Dino Radja Was A Special Guest At Patriots Practice On Wednesday

BOSTON (CBS) -- Bill Belichick will leave no stone un-turned in his constant search for talent to help the New England Patriots.

So when the coach was seen chatting with a large human during Wednesday's practice, many thought Belichick had another hidden gem up his sleeve. As it turns out, he was just catching up with former Celtics forward Dino Radja.

"He's a great guy," Belichick told reporters on Thursday morning. "It was good to have him around."

One reporter jokingly asked if Belichick was scouting the 6-foot-11 Croatian as a potential field goal blocking specialist.

"Yeah, he'd be good, wouldn't he? It would be hard to kick it over him," the coach joked.

That wasn't it for the yucks, though, as Belichick joked he needed some treatment on his neck after looking up for an extended period of time on Wednesday.

"He's a big guy," he said with a wry smile.

Radja was drafted by Boston with the 40th overall pick in 1989, and after a stint overseas he wore Celtics green for four seasons. He averaged 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds as a rookie in 1993 to earn All-Rookie second team honors, and averaged 16.7 points and 8.4 rebound over his four-year career in Boston. Radja won a pair of silver medals in the Olympics before retiring from basketball in 2003.

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• Boston Celtics
• Bill Belichick
• NFL
• New England Patriots