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07-27-2008, 08:12 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=RMR-Day6-080726
Warriors' Morrow named MVP of the Revue
By Tim Buckley
Special to ESPN.com
Updated: July 25, 2008
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah -- Two lottery picks and three other first-round selections from the June 2008 NBA Draft played in this year's Rocky Mountain Revue summer league.
But it was a relative no-name -- undrafted Anthony Morrow -- who wound up stealing the show.
Morrow was named MVP of the Revue, where in four games for Golden State, the shooting guard from Georgia Tech averaged a league-high 21 points and shot 49.3 percent from the field. And on Friday he was rewarded with a contract by the Warriors.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, including how much -- if any -- guaranteed money is involved.
No matter what the case, that is precisely what he hoped for midway through the Revue.
Morrow averaged a league-high 21 points per game.
"I know there are a lot of guys that didn't get drafted that talent-wise are better than me," Morrow, who has something of a Rip Hamilton-type game, said earlier in the week. "But I just want to work hard on my game, and pray to God I get an opportunity."
He has it now, thanks in large part to a hot hand and a free-flow approach from the Warriors that reminds him of those not-so-long-ago days in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I love the style of play -- just run-'n'-gun," said Morrow, who played in all three NBA summer leagues, including time with the Miami Heat in Orlando. "I think it's a perfect fit."
Morrow went into the Revue's final game for the Warriors shooting 26-for-46, including 10-for-12 from 3-point range.
He hit only 7-for-21, including 1-for-4 from 3s, in a 105-91 loss to Atlanta on Friday.
But after scoring 15 points against the Hawks, Morrow wound up averaging 18.6 in six summer games for the Warriors - including two at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Add in his time with the Heat, and final numbers for July included 27-of-39 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
A look at how some of the rest performed at the Revue:
The lottery picks
Brook Lopez, New Jersey: The No. 10 overall pick from Stanford looked as if he'd rather be anywhere other than in Utah. At 7-foot with an NBA body to boot, maybe he thought he was above it all. Perhaps he missed having twin brother Robin tagging behind. (Robin, who went later in the first round to Phoenix, spent the week scrimmaging with USA Basketball's Select Team against the Team USA Olympic squad.) In any event, Brook's 36.1 percent field goal shooting in three Revue games was much more indicative of his play than a 10.7 scoring average and 7.7 rebounding average for the 0-3 Nets.
Anthony Randolph, Golden State: An All-Revue Team selection, Randolph -- taken 14th overall -- averaged 17.5 points and 6.8 boards in five games. Who cares if he got ejected from Friday's finale for two technical fouls early in the fourth quarter? At least the passion was there from the Louisiana State product. The Golden State coaches loved Randolph's versatility, but acknowledge that after having just turned 19 years old he has a long ways to go. Bust potential is there, but after watching him at the Revue so is star promise.
Other rookie first-rounders
Ryan Anderson, New Jersey: Anderson, taken 21st by the Nets out of Cal, wasn't much better than the higher-drafted Lopez. The outside-shooting big man hit just 23.7 percent (9-for-38) from the field, making one wonder just how NBA-suited his game really is. He arguably won't match up well against bona-fide NBA small forwards, which is the position where the Nets toyed with using him during the summer. He did average 8.7 rebounds per game, tops among NBA-team players at the Revue. But he's probably not a banger inside either, which means the shooting is going to have to improve.
Kosta Koufos, Utah: At 19, Koufos is both young and raw. But the freshman from Ohio State looked better than Jazz 2007 second-round pick Kyrylo Fesenko who looked out-of-shape throughout the Revue. It could be an interesting battle in training camp to see which player stays with the big club and who goes to the NBA Development League's Utah Flash. Koufos has decided against playing for Greece at the upcoming Summer Olympics -- he is American-born, but holds dual citizenship and is a member of the national program -- and instead will stay in the states to make his game more NBA-ready. His 5.7 rebounds per game were a Jazz high, and his 8.7 points were second only to the 18.5 of 2007 first-round draft choice Morris Almond.
George Hill, San Antonio: Hill's average of 12.8 points over four games were a team high, and while his shooting wasn't great -- 21.4 percent from 3-point range -- the former IUPUI point guard's ability to defend at the next level was impressive. Hill's average of 3.0 steals per game led the Revue. Before he's ready to beat out veteran Jacque Vaughn for backup minutes behind Tony Parker, though, Hill's all-around offensive game will have to improve.
The other surprise
Anthony Tolliver, San Antonio: Undrafted out of Creighton, the strong-shooting power forward earned a contract from the Spurs after averaging 11.5 points and hitting 51.7 percent from the field at the Revue. He's said to be a true "Spurs-type" player.
Notes
Among those without a contract for next season, former lottery pick Luke Jackson stood out as legit NBA talent who deserves a deal somewhere in the league.
Jackson averaged 11.2 points and shot 11-for-26 from 3-point range in six Revue games for Atlanta. Beyond the numbers, though, his game clearly was head-and-shoulders above the mass of hopefuls.
It's enough to make one wonder just how good he'd be by now if a back injury hadn't derailed his career after Cleveland took him 10th overall out of the University of Oregon in 2004.
Jackson has bounced around on 10-day contracts and shorts stints with three teams since leaving the Cavaliers in 2006, including last season with Miami. After a solid summer, though, he should find security somewhere. Besides the Hawks, both Memphis and Dallas apparently have interest.
Also making the All-Revue Team were Almond, Gerald Green of Dallas and Acie Law IV of Atlanta. Law, the Hawks' usual backup point guard behind Mike Bibby, averaged 16.2 points in five games. Green, a 2005 first-rounder signed earlier this summer by the Mavericks, averaged 17.7 in six games, including an 82-70 win over Utah in the Revue's final game. Almond averaged 18.5 points, but continues to be chastised by Jazz coaches for seemingly failing to understand that the game is not only about scoring -- something that might have factored into the team's decision on Friday to match the four-year, roughly $15 million offer sheet (fourth year is a team option) that restricted free agent swingman C.J. Miles signed with Oklahoma City last week.
In addition to signing Morrow, Golden State on Friday also signed second-round draft choice Richard Hendrix to a contract. The 2008 second-round selection from Alabama averaged a team-high 7.0 rebounds in four Revue games.
Britton Johnsen sat out again on Friday, marking the fourth straight Jazz Revue game that the former Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers forward missed due to a severely bruised left thigh.
Final Revue records for NBA teams: Golden State 3-1, San Antonio 3-1 Dallas 4-2, Atlanta 4-2, Utah 3-3, New Jersey 0-3.
Tim Buckley covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News.
Warriors' Morrow named MVP of the Revue
By Tim Buckley
Special to ESPN.com
Updated: July 25, 2008
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah -- Two lottery picks and three other first-round selections from the June 2008 NBA Draft played in this year's Rocky Mountain Revue summer league.
But it was a relative no-name -- undrafted Anthony Morrow -- who wound up stealing the show.
Morrow was named MVP of the Revue, where in four games for Golden State, the shooting guard from Georgia Tech averaged a league-high 21 points and shot 49.3 percent from the field. And on Friday he was rewarded with a contract by the Warriors.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, including how much -- if any -- guaranteed money is involved.
No matter what the case, that is precisely what he hoped for midway through the Revue.
Morrow averaged a league-high 21 points per game.
"I know there are a lot of guys that didn't get drafted that talent-wise are better than me," Morrow, who has something of a Rip Hamilton-type game, said earlier in the week. "But I just want to work hard on my game, and pray to God I get an opportunity."
He has it now, thanks in large part to a hot hand and a free-flow approach from the Warriors that reminds him of those not-so-long-ago days in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I love the style of play -- just run-'n'-gun," said Morrow, who played in all three NBA summer leagues, including time with the Miami Heat in Orlando. "I think it's a perfect fit."
Morrow went into the Revue's final game for the Warriors shooting 26-for-46, including 10-for-12 from 3-point range.
He hit only 7-for-21, including 1-for-4 from 3s, in a 105-91 loss to Atlanta on Friday.
But after scoring 15 points against the Hawks, Morrow wound up averaging 18.6 in six summer games for the Warriors - including two at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Add in his time with the Heat, and final numbers for July included 27-of-39 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
A look at how some of the rest performed at the Revue:
The lottery picks
Brook Lopez, New Jersey: The No. 10 overall pick from Stanford looked as if he'd rather be anywhere other than in Utah. At 7-foot with an NBA body to boot, maybe he thought he was above it all. Perhaps he missed having twin brother Robin tagging behind. (Robin, who went later in the first round to Phoenix, spent the week scrimmaging with USA Basketball's Select Team against the Team USA Olympic squad.) In any event, Brook's 36.1 percent field goal shooting in three Revue games was much more indicative of his play than a 10.7 scoring average and 7.7 rebounding average for the 0-3 Nets.
Anthony Randolph, Golden State: An All-Revue Team selection, Randolph -- taken 14th overall -- averaged 17.5 points and 6.8 boards in five games. Who cares if he got ejected from Friday's finale for two technical fouls early in the fourth quarter? At least the passion was there from the Louisiana State product. The Golden State coaches loved Randolph's versatility, but acknowledge that after having just turned 19 years old he has a long ways to go. Bust potential is there, but after watching him at the Revue so is star promise.
Other rookie first-rounders
Ryan Anderson, New Jersey: Anderson, taken 21st by the Nets out of Cal, wasn't much better than the higher-drafted Lopez. The outside-shooting big man hit just 23.7 percent (9-for-38) from the field, making one wonder just how NBA-suited his game really is. He arguably won't match up well against bona-fide NBA small forwards, which is the position where the Nets toyed with using him during the summer. He did average 8.7 rebounds per game, tops among NBA-team players at the Revue. But he's probably not a banger inside either, which means the shooting is going to have to improve.
Kosta Koufos, Utah: At 19, Koufos is both young and raw. But the freshman from Ohio State looked better than Jazz 2007 second-round pick Kyrylo Fesenko who looked out-of-shape throughout the Revue. It could be an interesting battle in training camp to see which player stays with the big club and who goes to the NBA Development League's Utah Flash. Koufos has decided against playing for Greece at the upcoming Summer Olympics -- he is American-born, but holds dual citizenship and is a member of the national program -- and instead will stay in the states to make his game more NBA-ready. His 5.7 rebounds per game were a Jazz high, and his 8.7 points were second only to the 18.5 of 2007 first-round draft choice Morris Almond.
George Hill, San Antonio: Hill's average of 12.8 points over four games were a team high, and while his shooting wasn't great -- 21.4 percent from 3-point range -- the former IUPUI point guard's ability to defend at the next level was impressive. Hill's average of 3.0 steals per game led the Revue. Before he's ready to beat out veteran Jacque Vaughn for backup minutes behind Tony Parker, though, Hill's all-around offensive game will have to improve.
The other surprise
Anthony Tolliver, San Antonio: Undrafted out of Creighton, the strong-shooting power forward earned a contract from the Spurs after averaging 11.5 points and hitting 51.7 percent from the field at the Revue. He's said to be a true "Spurs-type" player.
Notes
Among those without a contract for next season, former lottery pick Luke Jackson stood out as legit NBA talent who deserves a deal somewhere in the league.
Jackson averaged 11.2 points and shot 11-for-26 from 3-point range in six Revue games for Atlanta. Beyond the numbers, though, his game clearly was head-and-shoulders above the mass of hopefuls.
It's enough to make one wonder just how good he'd be by now if a back injury hadn't derailed his career after Cleveland took him 10th overall out of the University of Oregon in 2004.
Jackson has bounced around on 10-day contracts and shorts stints with three teams since leaving the Cavaliers in 2006, including last season with Miami. After a solid summer, though, he should find security somewhere. Besides the Hawks, both Memphis and Dallas apparently have interest.
Also making the All-Revue Team were Almond, Gerald Green of Dallas and Acie Law IV of Atlanta. Law, the Hawks' usual backup point guard behind Mike Bibby, averaged 16.2 points in five games. Green, a 2005 first-rounder signed earlier this summer by the Mavericks, averaged 17.7 in six games, including an 82-70 win over Utah in the Revue's final game. Almond averaged 18.5 points, but continues to be chastised by Jazz coaches for seemingly failing to understand that the game is not only about scoring -- something that might have factored into the team's decision on Friday to match the four-year, roughly $15 million offer sheet (fourth year is a team option) that restricted free agent swingman C.J. Miles signed with Oklahoma City last week.
In addition to signing Morrow, Golden State on Friday also signed second-round draft choice Richard Hendrix to a contract. The 2008 second-round selection from Alabama averaged a team-high 7.0 rebounds in four Revue games.
Britton Johnsen sat out again on Friday, marking the fourth straight Jazz Revue game that the former Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers forward missed due to a severely bruised left thigh.
Final Revue records for NBA teams: Golden State 3-1, San Antonio 3-1 Dallas 4-2, Atlanta 4-2, Utah 3-3, New Jersey 0-3.
Tim Buckley covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News.