Brackins Looks To Add Punch To Sixers Lineup
In addition to basketball workouts, Sixers forward Craig Brackins has taken up boxing this off-season.
Brackins Looks To Add Punch To Sixers Lineup
Craig Brackins has dutifully been working on all aspects of his game - his handle, perimeter shooting, and his uppercut, just to name a few.
Entering his second year with the Sixers, Brackins has been a regular working out at the Sixers practice facility since the season ended. He's also taken up boxing, and we're not talking about rebound drills.
Twice a week, he goes to a gym in Philadelphia and puts on the boxing gloves to adminster and take a few hits. Yet he's not doing it to improve his stock as an enforcer. Brackins feels it helps his agility, among other things.
"It's good for hand-eye, footwork and peripheral vision because have to watch out for punches so it’s being aware, cautious," he said on Monday after he worked out at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "I think it can help on defense, understanding where your man is and where the help is coming from and being more aware."
Having punches thrown at you is bound to help awareness. Brackins is 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, but the question begged to be asked - has he been beaten up yet?
"No, not really," he said. "If I am messing up or if my hands are downhill he will swing a punch so its fun. It's all fun."
We can think of several thousand ways to have more fun than that, but it speaks to the commitment that Brackins has to make a greater impact.
As a rookie he appeared in just three games with the Sixers, but spent three stints totaling 18 games in the D-League where he averaged 20.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 37.6 minutes.
Brackins is working on getting stronger and looking for any extra edge. While he enjoyed being in the NBA, now his goal is to make a meaningful contribution. He feels his rookie season which only consisted of 33 NBA minutes was still a great learning experience.
"I am glad I went through it," he said. "I got my eyes opened to a lot of things."
One only hopes he won't get them closed by taking one too many left hooks in his boxing workouts. At the very least he has gained a great appreciation for the athletes who put on the gloves.
"I got a whole new perspective on what they have to do," he said about boxers.
And still, Brackins attends the workout, realizing he has a big fight for minutes and is willing to do what it takes to improve his standing on the Sixers.
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Let's hope this helps. He clearly needs to add strength and get leaner. The thing that was concerning about Brackins coming into the draft is that his numbers dropped dramatically from his sophomore to junior year in college. Not usually a good sign and makes you question his work ethic. Hopefully he can contribute this season.— Mattb
I have serious doubts that this guy will ever contribute. All he had to do was outplay Speights to get time and he could do that. There was no logjam at forward. The door was wide open for him to grab some minutes. Turner proved he deserved his minutes in the playoffs. What has Brackins done to make anyone think he should get some time.- U know what, I'm liking this guy more and more. He looks like he could provide some low post scoring. He has a handle and plays a little to much by the 3pt line but he is 6'10".
With that said, the 6ers should still bring in as many big men as possible. Let about 8-10 of these guys fight it out in the next year or two to find our new front court.
P.S. The center position is about to come back. Look at the prospects heading to the draft in the next 3 yrs. It would be a good idea to trade Iggy and Brand for a bag of nickles and tank.— Casin055 - We'll see how it works out, at least it shows his commitment to getting better for himself and the team, just sayin'...— DJ
- Oh Craig Brackins he's awesome! Give me a break with Craig Brackins already..can't turn chick ish into chicken salad..another bumb— Gregory1
- Hey internet tough guy. I bet you would never say that to his face. We all know who would be chicken ish then right!!! Give the guy a chance he was a rookie last year. — Rebulicans and Democrats suck!
- Boxing requires you to be in peak physical condition, so at least I know he's in shape, and has stamina.— BlackFeet01
- The late Phil Jasner loved Craig Brackins' game.— Romus
- I have to disagree with you on this one West phil. As much as i like collins, sometimes he makes suspect chess moves. Speights was awful this year true but he should have gotten more minutes coming off the bench prior to the playoffs. i would have given half of Hawes minutes to him. I can recall checking ESPN and hawes didn't make much of an impact 75% of the games which tells me we would have won even if you threw Speights in there.
Collins really couldn't expect every single player to be at his apex if dudes aren't getting the necessary time/reps in a game.
With all that being said, i think if the sixers can keep had then brackins makes a serious backup at the SF position(assuming iggy is gone). At 6"10, he'll just be abusive to smaller SF as long as he can stick with them defensively as well. He doesn't have enough weight/muscle to play the PF [IMO] and he'll get knocked around.
Look for him to make a surprise contribution to this team or another if he's dealt.— Mack of the Pack - Vil -hows it going? I think D C was committed to Speights to get the minutes to sink or swim so they could evaluate mo.Brackins and mo are
both decent shooters for big men facing the hoop.Speights showed what
he has and i think Brackins will get his chance this yr.And how about
these finals games.— HO HUM - gotta give him a shot. doug didn't have time to fix Young, Turner and Brand, while dialing back Lou and Iggy AND teach Brackins. maybe next year...— fillyfan
- It sounds like Craig Brackins is just as good as anyone else they can get at #16. He once scored 42 points against Kansas when he was at Iowa State. He was taken number 21 in the 2010. If the Sixers can't move up in this year's draft, then they need to rethink about going after the best big man and go after the best available player instead, regardless of position and trade Iguodala. He doesn't want to be here. Besides Jrue Holiday is the star of this team now; he's not willing to share the spotlight. Klay Thompson or Alec Burks anyone?— jojotr44
- @jojotr44: If you've been frequeting this site of late, you'd know that I'm sold on Thompson. Really think we should pick him up @ 16. This teams' needs are at the 2 & 5. There's no 5's in the draft really, so I believe we should look to another team and do all we can to pry a young center away, even if he's a project. If he's @ least 6'10 barefoot, and has big enough hands, I'd work with that.— BlackFeet01
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
