The Philadelphia 76ers held an open practice at the Palestra on Monday afternoon before a crowd of 5,000 raucous supporters. The open practice was an opportunity for the public to see the team's new head coach and offseason acquisitions.
Longtime assistant Randy Ayers succeeded Larry Brown as head coach during the offseason. Ayers was particularly happy to have the open practice in the fabled Penn gymnasium.
"It's great to be back here," said Ayers of the hallowed arena. "I came over to watch [Penn] coach [Fran] Dunphy and his team practice earlier this summer. It's always nice because of the history of this building to come inside. I hope the young guys appreciate the building, with all the new buildings around the country.
"I hope they appreciate the old as well."
Second-round draft pick Kyle Korver delighted the crowd with his long-range prowess, sinking a number of shots from behind the three-point arc. The 6'7" forward, traded from the Nets to the Sixers in a draft-day deal, holds the Creighton and Missouri Valley Conference record with 371 career three-pointers. It is also good for a sixth-place tie in the NCAA record books.
During one stretch in Monday's scrimmage, Korver blocked a Marc Jackson shot attempt, ran the ball down the court and converted a lay-up.
When Korver was substituted for, he received a large round of applause from the boisterous Sixers faithful.
"I felt pretty good out there tonight," Korver said. "I'm still not where I want to be, but I feel better out there every day."
Despite his cool court demeanor, Korver admitted trepidation at the crowd's size.
"There were a lot of games at Creighton where we wouldn't get 6,000 people," he said, "so to have that at practice is kind of crazy."
Following the 40-minute scrimmage, rookies Korver and fellow first-year guard Willie Green took center court and introduced the team.
Injury-plagued center Todd McCullough received a hearty round of cheers. So did team co-captain and point guard Eric Snow, fresh off a four-year contract extension. But the most resounding applause of the day was reserved for star guard Allen Iverson.
After the team was introduced, five young supporters were chosen to address questions to the Sixers of their choice. When one of the diminutive fans asked Iverson how the Sixers would fare in 2003-04 season, the perennial All-Star did not disappoint the devotees in attendance.
"I think we're going to win a championship," Iverson responded, prompting a deafening uproar.
After practice, Iverson acknowledged the size of the crowd, and how meaningful it was.
"It shows tonight how much they care about basketball," he said. "And how much they support us."
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