Headed for the bus back to the hotel after the first of two practices on Day 1 of Washington Wizards training camp, Antawn Jamison hardly look burdened by Flip Saunders‘ legendary 250-page playbook. But the iPod Touch hanging around his neck contained far more than just a music and video collection.
Instead, it was proof that the days of lugging around a 20-pound binder are over — how many big-time athletes ever embraced a book bag in the first place — having given way to the Wizards’ embrace of the latest technology. Saunders has given each of his players their own personalized iPod — loaded with the team’s encyclopedia of offensive and defensive options, in both video and diagram form.
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But that’s just the beginning.
“They got the schedule from what we’re going to do in March, as far as what time we’re leaving, the bus, shootaround,” said Jamison. “Those are the things that, to me, make a difference. There’s no excuse why you don’t know the plays. You can listen to your music and look at the plays. They got video of each and every play. We all know how much this world is run by technology and things of that nature. Why not incorporate it with what we do for a living, basketball.”
The players are expected to have their iPods at all times, as they’ll be updated frequently throughout the season, perhaps with plans for a specific opponent or changes to the team’s itinerary during road trip.
They also can be used to keep tabs on the players’ study habits, with special messages inserted that are revealed only when players open certain videos or diagrams.
Jamison said he spent some of Monday night bouncing between the NFL game between the Cowboys and Panthers on television and the iPod playbook — which may not be as physically taxing but remains just as mentally challenging — in his hand.
“We have a lot to learn,” said Jamison. “It’s like an NFL playbook. It goes on for days.”
