SB Nation - Sean Singletary

The Evolution of Jared Dudley

Wil Cantrell — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:43:59 -0000

Jared Dudley is only getting better. (Photo by Max Simbron)

Of all the Suns I met at Media Day, Jared Dudley was the easiest one for me to talk to. Nash wasn't really available, Amare had been asked the same questions over and over again, Robin Lopez actually intimidated me, Earl Clark was too soft spoken for me to understand (and his words came from what seemed to be the ceiling of US Airways), Channing Frye was surrounded by everyone, and was talking about his honeymoon, and talking to Dan Dickau was clearly pointless.

Jared Dudley has a very engaging personality. As a young pseudo journalist, it's oftentimes difficult to think of an original question to ask a professional athlete. Of course there was much to ask Dudley. He was really trying to tweet his way to, um, something, and he had shown some serious promise last year in limited minutes for the Suns after he was tossed into the Bobcat deal that sent Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to Charlotte for Jason Richardson.

Last year in limited minutes Dudley proved to be a bench player the Suns had needed for some time. He was a guy who went to the floor for loose balls, played defense, and took pride in everything he did on the floor with the precious minutes he was allotted. The guy had heart, and all of us Suns faithful that endured a season of pain and confusion last year got a glimpse of the Junkyard Dog. We liked what we saw.

Dudley was intriguing to me, but I didn't have to ask him much, he was willing to talk and talk and talk. By the end of our two minute or so interview, I was struck by one thing he said. The Q &A went something like this:

Me: "So have you been working on your three point shot this off season? You really seemed to thrive in the Suns run and gun system late last season."

Dudley: "Hey, anything to stay in this league. I'm working on everything."

And it struck me at that point that this guy wasn't taking anything for granted. He wasn't satisfied to sit at the end of the pine just picking up an NBA paycheck, he wouldn't be satisfied to play a few years in the NBA and then move in. Jared Dudley wanted to play, make his mark, and stay in the NBA. He knew what he could bring to the table. He knew what it took to get on the floor, and he wasn't intimidated by anyone in the NBA, anyone.

The interesting thing about Jared Dudley when we look at the numbers and what the "experts" have said about him, is that it could be possible that no one, including Dudley knows how good he can be in the NBA. No, he won't be LeBron nor will he be Kobe, but what the numbers suggest is pretty interesting.

Jared Dudley played is college ball in the ACC for Boston College. Recruited from Horizon high school in San Diego, Dudley wasn't considered a blue chip recruit. He was a guy who didn't fit into one category. He wasn't considered a huge scorer or a defensive specialist. Instead, he was chunky-bodied guy with the tools to do a number of things fairly well. He led his high school teams to state championships in the final two years of his high school career. Most importantly, he was soulful winner, he was a team player, a guy you could count on to bring 110% every night. Dudley did the little things his team needed in order for them to win.

What Dudley also brought with him to Boston College was a desire to improve his game and leads his team to victory. He played in every game his freshman year at Boston College, averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds. Playing behind Craig Smith who was 6th in the ACC in scoring, Dudley helped Boston College to a tournament appearance, while finishing 19th in the ACC with 11.9 points per game. While his total body of work in 2003 wasn't incredibly impressive, what is impressive is that as a freshman, Dudley played in ever game, averaging double figures in points per game.

2003-4	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	34	34	11.9	46.5	6.6	1.3	2.8	2.8	31.6

Again in 2004-5, Dudley played in every game. He increased his averages in nearly every important statistical category, finishing 7th in ACC scoring. He lead his team to yet another tournament birth, defeating Pennsylvania before getting knocked out by Milwaukee-Wisconsin in the second round.

2004-5	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	30	36	16.5	48.8	7.5	1.6	.2	3.2	33.3

It was no surprise that Dudley played in every game in the 2005-6 season, once again leading his squad to a tournament birth. His season averages only show slight improvement, nonetheless, improvement. Dudley finished 9th in ACC average points per game.

2005-6	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	36	37.2	16.7	49.4	6.6	1.1	.3	3.2	35.1

Before Jared Dudley's senior season, he was projected as a certain NBA draft pick. He had come far from his freshman season. Every year he had improved at least 2 to 3 facets of his game. On paper this is evident, however what cannot be captured on paper may have been his best qualities. The draft analysts spoke of Dudley's intangibles, all that could not be captured in a box score:
Excellent Competitor
Tremendous heart
High basketball IQ
Intense and emotional, does whatever it takes for his team to win
Fearlessly attacks basket
Excellent court vision and awareness
Work ethic is among the best in the country

That was all well and good, but Dudley wasn't blessed with LeBron like athleticism or Kobe Bryant explosiveness. He didn't really even have an NBA position. He was too small to handle the beasts at power forward, and not quick enough to defend the small forwards. He overpowered his stronger and more athletic foes in college, but that didn't seem possible for him at the NBA level. The best reviews predicted Dudley may make it as a role player in the NBA, and others recommend he try to play in Europe.

In his senior season, Dudley established himself as an NBA 1st round pick. Here we can see the most dramatic increase in his numbers, especially, in points (19.0, 2nd in ACC), field goal percentage, rebounds, and most significantly, three point percentage. I don't know at what point in his college career he picked up the nickname, Junkyard Dog, but if that wasn't his moniker by 2006, he certainly earned it during his final season at BC. He was voted ACC Player of the Year and second team All-American.

2006-7	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	30	38.4	19.0	56.2	8.3	1.4	.3	3.0	44.3

The unheralded, soft-bodied freshman who entered Boston College in 2003 had proven vital to the success of the team. Dudley started over 100 consecutive games for Boston College. During that time he had improved his game in nearly every facet over four years. His teams at Boston College were good, they went to the NCAA Tournament every year he was there, and he had established himself as an excellent player with a high basketball IQ who possessed the intangibles that many other players with natural talent and raw athleticism do not have-heart, pride, and a gritty selflessness that would be a welcomed addition to any NBA squad.

"If you looked at him in high school, you would have never imagined that he would have risen to this level,but no one could measure the size of his heart and his desire, along with his intelligence that allowed him to play."

-Al Skinner, Jared Dudley's coach at Boston College

In 2007, the Charlotte Bobcats used their 22nd pick in the first round to draft Jared Dudley. By draft day, the experts were on to Dudley. They recognized his improvement throughout his college career. Combined with all of his qualities from the years before were some new qualities that shaped Dudley into a player ready to immediately contribute at the NBA level:
Improved perimeter shooting, with legitimate 3-point range
Basketball IQ could be the best of any player in the draft
Reads the ball very well to enable box out of his man on the boards
Body strength enables him to absorb contact and finish at the rim
Uses intensity and aggressiveness to intimidate on defensive end

Jared Dudley played in the first game of the 2007-8 season for the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, coached by Sam Vincent. But by the last game of the season, the rookie had worked hard enough and impressed his coach with his work ethic and results on the floor to become a starter.

Charlotte Bobcats

2007-8	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARE DUDLEY	73	19.0	5.8	47	2.3	.8	.1	1.1	22.0

In that last game of the season, the Bobcats beat another lowly team, the Indiana Pacers, 107-103. Dudley played 42 minutes, dropping in 19 points and 8 rebounds. Just when it appeared that Dudley was ready to establish himself as an NBA regular, Vincent was fired and Larry Brown took over as coach of the Bobcats. Dudley didn't begin the season as a starter and was shuffled in and out of the lineup, as Brown attempted to figure out what combination of players would lead to victories. On December 10, 2008, Dudley was packaged with Jason Richardson and sent to the Phoenix Sunsfor Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Sean Singletary.
Dudley saw little court time during the Terry Porter regime, however, once Porter was jettisoned in favor of Alvin Gentry, that changed. We shell shocked Suns fans saw in Dudley what the team lacked for many years under the D'Antoni era: a relentless player capable of asserting his will on his opponent on the defensive end, a new and surprising threat from three point range, and a gutsy team player who always brought energy off the bench, consistently, night after night.

Suns/Bobcats

2008-9	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	68	17	5.5	47	3.0	.8	.1	.8	39.2

"He's a coach's dream. He plays so hard and he really is the inspiration for our second team."

-Alvin Gentry on Jared Dudley

So, what's my point? Yeah Dudley's good for the Suns. A solid NBA defender, he always comes to play, he scraps, he claws, he grinds, he grits, he barks like a dog. Thing is, Jared Dudley has improved every year at every level he's played at. If history is any indication of the 25 year-old Jared Dudley's future career path, he's only going to get better. With Grant Hill most likely retiring at the end of the season, Dudley is his likely replacement. It may just be that Dudley will be wearing a Suns uniform for years to come.

Suns

2009-10	GP	MPG	PPG	FG%	RB	STL	BLK	AST	3PT%
JARED DUDLEY	10	22.4	9.7	47.3	3.8	1.3	.2	1.3	47.2

Waive Goodbye, Part 3

Jon L — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:15:16 -0000

by Chris Young - AP

Pops! (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

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We wrap up our look at which players got waived last week and which made their respective teams with the Divisions Atlantic and Southwest. Really, I promise those are the correct divisions. I know some of these cuts happened a while ago, but I think that seeing them all as a group helps give a broader perspective as to which teams around the league are filling out the end of their benches with cheap talent (and it is talent). Here's part 1, and here's part 2 (and ignore the whole "Derrick Byars made the Bulls" thing. It happened, then it didn't happen.) Part 3 is here:

Boston Celtics

Who got cut: Mike Sweetney

Who got kept: No one.

Well, not no one, but their third-string guards are going to be recent draft picks Lester Hudson and the J.R. Giddens Rebounding Machine. Mike Sweetney is trying, he really is, and he's mostly fine on the offensive end. His conditioning is awful, though, which means he gets hurt and that he's several steps too slow on defense when he makes it onto the court. There's been some suggestion that he could try working his way back into shape in the D-League, and it will be interesting to see what he does from here. J.R. Giddens will likely see some D-League action himself, as his shooting is still really bad. I'm guessing Lester Hudson will as well. After all, the Celtics have a team in their own backyard, and they can't make Danny's son look bad by withholding their NBA talent.

Dallas Mavericks

Who got cut: Jake Voskuhl

Who got kept: No one.

What, you want me to talk about Jake Voskuhl? The Mavericks also rid themselves of Nate Jawai, who hadn't been there all that long, but I suspect that was more of a cap move than anything. D-League-wise, ESPN's Marc Stein things that rookie Rodrigue Beaubois could see some time in Alberquerque, as minutes could be hard to come by for him in Dallas. Beaubois is definitely talented, and he had an intriguing Summer League, so he could be fun to watch for the Thunderbirds.

Houston Rockets

Who got cut: Will Conroy, Romel Beck, Garrett Temple

Who got kept: Pops Mensah-Bonsu

The Rockets had to waive Brent Barry in order to keep Pops, so that's something. It's a shame Conroy couldn't stick around, as he played very well in Summer League and decently when he got preseason minutes, but the (ridiculous?) upside is that he hopefully showed other teams around the league that he can run an offense and is ready to play in the NBA. It's great that Mensah-Bonsu made the team, obviously, but it shouldn't really be that much of a surprise. A power forward/center somewhere between 6'6" and 6'9" who rebounds the hell out of the ball? Sounds like the Rockets to me. Add to that the fact that the team doesn't really know what it's going to get from new center David Andersen either, and you can see why they might want some extra frontcourt help behind Scola, Hayes and Landry. Mensah-Bonsu's offense will be up and down, but as Rockets fans are finding out, that's going to be true for a lot of their players. I'd definitely expect to see Jermaine Taylor and hopefully (for his and the team's sake) Chase Budinger in Rio Grande Valley at some point later this season.

Memphis Grizzlies

Who got cut: Mike Taylor, Thomas Gardner, Leon Rodgers

Who got kept: No one.

Again, it's not really "no one," as Trey Gilder is still around after signing a partially-guaranteed contract back in August. Mike Taylor has proven that he can play in the NBA, provided he can keep his turnovers to a minimum. It will be interesting to see what he does, as other players with less NBA experience have already said they're fed up with trying to make it out of the D-League and are heading to Europe. Taylor probably could lead the Euroleague in scoring, but he'd also be perhaps the number one call-up candidate should come back to the D-League, based on his NBA experience and ability.

New Jersey Nets

Who got cut: Bennet Davis, Will Blalock, Brian Hamilton

Who got kept: No one.

I didn't really expect any of these guys to stick around. Blalock and Hamilton are headed back overseas, I suspect, while Davis would do well to go back to the D-League and either develop an offensive game or become a top-notch post defender to go with his elite shot-blocking ability.

New Orleans Hornets

Who got cut: Earl Barron, Larry Owens

Who got kept: No one.

The Hornets are one of those teams that clearly don't care about the D-League, so I'm not really sure what to write here. Pass? Incomplete? Not qualified? Earl Barron has a D-League pedigree, sure, but even given his time with the Miami Heat this was pretty clearly not going to work out for him unless Hilton Armstrong went down with an injury. I'm guessing Barron goes the overseas route, but seeing him in the D-League would be a pleasant surprise.

New York Knicks

Who got cut: Warren Carter, Sun Yue, Ron Howard, Gabe Pruitt

Who got kept: Marcus Landry

Plus, don't forget the team also cut partially-guaranteed guys Chris Hunter and Joe Crawford. This team is all about winning on the cheap, right? And yet they cut several good, cheap players. But hey, have fun with that whole Jared Jeffries thing. Carter is probably going back to Europe, though I think coming to the D-League might be worth his time, because as I've noted several times before he has a David Lee-ish game. Ron Howard may come back to the D-League, though I'm less certain about Sun or Hunter. I wouldn't be surprised if Sun entered the draft, as he's become a semi-prominent example of a Chinese basketball product aiming for the NBA, and to give up on that while he's so young could be somewhat embarrassing. It also would give the D-League someone to market with so many players headed overseas this year. If he does enter the draft, it will be interesting to see both where he ends up and in what round, as the league considers him somewhat of a star, and while NBA stars can play pretty much anywhere, I'm not sure the same is true for the D-League. A crazy thought popped just into my head: would the Spurs/Toros be interested in giving him the Marcus Williams Treatment? Sun's offense isn't nearly at the level that Williams's is and was, but the Toros essentially created an NBA point guard where there wasn't one, which is what Sun Yue is. Or isn't.

Philadelphia 76ers

Who got cut: Stromile Swift, Sean Singletary, Rashad Jones-Jennings, Brandon Bowman, Dionte Christmas

Who got kept: No one.

So the 76ers apparently were comfortable with their roster as it stood. How's that working out? Yeah, yeah, they already had a lot of guaranteed contracts, and it's not like Sean Singletary is the bee's knees, but this is yet another team that doesn't really care about the D-League, or where their end-of-bench guys come from. Singletary could benefit from some D-League time, but a lot of European teams don't really care whether their point guards can distribute the ball as long as they can score, so that's likely where he's headed. Christmas could stay in the U.S., if for no other reason than to be on hand if the 76ers decide they want to sign him to a 10-day and then not play him.

San Antonio Spurs

Who got cut: Marcus Williams, Curtis Jerrells, Dwayne Jones, Jack McClinton

Who got kept: Malik Hairston

San Antonio went with Keith Bogans over Marcus Williams, even though Bogans played pretty poorly in the preseason while Williams barely played. I say that Williams was waived instead of Bogans and not Malik Hairston because Hairston played so well in both Summer League and the preseason that I would've beeen pretty shocked to see him gone. McClinton, Jones and Jerrells have already signed overseas, and Williams is another guy who it will be interesting to watch, because he'd be at the front of the call-up list should be come back to the D-League. He'd probably also be a first-round D-League draft pick and maybe the first player taken overall. As much as we praise him here at RU, Williams does still have some work to do as a point guard, mainly getting his turnovers down. And, if he tries to hang around the Spurs universe he'll have to become a better-than-passable defender. But the fact that he's gone from a gunning wing to a high-scoring, (mostly efficient), high-assist point guard in the span of less than a year is a testament to Williams's talent and how hard he's willing to work to improve his chances, which speaks well to his basketball future.

Toronto Raptors

Who got cut: No one.

Who got kept: No one.

Okay, this is who should get the pass/incomplete/not qualified. They didn't sign any waiver fodder, so they didn't have to cut any waiver fodder. All is not lost, however, as Sonny Weems seems to have landed solidly in Toronto after being traded twice this offseason. He's begun the season on the inactive list, where I suspect he'll see a fair amount of time, but still.

Ridiculous Transactions: 10/12-10/18

Jon L — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:00:25 -0000

So long, Dwayne Jones

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Not a whole lot this week, as most teams either have already waived most of their nonguaranteed players or are keeping them around to give their starters some rest before the long season begins.

October 12: Philadelphia 76ers - waived Stromile Swift and Sean Singletary

Neither one of these players had a shot at making Philadelphia's roster, but their directions could be . If I had to guess, I'd say Singletary will head to Europe since a lot of teams over there don't really care if a point guard can distribute the ball as long as he can score, and he never really made his mark in the NBA so there's not much for another team here to market to their fans as a reason for picking him up. Swift still might have something left to offer NBA teams, and he may get a shot, though that likely will mean sitting around for half the season and waiting for someone better to get injured

October 14: San Antonio Spurs - waived Dwayne Jones

Booooooooooooooooo. There was no way he was making the Spurs' roster, and bringing him to training camp and the preseason was more of a "congratulation for all your hard work for our affiliate" move. It's still a little disappointing to read in print, however (or on the internet, whatever).

October 17: Dwayne Jones - signed with Red Star (Serbia)

Booooooooooooooooo. It'll be too bad that I won't see Jones play for Austin again this season, but the reality is that he's already 26 years old and has no offensive game at all, so he can't cling to the D-League forever. The rebounding is there and the defense in the paint is there, but he's not Dwight Howard. Jones worked hard on improving his game last season, spending a lot of time on his free-throw shooting (and posting the highest mark of his career), but he had a harder time guarding guys out on the perimeter and in the mid-range area, which is becoming a necessity for NBA big men with the re-emergence of the pick and roll (among other reasons). I definitely root for the guy, but I can't blame anyone for taking the bigger contract this year and playing overseas.

Training Camp Invites - Philadelphia 76ers

Jon L — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:01:46 -0000

He's Back: A Dionte Christmas Story

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Our last Eastern Conference team is the Philadelphia 76ers, who I was a bit rough on recently over their attitude towards the D-League. I'll try to talk about Stromile Swift without yelling.

Stromile Swift - In fact, let's just get this out of the way. Forget Mike Sweetney, it's guys like Swift who I rant about when I rant about D-League players getting passed over for retreads. And in fact, Swift may have a good shot at making the team, since new coach Eddie Jordan loves veterans, especially in the frontcourt, and playing Swift over Marreese Speights would totally be an EJ move (I'm speaking as a Wizards fan, here). That's assuming Swift hustles in practice and gives the impression that he can still contribute, anyway. Which you look at and say "yeah, but it's Stromile Swift," but NBA teams will eventually stop calling, and after the season he had last year Swift may be motivated in case they stop calling in 2010.

Dionte Christmas - I'd say Christmas has a good chance to make the team as well, since he's from Philadelphia, went to Temple, etc., but the team has had a lot of chances to sign him by this point, and since it hasn't happened I wonder if they're just helping a local guy get noticed by other teams. He didn't really impress in Summer League, though, as he had one good game but otherwise couldn't score consistently, and didn't do much other than shoot. Eddie Jordan likes toughness (he brought in the Univ. of Illinois Dee Brown a few years ago to add "Chicago toughness"), so I'm sure he'll love that about Christmas, but the shot just isn't there.

Sean Singletary - Singletary is another Philadelphia guy who actually can make threes, 40 percent last year in fact (not counting the D-League, though he made three of his five outside shots there). He averaged about four and a half rebounds per 36 minutes, which is decent for a 6'0" point guard, though the assists weren't really there and he occasionally forces shots. If Eddie Jordan decides Jrue Holiday isn't ready to step into the backup point guard spot, Singletary could get a look there.

Brandon Bowman - Bowman spent a few years playing in the D-League and overseas after coming out of Georgetown, and he's a small forward who defends very well and made 40 percent of his threes with Bakersfield in 2006 and 36.4 percent in 2007. The 76ers signed Rodney Carney a few weeks before bringing Bowman in, not to mention having guys like Kapono, Young, and occasionally Iguodala and Ivey who they can throw out there at small forward, but Bowman would be a solid bench option for them nonetheless.

Rashad Jones-Jennings - Jones-Jennings was the NCAA's leading rebounder a few years ago, but he went undrafted and ended up playing in Germany after appearing on Philadelphia's 2007 Summer League team. DraftExpress has him down as a very good rebounder (makes sense) and post defender with hands made out of stone and almost no offensive game to speak of. That description is starting to give me Etan Thomas flashbacks, so maybe EJ will find a spot for Jones-Jennings as well. Heck, put all of these guys on the roster, why not.

Sixers Media Day

jsams — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:11:49 -0000

More photos » by Matt Rourke - AP

Are Thad, Elton and Andre all the same height?

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Earlier today Tanner watched the streaming video of Sixers media day at CSNPhilly.com, and jotted down summaries of all the interviews. Here are his notes:

Jason Kapono
- Thinks will get plenty of threes in transition and new system should open up chances
- Doesn't go into game just focusing on shooting threes - needs to be a threat on the floor to spark the team and open up the middle for the big men
- Worked out very hard this summer
- Most important thing to do in 3 point contest is to show up and not trip or airball anything

Jason Smith
- Excited to be healthy
- Trying to play without fear or hestiance
- Most serious injury evr before that was an ankle sprain in high school - has never had to overcome anything like this
- Really had to keep convincing himself that he will overcome it - rehab was very challening
- Working on three point shooting and hoping to excel with mid range game in new system

Primoz Brezec - first thing noticed is he has miller's number (7)
- Very excited to be back in nba after a year in europe
- Strength he will bring - offense, rebounding, being a team player - feels that's the only way to be a successful player in the league along with defense - hated playing against eddie jordan's team and is thankful to be part of it instead of against it
- Despite being 7'1 he never played center before coming to nba - always worked on outside shooting

Rodney Carney
- Different to be back
- Feels game improved immensley - 3 point shooting is the most improved part of his game he feels - confidence is the most important thing to his improvment
- Expects to be give energy, threes, and most importantly defense off the bench - feels he can be a nuisance on the floor
- Feels lou has a better opportunity to show what he's learned in his first few years now that andre miller is gone

Sam Dalembert is holding a gift box filled with stuffed animals.

Royal Ivey
- Felt philly was the right situation and wanted to re-sign since the end of the season
- Role players really need to step up during preseason to earn minutes on the floor with the new coach
- Defense intensity is what he brings to the team - knows that what allows him to play
- Trained with staff at university of texas (rick barnes) - lost 15 pounds
- Dropped third person "i wanted what was best for royal"
- Was a modern, tap, jazz, and ballet dancer as a kid

Brandon Bowman
- Found out 2 wks ago that he was added to training camp roster
- Invited because of elton brand - played pick up with him and liked what he saw

Sean Singletary
- Very excited to be invited to his hometown team
- Played in a half time game when a kid
- Feels he can change pace of the game and straight up play which is why he feels he will make the team
- Already been a part of 4 teams (now five) despite only being in the league for one year

Samuel Dalembert
- Fresh new cut
- Learned to swim to work out this summer - took yoga classes - scuba diving
- Asked him to rebound, block shots, and defend to be successful
- Feels he's prepared to be successful in the new offensive scheme
- Says he always accepts his role (as i roll my eyes as that comment)
- Has been working on ball handling and jumper

Marreese Speights
- Had to delay interview cuz he was eating candy
- Keep energy up and get crowd into the game
- Working on post game
- No mention of DEFENSE!!!!
- Says he comes from florida and all they do is win so he expects to win
- No matter where he is on the court he feels he can make a positive impact
- Best thing about new season is not having to get doughnuts for ppl or taking bags off the plane for the veterans

Bill Green
- Says he plans on shooting three more cuz of new scheme
- Likes princeton o because it's based on fundamentals and is based on movement

Stromile Swift
- Found out this weekend he was invited
- Says if don't work hard it's tough to stick around in the league (from his tone it sounds like he's speaking from experience)

Dionte Christmas
- No more than 5 minutes after draft he got a call from stefanski to come to summer league
- Went to vegas with clippers
- Got an invite from t'wolves and thunder but chose sixers because he says it's "his city" - really looking forward to competing and signing a contract to officially become a 76er
- Show the front office that he can defend will get him a spot on the team
- Feels he can guard pg, sg, or sf very well

Ed Pinkney
- Likes Carney's athletisicm to help out an already athletic sixers roster
- Thinks lou is the most important factor to becomming a successful team

Thaddeus Young
- Young smoove (hence twitter name) is his nickname apparently
- Working with mark price has been huge for him
- Gets down to basics when teaching - talks about angles ball has to been on to make threes
- Shot preparation is something that has really improved over the summer
- Zero problems with the ankle over the summer - did strengthening exercises every day

Phoenix Suns Season Preview Series, Part 1: Looking Back

Wil Cantrell — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:05:12 -0000

The End of an Era

We were all there. We saw it coming from a mile away yet we could do nothing about it. It seemed like nearly a full minute had elapsed since Tim Duncan had received the ball. He stood, alone, sizing up the rim from way beyond his normal range . We watched in disbelief, there was no way this guy could down a three pointer, not with all the pressure, the clock running down, and too much time to think about the shot-but it was over. That moment, that shot, that game, and well, the Suns as we knew them. The lovable, bandwagon fan friendly, fast moving, high octane, Mike D'Antoni led Phoenix Suns.

The 2008 off season was long and tedious. Defeat to San Antonio lingers like a paper cut, or that ex who won't stop texting you. Mike D'Antoni was not quite fired, but he didn't really quit either. Steve Kerr demanded changes, D'Antoni balked. Then a coaching search was undertaken, which in my humble opinion, was not really a search, just a little due diligence before the inevitable hiring of Terry Porter. 2008-2009 was to be a year of transition for the Suns and their fans.

Of Porter, Steve Kerr stated: "He's got a great combination of leadership skills...He's a great communicator. And his coaching experience, two years as a head coach, is important to me. The fact that he's sat in that chair, that was a key factor. He's very tough-minded." Amare Stoudemie weighed in: "I couldn't be more ecstatic about the decision...He's very organized. He knows what it takes to win. He wants to be the champion. That falls into the category of the Stoudemire brand and also the Phoenix Suns brand. We want to be champions, whatever it takes to do it."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

-Albert Einstein

The Suns set off into 2008 optimistically, or at least with some things to look forward to:

A hard nosed, defensive minded coach
A svelte, healthy Shaquille O'Neal
A pain free, defensively focused Amare Stoudemire: "I want to be Ron Artest...I want to be that guy you fear when you see him guarding you."
Some new depth on the pine in Robin Lopez, Matt Barnes, and Goran Dragic.

The Suns started the 2008 season with an impressive, nationally televised win against the San Antonio Spurs. If that victory didn't excite you, then you were dead or secretly a Warrior fan. Yes, things had changed. We had a healthy Shaq now to battle with Timmy D and a new defensive philosophy. We were ready to win the right way. Unfortunately, the next night, the Suns faced the Hornets and couldn't muster enough strength in the second half to come up with a W. The emotional roller coaster ride was on. One night joy and confidence, the next disappointment: the sign of things to come. This Suns team was in search of identity. It proved difficult with Shaq and Porter on the same page and virtually everyone else attempting to alter their games to fit the Porter mold. The result were unbalanced efforts like the following:

A hard fought win against the up and coming Portland squad was followed by a nail biter against the lowly OKC Thunder.
A solid win against Indiana was followed by an 83 point performance against Chicago.
A 48 point drubbing of the Kings was followed by a pathetic first period defensive performance against theWarriors (43 points) en route to a 12 point loss.
Shot 36% against the Bobcats, losing 98-76

Teams that should have been put away early were toyed with. When their feet were firmly planted on an opponent's throat, too often the Suns managed to let up, allow the dying back to life. Every team in the NBA understood that the game was never over when you were playing the Suns-that is, even if you were getting scorched in the first period, there was always time to get back in the game and steal a victory.

Change

"This is about being better, you can't be shy. Let's try to break through and really make a push here."

-Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr's plan, to mold his team to play a more traditional, defensive oriented system, like the Spurs, simply wasn't working. Not for the fans, not for the players. There were rumors that many Suns players were frustrated by the changes Terry Porter and Company had implemented. Gone was the run and gun as was the first option of Nash to Stoudamire pick 'n roll. In it's place was "toss the ball into the big guy." The resurgent Shaquille O'Neal bolstered the Suns front court. He was rebounding, he was scoring, he was playing two games in a row!There was no doubt that many players were miffed. Shaquille O'Neal appeared in Phoenix raving about Amare Stoudemire, saying all the right things as to not create waves in the locker room or upset the Suns established offensive player. But once Shaq realized he could dominate inside, once he felt like a younger version of his 37 year old self, the tune changed. Out was the "I'm just trying to h elp out the team Shaq" and in was the "feed the beast" talk. Meanwhile Amare spoke his typical confusing public chatter-a mix between saying what he thought he should say and speaking his mind. We fans waited for that run of 10 dominating wins in a row, the fun Suns, anything to establish some momentum, anything that would make us feel at ease. Instead of a run of wins, the Suns ended November with a four game stretch that only established the fact that the team could not heal itself. 4 losses, to Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, and Dallas featured the following:

November 28, 2008-Dwayne Wade scores 43, the Heat win 107-92
November 30, 2008-Devin Harris scores 47, Vince Carter 28, Nets win 117-109
December 3, 2008-Chris Paul scores 24, dishes 15, David West scores 23, grabs 14 rebounds, Peja Stojakovic scores 24, shoots 5 of 9 threes, Hornets win 104-91.
December 4, 2008-Dirk Nowitzki scores 39, Mavs win 112-97

So much for defense.

It wasn't working. Tossing it in to Shaq wasn't working, loosening the reigns wasn't working, the DEFENSE wasn't working. Were you all calling for Porter's head yet? Were you caressing the panic button? Regardless, the player's frustration had reached new levels and after another up and down string of games, on December 10, 2008, Steve Kerr pulled the trigger on a trade that puzzled many-giving up fan favorite and the best defender on the team in RajaBell along with Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary to the Bobcats for notorious non-defender Jason Richardson, a second round draft pick in 2010, and a throw in that many of us hadn't heard of before-Jared Dudley. After 22 games in the season, the Suns were 13-9, second of course to the Lakers, who at that point were 17-3. We can all argue as to what was wrong with the Suns at that point and what could have been done to improve the team. Clearly, the Suns had identity issues. Built to run and shoot, the team had been morphed into a kind of hybrid. Porter had begun to let the team do what it did best over the past several years. Against inferior competition, it worked. The Suns still had the fire power to run certain teams out of the gym. Yet stacked up against the elite of the league, the Suns shrank, giving up points at will and allowing embarrassing individual performances.

Of the trade, Raja Bell said: "The team was underachieving...They needed to make some changes. I guess they think it's their best chance to win, and I've got to respect that."
Said Boris Diaw: "It definitely wasn't as fun,...It wasn't as exciting for the fans. It's not as fun for everybody (on the team). I' ll always remember Phoenix with Mike (D'Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all."

Of course Buddha the blowhard, AKA Phil Jackson smugly even weighed in: "They saw that, with this personnel, things weren't flowing really well... (Richardson) has reached his maturity. He's 27 years of age, and the next three, four years are going to be his best years." Yet the most telling quote came from two-time MVP and arguably the one man most responsible for the resurgent juggernaut that was the 7SOL Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash:

"I feel like I've been traded."

Still, there was some optimism left. Maybe Bell was getting older, maybe he was becoming too much of an injury risk, maybe he was losing his defensive prowess. Maybe Diaw was satisfied being great one night and mediocre the next. Maybe he loved crepes too much to keep himself in optimal physical condition. And while the locker room may have needed Prozac and most of the knowledgeable fans and pundits simply smirked at the deal, there was some serious kool-aid drinking going around:

Terry Porter (of Richardson): "I think it was an opportunity for us to get better, a guy who can get 20 points a night, adds athleticism for us."
Steve Kerr: "We felt like we needed to shake things up a little bit...We wanted to add a great scorer in the backcourt to give us better balance to take some of the pressure off of Steve [Nash]."

Still, the Suns trudged into the All-Star break after losing two in a row to Philadelphia and Cleveland. It was clear to many that something had to give. After finishing the first half of the season with a 28-23 record at the All-Star break, the Suns finally cut the cord with Terry Porter. It was awkward for the city of Phoenix. We were hosting the All Star game, Shaq was featured in the pre-game, dancing like a, well, a man who enjoys the spotlight. The focus was to be on the players, the the game, the NBA. Yet the media knew better. While David Stern most likely had a brief and to the point conversation with Sarver and Kerr about NOT canning Porter during All-Star weekend, everyone else knew better. Porter was dead in the water, and so were the Phoenix Spurs.

Rising From the Ashes, or Burrowing Beneath Them?

"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise"

-Oscar Wilde

Alvin Gentry took over Porter's spot as interim coach. His mantra was simple-do what you know how to do. The team was built to run and score, and Gentry was bent on letting his team loose. The players wanted it, the fans wanted it, and he had nothing to lose. If Porter urged restraint and text book play, Gentry was his polar opposite. It was clear most if not all of the players really didn't like Porter by the time he was fired. Having Gentry take over was like escaping a morning school zone and entering the autobahn. In the first three games of Gentry's tenure, the Suns scored 140, 142 and 140 points respectively against the Clippers and the Thunder. Sure it wasn't the same as trouncing the Lakers or Celtics, but the team needed momentum, and they were beginning to find it. That is, until, the basketball gods decided to give the suns another punch to the stomach. On February 18, 2009, Amare Stoudemire was en route to a monster 42 point 11 rebound performance. That was until an errant Al Thornton finger managed to reach the perfect spot on the un-goggled eye of Stoudemire, thus displacing his retina and ending his season, and possibly his career. It is an understatement to call that a turning point in the Suns season.

At 30-23 in the Pacific Division, the Suns had no chance to catch the Lakers. And with Denver, Houston, San Antonio and the rest of the Western juggernaut all in line for playoff spots, the Suns were on the outside looking in. The Suns were chasing the Mavericks for the 8th spot on April 3, looking at an important head to head match up two days later. After an easy destruction of the Kings 139-111, Grant Hill, putting the Suns playoff chances into soccer terms, quipped: "We're Italy going to France playing on their home court for the World Cup, so no excuses." Nash chose against using an analogy and spoke in realistic, albeit vague terms: "If we can cut it to two and really put some pressure on them and see what happens down the stretch, it could be fun." But any hope of overtaking the Mavericks and sneaking into the playoffs through the back door were slammed shut two days later as the Mavericks dominated the Suns 140-116. The Suns were through. Although there were more games to play, the end of the tumultuous 2008-09 was finally here.

It is difficult to look back on the season which much optimism. The Suns began the year with question marks and ended it with even more. The bottom line was that the team did not make the playoffs. Our cornerstone was injured, Hill was to enter free agency, Kerr faced the moron meter, and Sarver spoke-too much, about economics, and less about his commitment to maintaining a winner in Phoenix. Still there was a bright side to look at:

Shaq played great for a 37 year old Center with a lot of miles on him.
Nash finished with a record 50/90/50
Grant Hill played 82 games and was arguably the most consistent Sun on both ends of the floor.
Jared Dudley got minutes and showed genuine promise as a young dirt worker with a nice outside jump shot
Pony Boy Amundson established himself as a solid role player, capable of picking up loose balls, treating Nene like the b$%#@ that he is, and showing some surprising athleticism for a guy with a pony tail
Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic put some decent performances at the end of the year that were cause for some mild encouragement
Alvin Gentry finished the year with a record of 18-13 thereby earning the title of Coach of the Suns for 2009.
Matt Barnes' contract expired!

Moving Forward

The Suns record of 46-36 was respectable considering all the team endured during the season. After going 18-13 under Alvin Gentry, there was room for a little optimism. Still, Amare was seriously injured, Grant Hill was a free agent, Steve Nash was approaching the last year in his contract, and most of us knew the Shaq era was over. If that wasn't enough to squash optimism, the heir apparrant to Nash, Goran Dragic, had not inspired a whole lot of trust from either the front office or fans alike. Robin Lopez had his moments, but like Dragic, needed time to improve at the NBA level. Further, Jason Richardson seemed like a bust, another move like the Marion trade that kept us all wondering whether Steve Kerr and Co. had what it took to competently run the team. Kerr had a lot to think about, and us fans faced a long, hot Summer without the slightest idea as what the future held in store for our beloved franchise.

Ed Note: This is the first of our annual five-part season preview series. Next up, The Off-Season.

Training Camp Invite Round-Em-Up

Jon L — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:00:18 -0000

John Lucas will be attending the Miami Heat's upcoming training camp.

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This is something that qualifies as a transactions post as well, but a lot of NBA teams are finalizing their training camp rosters, so I thought it would be worth compiling the news into semi-regular (or maybe it'll just be this one, who knows) posts rather than fanshotting every single story. (And also because I'm trying my best to ignore Brandt Anderon's latest harebrained scheme.) Because this is RU I'm just covering those players who are at the end of the roster, invited on non-guaranteed deals basically as either longshots or "why not" guys. As always, some teams seem to know what they're doing, and some...well...

Phoenix Suns: Dan Dickau

Really, Phoenix? Dan Dickau? Look, I get that you need a third point guard, at least for training camp, and I get that Zabian Dowdell's rehabbing an injury. But there's really no other way to describe Dickau at this point other than "terrible." Several of the better options aren't available either, having signed with other teams or gone off to Europe, but off the top of my head Eddie Gill, Walker russell and Cliff Clinkscales are all still around and would be better options. You say that Goran Dragic and Dan Dickau are currently your backup point guards? And that your starter is 35 years old with semi-serious back problems? Yeah, good luck with that.

Oklahoma City: Michael Ruffin, Ryan Bowen, Tre Kelley, Michael Harris

As much as the Thunder have used their D-League affiliate in Tulsa, I get the sneaking suspicion that they've recently started to lean towards "crusty veterans." Kevin Ollie being exhibit A, Ruffin here being exhibit B. Ruffin never had an offensive game, and in his heyday (if you can call it that) with the Wizards he didn't do much other than rebound. He was decent at it for a few years, and while the per-minute numbers are still there he hasn't been able to stay on the court long enough over the past three seasons or so for it to really matter. He's mostly here, much like Etan Thomas, because he played college ball in the state. How's that working out for the Bobcats? Bowen is known as a "hustle guy," which teams always like to have. I do wonder, though, what these two signings might reveal about Oklahoma City's thoughts about D.J. White and Serge Ibaka. White had some injury trouble last year but looked pretty good in the D-League when he was able to play, while if there's one center in the league who can keep up with Russell Westbrook, it's probably Ibaka. Oddly enough, Kelley was dropped from the Miami Heat's roster last year when they signed Shaun Livingston, who's now with the Thunder. Harris spent 17 games with the Houston Rockets a few years ago and put up some pretty good per-minute rebounding numbers. The season before that he played for Colorado in the D-League, where he made almost 62 percent of his field goals. Kelley and Harris are both unlikely to make the team, I think, since the Thunder have so many players on their roster already.

Cleveland: Rob Kurz

I like this move for Cleveland, as Kurz is a three-point shooting power forward which means that a.) he won't be trying to share space with Shaquille O'Neal or a driving LeBron James, and b.) he's another person for James or whomever to kick out to. It makes even more sense in the wake of Delonte West's recent...thing, and all the uncertainty around his status now. West is a guard, true, but Kurz might help the team replace some of his offense. Kurz not going to Denver (as he had been considering) also means that James White now has a better chance to take Linas Kleiza's old rotation spot.

Philadelphia: Dionte Christmas, Sean Singletary, Brandon Bowman, Jared Reiner (possible)

Christmas isn't a surprise, as he's a local "make-good" story, and he played for that 76ers/Nets combined Summer League team. He had one pretty good game a in Orlando, though from what I remember he struggled in the rest of them. Singletary has been traded a lot, though he's managed to play in 30-some odd NBA games and a few D-League games, but he's probably best served going to play in Europe. He's a point guard who averaged 3.4 assists per 36 minutes in those NBA games, which isn't what you'd call "good." He was more of a scorer in college, anyway, and he remains an alright three-point shooter. Bowman played for Bakersfield for two seasons before spending last year in Germany, but he didn't score very efficiently in the D-League. Reiner played for Philadelphia in last year's pre-season as well, but was cut before the actual season started. He was a second team All D-League player a few seasons ago with Sioux Falls, and he's a decent rebounder. What we have here is a collection of players with notable college careers, but who all have reasons they haven't stuck in the NBA (prove me wrong, Dionte!)

Sacramento: Lanny Smith

This is a good move for the Kings, as Smith is a solid point guard who most recently played on the "NBA Generations" team. If there's one thing Kings fans aren't satisfied with (one thing?) it's the point guard spot, as Beno Udrih had a pretty miserable season last year. The team then drafted Tyreke Evans and traded for Sergio Rodriguez, though, so it'll be tough for Smith to crack that rotation, but he played for new Kings assistant Bryan Gates in Idaho, so maybe that will give him an advantage on Udrih, who doesn't have the best recent history, or Rodriguez, who's still mostly an unknown.

Miami: John Lucas, Andre Brown

I really, really hope that Lucas makes the team, not just because it's nice to see D-League players succeed, and not just because he's a talented player, but because Miami's backup was and is Chris Quinn. Miami has a history of rotating D-League players in and out without really committing to the idea (and also they haven't exactly signed the cream of the D-League crop anyway), but I would certainly hope they give Lucas every chance to beat out Quinn, because he can. Lucas played a fair amount of shooting guard alongside Eddie Gill last season, but he's a point guard who ran the offense well, and while he's not the biggest guy around, he's found a way to fight through screens pretty effectively. Brown has bounced around a few training camps the last few years after playing in the D-League in 2006. He also spent about two dozen games with the Toros last year. His rebounding has held but his shooting percentage, free throw shooting and overall scoring have gone down the last few years.

San Antonio: Curtis Jerrells, Dwayne Jones

I'm assuming Jerrells was signed to push Marcus Williams for the third point guard spot (and also because he both went to Baylor and is from Austin), which is fine and probably good for Williams, but I don't see Jerrells making the roster. He may, as 48 Minutes predicts, end up with the Toros, who will need another point guard with Williams going to the Spurs and Stanley Burrell headed to Europe. I was not optimistic about Jones making the roster until I saw that the team waived Jack McClinton in order to sign him. My overall thoughts on Jones can be found here (short version: I like him a lot). I'm still not sure he'll be with the Spurs coming out of the preseason, but Theo Ratliff's 70-year-old body could break down any day now, and I expect several of their players to see some time in Austin (such as James Gist). It's also about that time for Ian Mahinmi to show the team that he can play, and after recovering from an injury this offseason, he still might be behind development-wise.

(Optimistic) Back of the Envelope Projection for the Bobcats' 2009-10 Season

David Arnott — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:23:36 -0000

More photos » by Kent Smith - NBAE/Getty Images

You'll have to excuse my friend. He's a little slow. The town is back that way.

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Last year, the Charlotte Bobcats finished with a 35-47 record, the best record in team history. The team certainly looked a lot better after trading Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Sean Singletary, but as I've argued before, even though they probably did improve, Dudley was the most valuable player in that trade.

We gave up Shannon Brown, a perfectly decent guard, and Adam Morrison, a useless train wreck in need of repair, for Vladimir Radmanovich, who's probably better in a one to one comparison at the two-guard and the three than either of those guys, but not by that much over Brown. To boot, we're now on the hook for his contract while Morrison most likely will never get another million dollar NBA contract and Shannon Brown will still get paid far less than VladRad to ply his trade somewhere next season. So it goes. Get a small upgrade in talent in exchange for a hit on salary value.

This strategy makes plenty of sense. While everyone else is trying to clear cap space for 2010, we may as well acknowledge that we won't be players in that game and instead try to find bargains among the teams that want to dump talented players signed to longer contracts. The problem is that we didn't really get all that more talented, and now, with the team pushing up against the luxury tax if they use their full mid-level exception, we're pretty much tied to improving the team through the draft unless we can move a large contract... which everyone else is trying to do.

So here's a back of the envelope projection for next season. I'll be optimistic, putting Augustin in the starting lineup instead of Felton, and assigning playing time based on my common sense. Like I said: back of the envelope.

Numbers are based on eyeballing Basketball Prospectus player cards and Basketball-Reference player pages. The totally average team would win 41 games, and a replacement level team would win about 10 games. All wins listed are above replacement level.

Projected Wins Above Replacement

Augustin 3.5

Bell 0.0

Wallace 10.0

Diaw 8.5

Okafor 10.0

===

Felton 3.0

Henderson 1.0

Radmanovich 0.5

Diop 0.5

===

Total: 47-35

Derrick Brown? Everyone else at the end of the bench? No idea. This assumes that Augustin and Felton will switch up their playing time and that everyone will play, roughly, the same number of minutes they did last year. More or less, the real opportunities for improvement will come at the off guard slot, where Gerald Henderson can leap ahead of Bell's production, or at point guard, where DJ Augustin has the potential to up his game and be a major upgrade over the PG play the Cats got last season.

But that assumes Wallace, Okafor, and Diaw will all still be very good to borderline All Star. Take away wins from their performances, and we're back where we started. As I'm fond of saying, this team, as currently constructed, tops out as the six seed, and it looks like that's our lot for the foreseeable future, until at least the 2011-12 season, when we'll be guaranteed freedom from Mohammed's and VladRad's contracts, but probably farther, until Diaw's deal expires.

The only way we break free from that fate is if our draft picks are revelations. Augustin could be a seven-win player. Henderson could be an eight-win player. And if that comes to pass, and everyone else holds steady, we'll have a 55-win team on our hands and have legitimate title dreams.

Bigger is better; random thoughts on last night in the D-League

Scott Schroeder — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:30:07 -0000

Three games Saturday night (in the D-League), all very close, all with different outcomes than I expected. Plus, I watched Jason Horner and the Mandan Braves win the North Dakota High School championship instead of the buffering madness that has recently been D-League basketball. Yikes! I may no longer be the D-League guru!

Looking good, Mr. Marat Kogut (also featured, Jasper Johnson)

Don't forget to watch the games starting at 4 central today. Five games on tap!

Continue reading for my breakdown of the individual games!

Colorado 107 @ ALBUQUERQUE 111

This is the most surprising game of the night. Albuquerque trotted out a lineup I loathe, featuring Jasper Johnson and Antonio Meeking, each with body dimensions very similar to mine (read: not tall enough, too wide, and not ideal for the NBA), big ol' Brad Stricker, Will Conroy, and Antoine Agudio, some dude I've never heard of.

Standing out for the Thunderbirds was Agudio, who, upon further research, 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 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. As a bonus, his name is fun to say.

Other notables for the Thunderbirds were Will Conroy, who had 27 points, eight assists, and seven turnovers (OUCH!), making 7-of-16 from the field. Jasper Johnson, who I'm not sold on, had 17 points, nine boards, five assists, and four blocks. Antonio Meeking had a similar line with 16 points and nine boards.

Standing out for Colorado was Trey Gilder. Gilder is the opposite of the Johnson-Meeking tandem in that he's tall enough to play power forward in the NBA, but weighs in at about 180 pounds, and that's only after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Super Bowl Sunday. Obviously, this means he's much quicker than those that matched up with him, and was able to get a couple nice putback dunks, moving well to the basket. The draft-eligible Gilder (I'm changing his name to that so everyone knows) had 19 points and 12 boards in 24 minutes of action.

Other standouts for Colorado included the the point guard tandem of Eddie Gill, who had 19 points and eight assists, and John Lucas, who finished with 17 points off the bench, along with Josh Davis, who finished with 13 points, grabbed six boards, and dished four assists in just 32 minutes of action. Sonny Weems box score didn't impress me, as he scored 13 points and grabbed four boards, his least impressive performance with the 14ers since he's been assigned.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY 108 @ Idaho 106 (OVERTIME)

I'm waiting for Rumble to come on and tell me that at 1:35 of this video, Jawad Williams was clearly out of bounds. I hate to question the D-League officials, but it seems to me that he was out of bounds. To put it in perspective, that was in overtime, and ended up being the game winning shot. Ugh.

RGV was led by their shooting from the 3-point line. When a team can shoot 28 3's and be nearly 50%, they're probably going to win. Trent Strickland also stood out for RGV. Strickland, who I rarely mention because I'm not all that familiar with him, is a third year player out of Wake Forest. When he's hot, he's hot, and when he's not, you definitely know that he's not. Strickland has started all 39 games for RGV this season, averaging 18 points and six boards, shooting just 33% from deep.

Other notables for RGV were Jawad Williams with 22 points and six boards, shooting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc (just 7-for-23 overall though) and Jared Jordan, who had 15 points and 13 assists while committing just one turnover in 40 minutes of playing time!

Idaho was led by The Big Aristotle (he's that smart - more deserving than Shaq) Lance Allred, who finished with 27 points and 12 boards in 30 minutes of action. While I didn't watch tonight, he's also been showing off a nice shooting touch from about 17 feet. This can only help his shot at the show (or a huge overseas contract).

Other notables for Idaho include Nate Jawai with 14 points, 10 boards, and four fouls in 26 minutes, Brent Petway with 10 points, 10 baords, and six blocks (four of Williams , as I had assumed in preview), and Mo Abukar off the bench with 16 points and nine boards in 23 minutes.

Sioux Falls 101 @ UTAH 107

Got nothing on this game. Utah won. Mo Almond had 26. Sioux Falls lost. Sean Singletary came off the bench with 23 points. Alexis Ajinca looked terrible - seven points four boards, fouled out in under 18 minutes. Frank Williams had 23 as well. According to Dee-Jay, Kyrylo Fesenko drinks Red Bull before the game and Almond wears his socks inside out. Now you know!

Blake Ahearn is Better than You - Last Night In The D-League

Scott Schroeder — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:30:08 -0000

Big news in Wizards world last night, as Blake Ahearn broke the career record for 3-pointer's made with 202 in just 75 games so far with Dakota. Considering next year is the 15th season of basketball, this is pretty cool. Congrats Blake!

Kinda like Marat Kogut and his magic, Ahearn can twist his body while shooting!

Continue on for highlights, lowlights and anything else I noticed in last nights D-League games! With five games, there was a lot!

Dakota 123 @ Erie 117

Dakota's best player, as we've already touched on, was Blake Ahearn. Not much I can say about Ahearn that everyone hasn't heard, so we'll just get to his line. In 40 minutees, he scored 35 points on 16 shots, hitting seven of his 10 3-point attempts. Blake Ahearn is a man. He's got the chest hair to prove it.

Other notables for Dakota include Mo Baker, who finished with 20 points, 10 boards and six assists from the point guard spot. This was Baker's seventh game this season with double-digit rebounds, and he's a 6'1" guard. Romel Beck, while starting to look like a black hole on offense, did have a clutch 3-pointer, so I've got to give him props on that. He finished with 15 points. Usually a Wizard big man would be in this space at all, but unfortunately, this game was officiated by Ben Taylor and Nick Buchert, who are fast becoming the worst refs in the D-League Congrats Marat. Still the D-League has them work together every game I see them. Dear D-League, please put a stop to this. For the good of D-League basketball.

Erie was led by Maureece Rice, who has been a man on a mission lately. His mission, apparently, has been making Erie win games, as they came in winning nine of their last ten. This game, Rice had 24 at the half, and somehow was open for every shot attempt. While I predicted a shootout between Ahearn and Quincy Douby, Rice really stole the show for Erie. Rice finished this game with 36 points, nine assists, and just one turnover. Great game from the rookie.

Other notables for Erie included Douby, who made his Erie debut. In 16 minutes off the bench, he had 16 points, jawed with Ahearn to the point where I figured they'd get double-technicals, and thoroughly impressed me with his defense. Possibly this years version of Dahntay Jones? According to Matt Brennan (I know - I'm popular), probably. Erik Daniels was a bit of a non-factor, scoring 17 points and grabbing just five boards. Not used to that. Nor am I used to the fact that he started the game guarding Ahearn. Awkward!

Austin 111 @ Tulsa 108 - Overtime

WTLC liveblogged this one, so I'm going to direct you over there. I've got nothing to include that they didn't, save for the fact that this was mentioned in the comments: "A 66er girl had a wardrobe malfunction…a la Janet Jackson." Plenty of pictures over there, but none of this. Sorry fellas.

Los Angeles 100 @ Idaho 111

This game wasn't futurecasted. Second night in a row that a game wasn't. First night was when Carmelo Anthony was going to do play-by-play at a 14ers game. Tonight, when Sun Yue was playing, the most marketable D-Leaguer worldwide. This is, as they say, not really good at all.

Idaho outrebounded LA by 24. That's a lot.

Stud for Idaho was Lance Allred. Wow. I don't have any analysis on this since I couldn't watch any of it, so here's his line: 29 points, 5 boards, 30 minutes.

Other notables for Idaho were Kevin Burleson with 14 points and 10 assists and Jason Ellis off the bench with 11 points and 15 boards. Nate Jawai had 15 points and nine boards before fouling out in 27 minutes. Needless to say, he has to calm that down a bit. Regardless, Idaho is 4-1 with Jawai in the lineup, Toronto is 0-6 with Jawai in the D-League. Coincidence? They doubt it.

Los Angeles was led by Dwayne Mitchell with 34 points. I have a feeling this team has chemistry issues. As per no futurecast, I have no other outlook on his stats.

Other notables for LA were Brandon Heath with 20 points, six boards, and five assists. Sun Yue is terrible. Case closed. I will not listen to any arguments. We've given him three games. He is not the guy I thought was coming over. This game, he had seven points, shooting 3-for-10 from the field.

Utah 108, Bakersfield 96

I didn't watch the majority of this game either, due to my frustration with the above. I'm really glad it's tournament time! Locally and nationally!

For Utah, as I assumed, Mo Almond beasted. This line shouldn't surprise you - 29 minutes, 29 points, 10-of-14 from the field. Unless he has a bad attitude, I can't understand why Utah wouldn't want to bring him back next year.

It seems Utah was pretty much a one man show, so I'll just mention Utah coach Brad Jones' rotation in this spot: Jones suited up eleven guys and ten played more than a quarter of action. Kevin Kruger had the most minutes, but still under 36.

Bakersfield was led by Trey Johnson. Johnson went off as usual, scoring 28 points on 16 shots. NBA teams, call him up. K? Thanks! Bye!

Nothing else too notable for Bakersfield, so we'll go with a former March Madness star: Mateen Cleaves had six points, six assists, and four turnovers. Not quite his Michigan State numbers.

Reno 118, Sioux Falls 116

The Boom Tho Movement is once again, well, a movement. After becoming stagnant overseas and then in Dakota, it appears Rod Benson, AKA Boom Tho, has found his mojo in Reno. Coming off the bench in 32 minutes, Benson scored 30 points (possibly a career high? Rod, let me know), grabbed seven boards, and swatted three shots. Since getting to Reno fives games ago, Benson is averaging 14.2 points, 6.2 boards, and THREE POINT SIX blocks per game, all off the bench. I like this.

Benson got the opportunity to go off due to a knee injury to Patrick Ewing Jr (Sorry Chris). The announcers speculated everything from a torn ACL to a knee sprain. I'll get the official report this morning. Ewing finished with 19 points in 22 minutes. Russell Robinson played well, even though his Kansas Jayhawks aren't, much to the chagrin of some D-League GM's. Robinson had 20 points, shooting 8-for-15 from the field. David Noel also had a solid game with 19 points, eight boards and eight assists.

Sioux Falls was led by Frank Williams, so R-Rob probably wasn't that great on the defensive end. Williams finished 31 points, two assists and five turnovers. Ouch. This just in: don't leave him open.

Other notables include David Bailey, who was injured mid-game, got blocked by Benson on Sioux Falls second to last possession, and then dribbled the ball off his foot as time expired. He finished with 11 points and six boards in 24 minutes. The Charlotte Bobcats assignees played well, although in limited minutes. Sean Singletary finished with 12 points and seven assists in 23 minutes and Alexis Ajinca had 12 points and six boards in 22 minutes. Bobby Jones was relegated to starting the game in the bench. I'd move Michael Joiner or one of the point guards to the bench instead.