Thomas Gets Back Up to Speed

RICHMOND, Sept. 27 -- When Etan Thomas says that the process of recovering from open-heart surgery began with "baby steps," he really means it.

"It started with just walking," said Thomas, who missed all of last season after undergoing surgery last Oct. 11 to replace a leak in his aortic valve. "Just getting up and taking a little walk around this little track they had at the hospital. I'd walk around maybe twice and I'd be exhausted for the day. Not tired. Exhausted. Wiped out. There would be older people out there doing the walking too, and they were whizzing by me. I was like: 'Man, I'm doing bad.' "

Nearly one year later, Thomas was on the court at Virginia Commonwealth University for the opening of training camp with the Washington Wizards. Thomas sprinted up and down the court, bumped and banged bodies with fellow centers Brendan Haywood and JaVale McGee and gave no indication that he was trying to erase a year's worth of rust.

"I felt good, real good," Thomas said following the first of two practice sessions. "It was just fun to get back out there and play again. Everything's going great so far."

Thomas said he never doubted that he'd return to the game he loves, but he admitted the process of getting back was both physically and mentally taxing. He originally hoped to return last season, but suffered a setback following a collision during a practice.

The issue wasn't the heart itself -- the valve is sound -- but his sternum had to recover after it was cracked open to perform the surgery. This summer, Thomas progressively increased his level of activity starting with non-contact sessions, then spirited games of one-on-one with Tony Massenburg, the former Maryland and NBA big man, and finally, full-court pickup games.

"It's a long process, and you have to have a lot of patience," said Thomas, who has played in 347 games during six seasons with the Wizards. "Patience is probably the most important thing, because you are starting from scratch almost. You have to just start off walking and then you can only do a little bit more. That's tough, because you want to just jump back out there before you're ready."

Thomas said he isn't sure how long it will take for him to get back into a rhythm on the court, but he and the Wizards are optimistic that he will be able to help the team this season. Brendan Haywood is the incumbent starter following his breakout 2007-08 season, leaving Thomas to vie for minutes as a backup along with Andray Blatche, who played forward and center last season.

Jordan was impressed with what he saw from Thomas on Saturday morning.

"Very physical," Jordan said. "Very athletic. Very intense and very competitive. He looked good."

Thomas is wearing a pad on his chest to provide some added protection, and that pad was tested a few times in the first practice. On one play, Haywood spun to go into an offensive move and caught Thomas in the chest with his left forearm. After the play, Haywood paused and patted Thomas on the chest while asking if he was okay.

Thomas nodded his head yes and the two resumed going at it.

"At first, I was a little reluctant because it's like: 'I don't want to hurt him,' " Haywood said. "But he said he's fine. Initially he asked for contact, because he knows that eventually, somebody is going to crack him and he knows that he has to take the hit, so, that's a good sign that he's back."

Arenas Involved

Gilbert Arenas is expected to miss at least the first month of the regular season, but that didn't prevent him from being involved during the opening day of training camp.

In the morning, Arenas coaxed several players -- including second-year players Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Oleksiy Pecherov, the rookie McGee and fourth-year forward Andray Blatche -- to join him at the gym for an early shooting session. Then, during the day's first practice, Arenas actively encouraged/coached teammates and intently listened whenever the coaches gave instruction.

"I've just got to be a presence because, you know, you're part of the team even though you're not playing, you're still a part of the team," said Arenas, who continues to rehabilitate his surgically-repaired left knee. "Young guys need guidance. Some of the veterans, they're trying to get their thing back. Somebody has to talk to the young guys."

Jones and Saunders Visit

Each year, Jordan invites a former coach or coaches to camp, and this year, he invited K.C. Jones, a member of the basketball Hall of Fame who coached the Bullets and Celtics, and Flip Saunders, who was fired by the Pistons after last season.

Jamison Sits

All-star forward Antawn Jamison left the morning practice early with a right hip flexor strain and sat out of the evening workout. He will be further evaluated Sunday when the team holds one practice.