One Crazy Summer

It’s been a busy few weeks for Gerry McNamara.

In addition to the official NBA Vegas Summer League, several teams host their own weeklong mini-leagues with a handful of other squads. Immediately after their stint in Vegas, Gerry McNamara and the 76ers went to Utah for the Jazz’s “Rocky Mountain Revue” along with five other teams. In the Sixers’ first game (July 13), Gerry scored 6 points in 19 minutes, but had 6 turnovers to one assist. It turns out that this was the last game he played with Philly in Utah — not because he got cut, but because his wedding was coming! (Scroll down that link for the news item.) Gerry and his high school sweetheart were married this past Saturday, July 21, in Scranton. Congratulations to the happy couple. No word on who from the SU organization was in attendance.

(UPDATE: TNIAAM had the wedding announcement link over the weekend, which I didn’t think to check before posting. Props to the fellas over there.)

SU fans can brag about anything

Remember a few years back when Donovan McNabb signed his megadeal and became the highest paid player in the history of the NFL? Even though it wasn’t a true athletic achievement and didn’t involve any authentic glory, I still managed to take some pride in it. Hey, when an SU guy does something notable it counts.

In that vein, Doc Freeney over in Indianapolis recently followed in Donovan’s shoes, and it’s worth a shout out. A few days ago he became the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. I’m not sure if Donnie still stands atop the overall board or not, but either way SU alums are proving their value at the highest echelons of the sport. Good on ya Dwight. Way to represent. Maybe you can top Carmelo’s $3 million gift for new facilities?

Summer League Wrapup

Being on tour with my band for the 2nd half of last week, I was unable to keep up with the NBA summer league action. So here’s a wrapup of the last half of the camp.

nothing says hung over like watching NBA summer league games on a Sunday afternoon

I got a chance to catch some of the Knicks summer league game this afternoon on MSG. I can confirm that the hype on D-Nic is true. Our boy has already grown well beyond the explosive but uncertain one-dimensional scorer we knew and loved last season. All of a sudden he’s taking it to the rack with authority, scoring from all over, creating his own offense, and displaying an almost cocky level of self-confidence on the court.

Not only that, but he’s playing impressively intense defense. I can’t say he looked like a lock-down player out there, but the fact that he’s holding his own is a pleasant surprise. I thought his man-to-man would be a liability in the Association, but he’s ratcheted up his desire, effort, and energy level on that end of the floor to make up for his lack of lateral speed. He was even getting back in transition when other Knicks were lagging. Granted, he wasn’t shutting anyone down, but the key at this stage is to not show any obvious weaknesses.

Summer League Update 7-10

All three SU alums in the NBA summer league were in action last night.

D. Knickols and G. McNama6er

OK, so only one of those actually works, and is stupid enough that it might end up across the back page of the Daily News if Demetris wins a game for them someday.

Gerry and Demetris both saw their first action in the summer league Monday. Gerry, playing on two sore ankles, did not do much. He played nearly 9 minutes, scoring 3 points on 1-3 fg and 1-1 ft. His two misses were three-point attempts. He did not record an assist, but had three fouls and three turnovers.

Demetris had a bit better time against Kevin Durant and the Sonics. He scored 13 points on 6-12 shooting; interestingly, only 1-5 from long range but 5-7 from closer in. In fact, his first basket was a driving layup on which he drew a foul (missing the free throw, though, surprisingly). He grabbed two rebounds and had three assists against only one turnover. But my favorite stat is that he blocked two shots. One of the blocks was of a shot by Durant, and the other… also was Durant. In fact, here’s a snippet of the play-by-play from the 2nd quarter:

• 5:20 — Durant Layup Shot: Missed
  Block: Nichols (1 BLK)
• 5:18 — Robinson Rebound (Off:1 Def:1)
• 5:16 — Nichols Dunk Shot: Made (7 PTS)
  Assist: Robinson (3 AST)
• 4:56 — Durant Turnaround Jump Shot: Missed
  Block: Nichols (2 BLK)
• 4:52 — Balkman Rebound (Off:2 Def:1)
• 4:50 — Nichols Reverse Layup Shot: Made (9 PTS)
  Assist: Balkman (1 AST)

So he blocked a Durant layup, ran the floor and threw down a fast break dunk off a feed from Nate Robinson. (I wonder if it will make the highlights?) Then next time down the floor, Durant tried to shoot over him and he blocked that too, and ran down to get a fast break layup. This from a guy who they said needed to improve his defense to get regular PT in the Association. Durant finished the game shooting 4-19 from the floor. I’m sure Nichols wasn’t the only one guarding him, but clearly Demetris had something to do with it. At least for this 30-second span, he made Kevin Durant his bitch. How many people can make that claim?

NBA Summer League Update

On Lucky Saturday (7/7/07) Darryl Watkins played 12 minutes for the Kings’ summer league team. He had 7 points (2-5 fg, 3-3 ft) and 5 rebounds. Gerry McNamara has a sprained ankle (yes, again) so he’s missed the 76ers’ first two summer league games. The Knicks’ team, featuring Demetris Nichols, has not played yet this summer. Their first game is Monday 7/9.

Almost as awesome as 2003 (Pro Update 7-6)

Following on the heels of Elvir Ovcina’s championship in Belgium, Josh Pace has brought home the hardware from even further away.

In the last update we mentioned that Pace was the regular season MVP of the NBL in New Zealand, and that his team, the Nelson Giants, had made the finals of their playoffs. Well, Nelson laughed (‘haw-haw!’) in the faces of their opponents, the Easy LPG Bay Hawks, by sweeping the best-of-three series last week. In Game One, Pace had 23 points and 5 rebounds, leading his team to a 9-point win on the road. In Game 2, Pace had 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and the Giants celebrated the championship on their home floor. I haven’t found any news on who was named the Playoffs MVP (if they even do such a thing) but the smart money is on J-Peezy, who now has an NBL Championship Medal to go with his NCAA ring.

In NBA news, Mike Waters was first to report that Darryl Watkins signed a free agent contract with the Kings, and Gerry McNamara signed one with the 76ers. They, along with Demetris Nichols, will be playing in the Las Vegas summer league which starts today (in fact, Philadelphia is playing as we speak — the scoreboard shows the game at halftime, and Gerry has not got in the game yet). We’ll let you know how they do.

An open letter to NBA general managers: You seem to have forgotten about Terrence Roberts

Soaking in the recent megabuzz surrounding this year’s NBA draft, I was pleased to notice the names of Syracuse studs Demetris Nichols and Daryl Watkins tossed around by your ilk. They’re good players, and their likely signing to one of your rosters will serve you well. But in everything from the pre-draft buzz to the draft day reality, the absence of one man’s name from the chatter seemed inexplicable. Left out of the field was a chiseled 6-9 athlete carrying 230 pounds of pure muscle. A man with the heart of a lion, and the power, hunger, and coachability of a kodiak bear. That’s right, NBA general managers. Right about now you should be getting that sinking feeling like you just left your ATM card at a gas station 200 miles back. The time has come for you to explain to your fans how you let Terrence Roberts slip through the cracks.