Sixers say they got their man - and they mean it

AFTER THURSDAY'S selection of Nikola Vucevic with the 16th pick, 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski came out and told the media that the 7-foot, 260-pounder who played three seasons at Southern California was the player the team had eyed all along. The Sixers had gotten the man they targeted.

Yada, yada, yada, right? That could be a sound bite for any team after any draft.

In reality, there was a lot of truth to what Stefanski said, as evidenced yesterday when the team introduced Vucevic and No. 50 pick Lavoy Allen to the media and when Doug Collins spoke after.

"I watched every offensive possession he had the whole year," Collins said. "I don't know how many there was, but I watched every time he caught the ball, and he presents a target. He catches it; you can cut off of him, he finds the open man; he passes well out of the double-team. He passed out lefthanded; he passed out righthanded; he turns and faces. If you step back, he can hit that shot. He has the ability to dribble and get a bump and still make that midrange shot. We think we're going to be better playing through the post this year, which is a plus."

Imagine just how much video Collins must have watched. Vucevic played in all 34 games for the Trojans and averaged nearly 35 minutes a game. Collins was so intrigued, he couldn't tear himself away from the screen.

The Sixers' interest in Vucevic began when Stefanski saw him December, then in February when he went for 25 points and 12 rebounds agains Derrick Williams and Arizona. Stefanski told Collins and president Rod Thorn that they might want to keep their eyes on this kid. Vucevic caught Collins' attention at the predraft workouts in Chicago while working out with Kentucky's Enes Kanter last month, then impressed during their interview. All that led to Vucevic holding up his No. 8 jersey for all to see.

"I saw him at the Chicago draft, and I watched him," Collins said. "He was actually working out with Kanter and that group of guys, and I just kept my eye on him. Afterwards, I went to get a bite to eat with Rod and Eddie, and I said, 'This is the kid I love.' Then we spoke to him, and he talked about his family's love of the game.

"I always ask young people, especially big guys, 'Did you choose the game or did the game choose you?' A lot of times with big guys, the game chooses them, because everybody says, 'You're big, so you should play basketball.' To me, with both Lavoy and Nik, they chose the game."

In Vucevic, the team hopes it has landed not only the player he is now - a solid rebounder and a good outside shooter with a high knowledge of the game - but also someone who can develop into so much more as he gains experience.

"He's still only 20," Collins said. "He's very skilled, but make no bones about it, he can play in the low post. I watched the game against Texas where he was playing against [forward] Tristan Thompson. He caught the ball in the low post. He jump-hooked. He can catch that ball. He can get you a big target. He's a good passer. He can do dribble handoff exchanges, which we like to do. He can roll out and shoot the ball."

Collins already is planning on how and when he can use Vucevic best with starting center Spencer Hawes, whom Thorn said he expects back next season, despite being a restricted free agent.

"If Nik goes in and Spencer goes out, it's not like you have to dramatically change what you're doing, because both those guys do similar things," Collins said. "We're going to work on his explosiveness. But he's got a 7-5 wingspan, 5 percent body fat and he's a hard, hard worker. We think, at the end of the day, he's going to be able to do what we need him to do. Plus, he likes contact. He'll put his body on you, and he'll bang you. We like that."

The Sixers also like Allen's chances of being a viable contributor.

"I told Lavoy, no one ever criticizes or critiques your game because you rebound and you defend," Collins said. "You're a good teammate. All people ever talk about is your low motor. That's all anybody ever talks about. So I said how do you process that? Do you feel that? Nobody is asking you to be a rah-rah guy, but to play this game at its highest level, you have to bring a substantial amount of energy every day. I think sometimes that gets lost with him. He is a very low-key guy. I think he averaged almost 12 rebounds a game his junior year at Temple. He doesn't have really a scorer's ego. But we worked him out, and he's got great hands and can catch the ball."

Allen's coach at Temple, Fran Dunphy, said: "He understands what he needs to do. He is a great deferrer. He can defer to anybody. He just wants to win. That's a nice characteristic about a guy like Lavoy Allen. It's never about him, it's about the team."

Nikola Vucevic will wear No. 8, while Lavoy Allen is set with No. 50, the spot he was taken in the draft . . . Though not invited to the green room at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Thursday night, Vucevic did sit in the audience with family members . . . Allen watched the draft alone, claiming he was too nervous to be around anyone . . . A day after the draft, Vegas Vic installed the Sixers at 50-1 to win the 2012 NBA championship. He has the Heat (2-1) as the favorite, followed by the Lakers (5-1) and Bulls (6-1). The defending-champion Mavericks are 8-1. The complete rundown is on Page 23. *

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