Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 25

Due to an excessive amount of recent studies, this list has fallen a touch behind schedule. Therefore, the aim for a bit is to do two a day. If you hate them, this will probably suck for you.

- Sergiy Gladyr

After being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks this summer, Gladyr left the Ukraine for the first time and moved to the ACB to play with Suzuki Manresa (formerly known as Ricoh Manresa). Manresa have an 11-13 record on the season, yet they're comfortably in the middle of the table, currently placing 10th out of 18 ACB teams. Gladyr is third on the team in scoring with a 9.9ppg average, alongside 2.1 rebounds, 3.6 fouls and no other significant statistics per game. For a shooter, though, he's not shooting too well, shooting only 32% from three point range. And given that he has attempted 135 three pointers compared to only 35 two points, that's not ideal. It is not an ideal first season in Spain for Gladyr; that said, for a 20 year old in the ACB, it's pretty good. Young players don't normally play much there.



- Dion Glover

Glover played briefly on the 2004-2005 Spurs team that won the NBA Championship, but found himself having to go to summer league that year in order to get more employment. After averaging 19/5/5 for the Rockets team, Glover got a contract from Houston and made the team, but was waived in December of that year without playing a game. He never played in the NBA again.

Glover split the 2006-07 season between Lebanon and the D-League, and later played for a couple of Dominican Republic teams. He last played in March 2008 with a Venezuelan team called Gaiteros de Zulia, for whom he totalled 8 points in his only appearance. As for what he's done since then, here's Dion telling you himself.



Also note the accuracy of his prediction there. Well, half of it.



- Andreas Glyniadakis

Ex-Pistons draft pick Glyniadakis is Olympiakos' 15th and cheapest man. Olympiakos bought him from Marousi in the summer, along with former Minnesota pick Loukas Mavrokefalidis, in order to fill their quota of Greeks, and the two now spend a lot of time on the bench together, waiting for Olympiakos to build up a lead so big that they can take out Giannis Bourousis, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Nikola Vujcic and Linas Kleiza. Glyniadakis has played 103 minutes all season, totalling 33 points, 22 rebounds and 28 fouls. This means he must have made contact with an opposing player at least 28 times. I'm not sure I believe that.



- Anthony Goldwire

NBA journeyman Anthony Goldwire made an unexpected appearance in the Spanish fourth division last season at the age of 37, playing for the remnants of Girona, a former ACB team who imploded due to bankruptcy a couple of years ago. Goldwire averaged 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists at that incredibly low standard of basketball, and has since called it quits. He now assists Lifetime Fitness in establishing their basketball league program. Goldwire was also on hand to help manage the Bakersfield Jam's open tryout back in March, which seems odd in that he appears to hold no formal position with the team.

This seems like a good moment to post a picture of Anthony Goldwire modelling an ill-fitting coat.





- Joao Gomes

Gomes is an athletic Portuguese forward who was an NBA draft candidate back in 2007. He is playing with Breogan in Spain's LEB Gold, and is averaging 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Gomes was not drafted and is not very interesting, so let's move on to Jamon Gordon.



- Jamon Gordon

Gordon was one of the replacements Marousi brought in this summer as they tooled up for their debut Euroleague season. It was a good season at that; they were still in the competition up until yesterday, when unfortunately their already-eliminated Greek rivals Panathinaikos beat them by three points and eliminated them. Gordon had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the game.

On the season, Gordon leads the team in assists in both the Euroleague and Greek leagues, a feat not insignificant considering that Marousi play a two point guard lineup with Gordon and Billy Keys. Gordon averages 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the Euroleague, alongside 8.9/3.1/4.1 in the Greek league. He has shot a combined 17/71 from three point range.

He is known as Jamon Lucas in Greece, even having that on the back of his jersey. I do not know why this is.



- Jamont Gordon

The confusingly similarly named Jamont Gordon is also in the Euroleague, playing for Cibona Zagreb. Like Marousi, Cibona just got knocked out of the Euroleague at the Top 16 stage; like Jamon, Jamont leads his team in assists. He averaged 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in Euroleague play, including ranking 1st overall in scoring in the Last 16 group stage (20ppg) and 5th in rebounds. Gordon also averages 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the Adriatic League.

Jamon Gordon is the lefty out of Virginia Tech. Jamont Gordon is the lefty out of Mississippi State. They're both big strong athletic point guards with jumpshot concerns, whom both just got knocked out of the Euroleague. It's not in the least bit confusing.



- Brian Grant

As you probably already know, Brian Grant recently went public with his struggle against early onset Parkinson's. That struggle continues; sadly, that struggle will always continue, because a cure does not yet exist. This article by Ken Berger describes Grant's daily battle with the disease, what it's cost him, and of what it's going to cost him. I found it very upsetting and I believe you will too. God bless you, Brian Grant. He definitely owes you one.



- Taj Gray

Since leaving Oklahoma in 2006, Gray has spent four years in France. He started with Chalon, averaging 16.1ppg, 6.1rpg, and 1.3bpg, before moving to Paris-Levallois for the 2007/08 season and averaging 10.4/5.0/1.3. Last year playing for Roanne, those numbers shot up to 19.5/7.3/1.1, which was enough to get him a training camp contract with the L.A. Clippers. He didn't make the team, and thus went back to France to rejoin Chalon, for whom he is averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game in the French league, alongside 14.4/5.9/2.0 in the EuroChallenge.



- Caleb Green

Caleb Green, one of Division 1's elusive 2000/1000 club, is still in Belgium. Last year he averaged 15/6 for Dexia Mons-Hainaut, and this season he's averaging 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for Oostende.

After going 9-29 from three point range in his four year college career - as opposed to his 812-1495 from two point range - Green is now turning himself into a three point shooter. He has 78 three point attempts in 21 games this year, compared with 101 two pointers and 88 free throws. He's good at them, too, making 34 of those 78 for a 43.6% success rate. Reinventing himself rather well, it appears.

His teammates there include Eddie Gill and Bracey Wright, and Oostende also feature two other Americans in Matt Lojeski and former Padres closer Trevor Huffman. The rest of Oostende's rotation features a Cameroonian (Stephane Pelle), a Slovenian (Dragisa Drobnjak), a Nigerian (Leigh Enobakhare, henceforth known as "Emo back hair") and a Bosnian Serb (Veselin Petrovic). Other players to have left Oostende during the season include Ivan Paunic (Serbian international; moved to Aris), Vladan Vukosavljevic (another Serbian; moved to Aliaga in Turkey), and Javier Mojica (American/Puerto Rican; now playing for Bayamon in Puerto Rico). Because of those 12 foreigners, Belgian players for Oostende have played only 176 minutes all season, split between three players; Quentin Serron (166), Jean Salumu (7) and Yacine Baeri (3). That's 176 out of a possible 4,200 minutes; therefore, only 4.19% of Oostende's PT has been shared amongst Belgian players. For comparison's sake, Americans have a 53.62% share.

God bless Belgian basketball.



- Devin Green

Green made his way to his fifth consecutive NBA training camp when he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer. He did not make the team, as he and every other signee lost out on a spot to Jason Hart, who played all of 5 minutes for the Wolves and who is now out of the league. Green then moved to Greece and joined Olimpia Larissa, leading them in scoring with a 14.3ppg average along with 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. However, he left the team in January, reportedly because of a pay dispute. (Note: when American players leave Greek teams midseason, it is usually because of a pay dispute.) Green has joined the annual Puerto Rican exodus, signing with Gallitos de Isabela. In his two games for the team so far, Green put up 38 points and 13 rebounds.



Finally....

- Gerald Green

Green squirmed out 4 years in the NBA, but never came close to realising the potential that a man with his combination of athleticism and jumpshooting has by default. He last played with the Mavericks; however, at the Nerdjerkfest Conference Thing last week (or whatever it was called; said with affection, by the way), Mark Cuban famously and amusingly stated that Green "just doesn't understand the game of basketball." Quite the burn there from a man who spent a year signing his paychecks, but after four years of experimenting, the whole NBA seems to have bought into it.

Green is now in Russia playing for Lokomotiv Kuban. He is averaging 15.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Summer league round-up: Cleveland Cavaliers

About bloody time.

View the Cavaliers' long overdue summer league roster.

- Christian Eyenga: Everything I know about Christian Eyenga can be found here. Nothing has happened since then to really advance my knowledge. But I'll add this unoriginal thought: This is a Cavaliers team that is trying to win now. It really is. If you trade for Shaquille O'Neal, you're trying to win now. They're the rules. So why then would you take the biggest prospect in the draft with your sole first round pick? I'm not saying that any of them are brilliant players or difference makers, but players like Sam Young, Dejuan Blair, Jermaine Taylor....these are potentially useful pieces, and as things stand, the Cavaliers bench is pretty bare. Would it not have been worth taking one of their ilk instead? What is the percentage possibility of Eyenga becoming a better NBA player than these others? I don't know. But it'd have to be quite a way above 50% to make this make sense.

- Jamont Gordon: Jamont Gordon fills up the stat sheet in all categories, but he has his flaws. He's an inefficient scorer, he turns it over too much, his own hairline hates him, and he's too short for his skillset. But one of the biggest flaws has always been his jumpshot. And, based on last year's play, it still is. Gordon averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 24 minutes per game for Upim Bologna last season, but shot only 32% from three point range. He drew a lot of foul shots as per usual, but also missed a lot as per usual, shooting 68% from the stripe. Gordon's an unconventional kind of smallish guard, but he's quite a good one. He's just going to have to improve his decision making and/or shooting before he cracks the big league. If that happens, we'll forget about his fivehead.

- Danny Green: I like to think of Danny Green as being a bit like a crap Shane Battier. I like to think I know things. I don't.

- David Harrison: Harrison's rookie contract expired last summer, and after a brief training camp tryout with the Timberwolves, he left the NBA altogether. He buggered off to China, where he did the usual Chinese thing and put up a crapload of stats all across the board. Harrison totalled 21.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.3 blocks and 4.2 fouls a game, shooting better from the field (62.1%) than the foul line (56.9%). Thems is good looking numbers, for sure, but good looking numbers are easy to achieve when you're over 6'8 tall and even slightly mobile. May I remind you once again that Olumide Oyedeji averaged almost 20/20 in China last season. Even Priest Lauderdale put up big numbers, bigger than Harrison's, to the tune of 21/13/4. And he's not even mobile. (By the way, add Priest Lauderdale to the list of American players who have obtained Bulgarian passports. But at least Priest had the decency to play there for four years.)

Harrison turns 27 next month and has never really developed. Don't let me be catching you talking about him as having potential. But more importantly, here's a Priest Lauderdale fact: Priest Lauderdale was once banned from playing in the Phillipines Basketball Association because the league ruled he was too big. The PBA atthe time had a rule which stated that teams could field two imports with only a combined of 13 feet six inches, and the 7'4 Lauderdale had a 6'4 team mate (Jermaine Walker). That rule has since been dropped due to its inherent stupidity. Good times.

- Robert Hite: The ironically named Hite was in the Belgian league last year, averaging 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds for Oostende. But Cleveland, if you want Robert Hite, sign Luther Head. I'm seriously.

- Darnell Jackson: Jackson has an unguaranteed salary for next year, and if the Cavaliers get serious about winning now and decide to stock up with veterans, then his roster spot might be in jeopardy. But, since there's no real threat of that right now, he should be fine.

- Tarence Kinsey: Kinsey last season played about 13 important seconds all year. The rest of the time he saw was garbage time. Since you will no doubt know that Tarence Kinsey is the Kingsey Of Garbage Time, it might not surprise you to know that Kinsey managed to record a true shooting percentage last season of .595%. And this from your 13th man. Not too freaking bad, is it? Kinsey's contract is unguaranteed until July 28th, but I'm pulling for him to make it. And if he doesn't, I want my Bulls to get in on that. (Giggidy? Maybe.)

- Leo Lyons: Lyons was covered in the Indiana Pacers round-up of the other day. Nothing has happened since then to make me change my mind.

- Maureece Rice: Rice was one of about 46 people to get a training camp contract with the Sixers last year, but he never really stood a chance of making the team. After that went south, he went north, and was acquired by the Erie BayHawks of the D-League. He didn't start out too well, but things got better, and he ended up averaging 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the year. Rice is still a bit fat, but he slimmed down a bit, and returned to his more suited position of shooting guard. He's managed to rebuild his resume after a bad previous 18 months, and another year like the second half of last year, and who knows; he might get somewhere. By the way, a slightly dodgy anagram of his name is "eerie cum race." Remember; everyone gets an anagram now. Peruse at will.

- Jawad Williams: Williams signed with the Cavs in training camp, and beat the long odds to make the team pretty much on the basis of his performance in one preseason game. He then sat on the inactive list until the contract guarantee date came around, at which point Ferry waived him. As soon as he cleared waivers, though, Jawad was bizarrely brought back for two ten contracts, where he once again sat around doing nothing. Clearly, Dan Gilbert was paying for a winner.

Then, disaster; the Thunder bought out Joe Smith, who signed with the Cavaliers, and Williams lost his roster spot. (By this time, he had played all of 10 minutes in 9 games.) That looked to be the end of that, and Williams slunk off to the D-League to average 25.7 points in 19 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

And then he bounced back. The overdue medical retirement of Eric Snow finally went through, and the Cavaliers had a roster spot open again. They wasted next to no time in burning it on Williams again, signing him through 2010 and giving him the opportunity to once again sit on the bench. They even let him play once; in the Cavs final game of the season, when they rest as many vaguely capable players as they could, Williams came off the bench to score 8 points and pull down two rebounds in 10 minutes. In the 81 games before that, he had managed only 2 points and 0 rebounds in the same amount of time. It truly was a breakout of Ndudi Ebi-like proportions. And boy, did he deserve it.

Will Williams make the roster again? I doubt it. There's no reason why he should (no offense). However, considering Jawad's amazing powers of survival in the Ohio area, I'm not putting it past him. And if he does, I'll be sure to tell you.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 20

- 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 the hell 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. Both women and fastballs. Jonny Gomes = savage. The good sort of savage.

- 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 9 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. Jesus, I wish these bastards would settle on just one name. All European people 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 the Ukraine of all places, with Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk. Unfortunately, none of his team mates have funny names. Green averages 20.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while being probably the best player in the country.

- Caleb Green averages 13.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in Eurochallenge play per game for Dexia's Midnight Runners in Belgium, along with 13.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1 assist in Belgian league play. You may remember Dexia Mons-Hainault (the team's real name) as being the team that was too good for Dion Dowell. Or you may not. Depends on how much you care.

- Taurean Green is signed with CAI Zaragoza in Spain, averaging 11.4 points and 2.4 assists.

- Orien Greene (not to be confused with Taurean Green, Torien Greene, Orient Greene, or anyone other than himself) is in Holland, playing for the immortally named MyGuide Amsterdam. Greene averaged 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in EuroChallenge play, and averages 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals in the Dutch league. So there you have it; we finally found a league that can make Orien Greene look like a useful scorer.

- Lynn Greer is a starting guard on the Olympiakos team that leads the Greek league, and that continues to advance in the Euroleague. Greer averages only 9.6 points in the Greek league, but averages a team high 12.4 points in the Euroleague. Yet, supposedly, they want to bring in another guard (Jannero Pargo, Stephon Marbury) anyway. Seems odd.

- Vincent Grier is doing a bit of everything in the French league, averaging 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks a game for Cholet Basket. Grier also averaged 8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in the EuroChallenge. Unfortunately, he hasn't hit a three all year in either competition, going 0-5 in total, and Grier is also a combined 35-63 from the free throw line in all competition this season. That's not getting it done as a 6;5 guy.

- Did they ever rule on whether Eddie Griffin's death was officially a suicide?

- Rob Griffin was recently cut from his CBA team, which can't make a man feel good.

- Finally, Adrian Griffin played all preseason with the Bucks, but then was waived just before opening night for Austin Croshere. Unwilling (or unable) to be parted from his sugardaddy, Scott Skiles, Griffin then immediately became his assistant coach, something that he's pretty much unofficially been for about four years now. Those two are so CUTE together! *hugs*