Reggie Wayne's mind on hoops

Jul/20/08 03:33 PM Filed in: Reggie Wayne
ReggieWayne
Reggie Wayne was back in Indianapolis Saturday evening, and it wasn't to offer an in-depth assessment of the Indianapolis Colts.

That much was made clear as the two-time Pro Bowl receiver stood in a Conseco Fieldhouse corridor prior to the Amp Harris/Reggie Wayne Celebrity Basketball game that benefited Indiana Black Expo.

"C'mon now,'' he said, "don't be asking me about Peyton or Marv.''

Consider it a preemptive dismissal.

Rather than discuss quarterback Peyton Manning, who is expected to miss the first few weeks of training camp after having an infected bursa sac in his left knee removed last Monday, or wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who is coming back from an injury to his left knee and arthroscopic surgery to his right knee, Wayne was focused on the task at hand.

That was hoops.

"When I was a little younger, I could jump a lot higher, but I'm still pretty good,'' said Wayne, 29, who was joined in the event by Colts teammates Bob Sanders, a two-time Pro Bowl safety and the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and wide receiver Courtney Roby.

Wayne spent his offseason shuffling between Miami and New Orleans, but returned to Indy for the game. He'll stick around until Thursday when he heads to Terre Haute for the start of training camp.

"Vacation's over,'' said Wayne, who had a career-best 104 receptions and led the NFL with 1,510 yards last season. "Ain't nobody looking forward to camp because that means you're working for six months.

"But it all starts Thursday. You may not enjoy it all the time, but if you want to win, you've got to do it.''

Although he steadfastly refused to elaborate on Manning's recent surgery and how it might impact the development of the offense, Wayne conceded it's going to be strange for Manning not to be running the No. 1 offense when practice opens Friday morning. That responsibility will rest with backup Jim Sorgi until Manning is cleared to practice.

"He'll be out there,'' Wayne said of Manning. "He just won't be out there participating.

"Who knows? It might pick us up a little bit. This is a first for everybody. We don't know what to expect.''

(indystar.com)