"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."
