Tra-Deon Hollins – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Tra-Deon Hollins PG – 6’2, 195lbs – Born 22nd August 1995 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Hollins returned to the Mad Ants to begin this season, having played 41 games with them in 2017/18 in his first professional season out of Omaha. Last year, he was a bench player averaging 4.0 points, 4.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game, yet in an expanded role in 30 games this season, Hollins upped those numbers to 7.3 points, 7.9 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. He is a rather unique type of point guard; a slightly undersized player with decent quickness who pushes at every opportunity, and who is very unselfish, in large part because he sorely lacks for a jump shot of his own. Hollins also has excellent steals numbers, and while steals are not in themselves precise indicators of good defensive impact or not, they are always a good sign of effort, and Hollins puts it out there on that end. There is some passing lane defence, to be sure, but also good hands he always holds up, good reaches when helping onto big men, and a good understanding of where the next pass will be thrown. Offensively, pair him with some good shooters and a big man to run pick-and-roll/pop with, and he can find them. It is a limited yet rare package that helps a team in its own ways. It is a shame however that Hollins was waived after 30 games due to what the Journal Gazette reported as being failed drug tests. Je’Lon Hornbeak survived his suspension and stayed on the Mad Ants roster, but Hollins didn’t, and whatever the reasons behind that were, he has not the G-League job security to be risking it. – 20th June, 2019 This above is extracted […]
Jared Sam – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Jared Sam PF – 6’10, 210lbs – Born 17th May 1995 Fort Wayne Mad Ants In his first three years at Southern University – and by the way, the commitment shown by the naming committee back in the formative days of that establishment is something we could all learn from – Sam was a low-usage player, whose highest usage rate was the 18.4% mark of his junior season, on which he shot a .655% true shooting percentage. As a senior, Sam was given a much bigger offensive role, thus shooting the usage rate up to 25.9%. The true shooting percentage, however, plummeted down to .520% accordingly. The offensive diet did not change much in that time. There was still no perimeter ball-handling involved, and only a small increase in the number of spot-up jumper attempts; Sam was still almost entirely employed in the paint, with a high volume of post-up possessions, put-backs and looks off of cuts and dump-off passes. Specifically, the post-up was always a big part of things. You would think that Sam, a wiry 6’9 with good speed and mobility but without much core strength, would be the kind of player best served catching the ball on the move as much as possible, rather than arbitrarily being given the post-up role purely because he was the biggest player on the team (and because an excessive focus on post-up play is a legal requirement of college basketball playbooks, or so it seems). Alas, old coaching habits die hard, and thus Sam was regularly found with his back to the basket. So if he looked a bit unfamiliar with the more face-up, on-the-move role that the Mad Ants try to put him in, that will be because of the four years of different usage that he had […]
Travin Thibodeaux – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Travin Thibodeaux PF/C – 6’8, 242lbs – Born 19th February 1996 Fort Wayne Mad Ants In Thibodeaux’s first professional season, he added size, rebounding and some interior defence to a team that otherwise lacked for them. He was not spectacular in any area, but he was solid in all facets, which accorded with the CV he was brought in with. Thibodeaux made the Mad Ants roster via the local tryout route, and stayed on it for the full season. He benefitted from a big increase in playing time and responsibility on the court when the Pacers waived Ike Anigbogu, and down the stretch of the season, being the leading frontcourt minutes getter by season’s end. In that role, Thibodeaux – who had led New Orleans in every leadable category as a senior the previous season – became more of an interior player and rebounder than as an upperclassman. Having made his way coming up as primarily a post player, Thibodeaux expanded that over his Privateers career to begin exhibiting an inside/outside game; baseline jumpers became straight -away trailer threes, and post feeds became going out to get the ball. With a handle and some touch, he did better going to get it than in relying upon the team’s limited guard play to set him up. With the Mad Ants, however, and with the distinct leap in talent this meant, Thibodeaux forwent being ‘the man’ and became a role player. He set screens, used his physicality (with a decently strong frame), attacked the offensive glass and accepted a reduced offensive role. In doing this, Thibodeaux made himself a good candidate to return in the future. It is always an adjustment going pro, and he made it, playing as essentially an undersized centre in a lowusage role very different to […]
Jovan Mooring – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Jovan Mooring PG/SG – 6’2, 205lbs – Born 14th December 1994 Fort Wayne Mad Ants On a UNLV team built with finishers yet few shooters – Brandon McCoy, Tervell Beck, Will’s brother Kris Clyburn, the always-fun Shakur Juiston – Mooring was charged with the task in his two seasons as a Runnin’ Rebel to create offence and stretch the floor. Picked up by the Mad Ants in the middle of February, having begun the season drafted 13th overall in the G-League Draft by the Grand Rapids Drive and spending the first three months with them, Mooring had a similar role here. He contributed, up to a point, and certainly plays with effort. It is not however a role he is naturally adept at filling, particularly the floor-spacing part. Mooring would prefer to run the court. He is in his best rhythm there, better at attacking an unset defence rather than trying to sneak through or shoot over an established half court unit. A small scorer by trade, Mooring’s game resides somewhere between the two guard spots; he is not big enough to just raise up from outside, nor a good enough shooter to do so, nor an isolation player from a standing start, instead being much more effective when catching the ball from outside. The Runnin’ Rebels as constructed rather relied on him to be the pick-and-roll ball-handler quite a bit anyway, and Mooring had some good moments, splitting doubles, using his decent speed, driving to dump to McCoy and Juiston around the basket and shooting a runner. That said, his offensive flow was never the best; Mooring could hit tough shots, but also took too many of them, would sometimes barrel into the lane without much of an idea of what to do when he got there, […]
Ike Nwamu – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Ike Nwamu SG/SF – 6’5, 205lbs – Born 3rd January 1993 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Nwamu’s best skill is his dunking, and I don’t think anyone will dispute that. He is a very explosive leaper and a player who loves to finish with power at any opportunity; the Mad Ants will have known when they traded for him in January (along with Jordan Barnett, sending Elijah Stewart and the returning player rights to Alex Hamilton to the Wisconsin Herd) that they were getting a fun player, and a reasonably useful one. Nwamu’s skills development outside of that, however, seemed to stagnate this season. Playing in the G-League for his third consecutive season, Nwamu’s main offensive value outside of the dunk is volume outside shooting, and while he will occasionally do some work off curls and the like to get open, he in large part camps out on the wings, waiting for reverses or kick-outs. He is a decent shooter who can have hot streaks, and the high volume counts for something, but the habit he has of tending to hold the ball for a bit after catching it does not help his efficiency. If he could shoot quicker and run more off the ball, he would only stand to benefit, because it is a nice stroke he has. Combining it with the dunks makes for a useful, and rare, two-pronged attack of skills. As a pro, Nwamu has cut down on the turnovers that once plagued his game. Fairly rudimentary in his handle and right-hand dominant, Nwamu is more poised and considered on his drives to the rim, perhaps recognisant of the fact that he is much better served as a finisher than a creator. When it is not a dunk, he struggles to finish at the rim, […]
Je’lon Hornbeak – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Je’lon Hornbeak PG/SG – 6’3, 190lbs – Born 1st May 1994 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Hornbeak spent two years with Oklahoma, two years at Monmouth and now two years with the Mad Ants, which is pleasingly symmetrical. To have spent two full seasons with a G-League team, even if near to the end of the bench, is a decent achievement that not many manage in a league with such high roster turnover. And the fact that Hornbeak has done so speaks to the useful role that he plays, and his good contributions within it. Whether he is playing the point guard or shooting guard spot is somewhat arbitrary, because offensively, his role is off the ball. Hornbeak may have the build of a lead guard, but not the handle; distinctly right-hand dominant, he lacks the ability to change direction or handle in traffic with any regularity. If asked to create with the bounce, Hornbeak struggles, as he can not create space, consistently get to the rim, or shoot off the dribble. Instead, Hornbeak’s offensive role is to spot up, leak out, keep the ball moving and be patient. It is a low-usage role many players can fill; nevertheless, with his 47.3% three-point shooting this season paired with two consecutive seasons above the 40% mark for Monmouth, it is one he fits well. Hornbeak’s main value to the team comes defensively. He is a face-up, pressure defender in the backcourt, including on those bigger than himself. Hornbeak communicates, rotates, stays at home when he should and helps when he should. He is essentially a three-and-D undersized combo guard, then, and while he does not have the size, speed or skill to do so at the NBA level, he has made himself into a very solid G-League role player. That […]
Omari Johnson – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Omari Johnson PF – 6’9, 220lbs – Born 26th May 1989 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Johnson finished last season in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies, having been called up right at season’s end from their affiliate, the Hustle. In order to obtain his G-League rights, then, the Mad Ants traded the returning player rights to both Jarrod Uthoff and Chris Fowler, as the training camp contract he subsequently signed with the Indiana Pacers was not enough to get his G-League rights. (Returning player rights trump allocated player rights.) Johnson made it into the NBA proper with the Grizzlies last year after so many years on the fringes largely on account of his much-developed three-point stroke, which last year saw a high volume of shots returned at a high efficiency. Combined with his physical profile – a lengthy 6’9 with good athleticism – and that seemed to be exactly what the NBA was looking for. As can be see in these statistics, however, that shooting did not sustain. To be sure, Johnson is still a good outside shooter, yet with each passing year, the outside shot becomes a bigger part of his game, so it is imperative that he makes a lot of them. Johnson very rarely handles the ball or takes anyone down low, and only really defends other face-up forwards such as himself, therefore needing to hit perimeter shots to have an overall positive impact on the game. He did this, but not enough to make himself a candidate at the next level up like he did last season. There are many players in similar frames to Johnson coming to the G-League, casting up outside jumpers, hoping to get noticed. Last year, on account of his efficiency and reputation, Johnson stood out from the pack. But […]
Stephan Hicks – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Stephan Hicks SG – 6’6, 200lbs – Born 2nd April 1992 Fort Wayne Mad Ants If you come out of a mid-major school, the G-League is often the best way to get from there to the highest levels. As one of many examples, think on how David Nwaba went from Cal Poly to guaranteed NBA contracts via D-League tryouts. And this year, after four seasons with the Mad Ants, Hicks did the same when he received a thanks-for-sticking-around midseason 10-day contract from the Pacers, à la Trey McKinney-Jones last season. He never actually took the court, but it’s a big step. Over his four years with the Mad Ants, Hicks has sought to expand his game. He arrived as a constant transition threat, off-ball cutter, athletic finisher, dunker and rebounder with decent spot-up shooting, and he still is that, yet he has tried to develop somewhat as a ball-handler, shooter and scorer. The release on the shot is not as smooth as the rest of his game, and he remains somewhat average as a shooter, yet Hicks plays within his role, makes few errors, still continues to leak out at every opportunity and knows his offensive role. More than anything, Hicks has been asked to be very versatile defensively, playing a lot more power forward than before after a career hitherto as a wing. The rebounding tenacity comes in useful here, and the big wing has become a viable small-ball four man. Consistent, flexible and hard-working, Hicks has used the platform of the G-League to build a CV that should get him a long playing career. Given that he stands out neither a shooter or a defender, it is not likely to be at the NBA level beyond the occasional toe-dip, yet having come as far as he […]
Rob Gray – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Rob Gray PG – 6’2, 182lbs – Born 3rd April 1994 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Having averaged 18.8 points per game over three seasons with the University of Houston, it was likely if not inevitable that Gray would receive a summer league invite and possible training camp contract with the Rockets. Indeed, he received both. Yet for whatever reason, Gray did not make his way to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, instead entering the G-League via the draft route, where the Mad Ants were looking for a playmaking guard to replace Walt Lemon. Gray is definitely that. He is uber-aggressive offensively, to the point that he was once benched for selfishness and inattentiveness to the greater goals of the offence around him, something he has improved on subsequently. With the build of a smallish point guard, he can take over games with his scoring spurts; quick and with a tight handle, Gray creates space for weird-looking jumpers and gets all the way to the rim any time he has single coverage. Even when he ends up taking a bad shot, his aggression is sufficient to move a defence around enough that things open up elsewhere. ‘Dynamic’ is probably the word; ‘fearless’ is definitely another. Alongside spot-up shooters such as Jordan Barnett and Demetrius Denzel -Dyson, this was needed. Due to his size, Gray only defends the point guard spot, and while he can be a pest when engaged, he often isn’t. He is also often hidden when possible, given his offensive responsibilities, yet he is unreliable on this end. Offensively, though, he is reliable. Aggressive, confident, always willing to step up and always attacking, Gray’s confidence has got him this far, and it could get him many more years as an Edwin Jackson type once he leaves the […]
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson SG – 6’5, 200lbs – Born 22nd February 1995 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Denzel-Dyson was very briefly signed by the Pacers in training camp, with the “official” announcements of his signing and his waiving by the team’s Twitter account coming only four hours and 28 minutes apart. Just about enough time to watch Gone With The Wind and have a bath. They did so because they wanted to allocate the undrafted Samford senior to the Mad Ants, intrigued as they were by his combination of athleticism and jump shooting. Rodney Carney’s cousin transferred to Samford after two years with UMass, two years in which he took a lot of three-point shots without hitting them. That changed immediately upon his arrival to the Bulldogs; Triple-D (or D3 or 3D or Trips or whatever) hit 46.0% as a junior and 42.1% as a senior, which sustained to a 40.9% mark in his first professional season. Indeed, it is a somewhat limited offensive package; as a senior, a combined 75.7% of his offensive possessions came either as a spot-up shooter, off a screen or in transition. Denzel-Dyson finds it hard to get to the rim otherwise, and lacks ball-handling and passing vision; he is in to score, and he lives for catch-and-shoot threes. Considering the three-and-D ideal, then, a good athlete like 3D with shooting percentages that has the makings of a good case. There are however things to address going forward. Notably, Denzel-Dyson struggles to finish at the rim when it is not a dunk, and his shooting becomes much less effective when done off the dribble. His defence is also more scrappy than it is refined. The G-League is a good place to work out these kinks, so it would be a sensible decision for him to […]
Jordan Barnett – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Jordan Barnett SF – 6’7, 215lbs – Born 31st December 1995 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Barnett was on the cusp of the NBA to begin his first professional season on account of the good job he did as a senior at Missouri of showing how he can fit the NBA’s three-and-D model that non-star wings are ordered to follow. He arrived at Mizzou after two years at Texas as a good athlete and capable shooter, someone who moved his feet well defensively when engaged but who was never consistently so. He left as a much better shooter than that, as well as being at times a disruptive wing defender. Long and lean with good speed and leaping ability, Barnett has an NBA wing player’s physical profile, which is always a good start. He uses that profile to get jump shots away, normally of the catch-and-shoot variety, often in transition. And although he has little in the way of a nuanced handle on the ball or ability to change direction, Barnett would at least cut to the rim, particularly via the baseline, to get efficient finishing opportunities that way. Combined with a 41.2% three-point shooting stroke as a senior, Barnett adhered to the template pretty well. There is no in-between game, little handle, a tendency to disappear for stretches (borne out of an inability to create offence, something particularly notable late in games), and the defensive effort would remain more intermittent than ideal even to the end. But given the rest of his profile, that was fixable. Signed by the Bucks and allocated to the Herd, though, Barnett immediately regressed back to his former shooting numbers in the low 30% range. The above profile only works if he is hitting the catch-and-shoot opportunities he relies upon. After being traded […]
Jared Reiner, Eddie Basden, Marcus Campbell all join the D-League
December 19th, 2009
The D-League has bagged itself some more former NBA talent. In five of the last six years, Iowa centre Jared Reiner has appeared in an NBA training camp. In 2004 it was the Bulls; in 2005 it was both the Clippers and the Suns; in 2006 it was the Spurs; in 2008 it was the Sixers; this past summer, it was the Timberwolves. In that time, Reiner has only played in 46 NBA games, 27 of which came with the unlisted Bucks down the stretch of the 2006/07 season. But that’s no reason to stop trying, and, seemingly unable to get a tasty European deal, Reiner has opted for the NBA exposure offered up by the D-League. If things go well, he could make it six of seven. Eddie Basden is another ex-Bull, who was quickly snapped up by the team after going undrafted in 2005, and about whom much excitement was generated by the Bulls’ PR Machine. We didn’t have a draft pick that year, so we pretended Basden was it, and took some great solace from predicting his greatness. However, Basden appeared in only shreds of 19 games, and all he showed was a desire to gamble on defence and an inability to consistently shoot. We felt let down somehow. Apart from the Bulls, Basden has had training camp stints with the Cavaliers in 2006 (being traded for Martynas Andriuskevicius in one of the best pointless trades of all time) and the Miami Heat in 2008, but he didn’t make the team either time. He spent last season in Turkey, averaging 7.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg for Mersin, but on the unhealthy percentages of 37% FG, 23% 3PT FG% and 61% FT. This is a defensive specialist we’re talking about, by the way. Marcus Campbell has never played […]
