SB Nation - Jerryd Bayless

'Zona Hoops - NBA Summer League Post Mortem

jruss — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:52:47 -0000

Fifty five games are now in the books at the Las Vegas NBA Summer League. We did a middle-of-the-way-done check-in so let's see how ex-Wildcats fared at the completion of play. Players are ranked below from highest scoring average down.

1. Jerryd Bayless (4 games) - 18 pts, 47% FG, 3.8 Reb, 4.3 Ast

2. Chase Budinger (5 games) - 17.8 pts, 68% FG, 2 Reb, 1 Steal

3. Jordan Hill (5 games) - 14.4 pts, 43% FG, 8.2 Reb, 1 Block

4. Mustafa Shakur (5 games) - 5.6 pts, 39% FG, 1.8 Reb, 1.6 Ast, 2 Steals

5. Salim Stoudamire (2 games) - 4 pts, 37.5% FG, 1 Ast, 1 Steal

6. Chris Rodgers (1 game) - 0 pts, 2 Reb, 1 Ast

Here are my reactions based on the numbers...

Reaction #1 - Bayless is solid and I believe he's in for a significant bump in playing time and a good year

Reaction #2 - Did Chase really have 68% FG??? That's better than the top 50 scorers in Summer League. Insane!!

Reaction #3 - I think Jordan Hill is eventually going to be a beast but it's going to take some time

Reaction #4 - Based on the individual box scores, it seemed like Shakur played better than the numbers indicated. I hope he makes an NBA squad

Reaction #5 - What happened to Salim Stoudamire?

Reaction #6 - Chris who?

Can't wait for pre-season to start!!!

How Former AZ Wildcats are Faring at the NBA Summer League

jruss — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:38:49 -0000

With the Las Vegas Summer League now officially half-way over, here's a quick look at how the former Arizona Wildcats are faring. I have ranked them in order by scoring average top to bottom:

1. Jerryd Bayless (POR - 1 game), 22 pts, 41% shooting, 4 Reb, 7 Ast

2. Chase Budinger (HOU - 3 games), 15.7 pts, 63% shooting, 2.7 Reb, 1 Ast

3. Jordan Hill (NYK - 1 game), 13 pts, 42% shooting, 8 Reb, 2 Steals

4. Mustafa Shakur (LAL - 4 games), 6.5 pts, 42% shooting, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 2.5 Steals

5. Salim Stoudamire (MIL - 2 games), 4 pts, 37% shooting, 1 Ast, 1 Steal

6. Chris Rodgers (PHX - 1 game) 4 Mins, 0 pts, 2 Reb, 1 Ast

7. Hassan Adams (HOU - 0 games) DNP

Here's what we already knew that these stats are confirming:

- We all knew Bayless had skills he just needed some time to develop

- We knew that Budinger is a first-round talent that pretty much got hosed and drafted in the second round

- We knew Hill is solid and will put up solid (not spectacular) numbers

- We knew Shakur was always a bit over-hyped

- We knew Stoudamire peaked in college

- We knew Rodgers was never going to crack an NBA roster

- We knew Hassan would be a journeyman at best

We'll see what plays out over the send half of Summer League...

Former Arizona Hoopsters Participating in NBA Vegas Summer League

jruss — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:53:44 -0000

July 10-19 marks the annual NBA Vegas Summer League where NBA teams get a first look at their newly drafted rookies and give their second year players a chance to step it up and show they deserve more playing time (see: Portland G Jerryd Bayless). The other fun part about the Summer League is that it gives an opportunity for a whole host of other players (former collage players, European, D-Leaguers, etc) a chance to try and sneak their way onto an NBA roster. Here's a look at all of the Arizona basketball alumni taking part in this year's Vegas Summer League, 8 in all with five rosters still to be announced:

Houston Rockets: Hassan Adams and Chase Budinger

LA Lakers: Mustafa Shakur

Milwaukee Bucks: Salim Stoudamire and Mohammed Tangara

New York Knicks: Jordan Hill

Phoenix Suns: Chris Rogers

Portland Trailblazers: Jerryd Bayless

I'll keep y'all updated on the missing rosters and to see how our former Wildcats fare in Las Vegas...