"I'm a hard worker."
That was Quincy Douby's first response when I asked him what he wanted the people of Erie to know about him.
In his first day with the Erie BayHawks on Wednesday, Douby showed it.
After a two-hour practice, the former Sacramento King shooting guard did some conditioning. With Erie assistant Ben McDonald instructing him, Douby ran the steps inside the Hammermill Center gym. Then ran from baseline to baseline a few times.
Then he did a few reps of running sideline to sideline. After reach rep, he took some jumps shots, rested for a few seconds and then ran again.
After all that, he made 10 free throws - in a row.
Having not worked out in two and half weeks, Douby wants to get back into the shape he was in while with the Kings.
McDonald said Douby told him he has been traveling so he hasn't been able to really work out in a gym. Making up for lost time, Douby put in some work Wednesday.
And McDonald, who demands quite a bit from the players, was impressed.
"I thought he was in pretty good shape. He did the little stuff at the end and it didn't seem as if he was dying. He was going fresh. Some of our guys, they couldn't look that quick. I thought he did a good job there. He's a professional. He knows the level of conditioning to play this game."
On Friday, Erie will get its first look at Douby in game action when the BayHawks play a key Central Division game against Dakota at Tullio Arena. Here are three things to look out for when watching him play.
1. At 6-foot-3, Douby can play both the point and shooting guard, but he's really a scorer. I saw him put up 35 as a freshman in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden. So if the Brooklyn native plays up to his potential, how will Erie coach John Treloar rework the rotation?
Since Oliver Lafayette has been out with the injury, Treloar has had a three-man guard rotation with Tony Bethel and Maureece Rice starting and Cliff Clinkscales coming off the bench. Will Treloar extend the guard rotation to four and if he doesn't, who will get the short end of it.
It's hard to sit Clinkscales down because he's the team's only true point guard. Rice was just named the league's co-performer of the week, but Bethel has been coming into his own.
Although he comes off the bench, Clinkscales likely has firm grip on playing time.
2. In winning 11 of their last 12 games, the BayHawks have developed great team chemistry. People know where to get their shot and how to set each other up. Guys enjoy playing with each other and for each other. They take pride in defense.
Now they bring in someone who has talent, but will Douby be able to mesh with the guys this late in the season? The BayHawks only have 11 regular-season games remaining.
Will he play too unselfish to fit in and not look for his shot? Will he want to show NBA teams he can still play, look to score more and take others out of their offense?
Will he buckle down and play the type of the defense the BayHawks pride themselves upon?
In talking with Douby Wednesday, he was open about wanting to get back in the NBA and isn't looking past the thought of getting an NBA call up before the season ends.
Remember, he hasn't played consistent minutes in the NBA and will likely get that chance with the BayHawks and show he belongs in the 'league.'
Douby told me, "I'm going to do what I do." Is that scoring? Is that creating for others? Is it putting on a show? Whatever it is, if it meshes with the team, great. If it doesn't, it'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
How will Erie coach John Treloar utilize Douby?
3. Having played in the NBA, Douby went through his share of ups and downs. Had some good games. Had some bad ones. But this is someone who was under the radar coming into college and made a name for himself to become an NBA first-round draft pick in 2006.
Now he in the D-League. A place he never figured he'd be. Although he's only 24, Douby has reached an early crossroads in his career.
He can either come out and prove himself worthy of another NBA opportunity or sulk about being in the D-League and not come out fully motivated.
Let's face it. The D-League is a good league, but everyone in it wants to be in the NBA.
Douby was just there and is no longer there. That has to do something to one's mental state.
So it's going to be interesting to see how he plays. The BayHawks are in playoff mode and he could help them do some serious damage in the playoffs.
That may be the extra motivation he needs to help himself get through those nights when he's sleeping in the Avalon Hotel knowing he could be getting ready to for an NBA game before a sellout crowd of 18,000 to 22,000 people.
So if you're eagerly anticipating what Quincy Douby will do Friday, you're not the only one, but I'm more interested to see what happens after Friday night.
