Playing in Portland is a unique opportunity for Dickau

By Max Mandel, trailblazers.com

After beginning his career at the University of Washington, Dan Dickau transferred to Gonzaga where he put together an All-American career that led to him being selected in the 1st round (28th pick) of the 2002 draft by the Sacramento Kings. The Vancouver, Washington native has not had the same luck with his NBA career, as injuries and loaded depth charts have seen Dickau traded eight times. Tonight, Dickau returns to the Pacific Northwest as a member of the Phoenix Suns and with the hope that he has finally found a stable situation.

One of the perks about returning home is the fact that friends and family can be in attendance to support you and create a good atmosphere.

“It’s always fun (coming home). It’s a different situation with me trying to make this team and those sort of things, but anytime you are in a place that you are comfortable and enjoy being, you usually have a lot of success. I am definitely looking forward to tonight.”

In his highly decorated career at Gonzaga, Dickau was known as a scoring point guard that could thrive in an up-tempo system. For this reason, it seems like the Suns could be the perfect fit for his style of play.

“Without a doubt, the system is one of the main reasons that in looking at the opportunities to go to camp with different teams, I liked this opportunity the best,” Dickau explained. “Because of the way they play; the spacing, the shooting, the emphasis on those kind of things, I thought it would show my strengths a little bit more. I have had a good camp, and I need to just keep playing hard and see what happens.”

One of the keys to having a successful training camp and preseason for Dickau is the ability to stay healthy. At this point, he feels better than he has in a long time.

“I feel great. A few of the injuries that I have had in the past, I have absolutely no issues with now,” Dickau said. “Obviously, I have had a good summer of working out, and knock on wood, hopefully I don’t have to fight anything in the coming weeks. I feel really good and I take great care of my body, and it just becomes a process. Every day you work on it, and you work on your skills, and you stay strong, and stay in shape and in condition. When you do those things, injuries stay away or become less of a problem.”