ALBANY 1. Michael Jenkins – Apparently playing in Bosnia 6. Patrick Sanders – Los Angeles (D-League) 11. Charron Fisher – Signed in Serbia 16. Frank Elegar – Playing in Germany 21. Kyle Hines – Playing in Italy 26. Steve Dagostino – Playing overseas EAST KENTUCKY 2. Roy Bright – Playing in Latvia 7. Emmanuel Little – EK Miners 12. Charles Rhodes – Nothing yet 17. Rashad West – D-League Draft 22. Terrance Whiters – D-League Draft 27. Brandon Cotton – D-League Draft PITTSBURGH 3. Othello Hunter – Made the Atlanta Hawks 8. Mike Cook – Erie (D-League) 13. Keith Benjamin – D-League Draft 18. LaQuan Prowell – Playing in Turkey 23. Reggie Williams – Playing in France 28. Leon Williams – Playing in Turkey LAWTON-FORT SILL 4. Aaron Smith – Nothing yet 9. Longar Longar – Signed in Turkey 14. Marcus Dove – Playing in Belgium 19. Steven Hill – OKC 24. Kyle Chones – Nothing yet 29. Jeremy Clayton – Nothing yet MINOT 5. Brian Butch – Signed in China 10. Brandon Smith – Reportedly going back to school 15. Othyus Jeffers – D-League Draft 20. Dion Dowell – Overseas through December 25. Sasha Kaun – Playing with CSKA Moscow 30. Dominique Kirk – Signed in Turkey
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Schenschational Covers the CBA?!?
Friday, October 24, 2008
Why Schenschational?
"Why Schenschational?" is a question that has come up a few times. Easy answer: Luke Schenscher, what else. However, since I've had 300 visits to my website already (That's an average of 13.6 visits PER DAY!), I figured I'd take a little time to explain myself.
Going Off on Nick Fazekas
Thursday, October 23, 2008
My Meeting With Paul Mokeski
Knowing my affinity for big white scrubs (Luke Schenscher and Les Jepsen among them), my biggest accomplishment is probably meeting Paul Mokeski. This Summer, upon learning I was getting the chance to intern for the Vegas Summer League, I called former Wizards coach Dean Martin to see if he could find a good cheap hotel for me close to UNLV, as I didn't really want to pay too much to go down and watch a bunch of D-Leaguers play basketball. After finding out that there wasn't too much available that was cheap and nice, I told him I'd just stay at the Candlewood, which wasn't very close and didn't have a very good rating. The plus side, I could stay there for $29 a night, since I was a manager at the Holiday Inn Express and were under the same brand. Fortunately, I found out that we wouldn't have to pay for our hotel rooms and would be staying at the Wyndham with a couple roommates.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Good Night, EliteXC
Cut Day
Today, the Chicago Bulls cut Darius Washington and Elton Brown, the Milwaukee Bucks cut Ron Howard and Kevin Kruger, and the Philadelphia 76ers cut Antywane Robinson. Though all of these cuts were expected, it's disappointing for it to have happened, as it would have been nice had these guys had their chances to prove themselves to be more worthy of a spot than some of the veterans that were in camp without as much upside.
Elton Brown and Darius Washington both have more upside, and possibly talent, than one of the other Bulls non-guaranteed contracts, Michael Ruffin, and the same amount of upside, minus the local ties, of Roger Powell. Brown plays the same position as Ruffin, and while Ruffin is a defensive stopper with no offensive skills to mention, so is every other big on the Bulls. Why not keep Brown around, at least let him show something in the last preseason games, rather than keep Ruffin sitting on the bench and playing Brown minimally to the point that he's not able to show what he is able to do. Besides, Ruffin is probably most famous for:
Darius Washington, meanwhile, did play well in the preseason. He averaged 8 points in the 2 games he made it into. Though the Bulls are filled with guards, I don't understand why they would have brought him into camp without giving him an opportunity. When given the opportunity he played well, but apparently that wasn't enough. The Bulls should have kept him around, at least until his contract became guaranteed, in case an attractive trade offer comes up where they're unable to unload one of their guards. With this many guards, it would have been smarter to keep a guy like Washington around, who won't complain about minutes. Get a serviceable big man in a trade for one of the guards, as the rest of the guards on the team probably aren't going to take to the bench as well as Washington would have.
Kevin Kruger and Ron Howard were both cut from the Bucks. Although Howard doesn't yet have the skills to compete at an NBA level and would be wise to play with the Mad Ants again this season, Kruger does have the NBA knowledge. While he's not very athletic, he is heady enough to play at the point and facilitate the offense, which goes along with his dad being Lon Kruger, the longtime coach. He's certainly got more upside than both Tyronn Lue and Damon Jones, two of the other point guards being paid by the Bucks. He played 22 minutes in 2 games, making one of his two shot attempts, a 3-point attempt, and dished 3 assists, shooting 5-for-5 from the line. Certainly not amazing, but I'm not sure why the Bucks wouldn't have given him more of a chance, considering they took a chance on other D-Leaguers that's paid off. Ramon Sessions, the projected starting point guard, and recently hired Joe Wolf are both D-League success stories.
Ummm... Really?
I'm not quite sure how this is legal, or even makes sense, but it kind of makes me wonder how many refs are legit...
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Blake Ahearn Wins Games. Period.
Tonight, since he played for the hometown Dakota Wizards the majority of last season before being called-up the NBA, he was the most popular player at the game. When Kevin Ollie got off the bench before him, it seemed like he wasn't even going to get in the game, since either he or Ollie have gotten a DNP-Coaches Decision when the other plays the last few games, and tonight it was Ollie's turn for playing time. But at the 7 minute mark, Ahearn got up, took his warmup's off, and got to the scorer's table to check in with the crowd cheering for him, before Coach Wittman brought him back to the bench. At the next timeout, Ahearn got in the game, playing the off-guard while Ollie played the point. Jones took him to the hoop his first possession, and did that frequently throughout the next four minutes, however didn't have much success as the help defense helped.
On offense however, Ahearn played well. His first touch, he pump-faked, drove to the hoop, and handed off to Ryan Gomes for an assist. His next touch, he got the ball for an open 3-point attempt on the wing that caromed off the rim, leaving the score at 104-102 in favor of the Nuggets. A minute later, with 30 seconds left in the game, the game was tied at 104. Ahearn got the ball in the corner from Ollie and let it fly, shooting over a challenging Chris Andersen. Blake went down, the ball went in, the crowd went wild, Ahearn left Bismarck a hero... Again. Hopefully for the last time.
Continue on for quick shots from the game.
- Nick Fazekas looked like he just woke up when he got in at the end of the first half. He probably should have stayed sleeping. He runs like J.C. Mathis from the Skyforce last year, and that isn't a compliment. He also went 0-for-2 from the field, missing both makeable attempts.
- Mike Miller can shoot. He had 9 of the Wolves first 18 points, and shot pretty much every time he touched the ball. Not a bad thing for this team. He also addressed the crowd at the beginning, thanking everyone for coming out. I personally think Ahearn would have made a better choice, but if Wolves GM Jim Stack was making the decisions, it made sense. When I was down in Vegas interning with the Summer League , I rode the elevator with Stack, where I introduced myself, as I was looking for a job and Stack was the GM of a team closest to my hometown. Upon learning I was from Bismarck, he said "Oh, Mike Miller country... Dakota Territory..." and that ended the elevator ride. Miller however is from Mitchell, SOUTH Dakota, and the Dakota Territories haven't been one since 1889.
- Allen Iverson didn't make the trip. Disappointing.
- Carmelo Anthony did make the trip. He played 28 minutes, scoring 15 points, and kicked his shoes off over his head and into the crowd when he took the bench for good in the fourth quarter (Kenyon Martin did the same). I also got text messages from friends that took pictures with him on Saturday while he was at Best Buy and Buffalo Wild Wings, so he apparently got around. By all accounts, in Bismarck, he's a nice guy.
- I didn't look at the box score until after the game, but I though Linas Kleiza played well. He didn't. He went 1-for-8 from the field, but made up for it shooting 11-for-12 from the line.
- Calvin Booth was the last guy left out there at the end of warm-ups, practicing with Ed Pinckney, the TWolves assistant coach and former Tourney MOP with Villanova. If I had to pick which player I'd rather have now from that warm up, I'm going with Pinckney.
- Brian Cardinal is bald. He also kind of looks like Kane from wrestling.
- Smush Parker won the lay-up line impromptu dunk contest that the Nuggets got going. Other participants included JR Smith and Chris Andersen.
- Wizards mascot Dunkie put on weight in the offseason, but it helped, as his arm was much stronger. He also dunked off the trampoline after Crunch, which was exciting.
- Randy Foye got credit for 15 assists. I wasn't counting, but it didn't seem like he had that many. He didn't really play like a point guard, but he did play well.
- Al Jefferson did not show much savvy in the post. He went 7-for-16, usually settling for some sort of weak left handed hook shot. Definitely not the dominating presence that would help while he plays next to Kevin Love this season.
- Speaking of Kevin Love, he fouled out. In 11 minutes of action. Did not look good. I think George Karl just told the Birdman to take it to Love.
- Renaldo Balkman has to have the longest hair ever in the NBA. He also tucked his warmup pants into his socks pregame. Interesting look.
- Andersen has a lot of tattoos, gels his hair before putting on a headband, and tries REALLY hard to dunk on people. He wasn't able to tonight though, going 0-for-3 from the field, where the majority of his attempts either consisted of him getting called for the offensive foul, or not being able to throw it down while getting fouled. He almost had the dunk of the preseason as he was thrown an alley-oop on the inbound pass, boxed out by Kevin Love, but still skyed over him and caught the ball and stretched out to get the ball to the rim before it rimmed out while being fouled by Love for his 6th.
- The Timberwolves PA guy is annoying. During the "defense song" or whatever it's called, he actually chants defense, very creepily. I could not handle him 41 games a year, or even the 24 that I get to hear the baritone voice of "The Voice", Scott Woodmansee.
- The crowd was small by NBA preseason game standards here in Bismarck, with just 6,081 announced. That doesn't even top the Wizards highest drawing crowd. The last two preseason games for the Wizards I believe the crowd was over 9,000, much closer to capacity.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Looking at Last Year's D-League Draft
With 6 guys in camp already that the teams have basically hand-picked and seen in action personally, the Draft is good for adding the league mandated rookie and two or three other guys outside of the first round pick to contribute. You're basically looking at 4, maybe 5 guys from the ten round roster. Having a draft on a Friday night that has 16 teams each picking ten players seem to be a bit much. I know most coaches have no way of getting familiar with every player in the draft. Last year, Bakersfield coach Jim Harrick missed his first round pick, and when he answered later in the 2nd, sounded like he may have fell asleep. Though they get preliminary lists of who has signed a contract for the season early, the majority of the players that will contribute are the guys that have either just been cut by the NBA or have waited until the last minute to make the decision to stick around or head to Europe for the season. Looking at last year, I found that the draft didn't help many teams outside the first round, but found the biggest steals and re-did the first round last year. Continue on for results...
When looking at last years draft, I found that only 76 of the 140 players that were drafted actually made it into a regular season game. Starting in the third round, at least four players from each round didn't even make it into the regular season, and in the 8th and 9th round, only 12 of the 28 played in the D-League last season. Of the 76 players that did make it to the league, 18 didn't even play with the team that drafted them the entire year, either getting traded or released, including 3 first round picks (Kevin Pittsnogle, Glen McGowan, and Darvin Ham).
The average player drafted played in 31 games last season, starting half of them, and played just 23 minutes per game. This player would score 9 points per game, grabbing 4 boards and 2 assists, shooting 47% from the field and 74% from the line. While not bad, certainly you can see the Draft as a whole won't help your team too entirely much. If you look at the first round picks, even this isn't great. The average 1st round player scored 15 points per game, adding 5.5 boards and 3 assists in 32 minutes of playing time. The 2nd through 4th round players averaged 10 points, 4 boards, and about 1.5 assists per game, playing about 23 minutes a game. Round 5 and 6, players averaged right around 6 points, 3.5 boards, and an assist in 16 minutes per game. In the 7th round, production shot up, averaging 10 points, 3.5 boards and 1.5 assists, playing 22 minutes per game. The last 3 rounds of the draft, players averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and an assist, playing about 18 minutes a game.
Knowing that other than the first round picks, you're pretty much able to get equal value in the next six rounds, the draft is pretty much a crap shoot. This is more than likely due to the coaches not being able to scout much due to the time it takes for them to get the final draft eligible list.
If coaches were to re-draft last years draft, I believe it would look more like this. Although most of these players were called-up, in the first round you've got to take the best talent and hope that the players plays well until the inevitable call-up happens.
2007 D-League Draft First Round
Colorado -- Picking first overall in the draft, the 14ers are built around allocated player Kaniel Dickens and returning big man Elton Brown, so they're basically looking for a point guard to slash and free Dickens up on the perimeter when not dumping the ball down inside to Brown. The best guard in the D-League that has shown he can both get in the lane as well as rack up the assists, C.J. Watson. Playing just 16 games before getting called up last season, Watson averaged 27 points, 6 assists, and 5.5 boards, along with two steals and shooting better than 50% from the field. Though their original pick, Eddie Gill, played well in the D-League last year, Watson had much more upside and would have been extremely dangerous on the dangerous 14ers.
Dakota Wizards -- Picking second overall, the Wizards were returning a great core from their championship team the year before. Maurice Baker, Dontell Jefferson, Rod Benson, and Kevin Lyde were all returning, meaning the first round pick would be a player that could come in and mesh with a team already teeming with talent. Though Dwayne Mitchell would have been an option that may have been able to mesh better with the Wizards, their original pick of Carlos Powell was the right one, taking the best player available, especially since Powell played the position needed. Powell played in 48 of the Wizards games, scoring 22.5 points per game, along with 6.5 boards and 4.5 assists. Probably the best pick in the first round, as he played well and played almost all of the games, without heading overseas or getting called-up.
Albuquerque Thunderbirds - The Thunderbirds returned just one player from the previous season, Steven Barber, and weren't helped out much by the D-League's allocated players, so they were more or less starting from scratch. They picked Darvin Ham Slamwich, which wasn't the wisest idea as he was more a coach on the floor, rather than a playmaker to build around. Had they had a good team returning, he would have been valuable, but I don't think he was the right pick to start a team with. This would have been a good spot for Eddie Gill to go, seeing as he is a good player to build around, has enough experience to be a leader that other players are going to look up to, and plays the most important position on the court at the point.
Idaho Stampede - The Stampede had a great team coming back, returning the reigning league MVP Randy Livingston, skilled big man Lance Allred, former NBA draft pick 7-foot swingman Ricky Sanchez, and also being allocated two overseas studs in Roberto Bergersen and Cory Violette. Basically, they already have their starting 5 right there if they want, so they're just looking for a good complimentary player that can contribute. They picked Jamaal Tatum, a rookie point guard and former Saluki, but he was injured in the preseason and never regained his health to come back and play. Assuming they stay with a point guard, there are two options that really might warrant the fourth overall pick in the draft left. Blake Ahearn or Kevin Kruger, rookie white point guards who showed they can play. At the time, Kruger probably would have been a better pick, as he was more well-known and played well for the Flash last year, facilitating the offense and scoring 13 points and dishing 7 assists a game. Blake Ahearn however is my pick here, though. A sharp-shooting rookie who can play both guard positions, he would have brought a lot to Coach Brian Gates' offense, and would have been an instant spark off the bench which might have needed it being the oldest team in the D-League. Nonetheless, they won the championship without a first round pick, so it didn't really matter.
Rio Grande Valley Vipers - The Vipers, an expansion team, were allocated Gabe Muoneke, but little else. With their original pick C.J. Watson off the board, the Vipers probably would have went with another point guard, and the best point guard left would be Kruger. Kruger, although not a flashy player, is a solid player, was coming off of a great season at UNLV, and would have been a good player to build around. Being a rookie, he also filled a huge need, as each team needed two rookies, and if a quality rookie was available, that's the best bet. The other option might have been going big, where NBA veteran Jelani McCoy would have been a good pick.
Sioux Falls Skyforce - The Skyforce started out with a ready-made backcourt, with returning player Elton Nesbitt and allocated player, along with being a former Skyforce player, David Bailey. With their backcourt already set up, the team would be wise to grab a big-man. Their original pick was Nik Caner-Medley, a 6-8 forward out of Maryland that could gun from outside. Looking at his D-League season, he played six games, averaging 22 points and 11.5 boards in 42 minutes a game. Though the Skyforce didn't really need another outside shooter already having Bailey and Nesbitt, Caner-Medley was a great pick, though going overseas after just six games definitely hurts his stock. I would take Marcus Campbell in this spot, as he would have really helped Coach Nate Tibbetts team have great inside-outside dynamic. A 7-foot lefty and D-League veteran, he put up the best numbers as a big man in last years D-League draft, averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds and over a block per game in just 25 minutes of action. In the actual draft, the Stampede actually picked Campbell late in round 4.
Fort Wayne Mad Ants - The Mad Ants were in a great position coming into the draft, having been allocated a starting backcourt with Earl Calloway and Jeremy Richardson, plus having Pistons 2nd round draft pick Sammy Mejia, Roderick Wilmont and Justin Cage to round out 5 players that are legitimate D-League starters. Unfortunately, the Mad Ants weren't blessed with a big guy that could play in the post (This showed later in the season when they actually let Nate Gerwig play some games). Their original pick was Larry Turner, and I liked what he brought to the table. A 6'11" rookie out of Tennessee State, he had just been the last cut of the Los Angeles Lakers. Being a rookie and a legit big man, this was a good pick. Though he usually battled foul trouble and thus never really got enough playing time, his per-36 minute averages were 12 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. With those averages, coupled with getting a legit big man in the first round that doubles as a rookie, I think Fort Wayne made the right pick. Knowing they would have the Pistons Cheikh Samb for most of the season, though, I think I would have picked Caner-Medley, a 6-8 forward that would bring a lot more firepower to an already explosive team.
Los Angeles D-Fenders - The D-Fenders returned a lot of good players from the season before, with Brian Chase at the point, Devin Green at the 2, Sean Banks at the 3, and Andre Patterson at the 4, so really all they were looking for would be a skilled big man. Though they originally picked Jelani McCoy, with the D-Fenders being owned by the Lakers, Larry Turner would have been the pick made here, as the Lakers could have watched their final cut develop until he was ready to be called up to the Lakers.
Anaheim Arsenal - The Arsenal had a decent starting team with Guillermo Diaz and Noel Felix, cuts from the parent club LA Clippers. With that, they were pretty much open to draft anyone but a point guard. Their original pick was Kedrick Brown, former Celtics lottery pick, and he played well for the Arsenal, averaging 15 points and 6 boards for the Arsenal. However, I think this would have been a good spot for the Arsenal to grab Jelani McCoy, a big man that could get it done down low, a good compliment to the undersized post Felix.
Utah Flash - The Flash, an expansion team, didn't get much through the expansion draft or allocation players. They were left with the humongous James Lang, and two local tryout players, John Millsap (Brother of Utah Jazz's Paul Millsap) and Brian Hamilton, who nobody knew at the time, but ended up playing well and is now in NBA camp. Regardless, they could pretty much pick anyone, and with original pick local prospect Kevin Kruger off the board already, I think they should go with Dwayne Mitchell. Mitchell, although he has a streaky jump-shot, is a fun to watch athletic freak who would have brought some excitement to this team. He averaged 20 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists with the Iowa Energy before heading overseas last year, and with him and Brian Hamilton on the team, there would have been a lot of steals going around creating a fun, fast-breaking back court, especially when Mo Almond was on lease from the Jazz. Unfortunately, neither Flash big men James Lang or Kyrylo Fesenko would get in on the fast break action.
Tulsa 66ers - The 66ers didn't return much other than Mike Hall, a stud that played both the 3 and 4 for them. The 66ers could use a lot, but I think it would have made sense to pair Mike Hall with Kedrick Brown. Brown, the 6-7 guard and former Celtics lottery pick , would have given this team a lot of talent to build around. Though nobody would guess, Brown scored the third most points in the D-League last year, behind Wizards Carlos Powell and Blake Ahearn.
Austin Toros - The Toros, freshly acquired by the San Antonio Spurs, had a lot of talent allocated to them, acquiring Keith Langford and the Spurs 2nd round pick, Marcus Williams out of Arizona. With a 2 and 3 already there, they need either a big man a point guard to distribute the ball. Knowing Ian Mahinmi would be with the team most of the tiem, Darvin Ham would be a good pick here. He was actually traded to the Toros toward the end of the season and started all 4 of the games he was with them. With a young team and loads of prospects that the Spurs rotated through, Ham would have been a good mentor for the players that came through, especially DerMarr Johnson and Marcus Williams, who could use a good mentor that's already been in the NBA and knows what they're looking for.
Bakersfield Jam - Coach Jim Harrick fell asleep during the time allotted to make this pick, so in all reality, Perrin Johnson or Forrest "Whyte Cloud" Fisher would have been good picks here, just because they at least would have been less humiliating then completely skipping the first round. They returned Rod Riley, Brandon Bowman, and Yuta Tabuse, so, had they been awake for this pick, they probably would have been looking for a 2 or a 4. Kevin Pittsnogle would have made sense here, as he is a known player that could have gotten some butts in the seats and shot the 3, a lot, sometimes even making it. Unfortunately, he wasn't really into playing defense or stepping inside. Instead, I think that Carl Elliott, the rookie out of George Washington, would have made sense here. While playing behind Bailey and Nesbitt in Sioux Falls, he still was able to manage averaging 14 points and a couple steals per contest.
Iowa Energy - After being allocated Jeff Horner and Doug Thomas to give the expansion team a local feel, the team basically just has to look for a playmaker. With their original pick, Dwayne Mitchell, already off the board, Josh Gross would probably make the best substitution of players left. Gross, who played for three teams last season, Iowa among them, averaged 15 points and 5 boards in 30 minutes a contest.
Most Value By Round
First Round - Carlos Powell (DAK) - Though not the best player in the first round, obviously had the most value to the Wizards, as they weren't expecting the 2nd overall pick to play in 48 of their games.
Second Round - Carl Elliott (SFL) - Elliott, playing behind Bailey and Nesbitt in Sioux Falls, he still was able to manage averaging 14 points and a couple steals per contest.
Third Round - Corey Minnifield (FTW) - Minnifield averaged 16 points and 6 assists for the Mad Ants, starting 28 of the 43 games.
Fourth Round - Blake Ahearn (DAK) - Ahearn, an unheralded rookie out of Missouri State, started the season coming off of the bench for Dakota, and ended up coming off of the bench for the Miami Heat.
Fifth Round - Keith Closs (TUL) - Closs, when not smoking cigarettes minutes before the game starts (Saw this in action), actually played well for the 66ers, coming off the bench to provide a dominant defensive presence. Though old and short on stamina, he averaged 3 blocks in 19 minutes of action.
Sixth Round - Jesse Smith (RGV) - Smith averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds, starting 33 of the Vipers 50 games.
Seventh Round - Ron Howard (FTW) - The seventh round was a very productive round, producing 4 or 5 players with a lot of value so late, but Ron Howard, who started 37 games with the Mad Ants, played very well for being named after a kid on Happy Days. He averaged 11 points in 28 minutes, shooting 52% from the field.
Eighth Round - Michael Joiner (SFL) - Joiner, out of Florida State, was the utility man for Skyforce, playing everything from the 2 to the 5 as a 6-7" forward. He averaged 10 points and 4 rebounds, starting 30 games for Sioux Falls.
Ninth Round - Ramon Dyer (ABQ) - Dyer played in all 50 games for the Thunderbirds, averaging 6 points and 5 boards.
Tenth Round - Tony Gipson (DAK) - Gipson didn't make the team coming out of training camp, but once Dontell Jefferson and Mo Baker went overseas, along with Blake Ahearn being called up, Coach Duane Ticknor found Gipson ready to play. He joined the Wizards for the last 21 games of the season, starting 15 of them, averaging 13 points in 32 minutes.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Leslie Jepsen -- The Great Unkown
Sitting at work today, already having gone through every site that I have on my google reader and looking for stuff even more random, I decided to check out Basketball-Reference.com, one of my favorite sites of all time. While there and trying to become unbored, I see the link on the site entitled "Frivolity". I didn't think was a word, but it seemed to be the perfect way to waste the remaining 3 hours. I tinkered around with it, before I decided to search players born in North Dakota. I'm the biggest basketball fan I know and have lived in Bismarck my entire life, so I was shocked to see that there is more to North Dakota people that have went on to the NBA besides the oft heard of Phil Jackson (Williston). Turns out there were two that I really had no reason to ever hear of: Glenn Hansen (Devils Lake, 1976-78) and Duane Klueh (Bottineau, 1949-1951). Both of these guys played sparingly, and in the NBA before I was even born. The third guy is the one that baffled me that I had never heard of him. A big, white clumsy white guy, that grew up right here in North Dakota!
Leslie "Les" Jepsen was a legit 7-footer that went to high school in Bowbells, North Dakota, near the Canadian border, and graduated from there in 1986, the year I was born. At Bowbells, where Jepsen was a Bowbells Eskimo, he averaged 27 points, 18 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 steals per game. From there, he went to Iowa to be a Hawkeye. After being redshirted his first year with the team, he gradually started getting better. Actually, it took awhile, his first three years with the Hawkeyes, he averaged 2.5 points and 3.1 rebounds a game. His senior year however, he played much better. He averaged 15 points and 10 boards a game, dominating the post while future Chicago Bull B.J. Armstrong was lights out on the perimeter. In fact, according to draft guru Marty Blake, he went from being the 28th best center at the beginning of his senior year to the 5th best by Draft day!
With the 28th overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Jepsen. The second rounds first pick, ahead of guys like Toni Kukoc (29th), Jud Buechler (38th), Bimbo Coles (40th), Tony Massenberg (43rd), Antonio Davis (45th), and Cedric Ceballos (48th). Jepsen had a miserable season with Golden State, scoring 28 points in 21 games, adding 16 turnovers. It's not that he was getting the opportunity, however. He made just 11 of his 36 shot attempts, shooting just barely over 30%. For a 7 footer who should be doing most of his work around the rim, that is TERRIBLE. The following offseason, he, along with Mitch Richmond, was traded to the Sacramento Kings for highly touted Billy Owens, who wouldn't sign with Sacramento. That season, he got better, kind of. Though he only had 25 points in 31 games, he was much more efficient. He shot 37.5% from the field, which is still terrible, but much better than his previous season. After that season, he collected two more seasons worth of paychecks with the Kings, but played overseas, where he didn't fare much better.
Nowadays, according to an interview he did with TheDraftReview, Jepsen owns an investment management and real estate company that he operates in Minnesota. My favorite part of their article, and the way I'm going to finish this posting, is this, in response to his greatest off the court accomplishment:
LJ:Back in Iowa City the day after the first Carolina game I drove through Burger King and the chick at the 2nd window said “Hey, your Les Jepsen… You’re a great player!”… that was probably my best moment off the court… outside a Burger King drive-thru window.
Monday, October 6, 2008
D-League Players Down the Road
First Team All D-League, 2007
Lou Amundson - Amundson was a midseason call-up to Philadelphia and played in Philly last year as well. This summer, he played with Golden State in Vegas, and the Phoenix Suns rewarded him in August with a contract for this season. Amundson, though he never puts up much for stats, always looks like he's the hardest working player on the floor, and can defend on the wing and in the post . Constantly hustling, very aggressive, and will bring a defensive attitude to the limited playing time he is able to get with Phoenix. He's a perfect complimentary player off the bench, doing the things no one really notices unless they're solely concentrating on him.
Elton Brown - Since I just wrote a profile about him, I'll use it here as well. Elton Brown, an anthropology(!?) major out of Virigina has been a beast for the Colorado 14ers, playing with them in the 2006-07 season and the majority of the 2007-08 season. In his D-League career, Elton Brown has averaged 19 points and 10.5 rebounds, and also added a block per game last season. Brown has never looked to be in great shape (though has a great big frame), and I'd assume he's more like 6'7" or 6'8", but he plays and rebounds like a legit 7 footer. He does well getting into position for rebounds and has a decent array of post moves on the offensive end. Brown played for the Nuggets Vegas Summer League team and averaged 13 points and 10 boards a contest. It'd make sense for the Bulls to give the guy his first shot in the NBA, as he brings heart and passion, not to mention a decent low-post game, to a team that lacks these qualities.
Randy Livingston - Livingston, like Brown, played in the D-League with the same team he played for when making First Team All D-League. Livingston played with the Idaho Stampede, where he actually upped his scoring average, from 12 to 16.5 points per game, along with keeping his assists average at right around 10.5. In the playoffs, Livingston guided the Stampede to a championship with 10 points, 7.5 assists, and 6 boards a game. After the game, Livingston announced his retirement. Since then, he was drafted by the Erie Bayhawks in the expansion draft, though has instead taken the role as associate head coach under Coach Bryan Gates for the Stampede, the team with which he holds the career records for points scored and games played.
Renaldo Major - After playing with the Dakota Wizards and being called up the Golden State Warriors in the 06-07 season, Major went to NBA training camp with Denver Nuggets. In Denver, during routine physicals, the Nuggets found that Major had been born with a heart murmur and was having trouble with one of his valves. He had open-heart surgery about a year ago, and is said to be just now being OK'd to play. Major was slated to play with the Milwaukee Bucks in July on their Summer League, but didn't have the necessary paperwork and has thus been out of playing an organized basketball game since April 2007. The plan is for him to return to the Wizards as an allocated player this season.
Von Wafer - Wafer played for the Colorado 14ers between playing with the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets in 2007. After the 2007 season, Wafer played with the Nuggets summer league team, including a 42 point outburst in the VSL. Coming off of this impressive performance, the Nuggets signed him for the season. Midway through the season, he was traded to Portland for Taurean Green, neither of which got much playing time with either team. This past summer, Wafer was with the Knicks, which he parlayed into a training camp invite with the Houston Rockets. Though it doesn't seem like there will be a roster spot for Wafer, he's talented enough to at least bounce around in the NBA again while playing in the D-League.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Last Year's D-League Guys in NBA Camp
Boston Celtics
Patrick O'Bryant - The Notorious P.O.B. will likely stick with the Celtics and be Kendrick Perkins primary backup. After playing in just 40 games over his first two seasons with the Golden State Warriors, he's still got a lot of room to improve. We all know a lot of room to improve means, currently, he's not very good. Coming out of Bradley, most of us probably could have guessed that. However, without the expectations and lottery contract, he may be able to slowly grow into the Celtic's offense, as it's a slower pace than Nellieball (which he never really got to play in, as he spent more time looking average with the Bakersfield Jam)
O'Bryant had a good first game as a member of the Celtic's. Against the Sixers, he had 10 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks in 25 minutes of action in a starting role.
Gabe Pruitt - Pruitt looked good in the D-League last year, and will more than likely split time in Orem again this year with rookie addition J.R. Giddens. The C's have seven players that play either the 1 or the 2 on their roster with guaranteed contracts, so Pruitt probably won't see a lot of playing time in the NBA unless the Celtic's show their age and start having injury problems.
Pruitt scored 2 points in 11 minutes off the bench in the C's first preseason game.
Charlotte Bobcats
Shannon Brown - Shannon Brown is one of four guys fighting for the 14th and 15th spot on Larry Brown's roster, along with Andre Brown, Marcus Williams, and Donnell Taylor. I'm guessing that the Bobcats will go with Marcus Williams and one of the other Brown's. Shannon could easily make ESPN's Bill Simmons' "Lindsey Hunter All-Stars" for sounding like he should be on the cover of SI's next swimsuit issue instead of the end of Larry Brown's bench. He played well at the D-League showcase last year, was included in the Chicago-Cleveland team swap, and scores well when getting over 20 minutes a game. For some reason however, he never really gets those minutes he needs, and his line usually ends up looking like his April 13th game against the Magic -- 0-4, 1 TO in 4 minutes. He's a volume shooter so he'll fire up the shots, but he's lucky when they come down through the basket. Hopefully Larry Brown is just looking for someone that actually wants to cheer on the bench in Charlotte, as Shannon's media day picture shows how happy he is to be there: 
Brown scored 9 points in 12 minutes on 4-of-7 shooting in his Bobcats debut.
Jermareo Davidson - Davidson, who apparently is the only person in the world named Jermareo according to ShamSports, is a lot like the other young Charlotte bigs not named Sean May (May seems to be injury prone and does not need to add any weight, to put it nice). He is extremely raw, but very long and athletic, which seems to be what the Bobcats are currently looking for in draft picks, as Ryan Hollins and Alexis Ajinca also fit into that mold. I was going to assume he will once again spend some time in Sioux Falls, but Charlotte's got very few bigs, and either Davidson, Ajinca, or Hollins could all play a key role off of the bench as the backup 4/5, especially if May isn't completely healthy.
Davidson went 0-for-2 from the field and the line, finishing the first preseason game with 2 fouls and a block in 9 minutes of action.
Marcus Williams - Williams has a lot of tattoos. Probably as many tattoos as players with the name as him. He played well with the Austin Toros last year, between call ups wih the Spurs (with which he played 1 game), and the Clippers, whom he played with for about the last month of the season. He also played with the Clippers in Vegas for Summer League, leading the team in scoring the last two games, but apparently didn't show them enough to get another shot this year, as they instead brought in Curtis Sumpter and David Noel to fill out their roster at the swingman spot. Williams is an NBA talent, and will eventually stick with a team, though I'm not sure it will be the Bobcats.
Williams played 5 minutes, collecting 2 rebounds in his Bobcats debut.
Chicago Bulls
Elton Brown - Elton Brown, an anthropology(!?) major out of Virigina has been a beast for the Colorado 14ers, playing with them in the 2006-07 season and the majority of the 2007-08 season. In his D-League career, Elton Brown has averaged 19 points and 10.5 rebounds, and also added a block per game last season. Brown has never looked to be in great shape (though has a great big frame), and I'd assume he's more like 6'7" or 6'8", but he plays and rebounds like a legit 7 footer. He does well getting into position for rebounds and has a decent array of post moves on the offensive end. Brown played for the Nuggets Vegas Summer League team and averaged 13 points and 10 boards a contest. It'd make sense for the Bulls to give the guy his first shot in the NBA, as he brings heart and passion, not to mention a decent low-post game, to a team that lacks these qualities. Also, when I talk about the Elton Brown that came out of Virginia a couple years ago, I'm talking about this Elton Brown: 
Not this Elton Brown, who, according to interview he did with Matt over at Ridiculous Upside, is his cousin: 
Demetris Nichols - Nichols is a 6'8 swingman out of Syracuse University. Thus far, since being drafted in the 2nd round last year, his career looks like this:
1. Drafted by Portland 2. Traded on draft day to New York. 3. Released by Knicks before the season after not wanting to go overseas for the season. 4. Signed by Cleveland. 5. Released by the Cavaliers after they were able re-sign Anderson Varejao. 6. Signed by Chicago. 7. Sent to the Iowa Energy. 8. Recalled by Chicago. 9. Sent back to Iowa 10. Recalled by Chicago.
He's been around. He played 14 games in two separate stints with the Energy, averaging 19 points and making about 1/3 of his 3-point attempts, which is his strength. Nichols doesn't go to the rack much, and this didn't change in the D-League as he primarily shot jump shots and hung out on the perimeter. He hasn't really shown much in his short career, but he will more than likely stick with the Bulls this season.
Cedric Simmons - Simmons will make the team, and, just like last year, no will probably know. He scored 4 points in 19 minutes over seven games with the Bulls after being included in the Bulls-Cavs midseason swap. In the D-League, where he played both with Rio Grande Valley and Iowa, he averaged 13 points and 6 rebounds, looking overly average for a player on NBA assignment. His offensive game is non-existant, and the Bulls have a lot more invested in big-men stoppers Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah to give Simmons a shot as a defensive specialist.
Darius Washington Jr. - Washington is an interesting prospect, though unless some sort of trade happens, the Bulls guard logjam is just going to be too much to overcome. Washington is probably best known for missing two out of three free throws as a freshman with Memphis, down by 2 and shooting 3 FT's without any time on the clock and everyone else off of the the court. After his sophomore season, Washington signed with an agent, but went undrafted and spent the season with Greece. Last season, he caught on with the Spurs, but averaged just 3 points in 18 games around a stint being assigned to the Toros. He played outstanding with the Toros, averaging 25 points, 8 boards and 5 assists, though he also turned the ball over almost 6 times a game. He was then called up to cover for a Tony Parker injury, was released after that. From there, he went overseas to finish the season, and my guess is if someone doesn't pick him up out of Bulls camp, he will head across the ocean again, for at least part of this season.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Lance Allred - Allred was called up midseason last year by the Cav's, and though he only played in 3 games, the Cav's coaches said he was smart and made the playoff roster, where he played the Jack Haley, wave the towel on the bench role. It's unlikely that he'll make the Cav's team this year, but don't be surprised if he is called up from the D-League once again this year. Teams like players that will have a positive attitude to fill out the last guy off the bench role, and with Allred's smarts. He's currently writing 2 novels, along with an autobiography detailing his earlier life issues, as he was raised in a cult and has an 80% hearing loss, becoming the first legally deaf player in the league. He also has the hustle/reddish hair/goofiness of a Luke Schenscher, which is an added bonus. If I had to pick any 3 7-footers with names starting with L, past or present, to go to lunch with, their names would be: Lance Allred, Luke Schenscher, and Luc Longley.
Lance Allred day of call-up (Getty/NBAE)After playing 4 minutes and going 0-for-1 from the field with a block and turnover, Allred was released on October 9th in the first round of the Cav's preseason cuts.
Ronald Dupree - Dupree started the season in Detroit, though played in just one game before being waived after the two-for-one Nazr Mohammed for Primoz Brezec and Walt Hermann trade with the Bobcats. Dupree then ended up in Tulsa, 3 years after his first D-League assignment in Huntsville in the 2003-04 season. He played well in Tulsa, averaging 17 points and 6 boards, starting just 2 of his 9 games. From Tulsa, he got a 10-day contract with the Supersonics, after Eddie Gill's 10-day was up and Damien Wilkins was injured. With Seattle, he played 5 games, though didn't have much of an impact. He's got a good chance to catch on with the Cav's, as he's got experience and is a slashing 3, which would work well coming off of a bench full of bigs and spot-up shooters.
Dupree played the entire 4th quarter for the Cav's against Toronto, scoring 5 points.
Dallas Mavericks
Cheyne Gadson - Gadson has toiled in all of the various American minor leagues since coming out of Oklahoma State in 2003, from the NBDL, to the USBL, to the ABA, to the WBA, back to the USBL, then the CBA, and has now been back in the D-League for the last two seasons. He has been a good, not great, combo guard in the D-League, which is why his signing to the overloaded Mavericks doesn't really make sense to me. They've got 14 guaranteed contracts, and he's battling with Reyshawn Terry, Jajuan Smith, Charles Rhodes, and James Singleton to possibly be the 15th man. Problem is, the Mavericks already have 3 point guards, J-Kidd, Jose Juan Barea, and Keith McLeod, with guaranteed deals, meaning it wouldn't make sense to really carry a 4th point guard, as there will be plenty available if an injury perhaps occurs this season. My guess is Gadson will end up in the D-League again this year and hope that he performed well enough in camp this fall that they see him as the best available when it happens.
Gadson played four minutes in Dallas' preseason opener, contributing just an assist with no shot attempts.
Denver Nuggets
Mateen Cleaves - Everyone knows Cleaves story. The Most Outstanding Player with Michigan State in 2000, got drafted 14th overall by the hometown Pistons that year. Never really lived up to the college hype, bounced around the NBA a few years, headed overseas a few years, and has played well in parts of four seasons in the D-League, mostly with the Bakersfield Jam, though never got called up as planned. In his D-League career, he's averaged 16 points and 7.5 assists over 90 games. This year, it looks like he's got a good shot at sticking with the Nuggets, at least early, as Chucky Atkins has to get knee surgery and will miss the first couple of weeks of the regular season. 
Nick Fazekas - Fazekas didn't play great in Tulsa last year. Though he contributed 19 points and 10 boards, he often times looked slow on defense and lackadaisical on offense. On the bright side, Fazekas was the Colorado player of the year his senior year of high school, so he's got the local boy comes home story going for him. He's also nearly 7' on a team that features no true centers, with Steven Hunter the only guy that could be considered a center. The Nuggets have just 4 bigs on their roster with guaranteed contracts (Hunter, Kenyon Martin, Nene, and Chris Andersen) , but 13 guaranteed contracts. Already having to deal with the luxury cap, the Nuggets could opt to sign Fazekas over fellow non-guaranteed forward Juwan Howard, as his veteran minimum is nearly double Fazekas due to years in the league. Between Fazekas, Howard, and Clemson rookie James Mays, expect one of them to stick. The biggest things Fazekas lacks are that he doesn't really play in the post and is slow on defense, which are two things the Nuggets don't need. Fazekas is getting paid this year no matter what, due the Mavericks releasing him to make that J-Kidd deal go through last season. If he gets cut, he'll still make over $700,000 from that contract. Because of this, if he gets cut, he may as well play in the D-League again this season, as his previous contract alleviates any need for him to go overseas and be out of the NBA scouts eyes.
Dahntay Jones - Jones secured a guaranteed deal out of the Summer League, so he shouldn't have too much to worry about during training camp. Jones came in toward the end of the season and played well with Fort Wayne, averaging 24 points shooting 52% from the field.
Detroit Pistons
Cheikh Samb - Samb has always baffled me, because for some reason, he tucks his jersey into his shorts. Not his basketball shorts, but his compression shorts. Watch this season, as he'll more than likely get some playing time, as Detroit's going to want to watch and see if he'll ever develop into whatever it is he's destined for. At 7'1, 195 pounds, he should probably add at least 20-30 pounds to his frame to be able to play in the post. He did show off a decent touch when he was in Bismarck last season playing for Fort Wayne, and was good in the post when matched up with Rod Benson, whom he took the lead from for skinniest legs below the kneecap. Against Kevin Lyde however, he basically stood behind him and fouled when Lyde would work for positioning on his way to the hoop. With Fort Wayne last year, he played 20 games, averaging 10 points, 7 boards, and 4 blocks. Expect similar results this year, as the Pistons will more than likely once again send him down all 3 available times to let him keep getting work. It looks to me like he's probably the 5th or 6th guy on their depth chart in the 4/5 spot.
Samb has been a DNP-Coaches Decision in both of the Pistons preseason games.
Golden State Warriors
C.J. Watson - Watson was called up last year to be the primary backup to Baron Davis, as the injury prone Davis was averaging about 40 minutes a game, which undoubtedly would have led to trouble. This year, with Monta Ellis out with a moped injury, Watson will likely be the primary backup to Marcus Williams (Not the Marcus Williams already talked about). He won't be back in the D-League, at least not this year, but he'll also never be able to average anything close to what he did in his few months in the D-League. With the RGV Vipers, he averaged 26 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds a game.
Watson started in the Warriors 1st preseason game, scoring 6 points in 18 minutes. In the Warriors 2nd game however, Watson didn't see the floor.
Houston Rockets
Aaron Brooks - Brooks played well this Summer in Summer League, and with Bobby Jackson returning to the Kings, he will be the primary backup to Skip to My Lou Rafer Alston. Brooks is listed at 6'0 but is probably more like 5'9. He's a quick point guard and played well in the D-League last year while on loan to the Rio Grande Valley for about a week. He averaged 23 points, 5.5 boards, and 5 assists a game.
Brooks played 25 minuts in the Rockets preseason opener, scoring 13 points to go with 5 assists, though shot just 4-for-11 from the field.
Marcus Campbell - He's played in the D-League the last 3 years and been serviceable, coming on strong with Anaheim after being cut by Idaho 5 games into the season. With Anaheim, he played 38 games, started 31, and averaged 14 points, 9.5 boards, and a block. Looking at the Rockets roster, Campbell could stick with them if they're looking for a center as insurance in case Dikembe doesn't come back. They could do a lot worse then a 26 year old that's improved every season. Also, an excerpt from Rod Benson's D-League Awards last year:
The Best Chicken Noodle Soup Dance Award: Marcus Campbell. At every home game we play, Chicken Noodle Soup comes on as we emerge from the locker room. The other team, having not heard that song in ages, always feels compelled to halt their warm-up and give a little chicken noodle. Campbell, at 7-foot-1, 280 lbs., had the best, most enthusiastic performance.
Bonus points.
Campbell was released from the Rockets October 6th due to the team going into a regimen geared toward the regular season.
D.J. Strawberry - Strawberry played 5 games with the T-Birds last year, averaging 32 points on 52% from the field. He was traded from the Suns to the Rockets for Sean Singletary, though I'm not sure why. Regardless, he will more than likely not make the team, as his contract is guaranteed and 9 guards are in camp. He will more than likely play in the NBA this year as he could develop into a good defensive stopper, though it may take some time in the D-League to show what he can do. If he plays in the D-League, and keeps up his averages from his 5 game stint last year, expect it once again to be a pretty short stint.
Strawberry played 3 minuts in the opener, missing his only shot attempt, an errant 3 pointer.
Indiana Pacers
Josh McRoberts - McRoberts played in the D-League with the champions, the Idaho Stampede, as the SIXTH man, starting just 2 of the 15 games he played. I'm not sure if that attests to how deep Idaho was, or if McRoberts really isn't that good. He averaged 8 points and 6 rebounds, but shot horribly. He made just 2 of the 13 3-point shots he attempted. Regardless, there's not much of a possibility of him making the team as Austin Croshere will make it over him, and if the Tinsley for Steven Hunter and Chucky Atkins from Denver trade ever goes through, that will add even more problems for McRoberts. Look for him to maybe try going overseas this season, as it seems that the chicks here aren't all that proud of him: 
McRoberts got 15 minutes of action (probably more than he did with the girl pictured above) in the Pacers first preseason game, scoring 4 points and collecting 2 rebounds.
Los Angeles Clippers
Dontell Jefferson - Jefferson is a good player that has played the majority of his professional career with the Dakota Wizards and more than likely, will end up in Bismarck again this season. The Clippers have Baron Davis, Jason Hart (guaranteed contract), and Mike Taylor (Draft Pick, formerly of the D-League, who we'll get to shorty). At the 2 guard, they have Cuttino Mobley, Eric Gordon, and Ricky Davis. That's 7 guys in front of Jefferson, all with contracts already in place. Even so, Jefferson may still get a look with the Clippers at some point this season if he plays weill in camp, as Davis has always had injury problems and Eric Gordon has been hurt more than healthy since coming out of Indiana. Nonetheless, the Clippers have 14 guys under contract, and I don't think Jefferson will be their 15th, if they choose to have one. Jefferson is probably best suited as a slashing 2 guard, but can also play efficiently at the point. Last year with the Wizards, before heading overseas, he played well doing both, as he started the season at the 2 guard, then moved over to the point guard when Maurice Baker went overseas. He averaged 17 points, 5 assists, and 5 boards, starting 29 of his 33 games. More than likely, I see him heading back to Dakota, playing for awhile, and if the NBA doesn't come calling he'll more than likely head overseas.
Jelani McCoy - McCoy is an NBA vet and has a decent chance at making the squad, as he's a proven commodity with experience in the league and can be used as an insurance policy if Camby goes down. I can't find out if Paul Davis' contract is guaranteed, but I'm assuming McCoy will out play him in camp, so if it's not, McCoy will more than likely get the nod. Last year, McCoy played with the other LA team when he wasn't playing for the 14ers. McCoy's averages of 11 points, 8 boards, and a couple blocks are probably what he could do in the NBA with playing time. I would assume he's got the best chance of the Clippers training camp fodder to actually make the team, considering his size and experience.
Los Angeles Lakers
Dwayne Mitchell - Mitchell is a freakish athlete with a great motor, pretty much what everyone is looking for these days. His biggest problem is that he can't shoot the ball all that great. He is playing against Brandon Heath, CJ Giles, Joe Crawford, Koby Karl, and Josh Powell for the 14th and 15th spots on the roster. Karl played alright last year, the team is familiar with him, and assumedly he knows the Triangle Offense, so I would give one of the spots to him. Josh Powell then has the inside edge on the 15th spot, as his contract guarantees him $200,000. This doesn't bode well for Mitchell. It's probably in his best interest to try out the D-League again this season, as he played well in Summer League and his numbers in the D-League last year were good (20 points, 6 boards). If he doesn't get the call-up, he can do the same thing as last year and head overseas after the Showcase.
After not playing in the first game of the preseason for the Lakers, Mitchell was released on October 8th, the first cut of Lakers camp.
Memphis Grizzlies
Brent Petway - Petway is an interesting training camp invite. Air Georgia, whose dunking abilities are well known, didn't get much playing time with the Grizzlies in Summer League. Officially it says he didn't play at all, but I interned down there and seem to remember that they had him and Aaron Pettway mixed up on the box score at some point. Regardless, if you get a couple CD-DNP's in Summer League, your chances aren't good to get on with the team. Petway did. It might have something to do with him treating every warm up as a dunk contest, though I can't really justify anything. Last year, he started about half of the Idaho Stampede's games (Does this mean he's better than McRoberts, thus the Grizzlies used this intellect to decide to pick him up?), but averaged a paltry 7 points and 4 boards, playing about 24 minutes a game. I don't see him making the team, and I'm not sure where he goes from here. Maybe he and James "Flight" White can find a league overseas and have an amazing dunk contest at it's All-Star game. 
Brent played 4 minutes in the preseason opener, making his only shot attempt and contributed a block, but also grabbed 3 fouls in the 4:18 that he was in the game. Much like Summer League however, Petway was a DNP-CD in the Grizzlies second preseason game.
Milwaukee Bucks
Ron Howard - Howard is presumably nicknamed Opie, a reference I picked up this year from the Andy Griffith show apparently. I don't know much else about him, but he's got that going for him I guess. Howard was decidedly average with the Mad Ants last year, averaging 11 points and little else. It would seem he's fighting for the last spot in camp with Matt Freije (Bismarck Native), TJ Cummings (Son of Terry), and Kevin Kruger (Son of Lon). They've got 3 point guards, so that probably eliminates Kruger (more on him later). Cummings (don't google him) and Freije are both bigs, where the Bucks are lacking. Besides Bogut, they've got Malik Allen, Francisco Elson, Dan Gadzuric, and Charlie Villanueva. I'm not sure whether any of the 4 really fit, but since Howard is the least basketball talented of the four, I'm going to assume he'll probably play another season as a Mad Ant.
Howard played in the first Bucks preseason game, though didn't see the floor in the second. He's played 9 minutes, going 0-for-1, a three point attempt and 1-for-2 at the line, without contributing anything else to the box score.
Kevin Kruger - Kruger is good. Watching March Madness last year, I loved him. 2nd favorite player in that tourney, besides Winthrop's Torrell Martin. He can also play. Last year, for the Flash, he averaged 13 points and had 7 assists. Not great numbers, but when you look at the Flash's lineup, besides Mo Almond, the team consisted of one of the least talented D-League lineups. Nonetheless, with Luke Ridnour, Ramon Sessions, Tyronn Lue, and Charlie Bell ahead of him, he's probably best off coming back to the D-League and showing what he can do.
Kruger played well in his first preseason game as a Buck, making his only shot, a 3-point attempt, and hitting all 5 of his free-throw attempts, as well as adding 3 assists. In the second game of the preseason however, Coach Scott Skiles played just 10 guys, with Kruger not being one of them.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Blake Ahearn - Ahearn is my favorite fringe player of all this season. He's hard working, he's awkward (Calf socks, Blake?), he's a shorter, 48 times better shooting Luke Schenscher. Since Blake never partook in the Bismarck nightlife (not consisting of much), I really wish they would have had someone follow him around when he was up with Miami last year. Possibly, besides Lance Allred, one of the most boring players in the NBA last year, except Allred was in Cleveland, giving Ahearn the edge playing in Miami. Anyway, it looks as though the Wolves are deciding between the wily vet, Kevin Ollie, or the sharpshooting new guy, Ahearn. Looking at the TWolves roster, they could use some veteran leadership, but they could also use a clutch shooter like Ahearn. If Ahearn doesn't get the nod, expect him to come back to North Dakota, where he will probably exceed his 20 point per game season average from last year since he didn't start the first few months of the season. 
Ahearn has played in one of the two TWolves games thus far, scoring 4 points in 8 minutes with nothing else. His main competition, Kevin Ollie has played one game as well this preseason, going 0-for-1 in three minutes of playing time.
New Jersey NetsEddie Gill - Eddie Gill is a veteran NBA player, and excellent definition of the term journeyman. A good player, though there must be some reason for him never sticking with anyone for too long. After attending three of Utah's different colleges, finally coming out of Weber State, he was drafted by 3 different teams, none of wihch were in the NBA, but rather a team from the ABA, CBA, and IBL. He went to camp his rookie season with the Orlando Magic, but was cut right before the season started. From there he went to the IBL, and then to the ABA. While with the Kansas City Nights in the ABA, he got his first call-up, to the Nets, where he spent 2 ten-day's before heading over Italy. The last seven seasons have been just about as crazy, save for 2004-06, where he played two full seasons with the Indiana Pacers. Last year, after being the first overall pick to the Colorado 14ers, he was called up before the D-League season even started to to the Nets. He played with them the first 13 games of the season before joining the 14ers. With the 14ers, Gill averaged 18 points and 9 assists, along with 2 steals a game. This season, he's looking to start out with the Nets rather than start out the D-League season being called up by the Nets, and he might have a chance too. The Nets need a third point guard, and he's played with them and knows their system well. If he doesn't make the Nets, he'll more than likely hang out in the D-League before getting another call-up.
Gill played 21 minutes in the Nets first game of the pre-season, scoring 14 points to go along with 3 steals.
Brian Hamilton - There's a good chance you don't know much about Hamilton. Me neither. After doing my research, I learned that he led the D-League in steals last year with 3.2 per game. He prides himself on his defense, and would be a great story for the D-League, going from an open tryout with the Flash to an NBA player in just one season. To learn more about Hamilton, check out this story over at D-League.com.
Hamilton didn't make it into the Nets first game.
Julius Hodge - Hodge was a first round pick for the Denver Nuggets just three years ago out of North Carolina State. He also was assigned to the Nuggets affiliate at the time, the Austin Toros, for the month of February. In April of his rookie year, while driving home from the club, Hodge was shot, (I think in the butt, but not sure where else..) coming about 5 minutes from death. The following season, he was still under contract with the Nuggets, but spent the majority of his time in Broomfield with the 14ers, until the Nuggets traded Hodge to the Bucks in January. Since then, he's bounced around in the D-League, playing for Idaho and Albuquerque, along with playing in Australia and Italy before coming back to the D-League to play with Albuquerque for the last part of the D-League season. He can play, but I don't think he'll beat out Gill for the third point guard spot, which looks to be their most pressing need.
Hodge didn't get into the Nets first preseason game.
New Orleans Hornets
Courtney Sims - Matt did an interview over on At The Hive where they wondered about Courtney Sims, and he broke him down wonderfully, so in lieu of a paragraph or two, just click on the link.
Sims didn't play in the first game of the preseason for New Orleans. In the Hornets second game, Sims saw 8 minutes of action, scoring 5 points and contributing a blocked shot.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Chris Alexander - Alexander, according to Rodrique Zsorryon Benson, is award worthy:
The Dr. Frankenstein Monster Award: Chris Alexander. More for looks than skill, although he does play pretty big too.
Alexander is kind of an ogre, but he can play. He averaged 11 and 11 last season, along with 2 blocks a game. He doesn't have much of a shot to make the Thunder as it seems that they'll sign John Lucas III, the other training camp addition to be the teams 3rd string point guard, and they already have 7-foot projects on the bench with Robert Swift and Mohammed Saer Sene. According to USBasket, he is signed for the Phillipines this season, though I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the D-League as he is consistently improving.
Alexander played 6 minutes in OKC's first preseason game, looking good with 5 points and 4 rebounds.
Orlando Magic
Jeremy Richardson - Richardson has played well in parts of the last two seasons in the D-League when not being employed by the NBA. Playing in Fort Worth two seasons ago and Fort Wayne last season, he earned quite a few call-ups, but has yet to receive a guaranteed contract. In that time, he has averaged 20 points a game, 25 last season, and was named the D-League All-Star Game MVP. If he makes the Magic, it will be his fifth team in 34 games, having already played with Atlanta (two stints), Portland, Memphis, and Seattle.
Richardson didn't play in the Magics first preseason game. In the 2nd preseason game, Richardson played 12 minutes, missing all 4 shots from the field. He did make both free-throws he attempted and also pulled down 2 rebounds.
Philadelphia 76ers
Antywane Robinson - I wouldn't mind using his name for my first child, male or female, and I'll just pronounce it different. He averaged 18 points and 6 boards with Sioux Falls last season before going overseas, where he played in France. He's battling Jared Reiner, who has an excellent blog, for the final spot in Sixers' camp, provided they carry 15. I'm going to give Reiner the edge, as he has previous NBA experience, and is a big in the style of Jason Smith, who is out with a torn ACL suffered in Summer League.
Antywane played played 2 minutes in the Sixers first preseason game, without contributing anything to the box score. Reiner got a DNP-CD.
Phoenix Suns
Trey Johnson - Johnson, a rookie last year, was a tremendous scorer in college out of Jackson State University, averaging a 2nd best in the NCAA 27 points per game for the season, upping that to 32 points per game against ranked opponents. Out of Jackson State, he played with the Hornets before being their last cut in preseason. While many thought he'd be a first round pick in the D-League with good rookies in high demand, though he instead decided to go overseas for a few months. In January, he came back to the States, where he was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam. With Bakersfield, coming into a crowded back court that included Mateen Cleaves, Andre Barrett, and Scooter McFagdon (Terrible first and last names, by the way), he started just one of the 24 games that he played in. He averaged 12 points, 4 assists, and 3 boards, shooting better than 45% from the field. If the Suns weren't so afraid of getting buried further by the luxury tax, he wouldn't be a bad player to keep on the bench until an injury occurs to somebody in the backcourt, namely Raja Bell or Grant Hill.
Johnson didn't play in the Suns first game of the preseason.
Portland Trailblazers
Luke Jackson - Jackson appears to be the favorite over Steven Hill to land the Blazers final playoff spot. Steven Hill was loved at Summer League, having a legion of fans cheering anytime he did anything, but if Jackson's 3-ball is on, the fans might love him even more. Jackson has bounced all around the NBA, but he's always shown a sharp 3-point shot. If this is falling this preseason, he may very well be the guy to get the final spot to open up the post for Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge and company. Jackson is probably best known for being the guy that put his fingers up a big girls nose at the end of Rod Benson's "Boom Got Them Dos" video.
Jackson didn't play in the Blazers first game of the preseason. In their 2nd preseason game, Jackson played 16 minutes, scoring 7 points and adding 3 boards on 2-of-6 shooting, though he made his only 3-point attempt.
Jamaal Tatum - Tatum is listed as a D-League player, even though he's never actually played in a D-League game. A former Saluki, he was the 4th overall draft pick in the D-League's draft last season, but hurt his ankle and was never able to return.
Tatum played 3 minutes opening night in Blazers camp, missing his only shot and adding an assist.
Sacramento Kings
Noel Felix - Felix, a 6'9" forward from Fresno State, started in the CBA with the Yakama Sun Kings in the 2005-06 season, then was called-up with the Sonics in March for the remainder of the season. From there, he went overseas to play with Maccabi Tel-Aviv before coming back to the states last season with the Anaheim Arsenal. With the Arsenal, he played just 11 games, starting only 7 of them, averaging 7.5 points and 4 rebounds a game before heading back overseas to play for Hapoel Jerusalem overseas. With all of the project big men in Sacramento, I don't expect Noel to make the team, so he will more than likely head back overseas.
Noel played 2 minutes in the Kings first round game, thought didn't do anything to make the box score.
Bobby Jones - Jones is a defensive stopper out of Washington who played with Brandon Roy. Since playing for years at UW, he's had roughly 700 different basketball contracts in the past two years. Here's a synopsis: Jones was drafted by the (1)Timberwolves but traded on draft day to the (2)76ers. With the Sixers for rougly a year and 3 months, he was traded along with Steven Hunter to the (3)Nuggets in September 2007. He "played" with the Nuggets through December, but was cut January 6th. Four days later, Jones signed with the (4)Memphis Grizzlies. After two ten-day's with the Grizzlies, he came to the D-League and started with the (5)Sioux Falls Skyforce on February 9th. After playing with the Skyforce for almost 2 and a half weeks, he was called up to the (6)Houston Rockets on February 26th. On March 12, after taking a six day break, he got another 10-day with (7)Miami, though got cut a day before his contract was up, on the 21st. He then re-signed with the (8)Skyforce before getting called-up again by the (9) Spurs on April Fools day. After his 10-day with the Spurs was up, he signed with the (10) Nuggets again for the remainder of the season. After being with the same team for over 3 months, he was traded to (11)New York with Taurean Green for Renaldo Balkman. One day later, he got released. Then, two weeks later, he signed with (12)Miami again, though they cut him ten days later. He's been with the (13)Kings since the first of October, and as history shows, it probably won't be for long.
In Jones first game with the Kings, he played 9 and a half minutes, grabbing three boards and missing his only shot attempt.
Utah Jazz
Kevin Lyde - Lyde is in his second straight Jazz preseason camp. He's gone from the Wizards D-League team to the Jazz, back to the Wizards, now with th Jazz, and wouldn't surprise me if he ends up with the Wizards again this season. Lyde is a big body, though came back to the Wizards in much better shape than he was the year before. A healthy Lyde has actually got a decent chance of making the Jazz, as he's a semi-polished big man that bang down low, something the Jazz have been lacking the last couple years. He can't be much worse than their current options, Jarron Collins, Kyrylo Fesenko and Kosta Koufos, the latter two whom I actually think he is better than. Considering the other options for the last man to make it include Britton Johnson or Gerry McNamara, I'm going to give Lyde the edge if they decide to keep 15. 
Lyde played 15 minutes in the first game of the preseason for the Jazz, scoring 7 points to go along with 2 blocked shots.
Washington Wizards
DerMarr Johnson - I'm not sure if it's necessarrily been proven that the sweeter the name, the better shot you have at joining a training camp roster, but with the additions of Antywane and DerMarr, I might be getting close. DerMarr is a good player, don't get me wrong, but he is rather immature for the league right now in my opinion, and his brushes with law are well-documented. It seems he is battling the more experienced Linton Johnson for the 15th spot, and the only thing that I like more about DerMarr than Linton is that Johnson also raps under the moniker Boss Slim.
DerMarr played 17 minutes in his preseason debut for the Wizards, going 3-for-9 from the field, scoring 9 points, grabbing 3 boards, 2 steals, and a block. His second game with the Wizards, he scored 11 points, had 3 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Linton Johnson, after struggling in the first game in limited minutes, had 5 points and 8 rebounds on 2-for-7 shooting in the second game of the preseason for the Wizards.
