I know it’s gonna be football season before too long, and this week we’ll start cranking up the pigskin coverage. But I’m just not quite ready yet. Especially with a fun and interesting NBA summer league having just wrapped up in Vegas.
The only thing that would have made it even more funner is if any of the former Terps had taken full advantage of their opportunity. There were some bright spots, but by and large the Maryland alums failed to impress.
To be fair, any undrafted player (especially one that graduated a while back) is probably overacheiving just to get there in the first place. The summer league is just as much a springboard to a job with an overseas organization as it is to the NBA. The players spend a couple weeks in Orlando and then Vegas, drawing the league’s average salary for an undrafted rookie free agent salary and a $100 per diem. There are worse things.
But the fact remains that as a group the ex-Terps didn’t exactly set the globe afire. Let us now take ourselves a look back at everyone who surfaced — and resurfaced — in Sin City:
- D.J. Strawberry, Los Angeles Lakers.
Key stat: 13 points per game on 44 percent FG
Nice scoring clip, and by all accounts he remains a Saranwrappian defender. Unfortunately, his assist-turnover ratio is about 2:3, so that’s not what you want to see. The Lakers already have a glut of guards, including, of course, one Mr. Steve Blake, but D.J. acquitted himself well here and could get a look from other NBA teams. - Landon Milbourne, Atlanta Hawks.
Key Stat: 0.8 rebounds per game
It just, uh, it just didn’t go well for Landon. In last week’s win over Milwaukee, Milbourne played his heaviest minutes — eight — and threw up a 2 and 0. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what the end of a road looks like.But hey, he made the online video recap after last night’s win over Minnesota. See that guy man-hugging Lazar Hayward? That’s Landon!
As I’ve said many times before, a man should count himself lucky if he can play in Europe for six figures.
- Nik Caner-Medley, Los Angeles Clippers.
Key Stats: 9 points and 3 boards in 18 minutes per game
Ready for the other shoe? That stat is only for one contest. But what a contest it was. Nik had joy. Nik had fun. Nik had one game in the sun. Then he sprained his wrist last week, didn’t score in game two, and sat out the final three entirely. Better luck next time. - James Gist, San Antonio Spurs.
Key Stat: Five rebounds per game
Hey, remember on Saturday, when former Maryland teammates Gist and Nik Caner-Medley squared off? That was awesome. The best part was when they both got a DNP-Coach’s Decision. And for all those NBA conspiracy theorists out there, Gist went down with a sprained wrist — just like Caner-Medley!!!!!! Come on, NBA. When you doctor your injury reports because you want to manipulate the outcome of the games, don’t use THE SAME INJURY for both players. Gist has pretty efficient stats and could attach himself to the end of San Antonio’s bench. But more importantly, if you rearrange “Nik Caner-Medley,” you almost get “Canadian league.” We’re through the looking glass here, people. - Greivis Vasquez, Memphis Grizzlies.
Key Stat: 1:1 assists-to-turnovers
I don’t know if you remember Greivis Vasquez (pronounced GREE-viss VASS-kez), but he played four years with the Terps. He was kind of controversial, actually. Greev’s learning curve began anew this summer, and it showed. His shot selection was uneven, and he didn’t exactly go out with a bang, finishing up last night with six points on 2-7 shooting and a big seven turnovers. But still, the guy showed flashes, as he always does. Don’t worry, Memphis. He’ll come around. And in the meantime, he’s got O.J. Mayo to show him the ropes. Now that’s good news. - Ekene Ibekwe, Portland Trailblazers.
Key Stat: 5.2 personal fouls per game
Meh. Or is that bleh? I’ll stick with meh. - Chris McCray, Memphis Grizzlies.
Key Stat: 58 percent FG shooting
McCray doesn’t even have a real page in the NBA summer league section. That doesn’t seem to be a reason for optimism. But since I’m a hardened reporter, I didn’t let the lack of a hyperlink discourage me. I went and looked at individual games to get his stats — and I won’t accept any applause for it, either. I’m just doing my job the same way any other everyday hero would do it. What my deep investigation revealed was a pretty good showing for Chris. Seven for 12 during the mini-season, including eight points in the finale. He didn’t do much else, but you know what? He didn’t embarrass himself. In my book, that’s a victory for McCray.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for these guys. Always fun to see some old faces playing for professional teams that don’t have names like the Canyon Hawks or the Rheiner Grugen. Here’s hoping at least a couple of them catch on.
