lavin-coached teams that never beat Arizona at McKale, finishing in 2001-02 by blowing a 20-point lead in the second half to the youthful Wildcats.

"Bitter," Barnes said of that memory, but added: "Definitely, this is a fun place to come play, because they always had so much talent."

5. It's (almost) all business. Despite their Westin La Paloma headquarters, the Suns have spent little time vacationing this week.

They've held twice-daily drills, with the full-contact stuff saved for the evening sessions, but they have also had to begin absorbing Porter's philosophy. Porter said the coaching staff has spent much of its time off the court discussing adjustments and personnel, too.

"It's really business," O'Neal said. "We have to focus on the new system. With the old system, training camp was probably set."

Still, Kerr said he was organizing a volleyball game at La Paloma on Thursday afternoon to give the players a break.