But it was not a trip to the White House that brought Oliver to the nation’s capital on Tuesday. Instead he worked out for the Washington Wizards, along with other pro hopefuls, two days before the NBA draft.
“I was thinking about sending out a tweet to see if he might be down here,” Oliver said, with a smile, after a workout of about one hour at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, a few blocks from the White House.
But the trip was all business for 6-foot-7 forward, who worked out for the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and then arrived at his hotel around 2:30 a.m. here Tuesday before taking to the practice court around 1 p.m. Tuesday in Washington.
Those on hand were Washington Wizards’ president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Randy Wittman, a former star at Indiana University.
Oliver is one of several Atlantic 10 Conference products who worked out for the Wizards on Tuesday. The others included Isaiah Armwood and Maurice Creek of George Washington, Halil Kanacevic of Saint Joseph’s and Chaz Williams of UMass.
“It was a good workout. It was a good group of guys,” said Oliver, wearing a red, white and blue practice jersey of the Wizards with a white towel draped around his neck. “It was up and down. We got a chance to run a little bit, which was good. It was a really good workout.”
“During the season you want to kill those guys (on the court). We are all ambassadors for the Atlantic 10 now. It is good to see those guys get the opportunity,” he added, referring to the conference connections.
Oliver worked out in the second of two sessions with Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati, Talib Zanna of Pittsburgh, Kanacevic, Armwood and Creek. “He is a great player. He is very athletic,” Creek said of Oliver.
Williams, the quick point guard, was also impressed with Oliver. “He is pretty good. He is a mismatch nightmare,” Williams said.
Oliver, a lefty shooter, started all 37 games this past season and averaged 29.9 minutes, 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest as the Flyers won three games in the NCAA tournament before losing to Florida.
Oliver has also done pre-draft workouts for the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics. While in Boston he was able to catch up with former Dayton teammates Chris Johnson, who is on the Celtics’ roster, and Josh Parker, who was being looked at by the Celtics after playing in Germany. “I talked to him a lot” about basketball in Europe, Oliver said of Parker. “It was really good to see those guys.”
The Dayton graduate added that former Butler coach Brad Stevens, now the head coach in Boston, recruited him when he was in high school in Kalamazoo, Mich.
After the workout with the Wizards, Oliver was to catch a flight to Chicago on Tuesday as he headed back home to Michigan, where he will watch the draft with a few family and friends.
“They showed the country in this last playoffs (they have) a very strong core,” Oliver said of the Wizards. “They have a lot of upside. They can only go up from here.”
Even if he is not selected there is the shot of being signed as a free agent by an NBA team and playing in the summer leagues. If Oliver does not garner a roster spot for the 2014-15 season he is open to heading overseas, perhaps Europe, to play as a pro.
He admits it is “unlikely” he will be drafted.
“The first option is to try and get in the NBA and maybe stick in the D-League if there is a chance of me moving up,” he said. “But if not, head overseas and see the world. There is good basketball overseas. There are other ways to get to the league if you are not drafted.
This contributing writer can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com
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