SB Nation - Herbert Hill

Korean Basketball - Now With More D-Leaguers

Jon L — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:00:13 -0000

Joe Dabbert is going to be playing ball in Korea next year.

The Korean Basketball League had their draft last week. So why are we talking about it? The draft featured several players who saw time in the D-League last year. Unlike the NBA draft, where players are picked then sign contracts (or ahem, decide to stay in Spain), players sign with the KBL before the draft, so the players listed below will definitely be in Korea next year. Among those picked were Jasper Johnson, Herbert Hill, Gary Wilkinson, Joe Dabbert and, of all people, Samaki Walker. Not that I'm surprised he's playing in Korea, I'm just surprised he's playing at all.

Anyway, as you'll notice, all of the guys drafted are power forwards and centers. The Korean Basketball League used to have a 6'8" height restriction, but that's gone now. Because of that, in some cases it seems like a team drafted the tallest guy it could find in the first round, regardless of talent. Regular readers of this site will now a bit about the players I mentioned above, so here are some notes on the ones you might not be as familiar with:

Overall I thought Busan and Seoul did pretty well. I was under the impression Samaki Walker had nothing left physically, but he must be alright enough to be able to play in Korea, and the combination of him and Dabbert will be solid for the SK Knights. I'm not a huge Greg Stiemsma fan (he just didn't produce a whole lot at the college or American pro levels), but his per-minute rebounding numbers were okay and should be even better in the Korean league, and Jasper Johnson should be pretty good over there.

Nigel Dixon is a large man (listed at 6'11", 320 pounds) who spent some time in the D-League a few years ago, and who's been playing around the world since then. Turnovers and fouls were a problem in the D-League, as was his weight I imagine, but I don't know how he's faring with those these days. Chris Alexander played in the D-League more recently (as in, the last two seasons), and while he 2007-2008 was fairly solid for Sioux Falls he fell off a little bit this past season before going to the Chinese Professional League. Craig Bradshaw is a New Zealand national teamer who also played for Winthrop, and he's more of a shooter than an "around the rim" guy. Amal McCaskill bounced around the NBA for a few seasons, and appeared in 59 games for the 76ers in 2003, but he's primarily played outside the US since being drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1996. Mack Tuck is probably best known for going into the stands after being hit with a water bottle in the Chinese Professional League a few years ago. If he does that in Korea, though, he'll likely be expelled from the league.

Here's how the two rounds went (three teams re-signed a player each and so forfeited a first round pick):

Round 1

Pick #	Team	Player
1	Daegu Orions	Herbert Hill
2	Busan KT Magic Wings	Greg Stiemsma
3	Seoul SK Knights	Samaki Walker
4	Anyang KT&G Kites	Nigel Dixon
5	Incheon ET Land Black Slamer	Chris Daniels
6	Changwon LG Sakers	Chris Alexander
7	Wongju Dongbu Promy	Marquin Chandler

Round 2

8	Wongju Dongbu Promy	Gary Wilkinson
9	Changwon LG Sakers	Craig Bradshaw
10	Incheon ET Land Black Slamer	Amal McCaskill
11	Anyang NT&G Kites	Rashad Bell
12	Seoul SK Knights	Joe Dabbert
13	Busan KT Magic Wings	Jasper Johnson
14	Daegu Orions	Kevin Martin
15	Ulsan Mobis Phoebus	Abdullahi Kuso
16	Jeonju KCC Egis	Mack Tuck
17	Seoul Samsung Thunders	Bryant Matthews

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 4

Jon L — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:00:18 -0000

We at Ridiculous Upside continue to be confused at how NBA teams keep ignoring Othyus Jeffers.

View full size photo »

Not really much of an intro this week (which I'm sure you're glad about), as I plan to spend some extra time/space on the first game recap (...and you're sad now). So let's get into it.

D-League Select 96, Minnesota Timberwolves 91

That's right, a team of guys who couldn't get Vegas invites beat a team that started first-round picks. Sorry Minnesota, but you just made a fool of yourself in front of T-Bone. (That's my new/stolen catchphrase for when one of these NBA teams lose to the D-Leaguers.) It's hard to pinpoint just a few good performances from this one since so many of the D-League guys played well. Othyus Jeffers scored 20 points on 13 shots and had seven rebounds, and shot 80 percent from the free-throw line. Coleman Collins couldn't find consistent playing time in Fort Wayne last year, but yesterday he showed why he should with 15 points on nine shots, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Gary Forbes didn't make much of a mark in Orlando, but here he had 20 points on 16 shots, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block in a little over 21 minutes. Curtis Stinson didn't score, but had six rebounds from the point guard position. Walker Russell picked up five assists along with nine points, three rebounds and a block, and Russell and Stinson combined for just four turnovers. Kurt Looby took only two shots and made one, but he also had five rebounds in a little over 14 minutes.

Look, it's one thing to beat the Japanese national team pretty soundly, and it's another thing to outscore some NBA guys 30-10 in a quarter. And not everything went wrong for Minnesota. Jonny Flynn had a better shooting day, 4-9, and he also had 14 assists and generally looked pretty good running an offense. Wayne Ellington had 22 points on 14 shots and made four of his seven three-pointers. Oleksiy Pecherov had 15 points on 11 shots, including shooting 3-4 on three-pointers, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds. Garrett Siler grabbed seven rebounds in 13 minutes. That third quarter was really what did it in this game, though. Minnesota actually outscored the D-League in the first, second and fourth, but once the Select team took the lead they didn't look back. Even if a guy on the D-League team struggled in one area, like Will Frisby's seven fouls or Marcus Hubbard going 0-2, they still made up for it elsewhere - in Frisby's case he shot 4-8 and grabbed five rebounds; Hubbard got three boards in ten minutes. As Ais put it to me, it was the castoffs of the castoffs beating some pretty good NBA talent. Yeah, yeah, it's Summer League, and the Timberwolves also had guys like Adam Parada and Bobby Brown. But don't think that this D-League Select team isn't playing its collective ass off, because they know they have to show all of the NBA teams that they can outperform these draft picks and guys coming back from Europe on a regular basis

The rest of the games are after the jump.

Phoenix Suns 95, Dallas Mavericks 90

Robin Lopez played well (at least one brother did), with 24 points on 10 shots, 16 rebounds and two shots. Rodrique (they're calling him "Roddy" now, which is fine with me so long as it's preceded by "Rowdy") Beaubois was having a pretty good game, 16 points on 11 shots, three assists, two steals and a block, but then he went down with a possible knee injury. Alando Tucker also played decently, with 15 points on 11 shots and five rebounds, though he could do better on his free-throw shooting.

Herbert Hill did well in his limited playing time, shooting 3-4 and grabbing five rebounds in 11 minutes. Zabian Dowdell wasn't really considered to be a "true point guard" coming out of college a few years ago, but he led the Suns team in assists with five, and also had 15 points on eight shots and four rebounds. Carlos Powell didn't get the ringing-est endorsement after his D-League play a few season ago but the talent's there, and he had 13 points on eight shots and four rebounds.

Toronto Raptors 92, Portland Trail Blazers 87

Full disclosure: I'm a "free Jerryd Bayless" guy, and he played pretty well yesterday with 22 points on 17 shots and seven assists, though he also had six turnovers. DeMar DeRozan's been fairly impressive so far, and against Portland he had 15 points and six rebounds, and only one turnover. Quincy Douby played well off the bench with 20 points on 14 shots and a team-high five assists. Dante Cunningham played well for Portland, with 21 points on 17 shots and nine rebounds, four on the offensive end.

Brent Petway's been playing really well for the Raptors, and yesterday he shot 5-7 with four rebounds and a steal. Pooh Jeter has spent the last few years playing overseas but I think he'd be a decent NBA bench guy, and yesterday he had 10 points on six shots and three steals

Los Angeles Clippers 93, Los Angeles Lakers 82

The Clippers beat the Lakers, and I'm sure Lakers fans everywhere are hanging their heads in shame. What's that, it's only Summer League? Still, this never would've happened if the Lakers hadn't cut Luke Schenscher and Daniel Artest. Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon did most of the damage for the Clippers. Griffin looked impressive in his first NBA action with 27 points on 15 shots and 12 rebounds, though he also had five turnovers. Gordon did most of his damage at the free-throw line, and he ended up with 21 points on 11 shots and three steals. DeAndre Jordan finished with some nice numbers as well, making eight of his nine shots and grabbing five rebounds. Adam Morrison continues to pretend like he's an NBA player, with 20 points on 18 shots and six rebounds.

David Monds played very well for the Lakers team, with 16 points on 13 shots and eight rebounds, four each on the offensive and defensive ends, in just over 25 minutes. He also had only two fouls and zero turnovers. Nik Caner-Medley showed something as well, with 12 points on five shots and 11 rebounds. Someone asked in an earlier recap thread about Tony Rochestie, and while he's getting some playing time (18 minutes yesterday), he's not doing a whole lot. He picked up three assists and a steal, but also shot 0-3, two of which were three-pointers.

Golden State Warriors 97, Detroit Pistons 69

The Warriors were all over this one. Anthony Randolph had 21 points on 12 shots and had 10 rebounds and three blocks. Stephen Curry's definitely a shooter (he took 19 yesterday, got 23 points out of it), but I've been fairly impressed with his rebounding so far, and he had seven yesterday along with five steals, four assists and a block. Jonas Jerebko finally had a solid game in all areas, scoring 16 points on nine shots and picking up four rebounds and two steals. Austin Daye had a decent rebounding day with 11, but wasn't great otherwise, needing 14 shots to get 11 points, missing all three of his shots from behind the arc and picking up eight fouls and eight turnovers.

Even though Cartier Martin didn't have a great shooting day (4-10, missed all four of his three-pointers), he got to the line and made 10 of his 12 free throws and grabbed five rebounds. Dwayne Jones played a little under six minutes, which is U-N-A-C-C-E-P-T-A-B-L-E.

Milwaukee Bucks 91, Sacramento Kings 86

Brandon Jennings is undoubtedly talented, and he's been distributing the ball very well so far in Vegas. He had 14 assists yesterday to go along with 13 points and seven steals. Someone asked me on Twitter yesterday (okay, they asked the joint RU account but I answered) what I thought of Tyreke Evans, and my answer was along the lines of "don't like the shooting or turnovers, but those can improve, and love the rebounding." Evans continues to be an excellent rebounder for his position, grabbing nine yesterday along with seven steals, and while the turnovers were still high (seven) he improved his shooting to score 33 points on 17 shots. Joe Alexander also improved his shooting efficiency, scoring 24 points on 13 shots and grabbing seven rebounds. Jon Brockman's a terrific rebounder, and he had 12 boards in just over 22 minutes. Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of D-League guys on either of these teams (or any any of the teams that have been playing this first week in Vegas), but maybe Salim Stoudamire will start getting more playing time and we can talk about him.

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 2

Jon L — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:00:15 -0000

One thing you should know about me, readers, is that I'll never lie to you. So first be aware that I haven't shelled out the $15 for watching these games online, because paying money to watch Summer League games via internet stream is dumb, and as such I'm relying on box scores and accounts of others to write the Vegas recaps. The second thing is that I didn't start writing this particular recap until about 2 AM because I was out at a concert starring my new favorite live band. So I apologize if this isn't as in-depth as it could be. Of course, for me "in-depth" mostly means "long," so you'll probably be happy with it.

Houston Rockets 98, Dallas Mavericks 95

Joey Dorsey continued to show why he may be ready to step into the Rockets lineup next year, with 13 points on 8 shots, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He had seven fouls, though, and only shot 3-7 on his free-throws, which isn't great. Maarty Leunen had another good game as well, making five of his six field goals and adding five rebounds and three assists. Rodrigue Beaubois showed a dramatic improvement in his second Summer League game, with a much more efficient 34 points on 21 shots, including 7-12 on three-pointers, and he had eight assists, five rebounds and only two turnovers. Now he just needs to work on his fouling (he had nine). Chase Budinger had a pretty good game off the bench, shooting 9-10 for 25 points in 22 and a half minutes. Jersey retirement ceremony, here we come!

Luke Jackson didn't have a great shooting day, 3-11, but he did a good job of getting to the line and made all eight of his free throws. Herbert Hill played less than seven minutes, but he made them count with 4-5 shooting, though he didn't contribute much else. Will Conroy had a good day running the point for Houston, with 12 points on six shots and team-highs in assists and steals with four and two, respectively, all in 18 minutes.

The rest of the day's action after the jump.

Detroit Pistons 91, Toronto Raptors 87

DeMar DeRozan has been the talk of Vegas so far (or maybe I just follow a lot of Raptors fans on Twitter), and while he's been an exciting scorer, he hasn't been all that efficient doing it. He had four rebounds and a block, though, to go with his 9-20 shooting. Quincy Douby also had a good game (and a more efficient one), with 21 points on 13 shots, five rebounds, three assists and a block. Austin Daye had a big game, and played 40 minutes (which, even if he's a rookie and you're trying to see what he can give you, is still way too much for Summer League; save some for Will Bynum!). In those 40 minutes he had 19 points on 14 shots and eight rebounds. Deron Washington played well, uh, as well, with 13 points on 11 shots and six rebounds, though he also only shot 33 percent on his free throws.

Brent Petway didn't showcase his shot-blocking as much yesterday, but he shot the ball much better than the first game, going 3-4. Patrick O'Bryant (remember him) still doesn't shoot the ball particularly well, but he 10 rebounds and two blocks (though he also had six fouls and five turnovers). Andre Owens had a game-high nine assists off the bench with only one turnover, though he missed both of his field goals.

Golden State Warriors 98, Sacramento Kings 95

An overtime game! In Summer League! Feel the excitement! Anthony Randolph again showed why he's drawn comparisons to Lamar Odom, with 24 points on 13 shots, 11 rebounds, five blocks, two assists and two steals. He also had six turnovers, but Warriors fans have to love the rest of it. On the other side, Kings fans have to like what they're seeing from Tyreke Evans, as he had 25 points on 19 shots, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Evans also had too many turnovers, though, with five. Stephen Curry had a pretty terrible shooting day, 3-8 from three and 8-22 overall, but he made up for it by getting to the line and making 10 of his 11 free-throws. He also had six rebounds and three assists. In just a few days Jon Brockman has shown himself to be a very solid rebounder, and yesterday he had seven in just over nine minutes.

Cartier Martin had a big scoring day, with 25 points on 15 shots, including shooting 60 percent on his three-pointers and making 10 of his 11 free throws. Marcus Landry also shot the ball well, with 14 points on eight shots. Seven of those shots were three-pointers, and he made four of them. Other than Martin there weren't too many D-League guys in this game, and those who were didn't play much (and they didn't play all that well besides).

Los Angeles Lakers 88, Cleveland Cavaliers 82

You know who had another good game? Adam Morrison. 22 points on 16 shots, including 4-6 on three-pointers, four rebounds and three assists. Ben McCauley also was solid again, with 10 points on six shots and seven rebounds. Chinemelu Elonu was a Lakers draft pick out of Texas A&M who a lot of people thought needed at least another season in college, but he shot 4-6 yesterday and had five rebounds and two blocks.

David Monds had a good game, making all of his five field goals and grabbing four rebounds in about 15 and a half minutes. Jawad Williams also played well, with 14 points on 10 shots, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and best of all he only had one turnover and no fouls in 20 and a half minutes. If Williams doesn't get any playing time with the Cavaliers this season, he should maybe start looking elsewhere.

D-League Dudes Aplenty in Big D (and I do mean Dallas)

Scott Schroeder — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:53:07 -0000

Sorry to interrupt this weeks regular scheduled programming... regular scheduled programming.

Mr. Matthew Brennan has done the gentlemanly thing and started blogging about the D-League again now that I've quit blogging exclusively about the D-League (though I've heard via the e-mails that many people, inside and outside the D-League want me to continue, so I can't give it up quite yet - I give my peeps what they want).

Today he tipped the world off to something I alluded it to a couple of weeks ago, before I had all of the details - the Dallas Mavericks are holding a big ol' audition for the D-Leaguer's (and random other players that played in the league you've most likely forgotten by now).

Last seasons D-Leaguer's in Dallas are as follows: Blake Ahearn, Andre Brown, Mickael Gelabale, Brandon Heath, Herbert Hill, Trey Johnson, Trent Strickland and Anthony Tolliver. Not a bad group, not an outstanding group.

Here's the rest of the players at the tryout: Hassan Adams, Shan Foster, Sundiate Gaine, Mike Green, Quinton Hosley (is this really a basketball player?), Mike Jones (who?), Jeff McInnis, Austin Nichols, Richard Roby (Iike him), JaJuan Smith, Chris Taft and Yuta Tabuse.

My question: Which teams wins?

D-League vs. non-NBA

G: Brandon Heath vs. Jeff McInnis

G: Blake Ahearn vs. Hassan Adams

Wing: Trey Johnson vs. Shan Foster

Post: Anthony Tolliver vs. Richard Roby

Post: Andre Brown vs. Chris Taft

6th man: Herbert Hill vs. Yuta Tabuse

Poll

Which team wins?

D-League - Hooah!

37 votes

Not D-League - Boo-Yah!

45 votes

82 votes | Poll has closed

Last Night In the D-League: DJ White's Big-League Debut, Colorado Shoots 3's, and more!

Scott Schroeder — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:00:11 -0000

Five games on tap, but I only watched the Tulsa 66ers @ Colorado 14er's matchup - can always count on a good feed (when available), great commentary (Chad Andrus does a great job) and a high scoring affair from the home team. Starting out last night, however, the 14er's got off to a rough start. Observe:

11:51 Coleman 3pt Shot: Missed 11:24 Dabbert Layup Shot: Missed 11:00 Dabbert Turnover:Lost Ball (1 TO) Steal:Ogunoye (1 ST) 10:30 Davis Turnover:Bad Pass (1 TO) Steal:Ogunoye (2 ST) 10:17 Gill Driving Layup Shot: Missed 10:01 Gransberry Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ogunoye (1 BLK) 9:25 Gransberry Jump Shot: Missed 9:13 Team Timeout:Regular 8:58 Davis 3pt Shot: Missed 8:26 Gilder 3pt Shot: Missed 8:02 Coleman 3pt Shot: Made (3 PTS) Assist: Gill (1 AST) 7:44 Davis Layup Shot: Missed 7:43 Coleman Rebound (Off:1 Def:0) 7:37 Gilder Layup Shot: Missed Block: Livingston (1 BLK) 7:20 Gransberry Free Throw 1 of 2 missed 7:20 Gransberry Free Throw 2 of 2 missed 6:55 Thomas 3pt Shot: Missed 6:33 Gill 3pt Shot: Missed 6:03 Davis 3pt Shot: Missed 5:45 Gill Turnover:Bad Pass (1 TO) Steal:Ogunoye (3 ST)

It was painful by this point - the home team down 19-3 to a team that that was 9-30 on the season. I did a couple NCAA brackets, listening to Chad in the background, when Boom! Colorado hit a shot, then another, and the game was 58-56 Colorado at halftime. Colorado went on to win, 116-103.

Stat of the game: Colorado made 16-of-31 from beyond the arc; Tulsa made 3-of-15.

Colorado was led by Eddie Gill. Since my post about him will be up by the time you finish reading this, you should be good to go. Gill finished the night with 22 points, 11 assists, and and seven shot attempts from the field. Impressive.

Other notables for Colorado? My favorite player getting no love, Josh Davis. Davis hit 4-for-7 from beyond the arc to finish with 19 points, grabbed 11 boards, dished six assists, and had four steals. WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE!? John Lucas provided a spark off the bench that only he can provide in the D-League, scoring 17 points, 5-of-7 beyond the arc, four before halftime. Trey Gilder had 18 points and 11 boards as well.

Tulsa was led by Gary Forbes. Since I just talked about Forbes the other day (somewhere in here), we're going to focus on DJ White. White is a stud. After just being cleared to practice two days before, he played 32 minutes off the bench to contribute the only double-double for his team. He had 15 points (6-14 from the field), 10 boards, and a block. He did pick up five fouls and turn the ball over five times, but one was a sloppy pass to him that he lost out of bounds, one was an offensive foul, and three were passes he tried to make, but couldn't. I could tell he was rusty, but played with a great motor. Overall, I was impressed.

Other notables for Tulsa include the aforementioned Forbes, who scored 21 points and dished six assists and Derrick Dial, who scored 17 points, but at least half were after they didn't matter. Shaun Livingston struggled, scoring just six points and dishing eight assitss, but turned the ball over four times. I'm assuming Herbert Hill was hurt, but have no confirmation on that.

Unfortunately, I'm going to be busy working on my brackets tonight to win millions and millions of bragging rights, so you're going to have to either check the comments here (among the highlights: Kyrylo Fesenko acted like a 12 year-old by flipping off the official for a technical; Austin is now starting three players that can handle the rock) or check the boxscores here.

DJ White, Darnell Jackson assigned to the D-League

Scott Schroeder — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:20:45 -0000

The Cleveland Cavaliers assigned Darnell Jackson to the D-League for a second time, for tonight's game at home against Austin. I'm going to assume this will be another one-night only assignment for him. This should help Erie out though against a tough opponent, so cheers to Cleveland!

The other assignment is one that's been in the works for awhile, as DJ White, now apparently cleared to start working out, has been assigned to Tulsa. White, the 29th pick in the draft this year, joins a stacked Tulsa team that would be on it's way to the playoffs if it weren't for the worst record in the D-League. Tulsa now could start Shaun Livingston at the point, Gary Forbes at the 2, Keith Clark at the 3 (iffy), DJ White at the four, and Herbert Hill in the middle. That'd be a great bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder to have next season!

NBA-Ready D-League Players? We got em!

Scott Schroeder — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:43:14 -0000

With NBA teams either gearing up for the playoffs or the draft, it's time to take a closer look at the D-League and see what it has to offer to both the have's and have not's!

What!? Why would I do one of these after I just released one last Tuesday? Because, since then, Patrick Ewing Jr. worked his way on to the list, (then quickly off with an ACL injury that led to his release (details coming)), Rod Benson turned into a scoring, shot swatting, Boom Tho-ing machine, and Demarcus Nelson, Mouhamed Sene, Herbert Hill, Quincy Douby, and the immortal Cezary Trybanski have all entered the D-League. With them, Shaun Livingston, Earl Barron, and Dwayne Jones have also showed they can still play basketball, thus garnering some attention.

The list above includes three first round picks, a second round pick, a player with an NBA championship, the reigning D-League Performer of the Week and two guys that would do wonderful in a remake of Twins - Demarcus Nelson and Cezary Trybanski!

With that, here are my new and improved call-up rankings, now cooler thanks to an idea I've stolen from DraftExpress's Jim Hlavac (he's much cooler than we said he was last week, FYI!

I got the idea to do this thanks to Atma Brother ONE of the GoldenStateOfMind crew - Richard Hendrix, Rod Benson, Demarcus Nelson - Golden State's well represented on this list!

To explain, the "Quick Fix" is going to be the guy your team should call-up if you're still in contention. He's more than likely a vet, he'll know his role, and should be able to step in when needed and grasp the system quickly. He probably won't have the upside to keep around for next season, however. Think Billy Thomas with Cleveland last year.

The "Prospect" is a guy that a team more than likely out of contention would call-up. While he's probably not going to help out immediately, he's definitely got Ridiculous Upside and would be worth signing, at least so you're guaranteed a longer look at Summer League. Think Blake Ahearn/Kasib Powell/Stephane Lasme with Miami last year.

Point Guards

Quick Fix: Eddie Gill, Colorado - While he's already been through a couple of 10-day's with Milwaukee this season, Gill is the savvy veteran that will be able to be a stop-gap back-up point for a contending team. Gill is averaging 15.6 points and 8.3 assists in 27 D-League games this season.

Honorable mention: Mateen Cleaves, Bakersfield; Will Conroy, Albuquerque

Prospect: Shaun Livingston, Tulsa - While Livingston's probably shouldn't really be considered a prospect still (fourth overall pick in 2004), he's still recovering from a serious knee injury, wearing a large brace on his knee (more pictures here). Regardless, he's got too much ridiculous upside, and should definitely get called-up before the end of the season to a team that might be in the market for a young point guard (Might I suggest Tulsa's owners, OKC?). Livingston is averaging just seven points and seven assists in four starts, but the 9-30 Tulsa 66ers are 2-2 in those games, with obvious improvements with Livingston on the floor.

Honorable Mention: Walker Russell, Fort Wayne; John Lucas, Colorado

Shooting Guards

Quick Fix: Quincy Douby, Erie - While Douby could also be considered a prospect, I have no doubt that if your team needs an athletic scorer off the bench, Douby could step in and heat up off the bench rather quickly. As I've mentioned before, he could be this years version of Dahntay Jones (got cut by NBA team, pit stop in the D-League, back to the NBA). In two games off the bench with the Bayhawks, Douby is averaging 15 points in 18 minutes, shooting 45% from the field.

Honorable Mention: JamesOn Curry, Iowa; Denham Brown, Iowa

Prospect: Trey Johnson, Bakersfield - Johnson's had two call-ups with Cleveland this season, but didn't get any burn. The versatile Johnson has gotten quite a few looks throughout his short career, and I expect he'll get at least one more this season. The 6'6" 2/1/3 is averaging 20.8 points and 4.7 assists, shooting 46% from the field.

Honorable mention: Blake Ahearn, Dakota; Gary Forbes, Tulsa; Joe Crawford, Los Angeles; Demarcus Nelson, Austin

Small Forwards

Quick Fix: David Noel, Reno - Noel has a season of NBA experience with the Bucks, good overseas experience, and played four years at North Carolina. What's not to like about him? He's a glue guy and would fit well into any role given to him in the NBA. This D-League season, he's playing very well on the defensive end (averages 2.3 steals) and is 50% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc. Noel's also averaging 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Bonus: he's got long term potential as well!

Honorable Mention: Kasib Powell, Sioux Falls; Renaldo Major, Dakota or Ron Howard, Fort Wayne (Defensively)

Prospect: Derrick Byars, Bakersfield - Byars, who was a stud his senior year at Vandy, was drafted by the Blazers in the second round but went overseas and hasn't had a shot at the NBA yet. Don't worry, worriers, his shot will come this season. He's got a great NBA body (6'7", 215) a sweet shooting stroke (48% from the field, 44% from 3) and all the physical tools needed to be a good NBA defender.

Honorable Mention: Othyus Jeffers, Iowa; Marcus Williams, Austin

Combo Forwards

Quick Fix: Josh Davis, Colorado - I like Josh. My mancrush is well known. Really, though, what's not to like about him. He can shoot the 3-ball, he can board, he brings his lunchpail (Love it!), and he can D-up. Consummate glue guy. Not much upside, but you know what you're getting. He's gritty. Davis is averaging 18.9 points and 7.6 boards in 33 minutes, holding together one of the top teams in the D-League.

Honorable Mention: Jawad Williams, RGV; Ronald Dupree, Utah

Bigs

Quick Fix: Dwayne Jones, Austin - If you're looking for defense and rebounding, which is what a quick fix would be called upon to do in most situations, I'm going to throw Mr. Jones at you. Jones has played in the NBA (Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte), was the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, and is the reigning D-League Player of the Week. In the last week, Jones played four games, averaging 20.8 points and 16.5 boards. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Honorable Mention: Lance Allred, Idaho; Earl Barron, Los Angeles

Prospect: Richard Hendrix, Dakota - Hendrix is a beast. He's barely 22, he's built like a linebacker, he's smart (graduated in three years at 'Bama), and he was a second round pick this season. For some reason, however, he just can't get a look! This season, averaging just 30 minutes, he's averaging 13.9 points and 11.5 boards per game, shooting 55% from the field. He's also been improving on his range, which is random, but a bonus - he's made 4-of-9 from beyond the arc!

Honorable Mention: Courtney Sims, Iowa; Rod Benson, Reno; Herbert Hill, Tulsa; Chris Hunter, Fort Wayne

Rod Benson, now with Reno, can score, drive a nice car. Plus, D-League Results from Selection Sunday!

Scott Schroeder — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:30:07 -0000

Yesterday there were five games in the D-League, all with their own random results, some not anything indicative of D-League.com's Matthew Brennan (we'll get to that in a post soon)!

The biggest news, however, came out of Reno. No, not that Cezary Trybanski is back in the league (huge news though? Yes). Bigger than that! No, not that preliminary reports are that Patrick Ewing Jr. just ended up with a strained ACL (FYI, his Georgetown Hoyas drew a six seed in the used-to-be-prestigous-but now-definitely-isn't NIT). Bigger than that, even. No, not even that Rod Benson has remembered how to score. Getting warmer! Benson bought a new car! Thanks to his shrewd negotiating, Boom Tho is now rolling around Reno in a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG that was listed at for over double what his D-League salary will be this season. Do I know what all those numbers and letters mean? No. Do I know that if he's able to buy a Mercedes and play in the D-League simultaneously, that all players should go overseas until Christmas time and come back loaded? Yes. Here's a picture:

Continue on for coverage of all the games last night in the D-League. Who's hot, Who's not, Who's who?

Also, if you've got connections, and I know most of you do, to arrange a way for me to get a couple tickets for the Minneapolis Regional of the NCAA's, let me know.

Erie 89 @ IOWA 101

Iowa was led by Othyus Jeffers, who is quickly becoming my favorite player in the D-League. He's aggressive, he's got swagger, he locks down on defense, and he rebounds amazingly well for a 6'5" player. I'd put his position (2?3?4?), but I'm not sure what it is. He's basically a 6'5" slashing power forward that guards the opposition's best player under 6'9". Since the beginning of February, Jeffers is averaging 21.5 points, 9.5 boards, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals, shooting 51% from the field. This game, however, against one of the hottest teams in the D-League, he stepped his game up one more notch. Jeffers notched 28 points and 11 boards this game, leading his team to the victory.

Other notable players for the Energy include Courtney Sims with 19 points, 14 boards, and point guard Curtis Stinson, with 19 points, nine boards, and four assists.

The Erie Bayhawks were led by Erik Daniels. Ugh. 22 points, 20 boards, 8-of-26 from the field. I just have not got close to falling in love with his game yet. I apologize. His defense is nothing to write home about, his 45% shooting playing the low post is gross, and in this game, he had 10 offensive rebounds. Five were off his own misses. Not sure if he was pulling a Ricky Davis to get up to 20 boards and increase those statistics, but he'll have to show he can play as a 3 and defend much better before those numbers impress NBA GM's.

Other notable players for the Bayhawks were Maureece Rice, who scored 17 points, dished six assists, and grabbed five boards; Ivan Harris, who scored 14 points and shot 4-for-10 from 3; and Quincy Douby, who should soon be inserted into the starting lineup. While I'm not sure there's enough shots to go around for him, he's a great scorer (at least at this level), scoring 14 points in 19 minutes yesterday afternoon.

TULSA 100, Albuquerque 97

Gary Forbes led the way for Tulsa. This should have been happening nightly. Unfortunately, it just started recently. Forbes was traded to Tulsa earlier this season, presumably so that Oklahoma City could get a better look at one of the better D-League prospects. Only recently has the rookie out of UMass blossomed, though. He ocassionally plays the point, has furthered his range, and can get to the rim with ease (Not LeBron James easy, more with Blake Ahearn awkward-ease). Over his last five games, he's averaging 22.4 points, 7.8 boards, and 4.8 assists. I'd have to get WelcomeToLoudCity's opinion, but I don't think it's all that far-fetched to take a look at Forbes, and soon. This game, he had 26 points, six boards, and four assists.

Other notables for Tulsa include Herbert Hill (former Sixer), who had a monster 18 points, 17 boards, and three blocks; and Shaun Livingston, who didn't play great, scoring eight points and grabbing five boards.

Albuquerque was led by Antoine Agudio. Since I profiled Agudio over the weekend, I'll use that same info today. Enjoy! Agudio is the all-time leading scorer from Hofstra, which boasts such luminaries as Speedy Claxton and Norm Richardson! Agudio is a lights out shooter (Blake Ahearn-esque) that's recently been given an opportunity since Keith McLeod went down with an unknown injury three four games ago. Since that injury, Agudio's killing it. Tonight was no different, as he finished with 23 points on 11 shots and had five steals 30 points on 15 shots, six-of-8 from beyond the arc, five boards, four assists and two steasl. As a bonus, his name is fun to say.

The other notable Thunderbird was Will Conroy. While he also finished with 30 points, it took him 12 more shots from the field and an extra six from the free-throw line compared to Agudio. He did add eight boards and seven assists, for positives.

DAKOTA 100 @ Fort Wayne 97

Dakota wasn't really led. Kind of a team effort, with no one really standing out. No clue how they won. Fort Wayne crumbled multiple times. For a Wizards standout, I'll go with Richard Hendrix. Really, he never stood out other than a minute and a half stretch when Fort Wayne decided it was a smart idea to put Anthony (Who?) Kent on him, but he did finish with 17 points and 10 boards, so we'll give it to the big man. Hendrix is battling a leg injury, but played alright in 27 minutes this game. On the season, he's averaging 13.9 points, 11.5 boards, and 1.6 blocks, shooting 55% from the field and just 60% from the free-throw line.

Other notables for Dakota include Mo Baker with 16 points, eight boards, and six assists (but five turnovers); and David Bell with 18 points and six boards (plus he drove and didn't turn it over every time. Bonus!).

Fort Wayne was led by Taj McCullough. After Renaldo Major went to the bench with a back injury early in the game, Dakota didn't really have anyone to guard him, as they either went with three guards (none of which could guard the 6'7" McCullough) or Romel Beck (who is a black hole on offense and not impressive on defense). McCullough did put up good numbers, as he should have, scoring 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and grabbing four steals.

Other notables for Fort Wayne include Chris Hunter, who finished with 12 points and 10 bords; Ron Howard, who finished with 21 points and shut down Ahearn early on defense; and Walker Russell, who finished with 17 points and 10 assists.

RENO 113, Anaheim 105

Reno was led by "Too Much" Rod Benson. I got confirmation from Mike Offerdahl, Wizards PR guru (Reno doesn't read RU or what!?), that Benson's 30 points last game (For fun,read this recap via Reno here) were a career high. Too Much followed that performance up with something nearly as impressive, scoring 25 points and grabbing seven boards last night. Benson apparently just needed to get back to the west coast to re-blossom, as he's averaging 16 points, 6.3 boards, and 3.2 blocks in 29 minutes, starting his first game last night.

Other notables for Reno include David Noel who scored 22 points; Richie Frahm with 19 points and 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc; and Lamar Butler (who?) with 21 points, five-of-six from deep, off the bench.

Anaheim was led by Cedric Bozeman, who scored 24 points, grabbed five boards, and dished seven assists, but then countered them with five turnovers. On the season, the former Hawk is averaging 18 points, 6.8 boards, and 3.8 assists, shooting 30% from beyond the arc (that % is bad, FYI).

Other notables for Anaheim include Ronald Allen with 21 points and Cameron Bennerman (Who?) with 17 points off the bench.

LOS ANGELES 111 @ Colorado 107

Los Angeles was led by Ryan Forehan-Kelly, who wins tonights Who of the Night! Forehan-Kelly is one of those random help-out players the D-League gave to LA to begin the season, after trying out for LA. This doesn't seem fair to me, as he should have already been on the D-League radar, having been in the draft last season. Regardless, Forehan-Kelly came out firing off the bench, scoring 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and grabbing nine boards. RFK's season averages are a little more modest - 10.4 points and 3.9 boards.

Nobody else had great games for LA, yet they were somehow able to go on a 15-0 run in the second quarter. Joe Crawford had 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting; Dwayne Mitchell came out hot, scoring 10 points in the first stanza (enough to make me email 14ers Mr. Everything Chad Andrus to tell him to "suit up, stop him from putting his head down and driving left"), but Mitchell finished with just 13 points and nine boards, clearly fearful of Andrus defensive prowess. Sun Yue, the most overhyped player ever to be assisgned to the D-League (including Martynas Andriuskevicius) got dunked on twice, hard. Sonny Weems once, Trey Gilder the other time. I loved it. He also contributed 11 points, six boards, and four assists, shooting 4-of-12 from the field. Dear LA, bring him back up. I think the over-promotion of him is hurting him.

The 14ers were led by Dominique Coleman according to the box score, but his numbers, minus the six big steals, came very quietly. Thus, I don't have much for anecdotes of him this game. He finished with 20 points, eight boards, five assists, and four turnovers.

Other notables for Colorado include Josh Davis, who seemed to be the only player on the court for the majority of the game, finishing with 19 points and and six boards and Sonny Weems, who scored 16 points in 17 minutes. Eddie Gill stunk it up, shooting 1-for-8 from the field, finishing with four points, six assists, and four turnovers, including a terrible decision on a shot in the last minute of action.

UConn vs Syracuse: Six OT's; Love of the game; (D-League stuff happened too)

Scott Schroeder — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:15:06 -0000

Unfortunately, due to some issues with Colorado's futurecast, the 14ers-Vipers game wasn't aired. Fortunately, this led to me watching the greatest game I've watched in a long time, maybe ever: Syracuse taking UConn to six overtimes before pulling out a 127-117 victory. Very impressive.

It's games like this, I was reminded, that are the reason I love sports. Games like this are the reason I went to school for Sports Management; the reason I volunteer my time at the local D-League games; the reason I've been holding out so desperately to find another job in basketball since the CBA folded (going on a month and a half) rather than taking a job locally. I'm not sure what would happen if I wasn't heavily involved in basketball - I love sports. I I love basketball. I love life. Thanks for the reminder, Syracuse and Connecticut.

(While we're talking about non-D-League, I'd like to make it clear I hate the new facebook. As Mr. Rod Benson wrote on my wall today, "it's now twitter". Exactly. So use Twitter. Follow me. We can be friends. Also - I need some book recommendations. Hit me up if you've read anything good recently.)

Passion for basketball, a life in sports, doing what they love, is what seems to keep the guys in the D-League going strong as well. With guys like Kurt Looby playing this year for the D-League minimum ($13,000 + housing), it's about the love of the game, following your dreams, and hoping to end up where you want to be someday. It's about being hungry, being close to family and friends, hoping to get noticed -not caring about the money. I love it. Why not follow these players that are so hungry to achieve their dreams? The guys in the NBA have already have reached their professional goals - let's hope more in the D-League do soon!

Anyway, lets get down to business and look in-depth at last night in the D-League after the jump!

TULSA 108, Iowa 107 (Overtime)

Two games on tap, and one was a dreaded Tulsa-Iowa 11am game. Games in Oklahoma, when Oklahoma State and Oklahoma play, eachother, will never have good attendance, especially in the morning, when the home team has the chance toimprove their record to 7-29. For the fans that did show up (either 1,809 or as was pointed out in the comments, it might have been 18 on one side, 09 on the other), it was a great game, with Tulsa beating the heavily favored Iowa Energy in overtime, 108-107.

Tulsa was led by Gary Forbes, who I'm told Oklahoma City is pretty high on. Not surprisingly, he finished 25 points, 10 boards, and five assists, though he also turned it over seven times. Forbes has the knock of a bad attitude, and the turnovers from the swingman doesn't help, but he has been the most consistent 66er since being traded to them from Sioux Falls.

Other notables for Tulsa include Herbert Hill, who had a succesful debut with 19 points, 10 boards and five blocks, while being matched up against Courtney Sims. Derrick Dial also impressed me in the first game he was actually noticeable. The old man hustles! Dial finished with 19 points, nine boards, seven assists, and three blocks from the point guard - off the bench!

Curtis Stinson was the man for Iowa. Why haven't you heard of Curtis Stinson this season? I honestly can't tell you. Perhaps it's because he's played with Cartier Martin (signed for season with Charlotte), Courtney Sims (two 10-days), Anthony Tolliver (started season in NBA, 10-day with New Orleans before going overseas), and Othyus Jeffers (assuming his time is coming in the next couple weeks), along with Denham Brown and JamesOn Curry. Pretty hard to get noticed among that crew. Stinson, however, has kkind of traveled under the radar for awhile. Declaring for the draft after his junior season at Iowa State in 2006, he went undrafted. He has made three NBA Summer League teams, most recently with the LA Clippers, but has never stuck. Iowa's also the fifth D-League team he's been with, despite not putting up terrible numbers at any of them.

This game, Stinson played all 53 minutes, scoring 17 points, dishing 16 assists, grabbing six boards, and turning the ball over just four times while being the primary ball-handler the complete game - overtime game. Stinson's numbers are impressive, but not all that surprising when looking at his season stats. He's averaging 15 points, 7.9 assists, and 7.1 boards per game. Problem is, his shooting is atrocious - 42% from the field, 15% from 3, and 72% from the line. Not great for a point guard.

Other notable performances for Iowa include Courtney Sims, who finished with 23 points, 14 boards, and five turnovers, Denham Brown, with 21 points off the bench, and Othyus Jeffers, with 19 points and 13 boards, along with a huge steal that gave Iowa a chance at the end of overtime.

COLORADO 126, Rio Grande Valley 109

The futurecast didn't work for the first half, which was a huge disappointment. I didn't try during the second half, because there were other comittments (see: above; also Basketball, greatest game ever witnessed) that took me away from my lovely minor league obsession. Luckily ADB live blogged it and Chad Andrus of the 14ers sent me the post game recap, so I've got a little bit to go off. Biggest news of the night, Carmelo Anthony, among others was there to watch.

Colorado, as usual, had a solid performance from everyone. Sonny Weems was most impressive, for the second straight game. Seemingly, he should be in the dunk contest someday. Or at least the alley-oop contest. He's extremely athletic, able to adjust to any pass near the rim and throw it down with authority. I like him. He finished this game with 26 points off the bench.

Other notable performances include John Lucas with 20 points off the bench; draft-eligible Trey Gilder with 20 points, six boards, and four blocks; Eddie Gill who flirted with a triple double scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 boards, and dishing eight assists, and Josh Davis, who finished 17 points and 12 boards, despite an 0-for-5 night from beyond the arc.

RGV was led by Jawad Williams, who scored 28 points on 26 shots (just two points in the fourth quarter (not period, but quarter - periods are hockey) and grabbed just five boards. Disappointing performance from Williams, really. As we've talked about, team, practice your 3-pointers during warm-ups; going 3-for-11 in the game is not going to help your odds of getting a call-up.

Kurt "My Favorite" Looby was the only other player worth talking about for RGV. A commenter, presumably his brother, came on here awhile ago and put me on Looby watch. I've been impressed more often than not with the big fella.

The rookie out of Iowa finished with 11 points, 15 boards (seven offensive), and five blocks. Dude seems to live off of blocking shots and hustling. If he's not careful, he's going to sneak into being my favorite player.

Since the all-star break, 11 games ago, he's averaging 8.2 points, 11.9 boards, and 3.3 blocks in just over 31 minutes a game. Lou Amundson, by comparison, got a call-up and is now playing good minutes for Phoenix in the NBA after playing 25 games for the Colorado 14ers. His D-League averages? 11 points, 7.6 boards, and 2.5 blocks in 25 minutes per game. Just saying.

D-League Upset of the Season?

Scott Schroeder — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:00:15 -0000

Yet no one was there to see it. In the always lovely random afternoon game on a huge day of sports viewing (Kansas lost, FYI), the Tulsa 66ers bettered their W-L record to 8-29, defeating the 22-15 Iowa Energy 108-107 in overtime.

Leading the way for Tulsa was Gary Forbes with 25 points, 10 boards, and seven turnovers. Herbert Hill came off the bench to contribute 19 points, 10 bards, and five blocks, playing the majority of the game after Keith Clark left early with an eye injury. Shaun Livingston missed all six of his shot attempts, but finished with 11 assists.

For Iowa, I'll give it up for Curtis Stinson. I don't know how he does it, but today he had 17 points, 16 assists, six boards, and just four turnovers, despite playing all 53 minutes. Courtney Sims had 23 points, 14 boards, and five turnovers, and Othyus Jeffers had 19 points, 13 boards, and a big steal in overtime to give Iowa the ball and a chance to win the game. Iowa has now lost three of their past four games, two in overtime.

They announced a crowd of 1,809. Here's a screenshot. According to bluejayrock: Judging by the Futurecast feed, there are tens of people at the game in Tulsa!