Leon Rodgers

Leon Rodgers - 31 games, 38.6 mpg, 27.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.3 bpg, 2.7 TOpg, 46% FG, 38% 3PT, 77% FT

[Shawn] Taggart played extremely well for Shanxi, and the roster turnover started to settle down. But after only 8 games for the team, Taggart hurt his knee and was out for the rest of the season. So again Shanxi had to hit up the market, bringing in ex-NBA big man Alexander Johnson, who had managed only one CBA appearance in the previous season before suffering an injury of his own. As ever, Johnson put up terrific per-minute numbers; as ever, Johnson couldn't play huge minutes due to his constant foul problems. All the while, Rodgers, a Chinese league veteran and prolific scorer, seems to have survived the whole season. It was reported that he had been replaced by A.D. Vassallo in mid-January, yet Vassallo appears not to have ever taken the court.

- Leon Rodgers - Rodgers, a much travelled shooter, finally turned his permanently astronomical numbers into an NBA gig last year when he went to training camp with the Memphis Grizzlies. He didn't make the team, but another similarly stat heavy season followed; 28.5ppg, 8.5rpg and 3.5apg for Jilin in China's CBA. If you want a 6'8 athlete and shooter, try this one. He's 30 and unproven against higher levels of competition, but nonetheless, he's one to monitor.

Leon Rodgers - 22 games, 26.5 mpg. 13.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 2.7 fpg, 0.5 spg, 0.8 bpg, 45% FG, 43% 3PT, 80% FT

[...] The man Collins was covering for in China was, fittingly, the man who replaced him at Ponce; Leon Rodgers. Rodgers has been touring the minor leagues for the best part of a decade, putting up heeeeeeyoooooge scoring numbers wherever he goes. He has never played in the highest standard leagues - ACB, Adriatic, Serie A, etc - which helps with that prolificness. Yet his 35ppg average in China in 2008-09 was enough to get a workout (and later a training camp contract) from the Memphis Grizzlies. And the 29/9/4 that he averaged in China this year was equally as impressive.

- Leon Rodgers

Rodgers has toured the world in recent years, scoring big wherever he's gone. He averaged 21.3 ppg in his final college season for Northern Illinois in 2002. He averaged 19.4 ppg for Brandt Hagen in Germany in 2003. He averaged 20.8 ppg for Orleans in France in 2004. He averaged 19.9 ppg for Eiffel Towers Nijmegen in Holland in 2005, and 21.8ppg for Eiffel Towers Den Bosch in 2006. (Not the same team. It's a long story.) He averaged 22.6ppg in 2007, again with Den Bosch. He averaged 13.1 ppg for Quakenbrueck in Germany in 2008, and then 2009 was his crowning glory, averaging 35.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.3 apg for Jilin in China. His point totals from his last three games: 38, 66, 63. In the 66 point outing, he went 15-26 from three point range. (Chinese basketball - it's faaaaaantastic!)

All that scoring did not go ignored by the NBA, and Rodgers got his first ever NBA contract when he signed with the Grizzlies for training camp this year. He did not make the team, though, and returned to play for Jilin again this season. To find out how that went for him, read this. After Jilin's playoffless season finished, Rodgers went to Puerto Rico, where he currently averages 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for Leones de Ponce.

- Leon Rodgers: 36.6mpg, 27.9ppg, 8.4rpg, 3.8apg, 3.8fpg, 1.4spg, 0.3bpg, 49% FG, 35% 3PT, 77% FT

Rodgers was one of the most incredibly prolific scorers in the CBA last year; indeed, he's been an incredibly prolific scorer in his whole professional career. Rodgers have never played in a high standard league, which helps that prolificness, yet his 35ppg average last year was enough to get a workout (and later a training camp contract) from the Memphis Grizzlies. And as you can see in the numbers above, he's clearly at it again. (As mentioned in the intro, he wasn't the only CBA player last year to get one. Good to see NBA teams paying attention to China. Gotta love the CBA.)