By Mark Simon
D3hoops.com
Devean George doesn’t know anything about Zen other than hearing Dennis Rodman mention it once or twice with the Chicago Bulls.
But George, the Augsburg star turned NBA first-round draft choice, showed that he was in perfect harmony with new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson.
In a workout held just prior to draft day, George impressed the ex-Bulls coach and Lakers general manager Jerry West with his deft shooting touch and all-around skills.
Jackson ran George through every element of the triangle offense that produced six NBA titles for the Bulls. One moment he was Scottie Pippen or Toni Kukoc, flashing to catch the pass and shooting off the dribble. The next, he was spotting up and taking the long jumper like Steve Kerr or John Paxson.
"I was all of them," George, the 23rd pick overall by the Lakers, said. "Even Luc Longley."
Wherever George went, so did his shots. Jackson, a basketball philosopher, whose book Sacred Hoops reveals a lot about his theories on coaching and life, came away very impressed. All of George’s curiosities about Jackson’s approach were satisfied.
"He is very relaxed," George said. "I can tell from watching him with the Bulls, when they’d be down by 10 and he’s just sitting with his legs crossed, whistling and saying ‘Run this.' "
The good news for George is that West, who certainly knows talent, has a history of finding skilled players in the draft. Witness the likes of second-round picks Nick Van Exel and Derek Fisher. The Lakers were confident enough to make George the first-ever Division III player to be a first-round pick.
"He's really not a secret," West said. "You don't hear that much about him, but he really impressed everyone with his play.
"He can make shots. A lot of teams liked him," West added. "He's a versatile player. He'll give us some size and some more ballhandling."
There also should be a lot of time to develop, considering he’ll only have to guard all-stars Glenn Rice and Kobe Bryant in practice.
That’s something he’s familiar with from his days at Augsburg, where he leaves as the school’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,258 points and second all-time rebounder with 868.
Not bad for a guy who came in undersized and as a point guard, at 6-foot-2 before shooting up to 6-7.
"I know it's a dream come true for Devean," said Augsburg coach Brian Ammann. "We talked about it a lot, how the dream (of playing in the NBA) wasn't there four years ago. We were just talking about him getting a degree. But then the dream started coming back. He took advantage of that and everybody's proud of him."