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**Coatesvillain** · 10-07-2006, 12:55 PM

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BARCELONA, Spain - Maurice Cheeks seemed a little more irritated at 76ers practice yesterday, raising his voice more frequently. That's what happens after a defeat, even if it happened in a preseason game about 4,000 miles from home.

There wasn't a lot that encouraged the Sixers coach during Thursday night's 104-99 loss to Winterthur FC Barcelona, but one name on his short list of those who deserved praise was an unexpected one.

"Ivan McFarlin encouraged me, the way he stepped out on the floor and played with energy," Cheeks said after practice at Palau Sant Jordi Annex.

It was a good game for McFarlin, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound free-agent rookie forward who played in France last season. In about 121/2 minutes of playing time, he scored six points and grabbed four rebounds, and made coaches, teammates and opponents take notice with his hustle.

For a guy striving to make his first NBA team, it was a good first step.

"I feel it helped my chances to make the team, but it's just one game and there are many more to come," McFarlin said. "So I just have to play hard and play like I've been playing and hopefully I can make the team."

The M.O. is the same for McFarlin and another free-agent rookie, former La Salle star Steven Smith, looking for a roster spot: rebound and hustle and dive for loose balls, run the floor, and leave the scoring to the stars and the veterans.

McFarlin comes by his style naturally. At Sugarland Willowridge High School in suburban Houston, he played alongside current NBA guards T.J. Ford and Daniel Ewing. He helped lead Oklahoma State to the NCAA Final Four in 2004, when the Cowboys got there by defeating St. Joseph's for the East Regional championship.

"In high school and college, I've always been around players that had high potential," he said. "I wanted to do whatever I could for them - rebound and give them the chance to score and to make plays. Rebounding, running the floor, hustling - those are things that I love to do, all the hard work, all the dirty work."

McFarlin averaged 16.4 points and 9.9 rebounds last season for JSF Nanterre in the French league. He was invited to free-agent camp with the Sixers and accompanied the team to the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, where he led the league in rebounds at 9.7 per game, and signed with the team on Sept. 8.

"He was great this summer," Cheeks said. "He plays hard. He rebounds and does the little things to help you win a game. I think that's what he did [Thursday] night. He injects energy into the game."

McFarlin was at least accustomed to the European style of play he saw in the game. Winterthur FC Barcelona played a solid offensive game of cuts and screens and movement without the ball, and knew where its players were seemingly at all times.

"It didn't surprise me at all," he said. "I know how they play. They're very patient with the ball. They shot well. I saw it in France, and they did the same thing."

The next opponent for the Sixers, the Phoenix Suns, will be more familiar. But McFarlin must continue to do the things that made people aware of him Thursday night.

"I'm just trying to make the team and hopefully expand my horizons and be a great player," he said.

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Sixerfanforlife · 10-08-2006, 11:11 AM

This is a great sign most certainly to have a rebounder on your bench. I would have to say that the cut comes down between our reserve PG's, Kevin Ollie and Rick Brunson, I vote for Ollie.

**Coatesvillain** · 10-08-2006, 06:40 PM

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Originally Posted by Sixerfanforlife

This is a great sign most certainly to have a rebounder on your bench. I would have to say that the cut comes down between our reserve PG's, Kevin Ollie and Rick Brunson, I vote for Ollie.

Kevin Ollie is way better than Ric Brunson, and I'm the furthest thing from a Ollie fan.

Ivan McFarlin looks like he could at least be a solid player to send down to the NBDL (if the Sixers ever decide to use it), he'll never be a superstar or a main roleplayer, but he could develop into a nice guy who plays spare minutes off the bench.

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