A Step Behind, Nesby Plays Catch-Up

If you’ve ever had to work but found it difficult to do your job because of family illness, you should be able to relate to the Clippers’ Tyrone Nesby.

Over the first two days of training camp at College of the Desert, Nesby has been a step slow because he is not in “regular season-type” shape. But there’s a good for reason for that.

Two months ago, Nesby’s mother, Vastie, suffered her third stroke since Nesby left Illinois to go to college.

Instead of completing the final stretch of an off-season conditioning program, Nesby was at his mother’s side nearly 24 hours a day in an Illinois hospital. When it came time for Nesby to report for training camp on Sunday, he didn’t want to leave his mother, who moved in with him after she had her second stroke last season.

His mother would have none of that.

“I’m hurting a little but because I kind of stopped working out to be with my mother,” said Nesby, who spends most of his off-court time in training camp checking on his mother, who is still in Illinois. “Watching her fight, as sick as she was, affected me. I know I’m a little behind [in conditioning] but I’m going to be OK.” This is an important training camp for Nesby. Like the rest of the Clippers, he is new to Alvin Gentry’s system and coaching style.

“Coach [Gentry] has a lot of pressure, we all have a lot of pressure on ourselves now,” said Nesby, who suffered dehydration at the end of the night practice and was sent to a Palm Desert hospital to be given fluids intravenously. “We’re starting off something new and everyone knows they have to come out every day and give it their best. Because we have new guys on the team, people are going to be watching us.”

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Center Keith Closs is still not in camp because he has not been cleared by doctors to begin practice, according to Gentry. . . . The Clippers have hired Igor Kokoskov as an assistant coach. Kokoskov, who was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, coached at Missouri along with current Clipper assistant John Hammond last season. . . . The Clippers will continue to practice at College of the Desert until Monday. They will practice at Southwest L.A. College on Tuesday.