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The News
 Nuggets
Sign Free Agent Wilks
DENVER, Oct. 18 -- The
Denver Nuggets have signed G
Mike Wilks, team Vice President of Basketball
Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team
policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Wilks, 5-10, 180, has
played five NBA seasons with Atlanta, Minnesota, Houston,
San Antonio, Cleveland and Seattle. Most recently, he
averaged 3.6 ppg and 1.7 apg in 47 games with Seattle
during the 2006-07 season. He currently holds career
averages of 2.5 ppg and 1.2 apg in 214 career appearances.
The Nuggets roster now
stands at 19 players.
Benson,
Cleaves, Hite: From D-League To NBA Training Camp
East Rutherford, N.J.,
October 9, 2007 -
Rod Benson,
Robert Hite, and
Mateen Cleaves are just three of the 85 former
D-League players scattered throughout the NBA trying to
earn their place on a team. All three took different paths
to arriving at camp with the Nets, but they all feel that
their common background of playing in the D-League during
the 2006-07 season helped them get to where they are
today.
Benson, Cleaves, and Hite
were hard at work on Tuesday at the Nets Training Facility
in East Rutherford, NJ, as the team went through a
scrimmage before moving on to individual workouts. They
face an uphill battle to make the Nets roster, which
currently stands at a crowded 19 players. However, each
player credits the D-League with helping them to improve
their game and earn the attention of a training camp
invitation from New Jersey.
Jones makes a decision
Lee Hubbard
Talk about it in the
Message Boards
Chris Jones, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Newark Memorial High has given
a verbal commitment to Fresno State University.
"I like the school and it feels like a very good fit for me," said Jones. "They
play the way I like to play. They run the floor and they let their players play
and make plays."
Jones picked Fresno State over basketball scholarship offers from San Jose
State, Loyola Marymount, Portland, St. Mary's, Oral Roberts, TCU and San
Francisco. Other schools showing recruiting interest included Miami, Illinois,
UNLV, Washington State, Washington, Utah, San Diego State, Santa Clara, UOP, UC
Irvine and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
The Bulldogs won out because of their style of play, Jones' connection with the
coaching staff, the needs of the program, fan support and the opportunity to
play in the Save Mart center, which is arguably the second best arena on the
West Coast behind the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
"The arena was really nice, and it was one of the best ones I had been in or
seen," said Jones.
Horacio Jones, Chris's father, said Fresno State started recruiting his son in
the spring. In his talks with the coaching staff they were "very diligent and
consistent" in explaining how Chris would benefit the Bulldog program.
"Their particular needs in the 2008 class afforded Chris an opportunity to
potentially have an impact early," said the elder Jones.
Fresno State loses seven seniors to graduation this upcoming year and Jones will
have the opportunity to come in and contribute early at the point guard spot.
The school is also centrally located for the entire Jones family. It allows his
parents as well as his extended family in Southern California to meet in the
middle of the state to see Jones play.
"Fresno State in the past has played at a high level," continued Horacio. "They
have shown the ability to retool over the years in talent. This will
consistently challenge [Chris] to work hard and to get better as a player."
Division I coaches are not allowed under NCAA regulations to comment on verbal
commitments. But the coaching staff should be very happy with the player they
are getting. Jones is ranked the No. 4 2008 prospect in Northern California by
NorCalPreps.com.
Last year, Jones averaged 14.4 points and two assists per game for a balanced
Cougars team that won the Mission Valley Athletic League title. Jones was first
team All-League, team MVP and voted the most outstanding player in the MVAL.
Newark has not lost a league game in five years and Jones has helped continue a
basketball tradition which includes Marquin Chandler (George Washington/San Jose
State), Devon Harden (California), Kyle Spain (San Diego State), Trae Clark (Cal
Poly SLO) and countless others.
Jones is a physical specimen with a college-ready body, good all around player,
who makes his teammates better. He has made defense one of his trademarks, as he
is a tough lock down defender who opposing coaches have called the "blanket"
because of his defensive prowess. Jones is also a crafty scorer with very good
perimeter footwork. One of his weaknesses is his outside shooting, but he has
made tremendous strides in this area.
Over the spring and summer, Jones played for Southern California-based
California Hoops. Head coach Mike Lewis calls Jones a "coach's dream." "[Chris]
gives 100 percent on both ends of the court," said Lewis. "He takes the
challenge to defend the best player on the team, and he is one tough
competitor."
California Hoops played at a high level the entire year and Jones had several
memorable games. In the Las Vegas Spring Classic, Jones scoring 18 points to
help Hoops win the tournamet championship, and he averaged over 20 points per
game, including a 42 point outburst at the Main Event in July.
Now, with the pressure of a decision out of the way, Jones says he will
concentrate on Newark winning the league, section, Norcal and state
championships in Division 1.
"Our goal is to get to the state championship game in Division 1," continued
Jones. "In the past, we should have went to state but we did not play well and
play up to our potential. This year, I am going to make sure our team plays
together, plays hard and plays with a purpose."
Ex-Syracuse guard tries again...Gerry McNamara takes a
2d shot at the NBA, this time with the Sixers.
Gerry
McNamara didn't take a college star's normal path to
the 76ers' summer-league roster, although he is trying
to figure out how to stay.
McNamara, generously
listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, is one of five
rookie free agents fighting for spots on the Sixers'
roster for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and the
Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City.
McNamara suffered a
sprained right ankle yesterday. The ankle will be
reevaluated today.
McNamara and two-year
veteran Louis Williams are the only two point guards
on the summer roster, although the Sixers have two
veteran point guards on their main roster: Andre
Miller and Kevin Ollie.
If McNamara has learned
anything, it is that the NBA is hard to break into.
"I'm going to try to do
everything I can to make it happen, but number one is
making it happen," the 23-year-old said. "So I don't
want to get ahead of myself, but when I get there,
it's going to mean a lot to me."
read more
El
Camino wins thriller over Placer ... The Eagles advance to
the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals...
If the rematch between
the Placer and El Camino girls was a battle, can you
imagine what the rest of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division
III playoffs will be like?
El Camino doesn't mind
the drama just as long as it's the victor. That's what the
fourth-seeded Eagles experienced Thursday night, when they
beat the fifth-seeded and visiting Hillgals 66-63 in the
quarterfinals.
In a well-coached,
hard-fought game, Lisa Peterson made the difference. El
Camino's senior center, who had a game-high 25 points,
made two free throws with 6.3 seconds left after Kasey
Riecks missed two that could have given Placer the lead
with 8.3 seconds remaining.
Read
entire story
Cal's Anderson has come a long way in a short time by
almost any standard. Ryan Anderson was well
below the radar when he came to Cal in the fall. After
two-thirds of his freshman season, the forward finds
himself in clear view -- of the NBA.
Anderson has gone from a high school
player who couldn't crack scout.com's top 100 to a
legitimate pro prospect. His numbers this season haved the eyes of NBA scouts, and Anderson has turned
into the type of player who might not even spend four
years in college. ``He came out of the blue,'' one
scout said. ``He wasn't on any NBA team's radar when he
got to Cal. If he continues being consistent and works on
his lateral quickness, he will likely be a late
first-round pick.''
Franklin guard makes a winning difference... Welch
leads drive to Delta Valley League title. You can't go on
www.maxpreps.com and find too much information on
Franklin High School junior guard Julian Welch, but the
young fellow had quite the pair of games last week. Welch
is averaging more than 20 points this season while
stepping into the huge footsteps of last season's high
scorer, C.J. Morgan, now at Pacific.
One might think Welch would receive
some large publicity at MaxPreps -- a key conduit of high
school sports statistics and other information -- but his
coach, Jesse Formaker, like quite a few others in the
area, has not submitted information to the site. The
Franklin coach said he fears giving an edge to potential
opponents. Yeah, OK. Whatever.
Folsom's
Thomas improved his game, and so did his team...
How Folsom High
School senior forward Kyle Thomas dunked the ball was not
as important as the circumstances surrounding the feat.
Of course, his four
rim-rattling jams accounted for eight points and energized
his team. That Thomas did it inside a hostile Jesuit High
gym during his team's first-place battle with the
Marauders was more impressive......
"Kyle is the focal point of our team," Folsom coach
Mike Wall said. "When Kyle is in the game, he demands a
lot of attention. He demands the double team. So when
teams double, they leave a player And when they play
straight up, it gives Kyle the opportunity to exploit
single coverage."
Thomas is displaying his talent more than ever before.
He has earned a scholarship from Division I Loyola
University in Chicago, and his play has helped Folsom
improve drastically.
Quemont
Greer, Dakota Wizards... Quemont Greer of the
Dakota Wizards is the D-League Performer of the Week for
the second straight time.
Greer turned in the top
scoring performance of the D-League Showcase when he
poured in 40 points with eight rebounds and four assists
in a loss to Colorado on Wednesday night. Later in the
week he scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a
113-111 win over Fort Worth, and the next night returned
to score 30 points with eight rebounds against the Flyers.
In four games last week, Greer averaged 27.0 points and
7.5 rebounds for the Wizards.
Star
Point Guard Finds Playing Time, Success With The
Bakersfield Jam... Gerry McNamara: Making It
Happen In The D-League...
Gerry McNamara enjoyed a
storied college career at Syracuse, winning a national
championship and earning various individual honors, but
his professional career did not get off to the start that
he had planned. McNamara signed a lucrative contract to
play in Greece, but grew frustrated due to a lack of
playing time. Now that he's taken his talents to the
D-League's Bakersfield Jam, McNamara has emerged as one of
the league's best point guards.
The BIG EAST career leader
in three-pointers made has been enjoying his time in the
D-League so far. He is currently averaging 13.5 points and
ranks third in the D-League with 7.3 assists.
"Playing for Bakersfield
has been good. It's a lot of fun, I like my teammates and
I like the coaches, so just to be in this situation I'm
thankful," said McNamara. "A lot of people are working in
nine-to-fives, and we get to do what we like to do. It's a
blessing that we're here and just a step away from the
greatest basketball league, the NBA."
McNamara came to the Jam to
get as much playing time as possible, and stepped into the
starting lineup almost as soon as he arrived. McNamara
feels that one of the D-League's best assets is giving him
the playing time that he needs to improve his game.
D-League Performer of the Week: ... Quemont Greer, Dakota
Wizards
Quemont Greer of the Dakota
Wizards is the D-League Performer of the Week. Greer led
the Wizards to a 2-0 record last week as the Eastern
Division leaders extended their current winning streak to
seven games.
Greer's top performance
came on Sunday night, where he scored 32 points, grabbed
six rebounds, and added four steals to lead the Wizards to
a 114-94 victory over the Anaheim Arsenal. Earlier in the
week, Greer scored 21 points with seven boards and three
assists in a 119-99 win over Tulsa. Greer is averaging
26.2 points over his last four games, all Dakota wins.
A 6-7 forward from DePaul,
Greer is averaging 15.6 points and 5.6 rebounds for the
season.
G-Mac, playing well in NBADL, could get a look...
Don't be surprised if popular former Syracuse University
star Gerry McNamara makes his NBA debut soon.
After a brief and unhappy pro baptism in Greece in the
fall, McNamara is playing for the Bakersfield Jam in the
NBA Development League. Through eight games he's averaging
15.2 points and 6.8 assists (sixth in the league). He has
a .450 field-goal percentage, .370 3-point field-goal
percentage, and (no surprise) is perfect from the
free-throw line (22 of 22). He had a season-high 29 points
in a 109-103 loss to Colorado on Sunday.
Davis, Barnes Lead Warriors Past Hornets...
Matt Barnes also scored 29 as the Warriors won despite
shooting just 39.5 percent from the field. They made up
for that by outscoring New Orleans 26-2 in fastbreak
points and by turning 17 Hornets turnovers into 23 points.
"We got the lead and they
kept battling and battling," said Davis, who wound up
10-of-25. "We hit shots big enough to just hold them off."
Davis and Barnes each had
big shots down the stretch. A jumper by Davis from the
left side made the score 91-85 with 1:23 remaining. After
a Hornets miss, Barnes took a pass from Davis in the right
corner and sank a 3-pointer for a 94-85 lead.
Barnes’ Hot Hand Leads Warriors Past Sixers...Baron
Davis treated his grandmother to a good show with the help
of his former college teammate
Matt Barnes.
Pleasant Grove gets first big win as varsity program...Any
coach building a basketball program would gladly accept a
prominent center and point guard. Pleasant Grove head
coach Lance Corgiat is one of the few lucky ones.
Corgiat, in his second year
with the boys basketball program and his first as the varsity
coach, has at least two more years to appreciate the
uniqueness of Armond Armstead and Xavier Thames.
Armstead, a junior, and Thames,
one of the most explosive sophomore guards in the Sac-Joaquin
Section, are capable of stamping Pleasant Grove’s mark on the
Delta River League possibly sooner than most first-year
varsity athletic departments.
Armstead and Thames both
contributed to the program’s first noticeable win at the
varsity level, surviving a 62-58 win over Tokay, a premier
Division I program from Lodi, at Pleasant Grove High School
last Tuesday. The duo combined for 44 points.
read article
Barnes’ Career Night Sparks Warriors...OAKLAND,
Calif., Dec. 12 (AP) -- The tattoo on
Matt Barnes' shoulder reads ``Sac Town's Finest,'' and the
Golden State forward certainly was better than anything his
hometown team had to offer.
Barnes set career highs
with 32 points and 11 rebounds, and
Andris Biedrins added 20 points and 14 rebounds in the
sharp-shooting Warriors' 126-113 victory over the
Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
read article
The sharp-shooting Warriors finished off a home sweep of
the Sacramento Kings with a
126-113 win on Tuesday at ORACLE Arena. Golden State
drained 15 three-pointers in 27 attempts, including six
from Matt Barnes, who finished with a career-best 32
points and 11 rebounds.
Read page
Scott
perfectly suited....Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian
has told media that his new import, Ed Scott, is
“perfectly suited” to his team after an impressive debut
last weekend.
The 183cm guard made his first appearance for the Kings in
Round 11 against the Cairns Taipans at the Sydney
Entertainment Centre and did not disappoint. He finished
the game with 12 points, five rebounds and four assits.
While Scott had impressive numbers in that match for
Sydney he admits it was a tough start in the League.
"It was tough, to say the least," Scott told the Sydney
Morning Herald’s Jessica Halloran. "I wasn't too familiar
with the sets, but we, as a team, played well. We had an
18-point lead and lost it, but we won the game and that
shows a lot about the team to not be together so long and
still find a way to win. That's really important."...read
more
Under
the Radar With Mike Breen....I am really looking
forward to this Friday night's game, not only to see the
hottest team in the NBA in the Dallas Mavericks but also
to take a look at one of hotter starts in the league from
a player. Kevin Martin of the Kings is somebody that many
fans had not really heard of, but who is rapidly becoming
a prominent name in opposing scouting reports. For those
who are unaware of Martin's exploits this season, his
numbers are incredible — 23 points per game, .527 shooting
from the field and .472 from three-point territory. The
only two guards in the Western Conference averaging more
than Martin are Ray Allen (25.2 ppg) and Kobe Bryant
(26.2). And no one has seen a bigger scoring increase from
last season (10.8) to this season thus far than Martin.
read more
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