Clipper Rookie Skinner Makes Very Hulking First Impression

Rookie forward Brian Skinner made his first appearance as a Clipper on Tuesday and the most noticeable thing about him was his size.

Skinner, drafted 22nd overall from Baylor, spent a lot of time in the weight room during the lockout. With arms big enough to make Karl Malone jealous, Skinner, 6 feet 10 and 257 pounds, has a good grip on what he hopes to give the Clippers this season.

“I’ve been working out consistent, the whole summer I’ve been lifting,” said Skinner, who scrimmaged daily against Hakeem Olajuwon and Antonio McDyess in Houston. ‘At one time, I lifted so much I got a little bit sore and had to slow down. . . .

A lot of players may have just been at home waiting to see if there was going to be a season or not. Now, they are trying to rush and get in shape. . . . I think I benefited a lot from [the lockout].”

Skinner is hoping to take advantage of the absence of No. 1 pick Michael Olowokandi from training camp. Olowokandi is playing in Italy until February.

“I’m going to have to be [an inside force] . . . to do the things that I know I can do, and that’s defense and rebounding,” said Skinner, Baylor’s all-time shot-block leader. “I’m really going to focus in on those two things. The scoring will come along. But if you play defense, you can’t go wrong with that. [The same] if you hustle and do the dirty work underneath the boards.”

Skinner’s connection with new Coach Chris Ford came when he worked out for Milwaukee before last year’s draft when Ford still coached the Bucks.

“That was my first team tryout and I didn’t think that I’d see him again [after being drafted by the Clippers],” Skinner said. “I think I did well [in his hourlong workout for Milwaukee].”

*

Skinner was one of five Clippers who worked out at the team’s Carson practice site under strength and conditioning coach Johnny Doyle. Lamond Murray, James Robinson, Charles Smith, Eric Piatkowski and Skinner went through a series of hard running drills and then played one-on-one over the final 30 minutes of the workout.

The players were winded for the first time in the seven informal practices held since the lockout was tentatively settled.

“Whew, that’s the first time I did one of those in about four years,” Murray said about the sprints Doyle had the players go through. “Everyone is just trying to get back into [playing] shape the fastest way they can. And those running drills are definitely one of those things that help.”

With training camp being cut to less than two weeks, a sense of urgency has developed among the players.

“It’s [going to be] a crash course-type of camp now,and it’s going to be tough until we get out there and play,” Murray said.

“Those guys who are not really in great shape at all might be hurt from the [short training camp]. . . . There’s going to be so much of a variation between guys who are in shape and out of shape, you’ll probably see some guys who normally don’t play that well excel because they are in good shape for the beginning of the season.”

*

Free-agent point guard Darrick Martin, a Clipper starter much of the last two seasons, has been a no-show at the team’s last three informal workouts after being at the first four.