March 13, 2011
[Shawn] Taggart played extremely well for Shanxi, and the roster turnover started to settle down. But after only 8 games for the team, Taggart hurt his knee and was out for the rest of the season. So again Shanxi had to hit up the market, bringing in ex-NBA big man Alexander Johnson, who had managed only one CBA appearance in the previous season before suffering an injury of his own. As ever, Johnson put up terrific per-minute numbers; as ever, Johnson couldn't play huge minutes due to his constant foul problems. All the while, Rodgers, a Chinese league veteran and prolific scorer, seems to have survived the whole season. It was reported that he had been replaced by A.D. Vassallo in mid-January, yet Vassallo appears not to have ever taken the court.
June 7, 2010
A.D. Vassallo - 3 games, 29.0 mpg, 18.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 2.7 fpg, 1.0 spg, 0.7 bpg, 36% FG, 30% 3PT, 88% FT
Isabela Cocks is a terrible name for a girl, and not a great name for a basketball team either. The team did not have a great year, finishing third last in the regular season standings; however, due to the slightly insane structure of the current incarnation of the BSN, third last was good enough for a playoff spot. (Note to the organisers; if you have a ten team league, don't have eight playoff places. I realise it's a money spinner, but it cheapens the achievement, and really cheapens the regular seasons. Maybe top out at 4 in the future.)
The team had two high quality local players in Puerto Rican international Filiberto Rivera (a one time signing of the Cleveland Cavaliers) and Venezuelan international Rafael Perez (not to be confused with the once-awesome Cleveland Indians left hander. Nor to the corrupt police officer somehow linked to the shooting of Tupac.) Rivera was probably the team's best player, ranking fourth in the BSN in assists while also pouring in 16.3ppg; Perez formed the other half of the high scoring backcourt with his 16.8 ppg average. The team also had some big domestic help from former Virginia Tech swingman A.D. Vassallo, a man with NBA aspirations and a great talent level who averaged 18.3 ponts for the team. However, Vassallo played only the team's three playoff games, with his prior commitments in the French league preventing him from playing in the regular season.
May 18, 2010
- A.D. Vassallo
Vassallo graduated from Virginia Tech last summer, and signed back in his native Puerto Rico before attending the Bulls summer league camp. He did not make the team and went to France to play for Paris-Levallois, where he averaged 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game (the PPG ranked fourth in the league). Upon the conclusion of Levallois's season, Vassallo will return to Puerto Rico to play another BSN season; however, Levallois finished 7th in the ProA regular season, and thus begin their first round playoff series against Le Mans tonight.