CULVER CITY ””mdash; Slam dunks, reverse layups and
alley-oops.
These were things redshirt sophomore forward Josh Shipp was
unable to do last season while recovering from reconstructive right
hip surgery.
But on Sunday, while playing for Hank’s CTS of the Nike
SayNo Summer ProCity League, all of Shipp’s abilities were on
full display.
Whether it was throwing down a dunk on a fast break or making an
acrobatic reverse layup, Shipp certainly seems to have recovered
from the injury that kept him out of all but four games last
season.
“I’m definitely feeling fine now,” Shipp said.
“I have been doing individual workouts all spring, but this
league is the first time … I have actually been up and down the
court playing organized basketball. It’s great to just be
back out (on the court).”
Shipp, who is playing with fellow Bruin Alfred Aboya and Oregon
State forward Marcel Jones on Hanks’ CTS, scored 10 points on
4-of-6 shooting on Sunday and has made great strides during the
summer SayNo league, according to his coach, Thaddeus McGrew.
“He started out the summer kind of slow, but he is back to
his potential now,” said McGrew, an AAU coach who has known
Shipp since the athlete was 12 years old.
“He is getting up quicker down the court, which is great
because he has such an innate ability to play the game,”
McGrew said.
Shipp himself is approaching the summer league as a chance both
to improve his game as well as simply getting used to playing
without his injury again.
Shipp realizes that with All-Pac-10 guard Jordan Farmar now
departed to the NBA, all the returning Bruins, including himself,
are going to have to increase their level of play.
“It’s a big loss, definitely,” Shipp said.
“But we have a more than capable replacement in Darren
Collison, and it’s an opportunity for everyone else to
improve their play.”
Matched up Sunday against fellow Bruin Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
of SayNo’s Sinclair’s Bruins, Shipp showed he is ready
to step up to the challenge, as he repeatedly took Mbah a Moute to
the basket and finished the drives with surprising athleticism.
On one play, Shipp hesitated, froze Mbah a Moute, and drove
right by him for a thunderous dunk.
“It was awesome to see him do that,” said Aboya,
Shipp’s teammate. “It’s just great to have him
back out there playing with us.”
After finishing the SayNo League in early August, Shipp plans to
go back to working out individually to get stronger and back into
game shape.
After not playing competitively for over six months, it took
Shipp some extra time to get into playing shape this summer, and he
said he does not want to have that lapse once the regular season
begins.
“That will be my biggest focus,” Shipp said.
“I want to make sure I’m fully ready to compete once
practice begins in fall.”
On Sunday, it certainly looked like Shipp was off on the right
foot.