Former OU men's Basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, wrapping up his first season as an NBA assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, said Saturday that he is happy with life in the NBA and seeks to stay in pro Basketball.
"It's been an adjustment. But I love Basketball and I love coaching. And that's what you get to do in the NBA," Sampson said before the Thunder played the Bucks at the Bradley Center. "I'm with great people, John Hammond our general manager and (coach) Scott Skiles. So we have a great staff, great people. "We've been hurt a lot with injuries with Michael Redd and (Andrew) Bogut. But I just think our future's bright. We'll get all those guys back next year, and we've got some moves that we might be able to make. So I enjoy being here. I like the NBA."
SEFOLOSHA DONE FOR SEASON
Thabo Sefolosha missed Saturday's game against Milwaukee and will not play in the final two games against Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers after dislocating his left index finger Friday against Charlotte.
Sefolosha met the team in Milwaukee about an hour before tipoff. He remained in Oklahoma on Friday night to receive medical attention on the finger. Sefolosha needed to get five stitches in his finger after sustaining a cut stemming from the pressure of a fall while diving for a loose ball.
"I think we had a pretty good run at the end of the season," Sefolosha said before the Bucks game. "We have three more games. I just hope we can win two out of three, and everybody can use these last few games to get ready for next year and have a good summer and come back ready."
WHITE, SAMPSON CATCH UP
Rookie forward D.J. White had lunch on Saturday afternoon with Sampson, his former coach at Indiana and called the conversation during the meeting "general" and not heavy on Basketball.
"It was good just getting to talk to him besides on the phone," White said. "He told me to keep playing hard and be more aggressive...He's just happy for me to be playing. Really, nobody can understand what I've been through unless you're in that situation. But he was just telling me to use the rest of these games to get as much out of them as I can."
As for who picked up the bill?
"He paid for lunch," White said.
WELCOME BACK, WEAVER
Kyle Weaver was the center of attention Saturday in what was a homecoming for the rookie guard out of Washington State. Weaver, a native of Beloit, Wis., starred at Beloit Memorial High and faced a throng of local journalist before tipoff.
Weaver started at shooting guard in place of Sefolosha and needed 15 tickets for friends and family but said the highlight of his trip was spending time with his grandmother Minnie Weaver.
"I haven't seen her in awhile," Weaver said. "That's pretty special...It's kind of funny, she thinks I'm Jeff Green sometimes when she's watching the games."
BRIEFLY...
Nick Collison missed his second straight game with a right thigh contusion. He is listed as day-to-day. ... Earl Watson received his first game action since March 11 and scored five points with seven assists and four rebounds. ... Malik Rose aggravated a left Achilles' heel injury but said he would play in the final two games.
