duncan228
11-18-2008, 01:06 AM
New Spur Ahearn logs frequent-flier miles (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/New_Spur_Ahearn_logs_frequent-flier_miles.html)
By Jeff McDonald
LOS ANGELES — Blake Ahearn's journey back to the NBA was a grueling one. It took five flights covering 3,800 miles in less than 24 hours.
Ahearn, a backup point guard signed by the Spurs before the start of their two-game road trip to the West Coast, was on his way to join the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League for training camp Saturday morning.
He had left his hometown of St. Louis before dawn, had a layover in Chicago, hop-scotched to Denver for another connection, and finally boarded what he thought would be his final destination: Bismarck, N.D.
No sooner did his United flight touch down when Ahearn's cell phone buzzed. It was his agent, alerting him to the fact that the Spurs were interested in picking him up.
Ahearn collected his bags, returned to the gate, and boarded a flight to join the Spurs in Sacramento, by way of ... Denver, the city he just left.
“I racked up some good miles that day,” Ahearn said before Monday's game against the L.A. Clippers. “Fortunately, I got all the bags I needed.”
He finally arrived in California's capital city in the wee hours of Sunday morning, not too long before the team's scheduled shootaround for that night's game against the Kings.
All told, Ahearn spent more time in the air than on the ground Saturday. He was still on cloud nine Monday, when his wild return to the NBA brought him to Staples Center.
“I was here (in the NBA), so I got a taste of what it was like,” Ahearn said. “As a basketball player, this is where you want to be.”
Ahearn, the D-League's rookie of the year last season with Dakota, appeared in 10 games with the Miami Heat toward the tail end of the campaign.
He was one of the final cuts in camp with Minnesota earlier this fall.
The Spurs signed the 24-year-old Ahearn, who they had worked out during a free-agent camp over the summer, to provide depth at the point. With Tony Parker injured, the team has only two true point guards on the roster — George Hill and Jacque Vaughn.
Ahearn holds the distinction of being the NCAA's all-time most accurate free-throw shooter, leaving Missouri State in 2007 with a four-year mark of 94.6 percent.
“He's a pretty good shooter, and he's a pretty crafty kid,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Ahearn. “At this point in the season, scoring is somewhat important to us, so we brought him in.”
Hill in good hands: Doctors have told Hill he can remove the splint from his formerly sprained left wrist at any time. Hill is in no rush to do so.
“I think I might keep it for a while,” Hill said. “It's an insurance brace.”
That insurance came in handy Sunday night in Sacramento, when Hill stuck his hand into a loose-ball scrum. He withdrew it, wincing, but wound up no worse for wear.
MVC represents: Ahearn's arrival gives the Spurs two players from the Missouri Valley Conference. While at Missouri State from 2003-07, Ahearn's Bears were a league rival of Anthony Tolliver's Creighton Bluejays.
The only other college conference to turn out as many current Spurs was the ACC, one-time home to Tim Duncan (Wake Forest) and Roger Mason Jr. (Virginia).
By Jeff McDonald
LOS ANGELES — Blake Ahearn's journey back to the NBA was a grueling one. It took five flights covering 3,800 miles in less than 24 hours.
Ahearn, a backup point guard signed by the Spurs before the start of their two-game road trip to the West Coast, was on his way to join the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League for training camp Saturday morning.
He had left his hometown of St. Louis before dawn, had a layover in Chicago, hop-scotched to Denver for another connection, and finally boarded what he thought would be his final destination: Bismarck, N.D.
No sooner did his United flight touch down when Ahearn's cell phone buzzed. It was his agent, alerting him to the fact that the Spurs were interested in picking him up.
Ahearn collected his bags, returned to the gate, and boarded a flight to join the Spurs in Sacramento, by way of ... Denver, the city he just left.
“I racked up some good miles that day,” Ahearn said before Monday's game against the L.A. Clippers. “Fortunately, I got all the bags I needed.”
He finally arrived in California's capital city in the wee hours of Sunday morning, not too long before the team's scheduled shootaround for that night's game against the Kings.
All told, Ahearn spent more time in the air than on the ground Saturday. He was still on cloud nine Monday, when his wild return to the NBA brought him to Staples Center.
“I was here (in the NBA), so I got a taste of what it was like,” Ahearn said. “As a basketball player, this is where you want to be.”
Ahearn, the D-League's rookie of the year last season with Dakota, appeared in 10 games with the Miami Heat toward the tail end of the campaign.
He was one of the final cuts in camp with Minnesota earlier this fall.
The Spurs signed the 24-year-old Ahearn, who they had worked out during a free-agent camp over the summer, to provide depth at the point. With Tony Parker injured, the team has only two true point guards on the roster — George Hill and Jacque Vaughn.
Ahearn holds the distinction of being the NCAA's all-time most accurate free-throw shooter, leaving Missouri State in 2007 with a four-year mark of 94.6 percent.
“He's a pretty good shooter, and he's a pretty crafty kid,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Ahearn. “At this point in the season, scoring is somewhat important to us, so we brought him in.”
Hill in good hands: Doctors have told Hill he can remove the splint from his formerly sprained left wrist at any time. Hill is in no rush to do so.
“I think I might keep it for a while,” Hill said. “It's an insurance brace.”
That insurance came in handy Sunday night in Sacramento, when Hill stuck his hand into a loose-ball scrum. He withdrew it, wincing, but wound up no worse for wear.
MVC represents: Ahearn's arrival gives the Spurs two players from the Missouri Valley Conference. While at Missouri State from 2003-07, Ahearn's Bears were a league rival of Anthony Tolliver's Creighton Bluejays.
The only other college conference to turn out as many current Spurs was the ACC, one-time home to Tim Duncan (Wake Forest) and Roger Mason Jr. (Virginia).