Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 59
March 25th, 2009
This will be the last instalment for this season of this series of posts, one which has gone on forever and seen more than a couple of jokes be repeated. It has come to its rightful end, ending as it does with the human conversation killer, Eurelijus Zukauskas. I’ll still take requests, but these lengthy diatribes are being put to bed. With that in mind, let’s get on with it. – David Young averages 12.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game for the Aishin Sea Horses in the Japanese JBL. You should know who David Young is, but, if you don’t, Young is a shooting guard who was a second-round draft choice and subsequent training camp signing of the Seattle Supersonics back in 2004. This came after a season that saw him put up 20/5 for North Carolina Central, a Division II team that isn’t really comparable to the real North Carolina. Before that, Young spent three years coming off the bench for Xavier, averaging no more than 8.1 ppg in any season. Along with his Sonics stint, Young has also played on summer league teams for New Jersey, Milwaukee and Sacramento, Last year, he played to a decent standard with Pau Orthez, averaging 13.1 points per game in the ULEB Cup, but the move to Japan represents a downgrade from that. You have now learnt about David Young. My work here is done. – Another Sonic training camp signing from that year was also called Young, and also played for an imitation UNC. Former Bucks draft pick and North Carolina-Charlotte standout Galen Young made their training camp roster that year, and put up 4.5 points and 4.0 fouls in four preseason games before being waived. He had also made the Sonics’ 2003 training camp roster, as well […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 58
March 24th, 2009
– Donell Williams is a training camp signing of the Clippers in 2007 who hasn’t done anything of note before or since. A 28-year-old 6’3 guard, Williams spent his first two collegiate years at West Los Angeles Community College, before transferring to Fayetteville State for his final two years, averaging 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in his senior year, 2004-05. D-Will then went back to school for the 2005-06 season to complete his degree, even though he wasn’t eligible to play for the basketball team. The following season, his basketball career finally started, with Williams now aged 26. Williams played in the 2006 JBL Pro-Am League, a largely unheard-of American minor league that takes place between April and May, in which he averaged 27 ppg, 16 rpg and 5 apg. He then did nothing for the next 16 months, between May 2006 and October 2007. And then he was somehow signed by the Clippers. After unsurprisingly not making the team, Williams went to the D-League, totalled 38 points and 21 rebounds in 18 games with the Bakersfield Jam, and was waived in January 2008. He hasn’t played anywhere since. Of all the random training camp signings we’ve had over the years – Brad Stricker, Rashid Byrd, Ajani Williams, etc – I think this one is the most random. – Corliss Williamson retired in the 2007 offseason and became an assistant coach at Arkansas Baptist College. Whether he’s still there or not, I can’t tell. Here’s a story he’s in from a reunion of the 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks. – Kevin Willis is now 46, and presumably not going to make another comeback. Then again, we fell for that once before. According to this story from October, Willis was running a custom jeans company called Willis & Walker. However, the company’s […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 57
March 23rd, 2009
The following people are all called Williams. – Ajani Williams hasn’t played anywhere since scoring one point in two preseason games for the Atlanta Hawks in 2005. Probably not even Hawks fans remember this. That’s how insignificant Williams’s impact on the NBA landscape was. (No offence intended there, but….well, he’s so unheard of that Googling his name returns this website as the fourth result. And that should never happen.) His career before this is obscure, too – starting as a walk-on with Georgia Tech, Williams transferred to Eastern Michigan, where he didn’t play much, and certainly didn’t star. Tours in Bulgaria, the Philippines (where he became a bit of a hit) and the USBL followed, amongst others, and then Williams was signed by the Magic for 2004 training camp after (presumably) impressing in summer league that season with the Mavericks. He didn’t make the team, though, and returned to Bulgaria for a second stint, before the Hawks came a-calling the next season. Seemingly, being able to score one point in an official NBA game (if not a regular season game) was a satisfactory conclusion to Ajani’s professional basketball dreams, and it seems he hasn’t played anywhere since then, despite still being only 32 years of age. Williams is now the president of the Jamaican Basketball Association, choosing to help develop his homeland’s game in preference to taking a player development job at the NBA’s head office in New York. Also, according to this, AJ is the author of a guide called “How to become a PRO Basketball Player – The Complete Guide and Manual”, which I can’t seem to find anywhere. Then again, since it was apparently made in ring binders, that shouldn’t seem surprising. (I did find this, but I’m assuming it’s not the same person.) I spent […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 56
March 16th, 2009
– Robert Whaley barely played in the D-League last year, averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game for the L.A. D-Fenders, and he has not signed anywhere this season. He also barely played in 2006/07, spending his time between the ABA, the Dominican Republic and Iran. Nevertheless, Whaley still received a full year of NBA salary back in the 2005/06 season, in spite of his relative failings in the professional game. He’s about to turn 27, he’s not yet played to a D-League standard, he’s got a lengthy criminal history, he lied to the police to his name to the Jazz about the cut in his hand, and he’s not even the most famous person with that name. But he made it briefly, and he got paid. – Davin White is signed in Serbia with Swisslion Takovo Lions Vrsac. White averages 4.8 points, 3.3 fouls and 2.0 assists in the Balkan league, but no word on whether his finger nails are still really, really pink. – Jahidi White has not played since an unsuccessful training camp bid with the Cavaliers in 2006. Since then, his only news-making appearance was in a non-speaking role on a sci-fi channel show called Showdown at Area 51. He played an alien. – Rodney White started the year with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, fell out of favour after one game and got waived. Not one to be kept down, R-White signed in China with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, and he leads the country in scoring. Considering how easy it is to score in China if you’re American and/or able to jump off the floor, this is no mean feat. White averages 1.1 blocks, 2.4 steals, 5.1 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 36.4 points per game. (See what I did there?) In his last game, […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 55
March 14th, 2009
– Charlie Ward retired in 2004, and briefly became an assistant coach with the Rockets. However, he left that gig, and has instead found a place and a job that caters to his three biggest passions in life; basketball, American football, and Christianity. Ward is now the head football coach at Westbury Christian School in Houston, Texas, as well as an assistant coach on the basketball team. He also recently quarterbacked again, albeit only for a fun day. Question: if you were to ask Charlie Ward whether he regrets turning down an NFL career for his decent if underwhelming NBA career, what would he say? Genuinely intrigued by that. – Darius Washington signed with the Bulls for preseason, and played very well in one of the preseason games. He didn’t make the cut, though, and nor was he ever going to. Washington then signed with Ural Great Perm in Russia, where he is averaging 13.0 points and 3.6 assists per game in the EuroChallenge, along with 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in the Russian league. Did you know that Darius Washington is now a Macedonian citizen? Fun fact. – Pistons draft pick Deron Washington is averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for Hapoel Holon in Israel. He recently helped the team to win the Israeli Cup, but is only shooting 23% on the year from three-point range. So he still can’t shoot. But he’s also still an athlete who covers ground on both ends. – Darryl Watkins did not make the cut from the Spurs training camp, and then went to Tianjin in China. Everyone loves Chinese numbers, and a post on this subject may well be soon appearing, so until then wrap your lips around this […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 54
March 12th, 2009
I don’t know how to tell you this; there’s also only about three of these Where Are They Now posts left before we reach the human terminus that is Eurelijius Zukauskas. And I’ve already played my joker with the (simply astonishing) Ejike Ugboaja story. And I’m not going to start again. You’re going to promise to keep reading this website once they’ve dried up, right? Don’t go elsewhere. You’ll like it here. – Former Hornets second-round draft pick Marcus Vinicus has gone back to his native Brazil, where he averages 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists – Minor league veteran Fred Vinson retired this summer aged 37 after a season in the IBL, and became an assistant coach/director of player programs for the Los Angeles Clippers, the team that gave him his final shot at the NBA. Presumably, this new role means that he rebounds a lot of Zach Randolph three-pointers. – Former Wake Forest centre Kyle Visser is into his second season with the New Yorker Phantoms in Germany. Last season, Visser averaged 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 58% shooting, and this season he’s up to 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 62% shooting. Visser’s team features nine American players on its roster, which seems like at least five too many, regardless of the team’s name. – 7’5 former Knicks and Blazers centre Slavko Vranes is averaging 3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in the EuroLeague, alongside 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in the Adriatic League, for Partizan Belgrade in his sort-of native Serbia. – Former Hornet, Sun, Bull etc Jackson Vroman is playing for Saba Mehr for Iran. Iranian numbers are, it seems, unlookupable. – The future of the […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 53
March 10th, 2009
– Larry Turner is signed with the powerhouse Vermont Frost Heaves in the even more powerhouse Premier Basketball League. Averages don’t appear to an option, but here’s a recent boxscore. Would you be able to look at that box score and pick out Larry Turner, of all people, as a former signing of the L.A. Lakers? No. But it happened. How bizarre. – Samo Udrih averages 9.2 points and 3.4 fouls for Estudiantes Madrid. All things considered, he’s better than Beno. – Cory Underwood started the season with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the D-League, averaging 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. He then negotiated a release from his contract, whereby he promptly signed in China and tore his meniscus. After a 23-point, 12-rebound debut for the DongGuan New Century Leopards, Underwood then put up 8 points and 4 rebounds in his next game, followed by a 0/0 performance, then a 0/1 performance, culminating in a 32-minute, 7-point, 4-rebound outing in his final game before the team released him. If they were unhappy with his performance, then maybe they shouldn’t have made him play on a torn meniscus. Underwood has since returned to the D-League and the Thunderbirds, and has not played a game for them since returning. – Ramon Van de Hare is about to turn 27 years old, and currently averages 8.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in the incorrigible Cypriot league for AEK Larnacas. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – that whole “draft any seven-foot Euro that averages 1 point per game” trend of a few years ago was excessive. – The only Nick Van Exel sighting that I’ve got is an appearance at a Cincinnati Bearcats practice last month. No word on what he actually does […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 52
March 9th, 2009
– Lucas Tischer was recently waived by his Israeli team, Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa, presumably for poor performance. Tischer averaged a stonking 3.6 points, 2.3 fouls and 2.1 rebounds in the Israeli league – Anthony Tolliver bounced back and forth between the NBA and the D-League this season, first going to camp with the Spurs, then making the team, firing up a load of threes, missing them, being assigned to the Austin Toros, being recalled, being waived, being acquired by the Iowa Energy, getting a 10-day contract from the Hornets, not playing a game for them, and then returning to the Energy. However, he’s since given up, and left the Energy to sign with Galatasaray. Tolliver put up 12 points and 8 rebounds on his Galatasaray debut, averaged 12.4 points and 8.5 rebounds with the Energy, averaged 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Toros, and 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds for the Spurs. – Marko Tomas is still with Real Madrid, where he’s been on and off now for about four years. Tomas averages 7.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in the EuroLeague, alongside 5.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in the Spanish league. – Jazz draft pick Ante Tomic is with KK Zagreb, where he’s been now for six years. Tomic averages 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the EuroChallenge, alongside 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the Adriatic League. Perhaps worryingly, though, this 7’1 player has 26 total blocks in 30 combined games. It’s not a Sundov, but it’s not great either. – Ali Traore is averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in the EuroCup, and 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the powerhouse French league, for ASVEL Villeurbanne. And my decision to add him to this website was probably a […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 51
March 8th, 2009
– Jamaal Tatum was the strange beneficiary of a training camp contract by the Portland Trail Blazers this summer, but unsurprisingly lost out on the 15th roster spot (which, surprisingly, Shavlik Randolph won). Tatum promptly returned to his D-League team of last season, the Idaho Stampede, for whom he averages 12.1 points and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting less than 40% from the field. – Bryce Taylor is with Premiata Montegranaro, the team that Shawn Kemp nearly played for. Taylor averages 11.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game, this coming on a team that features starting point guard Kiwame Garris averaging only 2.5 apg himself. I think I might have mentioned that before somewhere, but it’s hard to remember, because these posts are starting to all run into each other in my mind, into a big gloopy ball of confusion and doubt. Apologies if you’re suffering from the same. – Donell Taylor has spent the year with Egaleo in Greece, averaging 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. – I think we all thought that Maurice Taylor was done. He hadn’t played since 2005/06, hadn’t played well since 2000/01, and had spent a long time unsigned, out of our hearts and minds. He was waived by the Knicks in September 2006, signed by the Kings a few days later, was kept over Justin Williams, and was later waived in January when Justin was re-signed, not playing a single game for the Kings in that time. Two years then passed, and it was assumed that that was all she wrote. But it wasn’t; in January this year, Taylor signed a three-year deal with Milano, albeit one which only allows him to play in EuroLeague games. Taylor has since played in three games, which […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 14
March 7th, 2009
– Vlade Divac is currently trying to become President of the Serbian Olympic Committee. Never thought I’d say that about anybody, but there it is. – Nigel Dixon was in China to start the season, but left in the new year. Dixon averaged 26.3 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, with 69% FG and 44% FT percentages, before being replaced by Jelani McCoy. By the way, speaking of Nigel, the eagle eyed and really regular viewers of this site may have noticed a few weeks ago that every player’s name had been changed to “Nigel” when viewing either the rosters or player index pages. This wasn’t a childish joke, but merely an error that I forgot to fix. I’ll explain; hile trying to make some changes to the dull technical bits (specifically, we were creating the ability for players to appear on two rosters at once), we noticed that the changes that we had made didn’t take. Unsure of why this was, we reasoned that maybe the host company had a setup, whereby any user’s changes to certain Javascript files were not parsed until the following day. So, to test this, we changed the setup again, making it so that all player’s first names would be changed to Nigel if it worked instantly. If it didn’t work instantly , then we’d know that our original theory (about changes not taking until the next daily server rest) was correct. It didn’t work instantly, and so our theory was correct. But then my stupid arse forgot to delete the Nigel version, and so everyone was Nigel for a day. So there you go. ShamSports.com – run by an amateur, and assisted by a friend of a similar mental age. – Michael Doleac was not re-signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 50
March 7th, 2009
– D.J. Strawberry is with Fortitudo Bologna, the same team as GMAC Bologna, but not the same team as La Fortezza Bologna. Can’t stress that enough. Strawberry averages 14.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in EuroCup play, alongside 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the Italian league. Strawberry however is a combined 16 of 76 from the three-point line, confirming once again that his major weakness is still a weakness. – Brad Stricker has been on and off of the Dakota Wizards roster all year, averaging 11 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 fouls per game. His playing time wasn’t exactly consistent; his last ten games with the Wizards saw him play 5, 4, 3, 5, 2, 2, 8, 30, and 8 minutes respectively. Stricker eventually asked the Wizards for an unconditional release, as he wanted to play for a team closer to his home due to some family issue. He was granted it, and now plays for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, where he averages 17.6 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.6 fouls, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. – Erick Strickland now works for the Mavericks in a capacity that I’m too confused to understand. Here’s Erick himself with an explanation. Did you know that Erick Strickland’s real first name is Demerick? Me neither. Fun fact. – Rod Strickland is the Director of Basketball Operations for the University of Memphis, while also taking classes there to finish his degree. Ever since his hire in 2006, Memphis have gone on to be slightly brilliant. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. But, since Strickland’s role entails things like organising travel plans, checking on student’s academic scores, and scheduling visits for recruits, it probably is. – Curtis Sumpter averages 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds for Chorale de Roanne […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 49
March 6th, 2009
– Tiago Splitter is into his sixth season with Tau Vitoria, averaging 16.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in the Spanish league, alongside 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in the Spanish league. Splitter recently missed a couple of weeks with a torn muscle and the death of his sister, but he returned to be week MVP of the EuroLeague last week, which is not bad going. – Latrell Sprewell was in court yesterday. not on it. – Ondrej Starosta is in the LEB Gold, averaging 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds for Plus Pujol Lleida. – Vladimir Stepania hasn’t played since March 2004, which, for calendar fans out there, was five years ago. The last thing that I’ve got for him is this ominous-sounding forum post from November 2006. I’m guessing it didn’t work out. – Blake Stepp has not played since 2006 after a stint with Valencia in Spain. The only thing that I know since then is that he’s started playing a lot of poker. Whether it’s a full time thing for him now or not, I don’t know, but he did cash at the 2008 World Series Of Poker. Another former Gonzaga player, Nathan Doudney, is also playing a lot of poker now, and doing better than Stepp. – After Michael Stewart’s six-year contract ran out with the Hawks in 2005, he managed one more basketball stint with Huelvas in Spain, averaging 7.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He has not played since April 2006. This old version of his Wikipedia page says that Stewart is now a businessman living in Florida, and, while it’s not the most fool proof of sources out there, I see no reason to disbelieve it. – Frans Steyn […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 48
March 6th, 2009
The following post will make you hate the word Smith. – Charles Smith is with everyone’s favourite delicatessen, Efes Pilsen, where he averages 14.7 points in the Turkish league and 12.0 points in the EuroLeague. – Donta Smith is in Australia, which sort of has a Chinese league thing going on with its American imports, albeit thankfully not as exaggerated. For comparison’s sake, Donta started the year in China, so I can give you his Chinese league numbers (22.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.8 spg) and you can compare them with his Australian league numbers (14.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.2 spg). Smith’s team, the Melbourne South Dragons, are currently playing in the NBL Grand Final Series Thing, and Smith led the team to a victory in Game One with a 19-point, 11-rebound, 5-assist performance. On this night, the team gave away 6,000 posters of Donta to the crowd. – For what seems like years now, I’ve been talking about how Jabari Smith became a nationalised citizen of Qatar. But actually, he didn’t; he applied for citizenship, but, for whatever reason, he didn’t get it. I’m not sure why he wanted or needed it, unless he was wanting to enhance his career in the Qatarian leagues, but still. Jabari isn’t signed at the moment, having last played in Iran. – JaJuan Smith played with the Mavericks in summer league, fired up jumpers mercilessly, hit a few, got a training camp invite, got cut, waited around, went to Slovenia, got cut within days of arriving, and is now in France. In five games for the struggling Pau Orthez, Smith averages 8.8 points and 2.8 rebounds, having shot 12 two-pointers, 4 free throws, and 31 three-pointers. – Jamar Smith (not the transferred Illinois one, but […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 47
March 5th, 2009
– Chester “Tre” Simmons is signed with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, but is not in the rotation, averaging only 9.7 minutes and 4 points per game in the Israeli league with several DNP’s thrown in. Simmons was also this week reportedly involved in a fight in (and outside) a nightclub that saw teammate D’Or Fischer have his face slashed by unknown assailants, resulting in micro-surgery needed to correct nerve damage. Allegedly, this group of unknowns had gone to the club to seek vengeance on Fischer’s father, who was visiting Fischer at the time and with whom they had had a “run-in” earlier on. However, Fischer’s father, who was at the club, had already left, and that’s when it all kicked off. Simmons was unhurt, and it was him who took Fischer to the hospital, but by being out at the club in the first place, the two were violating a team rule, and so will probably be punished. In Simmons’s case, give how little they seem to need him (or like him), he might get released. – Courtney Sims is back in the D-League after his second ten-day contract with the Suns expired anonymously last month. He has totalled 53 points in the two games since his return to the Iowa Energy, and averages 23.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. The blocks per game numbers are coming way down, however, as Sims found it a tad tricky to keep up the average of 8 blocks per game that he held during the first two contests. (He had a 22-point, 17-rebound, 11-block triple-double on his debut for the Energy. That’s Olumide Oyedeji-esque.) – Ha Seung-Jin’s mate Nedzad Sinanovic is on loan from Real Madrid to Burgos in the LEB Gold (Spanish second division), where he frankly still underwhelms. […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 46
March 4th, 2009
– Renaldas Seibutis is part of a deep Iurbentia Bilbao team, averaging 10.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in the EuroCup, alongside 6.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in the Spanish league. – Now is the time to refamiliarise yourself with Warriors great, Mladen Sekularac. Mladen was drafted in the second round by the Mavericks back in 2002, coming off a season that saw him average 17.6 points in the Saporta Cup, the predecessor of sorts to the EuroCup. From there, Sekularac (whose name I’m finding really hard to abridge) went to Bologna in Italy, where he didn’t play much and was released mid-season. In 2003/04, Rac averaged a more modest 10 ppg back in the Adriatic League, and then saw his rights traded to Golden State as a minor part of the Erick Dampier trade. It was at that moment that it all started to go south. Sekularac had signed with Buducnost to start the 2004/05 season, but left after they stopped paying him; he then signed in December of ’04 with Apollon in Greece, but appeared in only two games, totalling 0 points. Since then, Kula has been in Belgium, where a series of injuries have seen him go from the fifth-leading scorer in the country in 2005/06 to a fringe starter in the present day. Sek is now 28, and has not panned out despite once being touted as his nation’s best prospect for a generation. And guess what? Right now, he’s currently injured. Larac signed a two-year contract with Charleroi this summer, and then got injured in his debut, back in October. He hasn’t played since, and has all of two points to his name on the year. Bad times. – Mouhamed Sene was waived by the Thunder on trade deadline day to accommodate Thabo Sefolosha. The team […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 45
March 4th, 2009
– Jamal Sampson started the year in China (woop!), but unfortunately his averages were rather normal. Sampson averaged 10.7 points and 10.7 rebounds for the DongGuan New Century Leopards, before being replaced in early February by Cory Underwood, the team clearly realising that if Olumide Oyedije can average 20/20, then Sampson should at least average 35/26. But he didn’t. – Ricky Sanchez, whose rights are owned by Philadelphia, is embroiled in a bit of a soap opera. Sanchez played last season in his native Puerto Rico for Grises de Humacao, but hasn’t played in the few months since that season ended. Currently, there’s an argument going on within Puerto Rico as to who he can and can’t play for. At some point in time, Sanchez was traded to the awesomely named Ponce Lions, but the Puerto Rican season is about to start, and Sanchez refuses to play for Ponce. The reason given by his agent is that Sanchez plans to attend “some” NBA camps this season (something clearly he considers to be possible), and he doesn’t want to be tied into a contract with a BSN (Puerto Rican league) team should an NBA offer come his way. Someone should tell him that it won’t, and ease the crisis. The dispute rages on, as FIBA have banned Sanchez from playing in the Venezuelan league. Apparently you need a formal letter of transfer to leave the Puerto Rican league, even if you’re a free agent. Harsh. A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. – Melvin Sanders is playing for Gran Canaria in Spain. He averaged 14.3 points per game in eight EuroCup games, and averages 10.2 points per game in 19 Spanish league games. He also has 24 total assists in those 27 games. Sanders recently picked up a Georgian passport, […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 43
March 3rd, 2009
I suppose I ought really ask – are you enjoying these? Really? I’d like some feedback on this. I mean, even if you don’t enjoy them I’m doing them anyway, because despite how tedious it can get trying to find new and exciting ways to list someone’s rebounding averages, I’ve come too far to quit. And I’m also kind of enjoying doing it. But I need to know if you are too. If you’re not, please say so, as your opinion is important to me, even if it might be ignored. – Jason Richards is unsigned, perhaps unsurprising due to the knee injury he suffered in training camp that ended his season before it even began. Speaking of, if any Heat fans out there are wondering why Jason’s getting a full $442,114 salary from the Heat this year (see salary page), it’s not because the Heat signed him to a guaranteed deal. They actually signed him in July to a deal with a small $50,000 guarantee, enough to convince him to choose their training camp over anyone else’s. However, because Richards was hurt while directly playing for the team, his contract is guaranteed until such time as he is able to return. And since he’s out for the year, that means he’s getting paid for the whole of this year. (The same has happened to Mike Wilks, formerly of Orlando and now of Memphis.) It’s kind of a bugger for Jason that he’s had such a serious knee injury in the first season of his professional career, but the $370,000 extra compensation that he got for his troubles will numb the pain a bit. I can only hope that this doesn’t lead to a spate of fringe NBA players signing training camp contracts for nominal or no guaranteed money, […]
Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 44
March 3rd, 2009
The results [result] are [is] in – one person likes these lists, no one said they didn’t, and everyone else absconded. That’s good enough for me, and the risk of alienating folks is minimal given that I seemingly have a readership of about 12 people, so here’s a long list of people called Robinson. – I don’t mean this in a harsh way, but I’m not sure of what Antywane Robinson has done to earn training camp invites in back-to-back seasons. Robinson briefly made the rosters of both the Hawks in 2007 and the Sixers in 2008, but the season in between saw him average only 9.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg. An athletic and defensive-minded player he may be (and is), but those still aren’t impressive numbers for Antywane, particularly in the not-especially-competitive French league. Nevertheless, Antywane is back in France again this season, where his inability to spell his own name will help him blend in well with the French. A-Rob averages 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds for Cholet. – Bernard Robinson blew out his knee in training camp with the Nets in October 2007, and hasn’t played since. – Brandon Robinson is in China. This means that good times will ensue. Brandon was also in China last year, where he averaged 22.7 ppg, 10.8 rpg, and 2.3 apg for the Shaanxi Dongshen Kylins. This year, for the same team again, Robinson has upped the scoring numbers, up to 25.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 2.3 apg. Is Brandon Robinson getting better, or is the Chinese league getting worse? Probably both. Also, for points per shot fans, that’s 1,052 points on 661 shots, for a 1.59 points per shot average. If Bra-Rob could up his three-point percentage from 32%, and his free throw shooting from 68%, he […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 42
March 2nd, 2009
– For Orlando fans wondering how Milovan Rakovic is doing, here’s some numbers; for Spartak St Petersburg in Russia (not Florida), Rakovic is averaging 7.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 fouls through 16 games in the Russian league. But as underwhelming as those numbers are – particularly those rebounding numbers from a 6’10 centre – you might take some solace in the fact that they’re not too dissimilar from those of Fran Vazquez. Or you might not, considering that Vazquez was picked ahead of Danny Granger. – Fan favourite Peter John Ramos started the year with Fuenlabrada Madrid in the ACB, averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, but has since returned to his native Puerto Rico. Ramos has signed with the Quebradillas Pirates, but hasn’t played a game yet, largely because the Puerto Rican league hasn’t started yet. The Puerto Rican league has something of a Chinese league thing going on there, whereby fringe and former NBA talent go there to achieve something that they never previously attained in the NBA – stardom. Players either signed for the upcoming BSN season, or rumoured to soon be, include Ramos, Rodney White, Ricky Sanchez, Ruben Wolkowyski, Robert Traylor, Esteban Batista and Marcus Fizer. Not a bad front seven, that, especially as it would see Fizer playing point guard, just like he’s always wanted. – Allan Ray is in Italy, where he started the year not playing all that much for Lottomatica Roma (6.8 ppg in the EuroLeague, 12.9 in Serie A), before being waived and joining Carife, where his numbers have improved to 16.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.4 apg. – You had probably assumed that, when the Clippers quietly waived Zeljko Rebraca in April 2007, that that was it for him. Struggling with chronic back injuries, […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 41
March 1st, 2009
– Olden Polynice has retired, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he’s nearly 45 years old, but it took him longer to do than you might think. After retiring, Polynice became a coach for an ABA team, but the job security of a position like that is about six weeks maximum. He has not, as far as I am aware, joined the police force. – Mark Pope has also retired, and as promised has enrolled in medical school. – Vitaly Potapenko has also also retired. After falling out of the NBA in 2007 (and looking quite bad during his last year), Vitaly sat around on the side-lines for a while before signing with Estudiantes in Spain in December 2007. He played six games, looked off the pace, was quickly waived, and retired after that. End of an era. – Roger Powell hasn’t retired, so that means I’m going to have to actually put some effort into this entry. Powell didn’t make the Bulls roster out of preseason, despite a pretty decent showing, and signed in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem. In five EuroChallenge games, Powell averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, improving slightly to 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in the Israeli league. Powell is a combined 10-39 from three-point range in the two competitions, including one 4-4 outing, so his weakness is still his weakness. – Kasib Powell started the year in China, where he averaged 25.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 59% shooting. He left the team at the beginning of the year and is now back in his natural territory – the D-League. For the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Powell is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. – Carlos Powell is playing for the pricelessly-named Inchon ET Land Black Slamer in South Korea. He averages […]
