Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 34
March 24th, 2010
– Britton Weaver Johnsen Johnsen has spent the year with Panellinios in Greece. He averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in the Greek league, alongside 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in the EuroCup. However, he has not played for last six weeks due to a knee injury. One thing I didn’t know until about Britton Johnsen until just now; a decade ago, he got into a fight with Amadou Makhtar N’Diaye (not Mamadou), who accused him of using the N word. I’m guessing Johnsen used the word “bigger” at some point, which N’Diaye misinterpreted. Either way, strange times. Here is the video LeBron never got to: – Alexander Cantarell Johnson Florida State product Johnson went to camp with the Utah Jazz this year, but despite 31 decent preseason minutes, he did not make the team. He then went to China to play for the DongGuan New Century Leopards. However, he got injured after only thirteen minutes in his first game and had to be carried off the court; it was the only CBA game he played. A couple of month passed while Johnson rehabbed his injuries, and then in late January he re-emerged in the D-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Johnson quickly became one of the best players in the league; in 19 games he is averaging 22.6 points and 11.2 rebounds, shooting 56% from the field and 75% from the line. However, the problem that marred his earlier NBA forays remain; put simply, Johnson makes mistakes. Not a Mike Greenberg-style racial epithet mistake, nor the Gilbert Arenas sort of gun-wielding mistakes, and nor the Mark McGwire type of mistake whereby you shoot protein-based poly-peptides into your veins to gain a competitive advantage using the ridiculously terrible defence that other people were doing it […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 27
February 3rd, 2009
– Chris Jefferies is a weird story. A first-round draft pick back in 2002, Jefferies got an opportunity to showcase himself back in his rookie season with an injury-depleted tanking Raptors team. He didn’t do much with it, though, and he was a throw-in in the trade the following season that saw Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams go to Chicago. It was there that Jefferies won my heart, demonstrating a decent set shot, interested defence, and a staggeringly bad handle in traffic. Jefferies was waived during the following offseason, out of the league after only two seasons. He then signed in the ABA with the Visalia Dawgs, a team that tried to reunite talent from the Fresno area. The team changed its head coach and renamed itself partway through its first season to the Central Dawgs, finished with a 3-20 record, and then folded. Jefferies has not played anywhere since, and this was nearly four years ago now. A Hoopsworld article from this time in 2007 talked about how Jefferies was rehabbing after multiple surgeries, but nothing came of that. C-Jeff turns 29 in less than a fortnight’s time, and his basketball career has been on hold for far too long now. Is he even trying to come back any more? If you know, let me know. Because I care about you, Chris Jefferies. We all care. – Dontell Jefferson is in the D-League, and somewhat starring, as one of only three Utah Flashers that you will have ever heard of. (The other being James Lang and Ronald Dupree.) Jefferson averages 18.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 3.5 turnovers a game on a decent Flash team. – Horace Jenkins is with Eldo Caserta in Italy, but his scoring numbers are less than usual, averaging only 10.1 points […]
Third Prize Is You’re Fired (2008 NBA Training Camp)
October 6th, 2008
“Anybody wanna see second prize?” “Second prize is a set of steak knives.” – Milwaukee signed Ron Howard, T.J. Cummings, Matt Freije and Kevin Kruger for camp. If you’re wondering who Ron Howard and T.J. Cummings are…well, you have yourself a valid question, but both are represented by Elfus-Siegel Management, an agency quite adept at landing their players places on training camp rosters. (If you were wondering, this is how Garth Joseph rolled up on the Bulls training camp back in 2003, for one beautiful week.) Be very careful when you Google-search T.J. Cummings’s name. Freije gives the Bucks a weak-defending jump-shooting power forward, as they only have two right now, which just isn’t enough. And Kruger gets to spend a couple of weeks in the NBA, even though he has little chance of making a roster that sees Luke Ridnour, Ramon Sessions and Tyronn Lue ahead of him, whether he likes it or not. Sham’s prediction: The Bucks told Damon Jones not to report, and they’ll try to trade him, but he will probably be waived if that can’t be done. That would open up a roster spot for someone, but what would be the value of any of those four filling it? – Minnesota made me a happy man this summer. Their camp signings were Kevin Ollie, Blake Ahearn and Rafael Araujo, while Chris Richard accepted his qualifying offer. Blake Ahearn is a nice player. Kevin Ollie is a moustachioed legend with something of a Brunson complex. But….Araujo? There’s so much right about that move. Part of it is the way that Rob Babcock won’t let go, part of it is the fact that it’s Rafael Araujo, but also because his signing allows for the existence of this picture. Only Rafael Araujo could use training camp media day […]
