Bynum cites Roach for improved play

MANILA, Philippines - Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum paid tribute to trainer Freddie Roach for his improved hand-eye coordination, balance and footwork that he hopes to show off in starting for the West at the NBA’s 61st All-Star Game in Orlando on Feb. 26.

Bynum spoke to 10 journalists from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, Korea and the Philippines in a conference call from Los Angeles arranged by NBA Asia director for business development and marketing partnerships and Philippine country manager Carlo Singson and NBA Asia director for marketing communications Sheila Rasu last Thursday. The only Philippine participants were The Philippine STAR, philstar.com and Solar. Bynum was on the line for 30 minutes. Asked about his offseason training regimen, Bynum said he worked out with Roach and conditioning coach Alex Ariza at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood last July then hit the gym with trainer Sean Zarzana in Atlanta before polishing his basketball skills with Lakers assistant coach and former PBA import Darvin Ham.

“I was definitely working out, boxing with Al Ariza and Freddie Roach,” said Bynum who polled 1,051,945 votes from fans in claiming the West starting center job over DeAndre Jordan, Marc Gasol, Nene, Marcin Gortat and Kendrick Perkins. “They got my balance and footwork up a bit. Then I went down and trained with my regular trainer in Atlanta. We just hit the track, the weights, the stairs and just kind of got me nice and lean. When I got back home, I started in the basketball gym to improve base and balance. It’s just a lot more basketball-oriented, quick foot stuff that got me playing a little bit better. Then, obviously, the (Lakers) system changed (with new head coach Mike Brown). I’m getting a lot of minutes on the floor now so I’m able to be a lot more productive.”

Bynum, 24, is averaging a career-high 16.3 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.03 blocked shots and 34.8 minutes this season. He’s shooting .548 from the floor and .585 from the line. Last campaign, the 7-foot center averaged 27.8 minutes. Bynum was the youngest player ever drafted in the NBA and is in the record books as the youngest ever to play in a game at 18 years, six days with the Lakers in 2005. Kobe Bryant made his NBA debut at 18 years, 72 days, Tracy McGrady, 18 years, 160 days and LeBron James, 18 years, 303 days.

Bynum said he learned a lot from Roach and Ariza, citing intangibles like footwork and work ethic. Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register said Roach “remade” Bynum’s 285-pound body. “He upgraded in trainers from Roger Mayweather to Roach,” wrote Ding. “He lost 10 pounds to take a load off his knees while losing more body fat than Kevin Durant even carries. He strengthened his core and the muscles all around the knees. He ditched all the insecurities over sub-par conditioning and poor lateral movement that led him to rush things and get out of sync with the team. He focused on developing quicker moves, drop steps, spin moves, one-dribble jump hooks, even the Dream Shake and locked in on free throws.”

Roach supervised Bynum’s roadwork in the morning and gym sessions in the afternoon. “His footwork is unbelievable actually,” said Roach quoted by Jason Lewis of the Los Angeles Sentinel. “He knows exactly how to use his feet. He’s such a professional, he knows if you’re a left hander or right hander because that’s part of his job. So it works in boxing and it will work well on the court. The thing is that when you’re fighting a right-handed fighter, you’re attacking the front foot. When you’re fighting a southpaw, you’re still attacking the front foot. It’s the same in basketball. You’re always attacking the lead foot because that’s the foot that they’re going to go off on.”

In the conference call, Bynum said his balance got a boost from boxing. “It was fun and I enjoyed the heck out of it,” he said. “Boxing is definitely a great workout. It’s actually one of the (best) workouts I’ve ever done in my life. Just the way you train, the way you have your hands up all the time, it’s great. It’s a great stress relief, going to hit the mitts, hit the bag.”

Bynum admitted he’s a huge Manny Pacquiao fan. “I hope he gets that fight with (Floyd) Mayweather,” he added. “It would be so so great, so great.” Regarding New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, Bynum said he, too, has sat up and taken notice. “He’s playing phenomenal basketball at the moment,” he said. “He’s still got a lot to prove but he’s definitely become a celebrity overnight. I wish him the best and hope everything keeps going up and up and up for him. It’s great to have especially a Chinese face in the NBA because it will look good and I know a lot of Chinese and Asian fans, they appreciate basketball. So to have somebody that dominates in the game, always makes you feel better.”