Alex Del Barrio, affectionately known around here as "ADB" AKA "The Voice of the Vipers" AKA The Booty Man, was on hand for the first game of the D-League preseason and contributed quite a bit. I moved the recap to the top, but his thoughts throughout the game can be found after the jump. Read/watch it all.  -- Scott

Rio Grande Valley Vipers 118, Halcones UV Xalapa 116 (Box Score)

I think the Rio Grande Valley Vipers have a few guys that proved their worth tonight.

• Richard Roby needs to keep the Turnovers down, but he gets to the free throw line (6/8) and is very long on defense. 
• Patrick Sullivan Terrel Harris, Jerel, McNeal, and of course Mustafa Shakur should all be safe. Who gets the minutes at back-up point is intriguing. Harris likes to have the ball in his hand, but is more a 2/3 wing player. 
• Isaiah Swann may have the lead off the bench right now. In 11 minutes Swann has 10 points, four boards, and four dimes. He also had five fouls, however, which is something he'll have to control.
• Jordan Eglseder has been hurt, I hear. He played well, but not great, with just four points and three boards in 14 minutes. He's a big body in the middle, but the up-tempo play of the Vipers may not fit his game. 
• The Vipers turned the ball over 27 times - It was an uptempo game, but 27 giveaways is not good. Granted there were a lot of players who won't be here in a couple days playing big minutes, but that is still too many.

At first glance, the Vipers can score, but have a lot of young players making rookie mistakes. As for the defending Mexican League Champions, they should have no problem winning another ring. They can shoot, rebound, and pass and would probably be an above average D-League team for sure. 

That's it from the UTPA Fieldhouse. Here is Jonah Goldberg's recap.

The entire live blog is after the jump.

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