New centerpiece
SEATTLE – Mouhamed Sene is still working on his English, but any concerns about whether the Seattle SuperSonics’ 20-year-old rookie center was apprehensive about opening night were clear.
“I’m not nervous,” Sene said Tuesday. “I’m chill man.”
The SuperSonics begin their 40th season in Seattle tonight against Portland, with new, Oklahoma-based ownership, a tenuous future in the Pacific Northwest, and an unproven center from Senegal making his debut in the starting lineup.
The Professional Basketball Club LLC took ownership of the Sonics on Tuesday when the purchase from the Basketball Club of Seattle closed. The ownership group is made up of eight Oklahoma City businessman, headed by Clay Bennett.
At a team luncheon on Monday, Bennett was ready for the season to start.
“It’s time to think about this team and this season,” Bennett said. “I’m glad it’s finally here. I just have a good feeling about how this is getting started.”
Bennett’s stated goal is keeping the Sonics in Seattle, but has tied that future to finding a replacement for KeyArena in its current state. Bennett’s preference is a new arena complex, most likely in the eastern suburb of Bellevue. The Sonics lease at KeyArena runs through the 2010 season.
“We’re beginning to develop ideas and opinions on how we will frame up the issue. But my experience so far has been very positive, very positive – and energizing. I continue to remain encouraged and optimistic,” Bennett said.
The new owner will be at tonight’s opener, and he’ll see the Sonics’ first-round pick in this year’s draft make his first NBA start. Sene was taken with the No. 10 pick, based mostly off his 7-foot-9 wingspan and the raw skills he showed playing professionally in Belgium.
But no one expected Sene to be the Sonics’ opening night starter, especially coach Bob Hill.
“If you had told me Mouhamed Sene would be our starting center on opening day, I would have bet you everything I’ve got that he wouldn’t,” Hill said. “He’s come in here, he’s impressed us and he’s better than we thought.”
Sene’s starting is a result of third-year center Robert Swift tearing the ACL in his right knee in the Sonics’ next-to-last preseason game. Swift won the starting job in training camp, but will miss the entire season. Johan Petro will be Sene’s backup and Hill said the first five or six minutes will determine how much Sene plays.
“If he does well, he’ll be in there longer,” Hill said. “If he doesn’t, Johan will be in there.”
During a meeting in the morning, Sene told Hill his biggest worry was screwing up on offense. Hill said he’ll work to not put Sene in those situations.
On defense, Sene’s shotblocking ability is an added element to the Sonics and he’ll be matched up with Joel Przybilla. Hill didn’t have any concerns about Sene’s defense and his teammates know they’ll need to help him get into the flow of the game.
“In his mind when he starts the game, he’s going to be thinking about 15 million things, the crowd, the opponent. … His mind is going to be flooded with so many different things,” Allen said. “What we’ve got to do is simplify it for him so he can settle in and get as comfortable as he can.”