Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 30
February 5th, 2009
Snowman update: my dog ate the nose, someone stole the hat, and the pipe fell out. However, the weather hasn’t been above freezing yet, and so he still survives as before, slightly icier but just as large. Good times. Before the list starts, here’s a quick TRIVIA QUESTION: which one of the following players has scored the second most regular season points in the NBA? Answer at the bottom. – Herve Lamizana recently left his team in the United Arab Emirates and joined Al Ittihad (and his wife Jean) in the Egyptian league. I can’t imagine where I’ll ever say that sentence again. I don’t have any stats for Lamizana, but if you like your college basketball enough to remember the names of obscure American players from about a decade ago, then here are Lamizana’s American team mates: John Thomas III (college: St Francis), Derrick Franklin (Columbus State) and Chauncey Leslie (Iowa). Those three are nothing to be sniffed at: between them, they’ve won the Turkish second division, a Jordanian league championship, and a Hungarian Cup runners-up medal. You can’t deny experience like that. – Maciej Lampe is still going, and getting somewhere. In his third season with Khimki, Lampe is averaging 14.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in the Russian league, both team highs, alongside 13.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in two EuroCup games. These numbers come on a stacked team that also features Jorge Garbajosa, Kelly McCarty and Carlos Delfino, amongst others. Lampe was a joke back in the day, but not any more. – Sean Lampley is signed with Al Arabi (and his wife Jean) in the Qatarian league. As if he could be anywhere else. – James Lang averages 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 18.6 minutes for the Utah Flash. That’s extremely good […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 29
February 5th, 2009
– Coby Karl began the season with the Idaho Stampede before going to Spain and DKV Joventut Badalona to replace Bracey Wright. He averaged 18.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists for Idaho, and has appeared in all of one game for Badalona, scoring two points in two minutes on 0-2 shooting. – Former Magic centre Mario Kasun – who I like to consider the forerunner to Marcin Gortat, albeit not as good, because nobody is as good as Marcin Gortat – is signed with Efes Pilsen in Turkey, but has missed most of the season through injury. Returning about three weeks ago, Kasun has so far totalled 25 points and 15 rebounds in two Turkish league games, and a 10-minute 8-point performance in his sole EuroLeague game versus Real Madrid. – Sasha Kaun is with CSKA Moscow, craftily located in Moscow. As is the case with young players in Moscow, Kaun kaun’t much get off the bench, averaging 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in nine Russian league games, and totalling 2 points and 6 rebounds in four EuroLeague games. Kaun was also drafted in the fifth round of the CBA Draft, but that’s not much of a boast, because the CBA Draft is the most pointless thing in the world. “Quick, let’s draft these players so that we’ll hold their rights if they decide to join the CBA!…..Oh no, wait, they got NBA contracts instead. Damn. If only they knew of all the needlessly misspelt fun that we have here at the Pittsburgh Xplosion.” – Tre Kelley is with Eldan Ashkelon in Israel, forming a lethal tiny backcourt with Steve Burtt Jr. Kelley averages 11.3 points and 2.9 assists, as part of a three-guard rotation with Burtt and some Israeli guy called Avi Ben Chimol. […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 28
February 4th, 2009
– You did it! You did it! You waited for your Alexander Johnson news! Be proud of yourself, and then proceed to hate me, as I tell you that there isn’t any. Johnson started the year in Germany with Brose Baskets Bonn, averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 fouls in 11 German league games, before leaving last month and being replaced (sort of) by Dan Dickau. Johnson is now unsigned, but, in better news, Dickau has scored 37 points combined in the two games that he’s been there. – Jumaine Jones was reportedly suspended from European basketball for a year in September by FIBA, for the weird yet wonderful crime of signing contracts with two different teams at the same time; one with Alyssa Milano, and one with Ural Great Perm in Russia. However, he’s been playing for the greatly-named Great Perm anyway, averaging 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in Russian league play. How that is possible, I don’t know – Russia is in kind of both Europe and Asia, depending on which you want to count it as at any given moment. However, Great Perm have played in both the EuroCup and EuroChallenge this season, and, as the names would suggest, those are European competitions. Yet Jumaine has been playing in them, averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in the EuroChallenge. Presumably some sort of settlement was worked out; any answers as to how specifically this is possible? – Eddie Jones was bought out by the Pacers in preseason after being traded from the Mavericks, and hasn’t been heard from since. – Dwayne Jones went to training camp with the Magic, didn’t make it, went to Turkey with Efes, played two games, scored one point, grabbed one rebound, came back to America, signed with the […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 27
February 3rd, 2009
– Chris Jefferies is a weird story. A first-round draft pick back in 2002, Jefferies got an opportunity to showcase himself back in his rookie season with an injury-depleted tanking Raptors team. He didn’t do much with it, though, and he was a throw-in in the trade the following season that saw Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams go to Chicago. It was there that Jefferies won my heart, demonstrating a decent set shot, interested defence, and a staggeringly bad handle in traffic. Jefferies was waived during the following offseason, out of the league after only two seasons. He then signed in the ABA with the Visalia Dawgs, a team that tried to reunite talent from the Fresno area. The team changed its head coach and renamed itself partway through its first season to the Central Dawgs, finished with a 3-20 record, and then folded. Jefferies has not played anywhere since, and this was nearly four years ago now. A Hoopsworld article from this time in 2007 talked about how Jefferies was rehabbing after multiple surgeries, but nothing came of that. C-Jeff turns 29 in less than a fortnight’s time, and his basketball career has been on hold for far too long now. Is he even trying to come back any more? If you know, let me know. Because I care about you, Chris Jefferies. We all care. – Dontell Jefferson is in the D-League, and somewhat starring, as one of only three Utah Flashers that you will have ever heard of. (The other being James Lang and Ronald Dupree.) Jefferson averages 18.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 3.5 turnovers a game on a decent Flash team. – Horace Jenkins is with Eldo Caserta in Italy, but his scoring numbers are less than usual, averaging only 10.1 points […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 26
February 2nd, 2009
I’m kind of overexcitable today, with a level of maturity that belies my 24 years of age. I feel pretty much like a small child today. And I feel like a small child today because I’ve just acted like one. Today, 2nd February 2009, marks the day that I built the first snowman of my life. And here it is: Experienced snowmen builders out there will have noticed a few faults in my technique. For example, it’s plain to see that I’ve fallen into the usual rookie trap of making a base that is way too big, overestimating what I will have the patience to achieve, and then having to hurriedly heap snow on top, crudely falling into kind of a cone shape, making my snowman’s body resemble a sumo wrestler melting. Additionally, I don’t have any coal, so the classic coal eyes have had to be replaced by a pair of police aviators. I also didn’t have a carrot, so a parsnip suffices as the nose, and insulating tape forms a rudimentary mouth shape for no particular reason. I also have no explanation as to why he is holding a retro early 90’s tennis racket, or a duck on a stick, but these additions seemed vital at the time. As did the Stetson. But I’m proud of it anyway, because it’s my first one. And everyone remembers their first time. Why haven’t I built one before? Well, because it’s never snowed like this before. And why am I telling you all this? Because I felt like it. Anyhoo. To some basketball stuff. – Serge Ibaka played in the LEB Gold last year, and has upgraded to the ACB this year. He’s not tearing things up at the moment, with sedate averages of 6.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 1.0 […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 25
February 1st, 2009
– Little Jeff Horner – who is kind of like John Stockton, only with better rebounding – averages 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals for Antibes. Antibes play in the French second division (Pro B), which undermines that Stockton comparison a bit. But still. Stockton didn’t play much in his rookie year, either. Give Horner time. He’s only 25. By the way, that bulge in my cheek is my tongue. – Robert Horry is unofficially, but effectively, retired. – Daniel Horton was released by Pau Orthez in December, after totalling 45 points on 49 shots, with 16 assists, in four games. – Quinton Hosley is playing for Real Madrid, where he averages 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 mpg in the Spanish league, and 9.1 ppg and 3.3 rpg in the same amount of time in the EuroLeague. Other Real Madrid guards include former Michigan starlet and booster recipient Louis Bullock (one of the team’s leading scorers), former NBA journeyman Pepe Sanchez (who is still bad at scoring; on the season he has 48 assists to 20 points, on 6-28 shooting), Marko Tomas (who isn’t playing any more than he was the last time he was at Real), Raul Lopez (we’ll come to him later), and my own personal favourite, Sergio Llull. Nothing says “YES!” more than a 21 year old 5’10 point guard with terrific athletic ability and three-point range. I like this guy. – Allan Houston is now a part of the Knicks front office, something which hopefully means no more comeback attempts. I know you don’t like how it ended, Allan, but to be honest I can’t see it ending any better even if you did make a mini-comeback. You did fine, really. Plenty of money, an NBA Finals […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 24
January 31st, 2009
– Richard Hendrix is in the D-League, after being waived by the Warriors earlier this season, despite signing a guaranteed contract in the summer. I don’t really understand why, considering that they waived him while preferring to keep Rob Kurz and DeMarcus Nelson, whom they then waived three weeks later to avoid guaranteeing his contract, but whatever. Hendrix is still there if the Warriors want him, and apparently they don’t. Hendrix averages 13.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.9 blocks in 32 minutes a game for the Dakota Wizz. – Axel Hervelle is still with Real Madrid in Spain, and will be for at least two more years after this one. I got in trouble last time we talked about him, when I said that he hadn’t really gotten very far, so I’ll instead cop out this time and just give you his numbers: 6.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.7 bpg in the Spanish league, and 5.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.4 bpg in the EuroLeague. He’s a defensive role player. – Tyrone Hill is now an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks. – Kyle Hill is playing for Lucentum Alicante Costablanca in Spanish second division, alongside Taylor Coppenrath. Hill averages 12.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg and 1.6 apg, and is also about to turn 30; I don’t think the NBA beckons any more. – Herbert Hill is unsigned, after a tryout with Le Mans in August showed only that he hasn’t recovered from his knee surgery yet. – Steven Hill is back with Tulsa in the D-League after being waived by the Thunder. Hill averages 7.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in total, but here’s the thing; as intriguing as Hill is as a prospect (and he is […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 23
January 29th, 2009
– Othella Harrington‘s option was not picked up by the Bobcats this year, which was about as surprising as finding vegetables in a bowl of vegetable soup. He remains unsigned, and maybe always will. – Junior Harrington, meanwhile is not unsigned, and is playing for Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia. Junior has only played four games with the team, three of which were in the Adriatic League, but in that time he has totalled 53 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. More important, he has shot a combined 9-13 on three-pointers, which is fantastic news if you’re the kind of person that likes to use 13-game sample sizes as the sole indicator of whether a man has fixed his once-broken jump shot or not. – Adam Harrington is signed with Limoges in France, averaging 16.3 points and 2.6 rebounds. There’s nothing quite like the French second division for really bringing a man’s true talent out. – Padraig Harrington recently became the first man to par the par-three Extreme 19th Legend Golf & Safari Resort in Limpopo, South Africa. – Don’t know what Lucious Harris does now. – Mike Harris is in China, and, as is customary with the Chinese league, his statistics are amusingly warped. For the DongGuan New Century, Harris averages 41.5 minutes a game, 32.2 points, 15.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 blocks a game, Wilt Chamberlain-like numbers. The talent pool in the Chinese league is lacking, as they continue to adapt their league and their game to the new, correct rules, and to a more athletic style of play. All teams are allowed two import players, and almost all of these teams use them on former NBA players (for example, Harris’s teammate is centre Jamal Sampson), and all these former NBA […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 22
January 28th, 2009
Many of the following people are called Hamilton. If you don’t want to know the result, look away now. – Brian Hamilton signed with the New Jersey Nets for training camp after playing for their summer league team, which guaranteed him a free trip around Europe. Hamilton didn’t make the team, though, and is currently unsigned. By the way, speaking of the Nets summer league team, look how stacked that bad boy was. They could have put together a depth chart of this kind of calibre: PG – Jamar Butler, Will Conroy, Yuta Tabuse SG – Chris Douglas-Roberts, Jaycee Carroll, Donell Taylor, Maurice Ager SF – Julius Hodge, Marcus Slaughter, Brian Hamilton PF – Ryan Anderson, Anthony Tolliver C – Brook Lopez, Sean Williams That team is friggin’ stacked, even if it is (as are all summer league teams) a bit short. This wasn’t quite how it worked out, as Jamar Butler didn’t turn up, Sean Williams started at power forward, and a combination of Conroy and Carroll did most of the point guard work. But, still. In relative terms, that team is heaving. God I love summer league. – Venson Hamilton is into his fourth season with Real Madrid. However, his playing time has all but disappeared. In the Spanish league, Hamilton averages 1.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.7 minutes a game, slightly raising his scoring average to 1.6 ppg in EuroLeague play. On the year, he has 18 points and 21 fouls. The money must be good, because the opportunity isn’t. – Vernon Hamilton was acquired yesterday by the Colorado 14ers of the D-League, where he can back up Eddie Gill at point guard, or replace him should Gill get a call-up. Fun Vernon Hamilton fact: the highest that Vernon Hamilton has ever shot […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 21
January 28th, 2009
– I was first alerted to the presence of Blake Griffin about 18 months ago, when an Oklahoman resident told me he was brilliant. Apparently this has become a widely-held opinion, as Griffin is the unanimous #1 pick on both of the draft websites that I look at. (I really ought to start following the draft more, you know. But it’s hard. I can’t watch the games. And that, to me, is an important part of knowing about someone. Oh well.) Griffin averages huge numbers of 22.2 points and 13.8 rebounds for Oklahoma, despite being only 19 years old, and his PER is a staggering 38.1. And that’s….a lot. – Rashard Griffith is in Romania. Where else? In his second season with Asesoft Ploiesti, a team that currently lead the Romanian league with a 14-2 record, Griffith averages 10.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists, but those numbers dropped to only 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in EuroChallenge play. So, just to confirm, Rashard Griffith’s NBA window is shut, and has been for about seven years. Other players on the Ploiesti team that you may have heard of include Carl Krauser (former Pittsburgh standout who I seem to recall had a try-out with the Pacers once, although I can’t be sure of this) and Tyson Wheeler (who tried out for every team at some point, and who signed very briefly with the Nuggets back in the last millennium). – Anthony Grundy is playing for Panellinios in Greece, where he is actually doing some passing. Grundy averages 10.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in EuroCup play, along with 16.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the Greek league, playing the point guard to Brad Newley’s shooting guard. Grundy is about to turn 30, however, which lowers the […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 20
January 24th, 2009
– Joao Gomes averages 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds for Leche Rio Breogan Lugo in the Spanish second division. You’re probably wondering who Joao Gomes is. So am I, honestly. In other, more important Gomes news, the Cincinnati Reds signed Jonny Gomes to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Good luck Jonny. Savage everything you see. – Jamon Gordon was suspended by his German team, the Koeln 99ers, for going to America without permission. I think. (A user’s blog comment also said something about Gordon trashing his flat, which seems like a weird thing to be suspended for, so I’ll assume he did this afterwards.) His replacement is a man called Michael Jordan, and no I’m not making that up. Gordon averaged 13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 steals in his nine games with the team. – Jamont Gordon (not to be confused with Jamon Gordon, despite how blatantly easy that is to do) is signed with Fortitudo Bologna, the team also known as Upim Bologna and GMAC Real Estate Bologna, and formerly known as Skipper Bologna and Climamio Bologna, yet NOT to be confused with La Fortezza Bologna, which is another Italian first division team. All European names are stupid, I tell you. Gordon averages 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.0 assists in EuroCup play, while playing alongside Gregor Fucka, whose name is still fun to type, even if it has been usurped by Lior Lipshits. – Brian Grant (not to be confused with Briant Grant, who is someone that I just made up) retired over two years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. – Devin Green is signed in Ukraine of all places, with Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk. He averages 20.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists, […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 19
January 24th, 2009
– Pat Garrity retired this summer, and according to reports behind a paywalled article, he has since gone back to school. But I’m not paying for it to find out. This is my limit. – Mickael Gelabale is unsigned, and – presumably – still rehabbing his severe knee injury from last March. – Otis George is averaging 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in the Italian second vision with Umana Reyer Venezia, although he hasn’t played for a month due to injury. George has also turned himself in a 41% three-point shooter, which isn’t ever bad from a supposedly undersized centre. Although I don’t think this guarantees an Anthony Tolliver-like career projection. – C.J. Giles is playing for the L.A. D-Fenders in the D-League, where he averages 12.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game. Rashid Byrd, the other centre who I told you was playing there earlier in this list, was recently waived, which is hard to achieve when you’re a seven-footer in the D-League. So congratulations to him. – Eddie Gill is possibly the best point guard in the D-League, averaging 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.2 assists for the Colorado 14ers. He’s shooting only 39%, though. – Kendall Gill is still working for Comcast Sportsnet and doing studio stuff for Bulls games, but I don’t know if he still boxes. – Tony Gipson (also known as Nicholas Gipson, confusingly) averages 7.3 points per game for the Raiffeisen Furstenfeld Panthers in the Austrian league. The Austrian league. He doesn’t even start in the Austrian league. Might have jumped the gun a bit when I decided to add him to his website, you know. – Gordan Giricek is signed with Fenerbache in Turkey, but suffered a season-ending injury after only two games. […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 18
January 21st, 2009
– Richie Frahm has not been signed since his performance with the Dallas Mavericks summer league team. I watched all of those Mavericks VSL games, and Frahm – a shooter – often chose not to shoot, which seemed wrong on a team clearly auditioning shooters. Other things that I learnt from these games: Reyshawn Terry’s a decent shooter, Shan Foster’s a very good one (the last update excluded), Keith McLeod remains deficient at all manner of shot-making, and Renaldas Seibutis is still having an identity crisis. And Rick Kamla’s side parting is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. – British legend Joel Freeland (a legend if only for the fact that he’s English) is in his third year with Gran Canaria, Spain. And he’s finally getting somewhere. Freeland averages 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in the Spanish league, numbers that rise to 15.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in EuroCup play. If Greg Oden continues to disappoint, then…well, Joel Freeland is already better than him. FACT. (Note: not a fact.) – Matt Freije started the season in Lebanon of all places (is it Lebanon, or The Lebanon?), before moving to China. For Fujian SBS XunXin, Freije averages 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting 37% from three-point range. His high-scoring teammate is the seminal Chris Porter, who is into his fourth season with the team, with a short Philippines break in between. Porter averages 23.7 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest, shooting 41% from three-point range. But I think he’s had it cut. – Hiram Fuller was recently part of the Pau Orthez turnover, and left the team earlier this month. In his six games with the team, Fuller averaged 6.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 fouls. […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 17
January 21st, 2009
– Gerald Fitch was unsigned until very recently, as he joined the Turkish team Kepez BLD Antalya only last week. Antalya are currently second to last in the Turkish league, and Fitch arrives as the replacement for leading scorer and former Magic training camp invitee, Torell Martin, who retired to run a country pub in the southernmost corner of Wales. (OK, no he didn’t. But he did leave.) Fitch has not yet played a game for his new team, and I’ll be sure not to tell you when he does. – D’Or Fischer is with Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel, not exactly a rare and special boast for any big man to be making, given the extremely high turnover of big men that Maccabi have had this year. Also currently with Maccabi is one of my favourite players of all time, Marcus Fizer, who has just recently returned from a year-long absence due to a knee injury. (I do not really know why I like Marcus Fizer so much, so please do not ask.) Fischer averages 9.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 blocks in Israeli league play, along with 12.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 blocks in EuroLeague play. Fizer has totalled 13 points and 5 rebounds in the three games of his comeback. – Gary Forbes was acquired by the Tulsa 66ers from the Sioux Falls Skyforce just a matter of hours ago. Tulsa traded Chris Ellis to get him, he of the recent update. For Sioux Falls, Forbes was the sixth man, and he averaged 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his time there. – Alton Ford has also just left his D-League team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and has signed with a team in Zhejiang, China. Which Zhejiang […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 16
January 19th, 2009
– Semih Erden – recipient of the funniest NBA forum thread title that I’ve ever seen, “Semih Erden is finally in the NBA” – never left Turkey. In his fourth year with Fenerbache, Erden is averaging 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in Turkish league play, along with 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in EuroLeague play. And yes, I’m fully aware that that thread title isn’t actually very funny, if at all. It’s funnier when you’re overtired and have just eaten some very strong continental cheese. – Ebi Ere is signed in Australia. And perhaps he’ll never leave – he’s a legend there. Playing for the third place Melbourne Tigers, Ere (pronounced ‘Ear’, at least by Rick Kamla) averages 22.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists, which is one of the highest points per game averages that this list has seen so far. Ere’s teammates include former NBA centre Chris Anstey, and a man by the name of Stephen Hoare, whose mother must have had it tough. (Note: while looking up Ere’s averages, I was looking up the Australian league (the NBL) on Wikipedia, to see how it was that Ere had played only four games. Turns out that he had actually played 23. While I was there, though, I chose to look up the New Zealand Breakers, another NBL team, and try to figure out why there was a New Zealandolian team in the Australian league. It was then that I noticed that the Breakers’s former coach was called Frank Arsego. Best name ever.) – Evan Bruce Eschmeyer – whose nickname ought really be “Almighty”, given that name of his – gave up basketball many moons ago, in late 2004, due to chronic injury. Since then, he has founded an online recruiting service, gone back to Northwestern and […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 15
January 18th, 2009
– Bryant Dunston is in South Korea, averaging 17.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.9 blocks for a team called Mobis Phoebus. Dunston doesn’t have any great chance of making the NBA, but after watching the entire Lakers summer league – in which an extremely backcourt-heavy roster started Dunston at centre, with Sharrod Ford at power forward – I grew to like him. I seemed to like his unathletic yet reasonably smooth game featuring plenty of lefty baby hooks and defensive positioning. It reminded me of Michael Sweetney. And I like Michael Sweetney. (In fairness to Dunston, at age 22 with reasonable skill, he still has a faint chance of sniffing the NBA at some point, even if it’s only a camp invite. But I don’t think signing in Korea is getting it done. And he should probably put those three-pointers to bed.) – Ronald “Doop” Dupree didn’t make the Cavaliers out of training camp, and went back to the D-League with the Tulsa 66ers. As is often the case when he’s in the D-League, Doop has beasted, averaging 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists, but he still can’t shoot consistently, shooting only 31% from three-point range and 69% from the free throw line. He’ll also be 28 on January 26th, so a happy birthday to him. – Ndudi Ebi is signed in Italy, and still hasn’t panned out. Ndudi is the third-leading scorer on an Italian team called Carife Ferrara, behind Harold Jamison (THE Harold Jamison! Throw-in to the Miles for McInnis swap Harold Jamison!) and Andre Collins (yes, THE Andre Collins! From Loyola! The very same!). Ebi is really the fourth leading scorer, if you also include Rick Apodaca (THE Rick Apodaca! Former Magic training camp invitee Rick Apodaca! Et cetera!), but Apodaca only played in […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 13
January 16th, 2009
– Carlos Delfino is still with Khimki in Russia, despite the rumours of a return to the Raptors ramping up a bit after Toronto dumped Hassan Adams off to the Clippers a fortnight ago. However, while these rumours may not be unfounded, they sure are illogical. Let me tell you why the Raptors dumped Hassan Adams – they dumped Hassan Adams because Brian Colangelo gave Adams a guaranteed contract in July, before Adams showed up out of shape and unable to consistently do the one thing that he’s best at – running around off the ball. Additionally, Hassan Adams is not an NBA rotation player even when in shape, which in hindsight was another reason not to give him that guaranteed contract. However, because Colangelo did, he brought the team so close to the tax threshold ($1,107 beneath it, to be exact) that the team could only carry 13 players in order to stay under it. When their big man injury situation got so bad that they had to sign somebody (Jake Voskuhl), the Raptors had to shift a contract in order to get underneath the threshold again. Adams was the logical choice – he was the final man on the bench, filled no team needs, had an appropriately sized yet easily moveable contract, and should never have been on the team in the first place. So the Raptors gave the Clippers some money as an incentive for taking on Hassan’s dead weight cap number. THAT’S why the Raptors moved Hassan Adams. It wasn’t a precursor to some move for Carlos Delfino. Let me ask you something – when you’re so staunchly obliged to stay under the luxury tax that you can’t even sign Jake Voskuhl without having to make corresponding roster moves to free up the money, while carrying […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 12
January 15th, 2009
– Michael Curry is now the Detroit Pistons head coach. You knew this already, but an obsessive-compulsive love of consistency made me say this anyway. – JamesOn Curry signed with Pau Orthez in France, but left before the season started. I don’t know why, but he hasn’t signed anywhere since, so it’s probably injury related. That is entirely speculative, though. – Stephen Curry is a draft prospect, who is single-handedly taking Davidson from being a decent to good school, and who has draft experts arguing as to whether he’s the next J.J. Redick or the next Ben Gordon. Curry currently averages 28.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 3.1 steals, yet I will say no more about him, so as to not guess. – Erik Daniels is in the D-League, averaging 20.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the expansion Erie BayHawks. Daniels does this as a 6’8 small forward that has played the vast majority of his time this season at centre. That’s the D-League for you. There now follows a lot of people called Davis. – Paul Davis was in the NBA, but now he’s gone. He left his number to turn you on. – Josh Davis was also in the NBA, but now he’s also gone. But unlike Paul Davis – who was waived by the Clippers earlier this month and who hasn’t signed anywhere else yet – Josh Davis went to the D-League to continue showcasing himself. As the second-best player on a decent team – now the best since James Mays blew out his knee – J-Dave averages 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Colorado 14ers, trying desperately to get back to the NBA and chase down Tony Massenburg’s record for the number of different teams played with. […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 11
January 14th, 2009
– I have no idea where Keon Clark is, specifically. – Milone Clark averages 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. I openly admit to knowing basically nothing about Milone Clark, but, as a player who has never put up good numbers at any stage of his career (he even only scored 15 ppg in the Ecuadorian league) yet who somehow landed a training camp spot with the Knicks in 2006……well, perhaps Milone Clark is a very good defensive guard. – Mateen Cleaves is also in the D-League, where he averages 13.2 points and 8.2 assists for the Bakersfield Jam. (Also note – the jump shot is still broken.) The 8.2 assists is good for second in the league, behind only Walker Russell, who is way out in front with 11.1 apg. But only six players in the entire D-League average over 7 apg, which is somewhat remarkable in a league with an unsubtle emphasis on pushing the ball and stat-padding. Then again, maybe they’re all too busy shooting. – Keith Closs spent last year in the D-League with the Tulsa 66ers, where he admitted to his alcoholism and posted a season featuring nearly as many blocks per game (2.8) as rebounds (4.7), yet this season he left the D-League to go to China. Signing with the Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls, Closs averaged 14.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in the Chinese league, which frequently boasts amusingly lopsided statistics (speaking of, if and when we get to the letter W, have a look at Bonzi Wells’s scoring average), but left the team for reasons unbeknownst to me. Closs then had a trial with another Chinese team, the Liaoning Panpan Hunters, but left earlier this month and is currently unsigned. Somewhere in amongst all […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 9
January 13th, 2009
– Zarko Cabarkapa has not been signed since being let go by the Golden State Warriors about 18 months ago, at the end of the 2006/07 season. Zarko had not played that whole season, either, meaning that his last professional basketball game came nearly three years ago in April 2006. The reason for this is injury, as Cabarkapa has battled chronic back complaints for all this time, if not from before then. However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel – Cabarkapa has recently begun workouts with his former team, Budućnost, hoping to get back into the game. He has not signed a contract with anyone, but it’s a start. – Justin Cage is playing for Belgacom Liege, a team that unsurprisingly play in Belgium. Belgacom Liege employ a very strict eight-man rotation (the roster outside of those eight players have a total of 30 minutes played in 13 games), and only one of those eight players is a Belgian. As an Arsenal fan, I kind of know how this feels. Cage averages 16.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game, making him the team’s second-leading scorer behind the man, the legend, Christopher Hill. – Pat Calathes was not drafted, played on the summer league roster of all 30 teams (nearly), still didn’t make it to training camp, and so he went off to Greece, the country of his heritage. For Marousi in Greece, Calathes is averaging 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting three-pointers at a scintillating 22%. – After being one of the best players in the D-League last year, Earl Calloway went in search of some slightly better money. Finding it with Cibona Zagreb, Calloway averages 11.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals a game, but his court time might be […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 10
January 13th, 2009
– Maurice Carter’s last sighting was back in 2005, when he averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Indiana Pacers’ summer league team. He was only 28 at that time, having played in the NBA only the season before, and yet it seems he hasn’t played anywhere since. I don’t know why this is. If you do, let me know. Carter also apparently owns a piece of the Mississippi Hardhats WBA franchise, a team whose website sorely needs updating, and who might not even exist any more. But, if they do, VIP tickets to a Mississippi Hardhats game are only ten dollars! Nice! Buy early to avoid disappointment. – Russell Carter is playing for Gravelines in France, a team whose name loses its magic when pronounced in a French accent. Playing alongside former seminal NBA starlet Dan McClintock, Carter has appeared in all of two games for Gravelines, totalling 17 minutes, 0 points and 5 rebounds, which isn’t much in a month. – Steve Castleberry is in the mighty Czech Republic league, where he averages 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds for the even mightier Karma Basket Podebrady. Steve Castleberry has only played in weak leagues such as the USBL and the Dominican Republic since turning pro, and hasn’t exactly shined in any of them. Why, therefore, does he garner all this attention on this website, one that is designed with a specific focus for current and fringe NBA players? Well, it’s because the Philadelphia 76ers signed him for training camp in 2005. And because of that, I’m now obligated (and highly willing) to follow the life and times of Officer Steve Castleberry. – Kelvin Cato is still unsigned, and probably always will be. If any team out there is rueing not signing Dikembe Mutombo, and thinks […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 7
January 8th, 2009
– Cedric Bozeman is playing for the Anaheim Arsenal in the D-League, where he averages 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists, where he plays the off-guard to Tierre Brown’s point. (Brown averages 14.4 points and 4.6 assists.) But the best Cedric Bozeman news of all is that he is 22-51 from behind the three-point line, for a 43% average. This isn’t exactly a massive sample size to be working off, and it does come from the man who shot 21% on three-pointers in Poland last season, but it may be a sign that Bozeman’s jump shot might not be too big of a weakness any more. With a decent jump shot, Bozeman has a chance to be vaguely interesting to NBA teams. His first go-around with the Atlanta Hawks wasn’t pretty, as he shot 28% in 23 games and had a 1:1 assist/turnover ratio. But teams love their tall point guards, and even though Bozeman isn’t playing full-time point guard right now, he could. Any evidence of his development as a scorer can only help his case. – Michael Bradley opted not to play this season. And maybe never again. Here’s why. – Shawn Bradley retired ages ago and, at last count, now works in a school. – Torraye Braggs has played basically everywhere, and, until last week, was playing in Mexico with Pioneros de Quintana Roo-Cancun. Apparently he only plays on teams with awesome names, because before Pioneros de Quintana Roo-Cancun, Braggs was playing for a team in Jordan called, simply, “Orthodox”. Before that, he played in Iran for Petrochimi Imam Harbour. Before that, it was ASK Riga in Latvia (less awesome, but a suitably random country), and before that came Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan in Israel and the Qingdao Double Stars in China. If […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 8
January 8th, 2009
A lot of people are called Brown, I’ve noticed. How fascinating. – Dee Brown started the year with the Wizards, but was then waived when it emerged that he wasn’t the answer to Washington’s pretty severe outside shooting problems. He then went to a Suns mini-camp, where he beat out Eddie Gill, Damon Stoudamire, Darrell Armstrong, Walker Russell and Troy Hudson to win Phoenix’s mandatory 13th roster spot. He’s since been waived again this week, due to the mandatory contract guarantee date of January 10th. The Suns, seemingly, are going to do what they so love doing – keeping the bare minimum of players at all times, going to twelve as and when they can, to avoid paying out as little money as possible. This from the team that traded away Rudy Fernandez and Rajon Rondo just to save money, and who then gave Goran Dragic more than either of them. Even the Jason Richardson trade saved them money, It kind of makes you squirm, doesn’t it? – I’ve been literally inundated with one request for news on Elton Brown. Oddly, that request comes from someone who already knows the answer. But let’s play along anyway. After spending the preseason with the Chicago Bulls, and having trouble getting a shot away without it being blocked by a defender and/or the rim, Elton went to Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv, hoping to be good again. However, Elton appeared in only one game, scoring two points with two rebounds, before it was announced in late December that Maccabi were releasing him, supposedly because they were disappointed with his conditioning. Whether he has actually left yet, I’m not sure, but he’s not playing with the team, and any remaining chance of some dramatic turnaround with the team is going to be made […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 6
January 6th, 2009
– Joseph Blair is averaging 8.2 points and 8.0 rebounds for Spartak St Petersburg, while also shooting 43% from the free throw line. So maybe Blair’s scouting report on himself on his website wasn’t too off-message. Joseph also wrote a New Year’s message, for us, his fans. You can read it here. (Note: even though Joseph himself says that he’s not in St Petersburg, he is. Someone should tell him.) – Will Blalock averages 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck. – Corie Blount is….indisposed. – The last time we checked in on Tony Bobbitt, the man who killed his mother had just been convicted. That’s not something I’ve ever said before. (Note: The link given in the previous post no longer works, so try this one.) Unfortunately, there’s no new Tony Bobbitt news to report, since he has not signed anywhere this season. So I guess we’ll have to leave it at that. – Dejan Bodiroga, formerly the best player in Europe, retired a while ago and is now the General Manager of his final team, Lottomatica Roma. – In keeping with tradition, Curtis Borchardt has had many injuries in recent years, limiting his court time drastically. He’s also been injured again this season, and missed four weeks of action. But upon returning in mid-November, he’s played very well for Granada, the team he’s been with since leaving the NBA over three years ago. So well has he played, in fact, that he was named the MVP for the month of December. (Or at least, I think he was. My ability to read Spanish isn’t up to much.) Borchardt averages 13.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game on the season. – Ruben Boumtje Boumtje didn’t pan out […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 5
January 5th, 2009
– Esteban Batista was recently released by Maccabi Tel-Aviv by mutual consent, after barely playing for their new coach, Pini Gershon. His playing time was so sparse that he wasn’t even travelling with the team towards the end of his stay. Batista quickly became Nenad Krstic’s targeted replacement for Triumph in Russia, but never signed with the team (despite reports that he did) due to his dislike of the cold Russian weather. (Actually.) For Maccabi, Batista averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in EuroLeague play. – Former Grizzly Mike Batiste has fashioned a career as one of the better players in Europe. He is now into his sixth season with Panathinaikos, averaging team highs in points (12.6) and rebounds (4.), while shooting an amazing 74% from the field. Somewhere along the line, Batiste also managed to become a Bulgarian citizen. I have no idea how he did this. – Sixers draft pick Edin Bavcic signed this very week with the Koeln 99ers in Germany, thus halfway to proving that my tenuous no-return-to-the-NBA-from-the-German-league allegation is, once again, ill-founded and stupid. Unfortunately for E-Bav, the other half of that claim – getting to the NBA – is going to be a lot harder to achieve. – Lonny Baxter is out of jail and playing for Panionios in Greece. (Note: if a team name starts with P and has no E’s in it, it’s probably Greek.) He averages team highs in points (13.1) and rebounds (6.7). – Jerome Beasley has played basically everywhere since falling out of the NBA. Since being waived by the Miami Heat in late 2004, Beasley has played in the CBA, Turkey, Spain, Poland, the D-League, Australia, the D-League again, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Spain again, and Israel. Now, he finds himself in that most […]
