48MoH: The Austin Toros should look more like the Spurs than ever [Archive]

duncan228

11-19-2010, 04:18 PM

The Austin Toros should look more like the Spurs than ever (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Andrew A. McNeill
48 Minutes of Hell

The Austin Toros are thought of by many as the NBA D-League’s flagship program. They are consistently a top team in the D-League standings and enjoy one of the strongest relationships between parent program and affiliate.

And then this summer, they went and improved things some more.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/austin-toros-media-day-spurs#more-11269)

dbestpro

11-19-2010, 04:36 PM

Yeah, it really cool all the prospects that have been developed in Austin for the Spurs.

SenorSpur

11-19-2010, 04:49 PM

I wonder could Marcus Cousin possibly be in the mix as "next-in-line" big for the Spurs?

Great read. Thanks for posting.

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 05:01 PM

Cousin seems to be the most NBA ready of the bunch. I'm curious to see if he gets the Dwayne Jones force feeding treatment in an attempt to make him an actual post player. As it stands, the Toros don't look like they are going to be all that great unless they get Green sent down or pick up some players like Gee and/or Jerrells.

Tonight's game starts at 6 on Futurecast.

jjktkk

11-19-2010, 05:14 PM

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 05:16 PM

I like Cousins as a NBA prospect. Kinda reminds me a little bit of Blair, but bigger.Well, taller anyway.

Maine has a pretty big frontline for a D-League team: Magnum Rolle, Tiny Gallon, Stephane Lasme. Should be quite a test for Cooze.

jjktkk

11-19-2010, 05:22 PM

Well, taller anyway.

Maine has a pretty big frontline for a D-League team: Magnum Rolle, Tiny Gallon, Stephane Lasme. Should be quite a test for Cooze.

Thats a pretty impressive trio, aren't all 3 of these guys legit NBA prospects?

99-03-05-07

11-19-2010, 05:24 PM

the guy i'm going to be watching is josh young from drake.

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 05:29 PM

Thats a pretty impressive trio, aren't all 3 of these guys legit NBA prospects?Lasme has already been in the league for a cup of coffee. The Pacers apparently wanted to keep Rolle but didn't have room. Gallon is some kind of fat bastard who probably would have stayed in school at OU had he not been caught taking money from a "financial advisor."

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 05:32 PM

the guy i'm going to be watching is josh young from drake.He was waived a couple of days ago, but there's always a chance some other team picks him up. I have no idea who they plan on backing up Squeaky at the point. That could be a huge problem for them.

Bruno

11-19-2010, 06:00 PM

Players I will be interested to look at are Kevin Palmer and Dominique Archie. Spurs signed Palmer a couple of days just to have in Austina and they considered Archie as a top5 pick of the D-League draft. I've never seen this guys play but Spurs being high on them intrigues me.

And, yeah, Toros don't look that great this year: weak at the point, lack of size in the paint and not a lot of talent.

Spurs Brazil

11-19-2010, 06:55 PM

Toros Roster

2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER POS HT WT FROM
21 Dominique Archie F 6-7 205 South Carolina
4 Lewis Clinch G 6-3 195 Georgia Tech
41 Marcus Cousin C 6-11 255 Houston
23 Thomas Gardner G 6-5 210 Missouri
18 Marcus Hubbard F 6-9 235 Angelo State
10 Carldell Johnson G 5-10 185 Alabama-Birmingham
34 Michael Joiner F 6-7 245 Florida State
15 Kevin Palmer G, F 6-6 210 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
24 Lance Thomas F 6-8 225 Duke
0 Garrett Williamson F 6-5 200 St. Joseph's, PA

HEAD COACH Brad Jones
ASSISTANT COACHES Taylor Jenkins
Alex Lloyd
ATHLETIC TRAINER Daisuke Yamaguchi

wildbill2u

11-19-2010, 07:21 PM

I thought Cousin had a nice soft touch and some athleticism in his brief stay here. What do you see as his biggest need to develop?

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 08:04 PM

Needs to develop something resembling footwork for his post game. He only has 4 rebounds so far but his working the boards is a big reason the Toros have 10 offensive rebounds.

This team might set a D-League record for least assists in a season.

Futurecast looks fantastic though once I changed the settings from "Best Available" to whatever the highest number was. Feed drops every 15 minutes or so.

JustinJDW

11-19-2010, 08:33 PM

Show of hands. Who thinks Cousin might be called up next Season after Dice retires?

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 08:50 PM

Cooze might get called up before that.

17 pts on 7-11 shooting, 8 reb and 2 blk so far.

Palmer came alive after a crappy start. 15 pts in 14 min.

ChumpDumper

11-19-2010, 09:52 PM

Toros win 103-97.

http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20101119/AUSMNE/gameinfo.html

Cooze was the most consistent performer on offense. He got great position off the pick and roll or just moving through or around his man. Good hands catching passes and got his layups or little hooks off quickly without bringing the ball down or putting it on the floor.

Guards were very streaky but got Gardner, Palmer and Clinch all got hot at one point or another. That and all the second chance points put them over the top. Same team at the same time tomorrow.

duncan228

11-29-2010, 03:58 PM

Austin Toros double up in a weekend series with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Andrew A. McNeill
48 Minutes of Hell

On paper, this weekend was a rematch of last season’s D-League Finals between the Austin Toros and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In actuality, it was just two regular season games thanks to the fluid nature of the D-League from year-to-year.

Only three players and two assistant coaches remain for the Toros from last year’s team, but Austin looks to field a team just as competitive. Though last season’s Toros carried the name recognition (for the D-League, at least) of Alonzo Gee, Curtis Jerrells and Dwayne Jones, this year’s team may carry a similar amount of talent.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/austin-toros-double-up-in-a-weekend-series-with-the-rio-grande-valley-vipers#more-11552)

Darkwaters

11-29-2010, 05:07 PM

Would the Spurs be able to call up one of these guys and keep them on the roster or would they great the luxury tax in doing so?

LeCrab

11-29-2010, 05:13 PM

Cooze might get called up before that.

17 pts on 7-11 shooting, 8 reb and 2 blk so far.

Palmer came alive after a crappy start. 15 pts in 14 min.

You seem to be familiar with the d league rules.. can another team call up Cousin or does he belong to the spurs

Darkwaters

11-29-2010, 05:25 PM

You seem to be familiar with the d league rules.. can another team call up Cousin or does he belong to the spurs

Any team can sign him at this point. However, if the Spurs ink him to an NBA contract he'd be sole property of the Spurs and still able to go down to the D League. However, he'd also count against the team in things like salary cap and roster room.

SenorSpur

11-29-2010, 06:05 PM

Any team can sign him at this point. However, if the Spurs ink him to an NBA contract he'd be sole property of the Spurs and still able to go down to the D League. However, he'd also count against the team in things like salary cap and roster room.

Does anyone see this happening? Do the Spurs see value in Cooz?

I'd have to think with Dice playing out his final year, that the Spurs would be eyeing a future big, like this guy.

jjktkk

11-29-2010, 06:17 PM

Does anyone see this happening? Do the Spurs see value in Cooz?

I'd have to think with Dice playing out his final year, that the Spurs would be eyeing a future big, like this guy.

I agree. I sure was intrigued by Cousins, just by his Summer league showings.

ChumpDumper

11-29-2010, 07:11 PM

SenorSpur

11-29-2010, 10:51 PM

I agree. I sure was intrigued by Cousins, just by his Summer league showings.

Me too.

I'd love to see the Spurs invest in this guy's potential - assuming of course, his D-League performances warrant such an investment.

TDMVPDPOY

11-29-2010, 11:45 PM

IS cousins potential better then that british kid we drafted?

LeCrab

11-29-2010, 11:53 PM

IS cousins potential better then that british kid we drafted?
I haven't seen Richards play but someone on here who has seen him play said he is similar to lamar odom but can rebound better... it would be huge if cousins and richards could develop into steals for the spurs

ChumpDumper

11-30-2010, 04:45 AM

IS cousins potential better then that british kid we drafted?Different players. Cousin is a traditional center and Richards is a perimeter forward. Both have decent potential -- Richards is younger and might have more upside.

SenorSpur

11-30-2010, 10:37 AM

I haven't seen Richards play but someone on here who has seen him play said he is similar to lamar odom but can rebound better... it would be huge if cousins and richards could develop into steals for the spurs

Amen. The Spurs roster would be better fortified if both these guys worked out. Then we could finally say the Spurs have depth along the frontline.

Budkin

11-30-2010, 10:44 AM

I finally gotta start going to some Toros games. Actually their offices are in the same complex as mine so I should walk over there and see if I can get the hook up.

Madhops

11-30-2010, 10:54 AM

I watched Cousin play the other day against the Claws, dude looked good out there. A man amongst boys.

SenorSpur

11-30-2010, 11:21 AM

We'll see. He was in foul trouble most of the past two games against Patrick Patterson, and Squeaky Johnson was waived with an injury so there is no pick and roll offense that fits Cousin's offense best. His numbers were down across the board accordingly. The Toros play against Antonio Daniels' team tomorrow, and they just picked up Joe Alexander and Rashard McCants as well.

Sounds like the Frisco Legends (Mavericks D-League affiliate) have taken the same approach toward talent acquisition, as the parent club. Acquire as much talent and a bunch of current and former big name players and former stars, put them on the court and see what happens. Role players and chemistry be dammed.

Trill Clinton

11-30-2010, 11:24 AM

I finally gotta start going to some Toros games. Actually their offices are in the same complex as mine so I should walk over there and see if I can get the hook up.

I'm going to go to a few of them this year as well, I got the hook up:hat

ChumpDumper

11-30-2010, 11:55 AM

Sounds like the Frisco Legends (Mavericks D-League affiliate) have taken the same approach toward talent acquisition, as the parent club. Acquire as much talent and a bunch of current and former big name players and former stars, put them on the court and see what happens. Role players and chemistry be dammed.It is interesting to note they have gotten a good deal of production from undrafted (by NBA teams) rookies, namely their tiny shooting guards Booker Woodfox and Justin Dentmon. That will probably change now that McCants and Dominique Jones have joined the team.

SenorSpur

11-30-2010, 12:20 PM

I was thinking about attending tonight's game versus the Toros, until I heard owner/GM Donnie Nelson describing all the planned, interactive, fan-friendly events scheduled for the game. Just like the Mavs game presentation, this is scheduled to be just an accelerated version of their usual "over-the-top", in-arena, experience. We're talking bounce houses for the kids, magicians, sea monkeys, guys on stilts, and a vertiable smorgasbord of activities that have absolutely nothing to do with basketball. As Nelson described it on radio, this morning, "it's going to be a 3-ring circus designed to get the fans motivated and involved."

The court and the game itself will merely serve as the backdrop to all this Barnum & Bailey hypefest. Just like the Cowboys, Mavericks and everything else that engulfs this superficial metroplex area, it's all about style over substance. Yet another reason to be proud of the solid, pound-the-rock, philosophy of the Spurs culture.

Colour me as old-school, but just play the damn game. This concludes my my crusty rant of the day. I'm SenorSpur, and I approve this post.