SB Nation - Richie Frahm

Ridiculous Transactions: 7/25-7/31

Jon L — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:00:10 -0000

Every week (starting about a week ago), we here at RU will take a look at some relevant player transactions from the past week. Players signing with the D-League, D-League players going to Europe, transactions involving the odd Summer League player (odd meaning we're not going to cover all of them, not meaning, like, Robert Swift), trades of a similar ilk, etc. This one should be interesting because I just finished writing that Jam coach post and I'm still in a state of annoyance.

July 26: Richie Frahm - signed with Mersin Buyuksahir Belediyesi (Turkey); Stephane Lasme - signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

This is the same team that Jimmy Baron signed with last week, and given Frahm's signing Baron has now a mentor and a guy who's going to take all of his minutes. Frahm's a very good three-point shooter, though he doesn't contribute much else. Then again, he likely won't have to. Lasme was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 2007, didn't play much there and went to the D-League for awhile and then getting a 10-day contract with the Heat before playing in Europe last season. He was a solid shot-blocker and rebounder in Serbia last year, though he didn't produce all that consistently in Summer League a few weeks ago. He played for the Spurs team, though, and I'd bet they're keeping an eye on him.

July 27: Trent Plaisted - signed with Reggio Emilia (Italy); James Augustine - signed with Gran Canaria (Spain)

Plaisted was drafted in 2008 by Seattle then went to Detroit as part of the DJ White deal. He played for the Pistons' Summer League team, though that team was focused on more recent draft picks and he didn't get a ton of playing time. He finished with pretty good per-minute rebounding numbers, though. Augustine's has bounced between the D-League and the NBA, and he's the University of Illinois' all-time leading rebounder. His offense went steadily downhill at Summer League this year (scoring 21 points in the first game and zero in the last), but he can definitely rebound.

July 28: Othyus Jeffers - signed with NGC Cantu' (Italy); Richard Hendrix - signed with Granada (Spain)

Sigh. Look, I may not always seem like it on this site, but I'm a fairly realistic person. Some (many) people would
(did) say "cynical." So when I talk about Summer League rosters and how, say, a D-League did well or how his
skills might fit in with a specific NBA roster, I'm doing it because it's something to talk about. I know that for a lot of guys it's still a longshot, and that there just aren't enough NBA teams who pay attention to the D-League for these guys to get enough looks, and that teams are still apparently willing to explore signing a retired-and-not-all-that-good-anyway Jason Williams instead of a solid D-League player.
I know all that. I get it. But it's still disappointing to see guys like Hendrix and Jeffers go overseas. And not because Italy and Spain are bad places to play - they're not, in fact. But Hendrix had a great Summer League (both in Orlando and in Vegas) and was a top rebounder in the D-League last season, and Othyus Jeffers is a solid all-around offensive player in addition to being a lockdown defender. Both of those guys can play in the NBA right now. I don't know whether it's a function of the shrinking salary cap or that teams are still stuck on "names,"* but it seems like this offseason more and more of last year's D-League stars are headed to Europe. The league's going to look a lot different come the fall.

*And yes, I'm away of the contradiction of going after the Jam for hiring a "no-name" coach while going after NBA teams for not signing "no-name" players. But that's because...you see...it's different in that...shut up.

July 30: Nick Fazekas - signed with JDA Dijon (France)

Fazekas played well for the Celtics at Orlando Summer League, but they have a lot of forwards so that wasn't ever really a realistic option (see? I'm realistic). Still, despite not having the strongest upper body, Fazekas produces pretty well on the court. For some reason in my head I could've seen him fitting in with Oklahoma City while they give DJ White and Serge Ibaka a little more development time, but that's just me.

July 31: Kevin Rogers - signed with Panionios (Greece); Chicago Bulls - waived DeMarcus Nelson and Linton Johnson; Bakersfield Jam - hired Will Voigt as head coach

Seeing both Nelson and Johnson cut is a little tough, though Johnson's being released isn't a total shock. He was trying to make the roster this time around as a defensive stopper at power forward, and while I didn't see the results, remaking your body that way (he would've had to bulk up to succeed in that role) in a short period of time can be tough. It would've been nice to see Nelson step into a reserve shooting guard role after Ben Gordon left for Milwaukee, but the Bulls apparently thought a Pargo brother would be better for that. Kevin Rogers is a little raw for the NBA, but with a season or two in the D-League he could've become a solid player. He was decently efficient in Orlando Summer League this year, and he had solid shot-blocking and rebounding numbers.

Most of my thoughts on Voigt's hiring can be found in the post announcing the hire, but since that dealt mostly with how he was hired I'll just add that he did win a few ABA championships, which I don't know what kind of talent level he had but at the very least shows he didn't screw up a good thing (if he had one), and while there are other former head coaches and promising assistants out there who deserve a shot, and while I personally would've tried to snag a talented or at least well-known coach this year to a.) bring in fans and b.) justify their ticket prices, the Bakersfield ownership may not have wanted to go that route given the uncertainty over whether their plan will work or not.

2000 NBA Draft Second Round Re-draft Part 1

Jon L — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:00:25 -0000

Michael Redd is well known for being a second-round steal from the 2000 draft.

View full size photo »

So it's come to this. The 2000 NBA Draft. The Kenyon Martin draft. The Kenyon Martin-Stromile Swift-Darius Miles-Marcus Fizer draft. Internet expert Wick E. Pedia calls it "the worst draft since the 1986 NBA Draft." FreeDarko wrote about what a black hole this draft was in their Macrophenomenal Almanac. For some reason, unless I hear otherwise, this will be our final look at past second rounds. Remember, this exercise is to try and demonstrate that even "weak" drafts have quality players in them later on, when the deputy commissioner is calling the names. Part 1 is after the jump, but I warn you: don't look directly at it. I recommend one of these.

30. Los Angeles Clippers (original pick - Marko Jaric)

First of all, congratulations to Jaric and his hot wife on their first child. Unfortunately, Jaric won't get to celebrate by being our first pick. Instead, that honor goes to Michael Redd, one of three All-Stars to come out of this draft. The other two are Kenyon Martin and Jamaal Magloire. Let's move on.

31. Dallas Mavericks (original pick - Dan Langhi)

Langhi was traded for Houston's second-round pick, Eduardo Najera. Najera had a few decent years in Dallas and in Denver, so we'll take him here since the Mavericks apparently wanted him so much.

32. Chicago Bulls (original pick - A.J. Guyton)

This was back when playing basketball at Indiana meant something, namely being overrated by NBA front offices. Chicago has three straight picks in this draft (they obviously wanted to get in on all the talent available), so to a certain extent looking for positional fit doesn't matter. Eddie House has become a solid rotation player with the Celtics, even though he's a point guard who can't handle the ball, he's still turned out better than Guyton.

33. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Jake Voskuhl)

Apparently the Bulls front office that year only scouted the NCAA tournament and thought they were done. We know better, though, and will draft Ime Udoka. Even though Udoka's a late bloomer, to say the least (I hadn't realized he's 32 years old), he's developed into a solid wing defender with the Spurs.

34. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Khalid El-Amin)

See what I mean about scouting the NCAA tournament? Also, I'm sure Guyton had a lot of confidence after his competition was drafted two spots after him. We'll do pretty much the same thing to House, though, and draft Eddie Gill. Gill was actually a shooting guard originally, but as we've seen in the D-League, his offense-running skills are better than his three-point shooting, and he'll complement House well.

35. Washington Wizards (original pick - Mike Smith)

Fun fact time! The Wizards already had a player on their roster named Michael Smith. This Wizards roster was a mess. The team had recently traded Chris Webber to the Kings for Mitch Richmond, who was pretty much done (it still hurts to type that). Also featuring Richard Hamiton, Hubert Davis, Cherokee Parks, Christian Laettner, Calvin Booth, and Tyrone Nesby. Chris Whitney! Jahidi White! Popeye Jones! Laron Profit! Basically, WizzNutzz couldn't have existed without this roster. Let's face it, though, anyone we pick here would likely be traded eventually for not doing what Michael Jordan wanted. Point guard is a slight need, so we'll go with Jason Hart, who had a decent year or two with Sacramento.

36. New Jersey Nets (original pick - Soumaila Samake)

Center was a huge need for this team, what with Jim McIlvaine, Jamie Feick, Vladimir Stepania, and Evan Eschmeyer all getting at least a handful of starts. There are only five centers available, though, and unfortunately they don't get much better than Samake. Maybe we can trick the Nets into thinking they drafted Samaki Walker.

37. Miami Heat (original pick - Eddie House)

This is a roster without a completely obvious need. I guess they could've used a backup power forward better than Cedric Ceballos. I'm not sure Dan Langhi is better, but he's available, and he had a solid college career.

38. Houston Rockets (original pick - Eduardo Najera)

Well Najera's gone, as is the guy they traded him for, Langhi. This team definitely could have used some better forwards, and while he's not much of an offensive option, Yakhouba Diawara has become a solid defender.

39. New York Knicks (original pick - Lavor Postell)

This team made the playoffs, and it's a solid roster, though Marcus Camby was their starting center, with Luc Longley and Travis Knight as the backups. Given Camby's injury problems, we'll sigh a deep sigh and draft Jake Voskuhl here.

40. Atlanta Hawks (original pick - Hanno Mottola)

Same deal as Houston, they need an upgrade over Chris Crawford, Roshown McLeod and Cal Bowdler. Mottola wasn't it. And, much like what happened with the Rockets pick, we'll take defense-first Malik Allen.

41. San Antonio Spurs (original pick - Chris Carrawell)

I'll be honest with you, I had no idea who Chris Carrawell was. Apparently he played on the same high school team as Jahidi White and Loren Woods, so...yeah. The Spurs lost in the Western Conference Finals this year, but they were still pretty set for awhile. Igor Rakocevic was/is an intriguing European prospect, though the Spurs did acquire him at one point then released him. Still, he was the Euroleague's leading scorer in 2006-2007, which should count for something.

42. Seattle SuperSonics (original pick - Olumide Oyedeji)

How unsuccessful was Oyedeji? His Youtube mix doesn't even contain video, it's just still pictures. This was a top-heavy Seattle roster with a pretty much uniformly mediocre bench. Into the void steps Marko Jaric. He's not great, but he's an average player who's shown some staying power, and he's pretty much the best available, better than several players we've drafted so far.

43. Milwaukee Bucks (original pick - Michael Redd)

A great pick for the Bucks, obviously, but our job is tougher. A guard was even somewhat of a luxury for them, as they already had Sam Cassell and Ray Allen, plus Rafer Alston. Like Jaric, Brian Cardinal is better than some of the other guys we've drafted so far, so the Bucks will take him.

44. Detroit Pistons (original pick - Brian Cardinal)

It took me a while to figure out the difference between Cardinal and Brian Scalabrine. Cardinal became a frequent trade throw-in, but Detroit already has a lot of forwards. I'm not sure Richie Frahm would've stuck either, but he's become a solid shooter in Europe and the D-League.

Game Notes: Reno 124, Austin 118

Jon L — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:32:05 -0000

Really, AP? You can't find photos of anyone I mentioned in here? Anyway, I initially opened this recap with a big long paragraph about Marcus Williams getting called up, but there's already a great post about it below, and believe me, I wrote enough here. I'll just say that this is a great move for the Spurs and great for Williams.

As for the game itself, Williams' absence was definitely felt, as the Toros sometimes struggled in their offensive sets and never had one guy who really stepped up when they needed it at the end. All credit to Reno for playing hard the entire game and taking advantage of some mismatches where they could, and keeping their slim playoff chances alive. The loss of Williams also meant the return of Eric Dawson, and the Toros fielded a starting lineup of Nelson-Burrell-Hairston-Dawson-Jones.

It should also be noted that this was a Marat Kogut game, with all that entails. Austin coach Quin Snyder spent a few minutes jawing at Kogut at the end of the first quarter, and Rod Benson, David Noel and Reno coach Jay Humphries were all visibly frustrated at times. Here's a fun example: Malik Hairston was called for a foul on Russell Robinson in the first quarter, only the referee standing two feet in front of the play, Kristina Denson, didn't call it. Instead, Kogut apparently saw something from the other side of the court, with the players' backs to him, and blew the whistle. I was surprised, though, to look at the boxscore and see that a.) there were fewer fouls called than in the last game I saw, and b.) the fouls were called pretty evenly. 30 free throws for Reno and 27 for Austin, but it really seemed like the Bighorns were parading to the line at one point.

All that aside, some player notes below:

We start with Reno and Rod Benson. Boom Tho had a nice block right as I sat down. It was his only one of the game, but he played decently, scoring 27 points on 16 shots and pulling in 8 rebounds. He fouled out, though, and got a tech in the second quarter when, frustrated with a foul call he yelled in frustration and slammed the ball down. Benson has a lot of quickness inside and when going after rebounds; there were at least two instances where he missed a shot (one turnaround and one free throw) but got to the ball before Dwayne Jones could react. He also had several taken away from him and/or bobbled them on the way down (perhaps a result from whatever was bothering his left hand?); the word is he's working out more now, and if he adds a little upper body strength he's going to be a real force. He also had a nice up-and-under move and a solid turnaround hook, and generally played good defense in the post. Still, there were several touch calls against him that seemed to bother him for most of the game, which ultimately limited his effectiveness.

David Noel had a frustrating night. He guarded Malik Hairston pretty much the entire time, and did it well, but Hairston just had his shot going early on. Noel had a solid offensive game himself, finishing with 23 points and hitting three of his six threes. The fact that he's got a nice shot interests me, since he really doesn't look to shoot a lot of the time. There were many possessions where he got the ball and immediately passed it off again. He also has a decent handle, but again, didn't really show it off much tonight.

As for the other Bighorns, Richie Frahm can really shoot, hitting six of his nine three-pointers, but he's not really that effective when he has to dribble more than once. Austin kept leaving him open, though, or at least as open as he needed to be. Defensively, he's a bit handsy with guys coming through the lane, and he had a nice block against Eric Dawson. Majic Dorsey is really, really quick, and the Toros didn't really have anyone who could keep up with him. He was able to get down the floor ahead of his man and also penetrated the lane effectively. Cezary Trybanski did some decent things, and finished with five blocks in 20 and a half minutes, but he also did some Trybanski-like things, like missing an alley-oop dunk.

Malik Hairston finished with a game-high 31 points, and is a decent rebounder for his size, finishing with seven. He has a really nice shot, and was also able to get inside quite a few times. He also finished with a paiir of blocks, and handled the ball a little bit. While Hairston had a good game, he never really seemed to take over the game when he could've. He'd have a big shot, then not get another one for several possessions.

DeMarcus Nelson took over primary ballhandling duties for the Toros, and did a decent job of it. I'm still not certain he can be a top-notch point guard in the NBA, at least not yet, and he finished with as many turnovers as assists (six). His outside shot looked better in this game, though, and he did a lot fewer ball fakes. He was guarded by Richie Frahm for significant stretches of the game, and didn't really take as much advantage as he could've. He also couldn't really keep up with either Dorsey or Russell Robinson defensively. Still, he penetrates well and ended up shooting 11-17.

Dwayne Jones had a rough night offensively, shooting 6-14. At one point Reno had both Benson and Trybanski on the floor, and Jones had a particularly hard time against that front. He did show good focus and form on his free throws, and while he missed several late in the game, it's obvious that the work he's been doing has paid off. He finished with 17 rebounds, though, and was able to use his strength to take several away from Benson. He could also stand to improve his timing on blocks, as there were several shots he could've sent into the third row that he got late jumps on.

This was the first time I've seen Eric Dawson play in a while. He finished with 18 and 12, but I remain unimpressed. He needed 20 shots to get those 18 points, and while he has good quickness inside, he's really more of an undersized center than a forward. Whenever he's paired up with a pivot (like Jones) and gets pushed outside, he doesn't really have the shot or the moves to play out there. Defensively his first instinct is to take up the inside position, and on several plays he had to be pointed towards his man near the perimeter. His quickness doesn't really translate out there either, and he was taken off the dribble a few times.

I didn't talk much about Ryan Bright last time because I was saving it for the next Toros wrap-up (about that...) so I'll combine his comments here. He actually started against Tulsa, though his main purpose then seemed to be to inbound the ball. He generally made good decisions with the ball, occasionally passing up threes in order to drive to the basket. Defensively he used his hands to poke the ball away on several plays, and he also knew when to double the ball at the right time. He wasn't really much of a factor last night, though he did hit some key shots. I think Reno's front line was just too big for him to adequately handle, but he's also not that quick, either. Against Tulsa, he had problems when they drove right at him, and Ryan Humphrey was able to get by him fairly quickly.

Stanley Burrell had a pretty good game, holding Russell Robinson to only five points on 1-10 shooting, though he had a tougher time against Dorsey. Burrell also penetrated well on offense and scored 18 points on 11 shots.

I miss Sun Yue and other thoughts from last night in the D-League

Scott Schroeder — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:40:28 -0000

Yes, that is Sun Yue being dunked on by Cedric Bozeman

First off, I usually write my blogs late at night, after I've finished responding to my fan mail (Thanks Uncle Marv!) and before Red Eye on Fox News. Why does this matter to you? It doesn't. Just figured I'd let you know. WAIT! It does! When I'm writing, I usually just put a chill song on repeat and use it as background noise. Last night? Matchbox 20 - 3 AM. Tonight, John Mayer - Waitin' on the World to Change. Weak, I know, but they're good enough to put on in the background. Here's where you can help. Suggest something new, any genre (I listen to an odd mixture of country and rap, normally).

Alright, now on to the important stuff. What happened in the D-League yesterday? Well, two big things - Joe Crawford (not Joey) was called-up to the Knicks (should come official this morning) and Kosta Koufos was sent down, trading spots with Kyrylo Fesenko. The Jazz were apparently overloaded by Koufos' decent play and over abundance of vowels/letter in his name. Also, in non-D-League related news, Memphis lost, thus killing my chances of winning the SB Nation Bracket Challenge. Who do I blame? The state of Utah. If the rest of my picks are right (UNC beating Oklahoma, Pitt over Nova, Louisville over Kansas, UNC beating Lousville in the championship),I'll finish in second place. If all three colleges in Utah wouldn't have lost, I'd finish in first. %#$# Utah. If you're wondering, Graham Filler from The Rivalry, Esq. or California Golden Blogs will take first, depending on UCONN vs. Mizzou.

Continue on to see why I miss Sun Yue and other brilliant points from the two games in the D-League last night. Bare with me though, as it's been awhile since we've done this. If fierce D-League reporting were bran muffins, after reading this, you'd all be regular.

Fort Wayne 110, LOS ANGELES 99

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants defeated the LA D-Fender's, 110-99, due to Sun Yue being out for the season with an ankle injury. I can't be certain, as there was some other basketball going on last night that I watched, but I'm under the assumption that Sun Yue has to be what hurt the D-Fender's so much. Sun Yue certainly was a bigger loss than some dude named Joe Crawford who apparently got an NBA call-up or something. Sun Yue.

For the Mad Ants, it was a pretty balanced effort, so I'm going to give the game ball to Anthony Kent. Yep, that Anthony Kent. From Ball State, remember? You don't? Neither do I, that's why we're taking a closer look at the big man that came into the game averaging three points and three boards on 41% shooting through 35 games. He was also recruited by Southern Indiana, Youngstown, and Akron, so I'm assuming he's a local. He's a terrible interview. He was with the East Kentucky Miners of the CBA at the beginning of the season, from what I remember. Basically, I have no clue how he had 11 points, 15 boards, and two blocks. Maybe he was a "Mad Ant"hony?

Other notables for Fort Wayne include Taj (not Todd) McCullough, who scored 25 points and did nothing else; Chris Hunter, who had 22 points, six boards, five assists and three blocks; Ron Howard, who also scored 22 points; and Walker Russell, who scored 14 points and dished 12 assists while turning it over just once, but shot just 5-for-17 from the field.

For the D-Fenders, Dwayne Mitchell stood out. I'm sure he caught the ball, put his head down, drove to the left, and scored a lot. He finished with 25 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field.

Other notables for Los Angeles include Charlie Parker, the best player ever (out of Millersville University, PA), who scored 16 points, but turned the ball over five times; big ol' Gabriel Hughes, who scored 10 points and grabbed nine boards; Ryan Forehan-Kelly, who had 16 points before fouling out; and Brandon Heath, who scored 11 points, had six asssists, and five boards.

RENO 131, Iowa 109

In the second game of the night, the Reno Bighorns dismantled a team that called themselves the Iowa Energy (couldn't tell) with a final score of 131-109.

Reno was led by Richie Frahm. I've waited a long time to talk about Richie in a public forum - ever since last summer while interning with the Vegas Summer League and I was running down the stairs to get the upcoming officials names while was running up the stairs after peeing. He said "what's up" and I said "Good luck, Richie!" This may or may not have been the highlight of my Summer League experience. Anyway, Richie made NINE OF HIS FOURTEEN 3-POINTERS. Blake Ahearn who? He finished with 31 points and not much else.

Other notables include David Noel, who may have had a more impressive box score, but we've never talked - Noel finished with 17 points, 13 assists, and 10 boards from the small forward spot; Rod Benson, who scored 17 points, grabbed 11 boards, and swatted FIVE shots in 30 minutes of action (call-up, please); and Garry "Two R's, Two Last Names" Hill-Thomas. The Notorious GHT finished with 24 points, 20 points above his season average.

Iowa was led, unsurprisingly, by Othyus Jeffers. I've talked about Jeffers pretty much daily for quite awhile, so I won't bore you with my thoughts once again on how he's an amazing defender, tough, has a nice stroke, and rebounds exceptionally well for a 6'5" dude that's been shot multiple times and deserves a call-up soon.

Iowa was not led by the Big Ostrich, Aristide Sawadogo. I have never seen a worse box score from a 28-year old over seven-foot, whose a second year pro from Clayton State in my life. Ever. The Dawg, as I call him, is a nice dude. Basketball is just not his thing. In 16:29 off the bench, he made one of his seven shots from the field, had four fouls, three turnovers, and two points. Yikes.

Other notable Iowan's include JamesOn Curry, who scored 24 points and added seven assists; Curtis Stinson, who had a good game with 23 points, six boards, and six assists; and somebody named Mark Tyndale, who scored 20 points and grabbed five boards.

In other news from Iowa, I found Steve Newman's Twitter and John Edwards is on his way to shore up the big man situation. Demetris Nichols will also probably be back soon. Anyway, Newman got the start last night and scored five points in 22:22. Post game comment?

Loss the game now im just hoping that not a sign of what the casino is going to do to me tonight

Also, Marty Tirrell will be doing the Iowa broadcast Saturday, even after his profanity-laced tirade the other day. Thanks KCCI, who emailed me that link out of the blue!

Happy Friday!

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.

Around the D-League

Scott Schroeder — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:15:08 -0000

Last night in the D-League, we learned that Springfield, Massachusetts is definitely the newest D-League team. This more than likely doesn't affect the Celtics affiliation with Portland, but with a D-League team in an NBA teams state, it made me wonder none the less.

I've also learned that either there are a lot of Dakota fans that check this site out or Dakota should be really good, as Blake Ahearn and Richard Hendrix have 22 of the 56 votes in the most recent poll. In a related note, Josh Davis has only two votes. Disappointing.

Speaking of Dakota fans, and speaking to even non-Dakota fans, I'd like to direct you to this site. Three Wizards (well, two current, Richard Hendrix and Renaldo Major, and one former, Rod Benson) are participating in this years "Brave The Shave" event. This is an event that entails that the three players will be shaving their heads to raise money for childrens cancer research. The thing is, they're looking for pledges to help out the research, with just a small $1,000 goal. If you can, go donate to a worthwhile cause. Even a small donation will do!

The Vipers have a little TV show on their website you can check out if you'd like, featuring interviews with Jared Jordan and Jawad Williams. Nothing groundbreaking, but interesting nonetheless.

There were also a couple of good, close games in the D-League last night, with Idaho barely beating a James White-less Arsenal squad, 91-90, and Reno upset Bakersfield, 116-110.

What was interesting about those games? Glad you asked! Not much from a viewers standpoint, so we'll get straight into the standout players after the jump. Spoiler: they include RU's favorite ref and Patrick Ewing Jr!

Marat Kogut reffed the first game, and thus, a technical foul was called that I considered questionable from my spot at home on the couch. Nate Jawai was putting together a huge, momentum filled string of plays, capped off with a big dunk over an Anaheim player, looked at the Anaheim player, got to half court, and Kogut's whistle blew. End of momentum for the home team. Good job Marat!

Luke Jackson started out hot for Idaho, but cooled down quickly. After 10 points in the first quarter, he finished with 23, though rounded his game out with nine assists, eight boards, and six turnovers. Watching Luke play, his body language does not impress me. Just always seems to have something wrong with him, possibly gas.

Marcus Campbell had a good game, despite battling foul trouble right out of the gate. Campbell is a dude that should probably go overseas and make a lot of money, as I like him a lot and don't believe he's got an NBA career ahead of him, but he'll more than likely stick around, maybe catch on with a Summer League team, and come back and enjoy life in the D-League. After all, he played for the Arkansas Rim Rockers way back when. If you're willing to come back to the D-League after playing in Arkansas, you like the D-League.

Patrick Ewing Jr., thanks for finally looking like you deserve a call-up. Not sure what Jay Humphries was doing with him on the bench for so long. Why start drug kingpin Damone Brown or Jesse Smith (who made his Dakota debut with one point, two fouls, a turnover, and making none of his three shots from the field the other day) when you have this ball of energy on the bench? Watching him and Rod Benson on the court is fun. Anyway, PEJr finished with 22 points, 15 boards, multiple alley-oops, and some AGGHHHS after and-ones.

Trey Johnson was Trey Johnson for Bakersfield. Point guard Mateen Cleaves was subbed out with Bakersfield losing 81-67 in the third, and was brought back with Bakersfield down 99-95 in the fourth. While Terrell (I'm kind of a point guard) Everett was subbed in for Cleaves, I'm giving Johnson the credit for bringing the Jam back. Johnson ran the offense, scoring 24 points, grabbing five boards, and dishing four assists.

Others for Idaho: Lance Allred had 18 points, 14 boards, and showed off a decent mid-range game at the end. Nate Jawai finally seemed to have settled in, though struggled with turnovers. Jawai finished with 15 points, six boards, five blocks, and five turnovers. Looked impressive from what I watched.

Others for Anaheim: Kedrick Brown had a clutch 3-pointer that kept Anaheim in the game, and finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. Good, not great. Cedric Bozeman had 23 points before fouling out. Also, I should probably give a shoutout to Cameron Bennerman, who mysteriously showed up on Anaheim's roster tonight without myself ever hearing of him before, playing 28 minutes and shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Good job, guy!

Others for Reno: David Noel had 23, Richie Frahm had 20, Russell Robinson had 18 points, seven assists, and Rod "Boom Tho" Benson remembered how to block shots. Benson finished with 10 points, seven boards, and five blocks off the bench. Would love to see him start over Alton Ford next time out.

Others for Bakersfield: Justin Reed had a big game, but once again, I just can't find myself to like him. Have fun out there, please, J-Reed. Reed finished with 19 points and 14 boards, six on the offensive end. Considering he missed 12 shots, I'm going to go ahead and say his boards are inflated. Nothing else impressed me in the box score.

Rod Benson Traded to Reno

Scott Schroeder — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:59:11 -0000

[Note by Ridiculous Scott, 03/04/09 1:14 PM CST ]

Update 3: This is official. Rod was on the plane to Vegas this morning.

[Note by Ridiculous Scott, 03/03/09 6:59 PM CST ]

Update 2. Rod took the tweet down.

[Note by Ridiculous Scott, 03/03/09 4:58 PM CST ]

UPDATE: This is, according to everyone I've heard from, unofficial. Simply an update from Rod's twitter account.. Would be great if this turns out to be a Rod Benson month-before-April-Fool's Special. Regardless, I'm assuming it'll become official in the next few days a la the James White Call-Up three day's later.

Speaking of Twitter, the only D-League Twitterer, Rod "Boom Tho" Benson, has been traded to Reno.

Does this make sense? I don't know, as I don't know what's going back to Dakota. Benson seemed to be in Duane Ticknor's dog house (Started just one of 22 games since returning to Dakota), and heard earlier this season that he wasn't having fun. Benson is talented,so it might just be a chemistry move. Dakota needed to trade one of it's big men, as all four were starting quality and in need of big minutes: Richard Hendrix, Hamed Hadaddi and Will Frisby are the ohers.

Reno now may have the most names ever acquired on a D-League roster:

Rod Benson -- "Boom Tho" blogs on Yahoo!, makes t-shirts, videos, pretends to rap

Majic Dorsey -- Former streetballer, featured in And1 video game

Patrick Ewing, Jr. -- Son of Patrick Ewing, went to Knicks camp

Richie Frahm -- Has played 140 games in the NBA, started two games for the Clippers last season, stud for Gonzaga when Gonzaga was the cool new thing

David Noel -- Second round NBA draft pick, won an NCAA championship

Gerry McNamara -- Went to Syracuse for 45 years, was a stud, won an NCAA championship

Russell Robinson -- Went to Kansas, won an NCAA championship

Alton Ford -- Second round pick by the Suns in 2001 NBA draft, 73 career NBA games

Jay Humphries (coach) -- '84 first round pick of the Suns, 557 career starts in the NBA

Lots of names, but currently 13-20 on the season.

Recapping a Busy Night In The D-League

Scott Schroeder — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:00:11 -0000

Just my thoughts as I peruse the box scores with close attention to potential NBA Gatorade Call-ups. I mean, seriously, there's like 40 former NBAer's with in the D-League with RidiculousUpside. Here's a rundown

Reno 102, Idaho 91 -- Reno was led by Richie Frahm, who scored 25 points, but contributed nothing else to the box score. Patrick Ewing Jr. came off the bench to score 20 points, had eight boards, and swatted four shots, though shot just 4-for-13 from the field. Gerry McNamara had 15 points and five assists off the bench, including 4-for-6 from 3-point territory. For the Stampede, Former Cav Lance Allred had 20 points and five boards, former Bobcat Kevin Burleson had 10 points, six assists, and former a-lot-of-teams Luke Jackson had 15 points, seven assists, and five turnovers.
Erie 98, Sioux Falls 96 -- Erie had four players in double figures, led by Erik Daniels, who scored 21 points, had seven assists, and six rebounds. For Sioux Falls, Bobby Jones had 22 points andd 1 boards. John Edwards had 15 points, eight rebounds. Kasib Powell missed his second straight game.
Albuquerque 120, Tulsa 114 -- For Albuquerque, 6'8", 320 pound Jasper Johnson dominated. He had 42 points and 19 rebounds. Keith McLeod had a career game, scoring 29 points and dishing 11 assists, somehow getting to the line TWENTY times. Will Conroy was a DNP, presumably with an eye injury. Tulsa was led by former Jazz first round pick Ryan Humphrey, who put up 42 points and 11 rebounds. Draft eligible Keith Clark scored 20 points and had eight rebounds.
Iowa 107, Utah 96 -- Iowa was led by 6'5" guard Othyus Jeffers, who scored 27 points and added nine rebounds. Demetris Nichols had 25 points, but turned the ball over five times. The Flash were led by Ronald Dupree with 22 points, five boards, five assists. Dontell Jefferson added 19 points.
Los Angeles 116, Anaheim 104 -- The D-Fender's were led by Gabriel Hughes, who I have no clue about. He finished with 22 points and 15 boards off the bench. Lakers' second round pick Joe Crawford had 20 points. CJ Giles, Dwayne Mitchell, and Longar Longar all didn't play. Anaheim was led by James White, who had a great all-around game. He scored 33 points, had 11 boards, and seven assists. Hawks send-down Othello Hunter had 10 points and 11 rebounds and teammate Thomas Gardner had 26 points and seven boards.
The Bakersfield Jam snuck by RGV, with a 107-106 victory. Derrick Byars led Bakersfield with 24 points and seven boards. Mateen Cleaves added 13 points and 14 assists. RGV was led by former Cav Jawad Williams, who had 24 points. Jared Jordan also had a good game, best in the D-League by far, with 23 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.

Minor Updates

Scott Schroeder — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:59:52 -0000

[Note by Ridiculous Scott, 02/18/09 9:18 PM CST ]

UPDATE: Richie Frahm, Jared Jordan, and John Lucas III have all just been added to the D-League. Wow.

Just so everyone knows, I now have one of my three answers I was looking for answered, thanks to the wonderful Joanna Shapiro. Patrick Ewing Jr. missed the dunk contest as he was recovering from an illness. Bobby Jones missed all-star weekend due to some family reasons.

So we've got that settled. Still am working on finding answers as to why no D-League Dream Factory Friday Night is on the internet if Rick Kamla was there or why Nancy Lieberman was put in the box score last night when it should have been Stanley Burrell. Baffles me. Simply baffles me.

In other news, the D-League has been infused with talent as of late. In the last month and a half, 10S guys have come into the D-League with previous NBA experience -- James Lang, Dwayne Jones, John Edwards, Billy Thomas, Steven Hill, Justin Reed, Demetris Nichols, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Kevin Burleson, Herbert Hill and Jawad Williams have all popped up around the D-League. That's not including other NBA prospects like Rod Benson, Taj McCullough, Gerry McNamara, Longar Longar and Kevin Kruger.

I also wonder if Cheikh Samb or anyone that is a trade casualty ends up in the D-League soon.