Summer league round-up: Los Angeles Clippers

View the Clippers summer league roster. It's frigging stacked.

- Sean Banks: Sean Banks was in the NBA once, believe it or not. It's a period of time easily forgotten, but it did happen - after declaring too early and going undrafted in the 2005 draft, the Hornets signed him as an undrafted free agent, and assigned him to the Tulsa 66ers. He was the sixth player ever to be assigned to the D-League, but he didn't do much there, averaging roughly 12/3. The Hornets waived him before his contract became guaranteed, and he never appeared in an NBA game. He hasn't made it back since. However, in the 2007.08 season, he averaged 21.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the L.A. D-Fenders, which got him back into NBA contention, and he signed with the Raptors summer league team last year as a result. After that, he went to Turkey and played for Darussafaka, averaging 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. Banks would do himself a big favour if he either improved his jumpshot, or put it away; he shot 101 three pointers in 30 games last season, accounting for one in every three of his shot attempts, yet he hit only 21 of them.

More importantly, Banks is rumoured to be trying to become a British national. His father was born in England, and still lives here, which entitles Sean to a British passport. He may soon be one of us. If he is, expect me to get biased.

- Nik Caner-Medley: Caner-Medley spent last year in Spain, playing for Cajasol Sevilla in the ACB. He averaged 10.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in 25 minutes a game during domestic competition, but he still hasn't developed a great outside shot, shooting 23% from three point range on the year. More notably, Caner-Medley was kicked off of the team at the end of the year for getting into a drunken fight with a team mate at a party thrown by the team to celebrate their season. The team mate, Michel Diouf - who reports say came off worse - was also suspended but later reinstated. Considering that the Clippers other small forwards are the specialist Steve Novak, the past-it Ricky Davis and the frankly crap Al Thornton, I'd like to think that Caner-Medley had a chance. But he doesn't, really.

- Dionte Christmas: Temple graduate Christmas averaged 20 points per game on 46% shooting in his sophomore year, then 20ppg on 43% shooting in his junior year, and then 20ppg on 41% shooting in his senior year. If he'd done them the other way around, he might have been drafted. His turnovers also trended the same way, which isn't good, although his assist numbers also got better, which helps. Christmas might be able to carve himself a nice career as a catch and shoot specialist, but he'll first have to improve on his 35% three point percentage from last year.

- Eric Gordon: Way too good to be in summer league again. Way too good.

- Blake Griffin: Same. But I suppose everyone has to have at least one year.

- DeAndre Jordan: DeAndre Jordan sucks, and a lot of people don't seem to know it. A lot of the time, you hear about players who are just athleticism and no technique, but rarely is it more true at the NBA level than it is with DeAndre Jordan. Yet some people still think he's good for some bizarre reason. The evidence says otherwise; Jordan's PER of 14.1 is quite good, but his PER against is 23.5, his win share rating was 1.5, his Roland Rating -7.6, his +/- rating a mere -7.5. His FG% and eFG% are both a tidy 63%, but that's easy to do when 58% of your field goal attempts are dunks (almost all assisted) or tip ins - he shot 18% on jumpshots, and 38.5% from the free throw line. Even on the night that he put up 23 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, he let his matchup Andrew Bynum score 42 and 15. For him to ever be a backup calibre NBA centre, his effort will have to roughly double, and his skills will have to improve about tenfold. If he doesn't, then the guaranteed contract that he has for next season might be the last one that he ever sees.

- Marcelus Kemp: Kemp played on the Lakers, but totalled only 13 points in 3 games. He spent last year in Italy, playing for Basket Livorno, a team fortuitously sponsored by a wicker basket making company. (Not really.) Kemp averaged 20.7 points and 4.9 rebounds on the season, but must have had a bad Christmas or something, because he only recorded 6 assists in the whole of 2009 (assistless in 10 of his last 11 games). He had 265 field goal attempts in that time as well. He's a one on one type of player, and apparently it shows. Nevertheless, if he wanted NBA attention, he seems to have gotten it.

- Kyle McAlarney: Kyle McAlarney's great. His offensive game is solely three pointers, from between 21 to 34 feet, and the limit of his point guard play is driving baseline every one in a while. He's a little shooting guard with a dynamite shooting stroke, and no other complimentary skills. He's awesome. He's going to be a brilliant player next year. Guaranteed. It just won't be at the very highest standards of basketball.

- Kevinn Pinkney: Pinkney is a fine scoring big man, particularly from the mid range game and within. It's annoying, then, to see him take more and more threes. Pinkney averaged 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds for NGC Cantu last year, shooting 71% from both inside the arc and at the foul line. But he shot only 335 from three point range. Why, then, did he take two and a half three pointers per game? I don't know. But stop it, Kevinn. And Google your own name if you need to know how to spell it.

- Mike Taylor: Portland drafted Mike Taylor very late in the second round last year, then traded his rights to the Clippers for L.A's second rounder this year. That was quite a high price to pay, considering that the Clippers then proceeded to suck and the pick wound up being number 33 (which the Blazers then used on Dante Cunningham, another fringe Brit). Taylor showed some ability to score last year, although his defense is quite a way short and he's not going to become a pure point guard at any point (his turnover numbers are still huge). He should make the team again, given that the Clippers don't really have any alternatives to explore, but his contract is unguaranteed until the end of the month. And therefore, so are his chances.


Additionally, it was expected that Sofoklis Schortsanitis was going to join the team. He tried to, at least. But FIBA ruled that, because he was still under contract to Olympiakos, he wasn't allowed to play in summer league. This only appears to be a rule that applies to him, and not anyone else, so I must be missing something here. But that's the gist of it, at least.

It is obligatory that any mention of Sofoklis Schortsanitis is accompanied with a progress report on his weight. So, here goes.

The latest reports out of Greece state that Sofoklis has lost a staggering 105lbs since the start of last season, which is a huge amount to lose. Their target weight for him is 340, which he's damn nearly at, supposedly. Yet those reports also state that he now weighs 349 pounds.

You can do that math yourself. That's a formerly 454 pound man we're talking about. That's documentary worthy-big. It's unfathomble.

Those reports also claim that Sofoklis is down to 12% body fat, which seems like it can't be plausible when talking about a guy that size. But be honest, I kind of believe them. It's obviously impossible for a 6'8 350lb guy to be carrying around anything less than a crapload of excess fat, but I'm also willing to believe that the guy is chiselled underneath the wobbly bits. Watching several Olympiakos games last year, I never quite got used quite how spectacularly massive Sofo is. He would go up against players like Nikola Pekovic, giants amongst men, and yet he'd dwarf them all. He'd be shorter, and obviously fatter, but it's not just weight; the guy is freaking.....huge. I can't really explain it, really. There's a better way to explain it then this half hearted attempt I've just managed, but I don't know what it is. He's just magnetically massive. He's also pretty spritely for such a giant, pretty smart and highly skilled. He's an enigma.

But Sofoklis is still not going to be a factor at that weight. He's too big. And this weight cycle has been going on for at least six years. It's fun to be optimistic about how good he could be, but maybe we just shouldn't bother trying to be any more.

I Just Brad Wanamaker Love To You

Three days ago, I watched some NCAA basketball. This is rare for me. Very rare, in fact. To be exact, the only games I can recall seeing before these were the Tyrus Thomas versus LaMarcus Aldridge showdown in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, and whichever game it was that Adam Morrison cried in. I don't watch the NCAA because, simply put, I can't. But we'll come to that later. For now, let's stick with the important thing here; I had the opportunity to watch three NCAA games on Saturday, and so, in an exercise designed for both personal development and CV boosting, I did. I tried as hard as I can to judge every player that I saw on the basis of this one game. Here's what I got:

- The first game was between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. I missed the first half of the first half, and when joining the action, the first thing I saw was Luke Harangody shooting a three. It missed. Instantly, I am drawn to this guy, a slightly chubby white guy with a haircut that I thankfully saw the back of in about 1995. Now, pardon me for being judgemental, but you can't normally be a good basketball player if you have a crew cut. Just can't do it. When I see Luke Harangody, I don't think "that guy is clearly the focal point of this team's offense, and one of the highest scorers in the conference". Instead, I'm thinking this is someone from the crowd, hiding on the court, in a Karl Power-esque moment. Imagine my surprise, then, when the ticker across the bottom reports Harangody's immense scoring and rebounding averages (25.1 ppg, 13.2 rpg, ). I have since learnt my lesson and am now fully on board any Luke Harangody bandwagons that may be in progress. Although he'll need to acquire some vertical leap from somewhere.

- I admit to not watching the rest of that game as intently as I could have been, for my head felt like there was a Frenchman living in it. But here's what I noticed from every non-crew cutted player out there - Sam Young didn't do a damn thing and I was left wondering what it was he's supposed to be good at; Kyle McAlarney can shoot off screens well and has NBA threee point range already, which is fortunate for a player who shoots two and a half times as many three pointers as twos; Dejuan Blair looks like a fat Elton Brand, should shoot his free throws with a bit less arc, was impressively willing to dive on the floor, and was better than everybody else combined on the boards; Jermaine Dixon was constantly in the right place at the right time, with a jumpshot that looked as smooth as Juan Dixon's, yet which belied his 26% three point percentage; and Levance Fields was pretty good at everything.

- The second game featured Oklahoma State versus Texas A&M. I was excited for this one, because it meant that I'd finally get to see Blake Griffin, but it quickly became apparent (after I asked someone) that Griffin actually plays for Oklahoma, not Oklahoma State. There's some proof, if ever it were needed, that I still don't know anything about the NCAA. But I'm trying, dammit.

- The Aggies court was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. It had a checkerboard effect, which never looks good on a basketball court, and a weird motif in the middle that looked like a crude drawing of Africa. The crowd, however, seemed keen, and had this weird unison thing going on - on every foul shot, they would mime an inverted vagina with their hands, hold it aloft, and fall silent. Indeed, so silent did they fall, commentator Ron Franklin had to whisper so quietly his voice changed. That was mildly entertaining, and seems to be the norm/a rarity amongst college hoops fans. (Delete as applicable.) Also, the fans in all three games didn't boo too much, which was a welcome change. They were louder, happier, and generally less presumptuous than most NBA fans, all of which were welcome changes. most welcome of all, though, were quite how many good looking ladies in ill-fitting cotton t-shirts lined the crowd of these games. That is something that I could TOTALLY get used to, and let it never be forgotten that the ill-fitting cotton t-shirt is actually a great look on a girl. Particularly the ample chested ones.

- This was the first time I have seen or heard Fran Franschilla outside of his time honoured "random interjections into ESPN's draft night coverage" role. I wish I hadn't.

- To the game itself; the commentary team made a big deal out of Derrick Rowland's 1 point, 7 rebound and 3 assist performance, consistently praising his work ethic and tenacious defense, which they considered more important than his inability to hit a cow's arse with a banjo. In fairness, Rowland was indeed running around giving it all, and had a nice weakside block and one nice assist. But the seven rebounds were more luck than judgement, and the jumpshot was one of the most broken that I've seen from a guard in a while. These things count a lot for me - it's rarely if ever advisable to be playing a man short on offense, particularly when the player in question is a guard.

- If Bryan Davis could jump off the ground, he'd be good.

- I like guards who grab lots of rebounds, and so I like Obi Muonelo. Of course, his 9.1 rebounds per game is a total warped slightly by the fact that he's playing mainly power forward, despite only being 6'5, but that's still a mighty impressive number. I particularly like guards who grab lots of rebounds but who can also drain threes, and so Obi Muonelo has made a friend for life here. I also like point guards who constantly put the ball, amusingly fat players, and players whose surnames accurately describe them. As such, Byron Eaton is also one I'm going to follow. It was also amusing to hear Fran Fraschilla consistently describe Eaton's body as being that of a "football player", and in one specific instance "Jerome Bettis", always managing to stop short of saying "a bit fat". (Eaton is listed at 5'11 and 210, even after losing 40lbs. So he must have been great fun to watch last season.)

- As for other Oklahoma State players, Fran Fraschilla mentioned in commentary that James Anderson only goes left, and as far as I could see (using a one game sample size), he was correct. Every time Anderson needed to go right, he rose up for the shot instead. He also never passed, and I wasn't overwhelmed by him as a player. He's a better cricketer. Terrell Harris, meanwhile, looked decent, if a bit ordinary. And Keiton Page used all the dap that Fraschilla gave him to throw up a stinker, full of turnovers and hurried shots. Whoops.

- For Texas A&M, no one really stood out. Josh Carter would have stood out were he a freshman, and not the senior that he is. Rowland, as mentioned, tried hard but has a bovine backside problem. Donald Sloan seemed solid but unspectacular, and his name seems more fitting on a slightly corrupt oil baron. Junior Elonu was probably their most impressive player in terms of NBA prospects, as he showed decent defensive instincts and some fledgling offense. David Loubeau was impressive on offense for a skinny freshman, but I couldn't hear his name without thinking of the dyke bar in South Park. And I have no idea what Dash Harris is supposed to be good at.

We missed most of the first half of the third game, between North Carolina and North Carolina State, but the second half was entertaining. Particularly the fight in the last two seconds. I noted the following:

- People (i.e. everyone) who said that Tyler Hansbrough is going to struggle in the NBA look to be right. It's good to have touch, but it's not worth much when you can't get the shot off in the first place. See also: the demise of Michael Sweetney's career, albeit in his case it wasn't due to a lack of size, but too much of it. Ty Lawson seemed to push the ball a lot, so add him to the list. I liked everything about Danny Green. Little things players with good jumpshots = another yes. That's a fine role player right there. Deon Thompson looked rather polished, and I'm guessing Tyler Zeller is related to Notre Dame's Luke Zeller in some way. Partly because of the name, and partly because they had basically the same face. If it's not the case, that's a spooky coincidence.

- For NC State, Ben McCauley's defensive rotations had Drew Gooden-like qualities, which is never a good thing, but he seemed to have a soft touch and an enjoyable hard foul with two seconds to go. So I liked him. Courtney Fells shot extremely well.....briefly. And Brandon Costner never seemed to know what he was doing, disappearing for long stretches, and then trying to force his way back into the action with some poor shots. Wasn't overwhelmed by the State side, although the crowd's penchant for throwing up \m/ 'The Fingers Of Rock' \m/ was most welcomed.

That's all I got.

Also, I've spent a while recently trying to understand the NCAA recently, its rules, its setup, and its nuances. I've done this by asking people, and it's going rather well. I now understand, if not necessarily agree with, most of what's going on. But I still have three questions:

1: Why are some fouls 1+1, yet some are instant two shot fouls? I'm guessing it's related to team fouls, but I couldn't [be bothered to] figure it out.

2: Why is the shotclock 35 seconds? I seriously can't see a need for this.

3: How do universities afford stadiums that big?



And here, for those interested in the continued plight of an NBA fan in England, is a small rant. These games were broadcast on a channel called NASN, the North American Sports Network. NASN is a channel outside of any standard satellite package, so you have to pay extra for it. I used to do this, but decided it wasn't worth its money, and cancelled it about three years ago. However, these three games were being broadcasted free for the day, as a teaser if you will. This was because NASN was to be renamed the following day to ESPN America, as the famous conglomerate bought out NASN a few months ago. Does this mean, though, that we're now going to get ESPN's NBA games on ESPN America? Does it bollocks. And so we're still stuck with our one game a week.

It's pathetic, really. God bless the internet.