November 15, 2010

5th: - Springfield Armor - Vernon Goodridge, La Salle

Another training camper, Goodridge went to camp with Golden State, and had previously been to summer league with the Nets and Sixers, at which time I wrote this about him:

Once intriguing, Vernon Goodridge absolutely and completely fell off the map. He enrolled at Mississippi State aged 21, and barely played for two seasons. He then sat out a year while transferring to La Salle, and then averaged 6.7ppg, 5.9rpg and 1.6bpg in 2008-09 for the Explorers at the ripe old age of 25. His professional career since then has involved one stop (in a Dominican Republic minor league with the catchy name of the ABASAPEMA) and one dismissal from the team (for an undisclosed breach of contract). That begins and ends the chronicles of Vernon Goodridge so far.

Goodridge didn't play especially well in summer league, not doing much else but foul, and he played only 5 preseason minutes. He is an intriguing mix of size and athleticism; he can block shots, rebound, foul you in both good and bad ways, run the court, jump, and has a bit of a hook shot with his right hand. What he doesn't have, however, is a CV. Goodridge turns 27 in February yet has almost nothing to show for it, save for a solid if unspectacular season at La Salle. And a 25 year old man of such athleticism probably needed to do better than 7/6. Goodridge still has time, and the D-League represents a good place to develop (hence the name). A good season here, in which he does what he does well, adds a left hand, hits his foul shots and threatens a double-double nightly, and his professional career will be in full swing. Time is running out, though. He started very late.

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September 28, 2010

Goodridge played for both the Nets and Sixers in summer league this year. Concerning his inclusion on the Nets roster, I wrote this:

Once intriguing, Vernon Goodridge absolutely and completely fell off the map. He enrolled at Mississippi State aged 21, and barely played for two seasons. He then sat out a year while transferring to La Salle, and then averaged 6.7ppg, 5.9rpg and 1.6bpg in 2008-09 for the Explorers at the ripe old age of 25. His professional career since then has involved one stop (in a Dominican Republic minor league with the catchy name of the ABASAPEMA) and one dismissal from the team (for an undisclosed breach of contract). That begins and ends the chronicles of Vernon Goodridge so far.

Ultimately, Goodridge didn't play a single minute for the Nets, and while he did play in all 5 games for the Sixers, he totalled more fouls than both points and rebounds. Somewhere in there, though, came the training camp offer from the Warriors. Perhaps it has more to do with the potential that he had in 2005 more than the fulfilment of that promise since then. Either way, Goodridge is going to have to stop fouling in a hurry for his rebounding abilities to be any use.

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