Dominic McGuire News

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Ed Tapscott's previous game as a head coach came in 1993 with his daughter's youth league team.

Ed Tapscott may have coached in only one NBA game, but the man has been around the league long enough to know that he can't expect Andray Blatche to give him 25 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks every night.

Blatche, the inconsistent fourth-year forward whose work ethic and decision making have been a constant source of bewilderment since the Wizards selected him in the second round of the 2005 draft out of prep school, posted those numbers in Tuesday's 124-100 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Nice of you to finally start playing, Andray Blatche . That's what I'd be thinking if I were deposed Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, anyway, after the tame but talented big man suddenly decided to turn into Karl ...

Ed Tapscott's previous game as a head coach came in 1993 with his daughter's youth league team.

His team rife with injuries, underachieving veterans and young players learning on the fly, Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was fired Monday after five-plus seasons with the team.

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 5 -- There were all kinds of goofy statistical nuggets attached to the Wizards' 112-104 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, but the only one that really matters is this: 0-3.

That is Washington's record and while it is still early in the NBA season, there is no question that the Wizards are searching for answers.

The main culprits Wednesday night were sloppy play (the Bucks scored 35 points off of 20 Washington turnovers), missed free throws (the Wizards made 34 of 51 attempts from the line) and an inability to make plays in overtime when the Bucks outscored the Wizards 14-6.

As usual, Oleksiy Pecherov was one of the last players to leave the practice court yesterday afternoon. The difference was that for the first time since the preseason, Pecherov's extra effort could result in a chance to play.

After making the second-year forward inactive for the first two games of the regular season, Coach Eddie Jordan indicated following yesterday's practice that Pecherov may suit up tomorrow night when the Wizards (0-2) play at Milwaukee.

Teams are allowed to carry a maximum of 15 players, but only 12 can dress for games. Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are injured and count on the inactive list so Jordan has to pick one other player to sit each night.

The Wizards will carry an 0-2 record into Wednesday night's game at Milwaukee, but the team did some positive things during Saturday's highly entertaining 117-109 loss at Detroit, and Coach Eddie Jordan hopes those positives will lead to victories soon.

Jordan was particularly encouraged by the way his team performed in the second quarter. Thanks in large part to a smaller lineup that included Darius Songaila at center, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler at forward, and Nick Young and Juan Dixon at guard, the Wizards had a 16-0 run and found a groove that had been lacking throughout most of the preseason and in their season-opening loss to New Jersey.

Practice had just finished on Monday, but Dee Brown, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Oleksiy Pecherov and JaVale McGee remained on the court going over plays under the watchful eyes of Coach Eddie Jordan and his assistants.

The five players worked on spacing, cutting and setting screens with no defense on the floor to oppose them. But the time will come, perhaps as soon as tonight when the Wizards open the regular season against the New Jersey Nets at Verizon Center, when the team's young players will be counted on to perform in critical situations against real, live NBA opponents.

Age : 26 Ht., Wt.: 6-4, 215 College: Arizona How acquired: Signed as a free agent in August 2003.

The Wizards were in their locker room after Friday night's preseason-closing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Columbus, Ohio, when all-star forward and co-captain Caron Butler delivered a message to a group of his teammates.

"All right y'all, get your rest tomorrow and come in Sunday ready to go at it," Butler said. "Let's be ready to do what we gotta do."

Second-year forward Dominic McGuire, whom the Wizards are counting on to make major strides this season, heard the message and nodded in agreement before heading to the team bus.

In the last few months, we've looked at the upcoming season from several different angles.

Hide Video The Pistons improve to 3-0 in the preseason under new coach Michael Curry by beating the Washington Wizards 73-62 tonight .

Heading into Friday night's intrasquad scrimmage, coach Eddie Jordan said the main thing he wanted the Washington Wizards to come away with on the last day of training camp was a healthy roster.

RICHMOND, Sept. 30 -- The Washington Wizards' roster includes three players who are listed as seven-footers and several more who range from 6 feet 9 to 6 feet 11.

What makes the situation interesting is that only the 7-0 Brendan Haywood and 6-10 Etan Thomas can be labeled as traditional centers.

The others, a mix that includes 6-9 all-star Antawn Jamison, 6-9 Darius Songaila, 6-11 Andray Blatche, 7-0 Oleksiy Pecherov and 7-0 rookie JaVale McGee, are versatile big men who can play multiple positions.

RICHMOND, Oct. 1 -- The skills that made DerMarr Johnson a star high school player in Silver Spring and later led the Atlanta Hawks to select him with the sixth overall pick of the 2000 NBA draft were on full display Wednesday during Wizards training camp practice.

At different points during the highly competitive practice, Johnson deflected a Juan Dixon pass into the air, retrieved it and raced the other way for a breakaway dunk, slashed to the basket for a smooth, finger-roll layup and drained jump shots on consecutive possessions.

That headline seemed to go with the spirit of the day. ATLANTA HAWKS Record: 37-45, 3rd in Southeast Division, 8th in Eastern Conference Statistical Comparisons Notable: 4th in blocks Others: 15th in the league ...

RICHMOND, Sept. 29 -- When the Washington Wizards got off to a slow start last season, dropping their first five games while struggling offensively, Coach Eddie Jordan theorized that the overwhelming emphasis he and his staff placed on defense during the preseason was a factor.

This week, as the Wizards lay a foundation for the upcoming season, Jordan is striking more of a balance between offense and defense.

"We're into the offense," Jordan said Monday after his team completed its third practice of camp. "It's not like we've had two or three practices and it's been 80 percent defense and 20 percent offense. It's been about 60/40 because the system is in defensively for the second year. As long as they give effort and they remember our scheme, then we're ahead of last year."

RICHMOND, Sept. 28 -- As much as Dominic McGuire wants to earn a spot in the Washington Wizards' rotation this season for his own reasons, the second-year forward received an added dose of motivation in August when he became a father for the first time.

'I have that hunger, but I also have mouths to feed now that I have my son,' McGuire joked following Sunday's practice at Virginia Commonwealth University. 'That's a big reason, too. But it's also just being a professional. I don't want to just be in this league for a little bit. I want to be in this league 15 years.'