D-League signing news

[ChumpDumper]

These aren't directly related to the Toros, but they show that returning players are already being signed and new players are being allocated to teams as we speak, so we can speculate a little more about the Toros until we get some news.

This is a returning player signing:

Wizards keep Baker in fold

Oct 25, 2007 - 04:06:00 CDT
By LOU BABIARZ
Tribune Sports Editor

With leadership a top priority, coach Duane Ticknor made veteran point guard Maurice Baker his first signing for the 2007-08 Dakota Wizards.

Baker, who has played parts of the last three seasons with the Wizards, helped the team claim last year's D-League championship....

Thanks to changes in the D-League rules, the Wizards can protect up to six players from last year's roster. Initially, Dakota expected to return the maximum number, but that may not be possible....

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/sports/local/141522.txt

This looks like a local player allocation:

Violette joining hometown Stampede
By Brian Murphy - [email protected]
Edition Date: 10/25/07

After years of missing Thanksgiving dinners and playing basketball far from home, Boise native Cory Violette decided his best chance to make the NBA was at home.

Violette, who starred at Bishop Kelly and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., has signed with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.

"I'm going to take my shot at getting to the highest level of basketball I can play," said Violette, 25. "Now is probably the best time."

Violette, a 6-foot-8, 265-pound forward, played last season in Italy, his third consecutive season overseas. Violette played in Turkey in 2005-06 and Italy in 2004-05.

In the offseason, however, Violette decided he wanted to return home — to the United States, to the D-League and to Boise. Stampede officials wouldn't comment until a press conference Thursday....

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/192884.html

[timvp]

Are there any players confirmed for the Toros this year yet? I know they protected some players in that expansion draft but I don't know if those players are actually confirmed members of the team.

[ShoogarBear]

How many players get carried over on the same team from the previous year?

[ChumpDumper]

Here's the roster from the end of the season:

25 Justin Bowen F 6-7 210 Illinois-Chicago
22 Brad Buckman F 6-9 245 Texas
55 Marcus Campbell C 7-0 280 Mississippi State
15 Kris Clack F 6-5 225 Texas
20 BJ Elder G 6-4 205 Georgia Tech
44 Anthony Fuqua F 6-11 225 University of Texas-San Antonio
30 Cheyne Gadson G 6-2 205 Oklahoma State
7 Brock Gillespie G 6-2 190 Rice
6 Jamar Smith F 6-9 235 Maryland
Trent Strickland F 6-5 200 Wake Forest

I spoke to Fuqua at the Spurs/Toros draft party. He said he's probably coming back. He'll give Ian a little run as he is kind of a similar player and played pretty decently in stretches.

Strickland was taken in the expansion draft.

Smith is in Japan.

Elder, Gadson, Gillespie and Troy Bell (waived due to injury the last week of the season) are in Europe.

Marcus Campbell just got waived by Charlotte, so he could come back too. He is enormous, strong and slow. As I haven't seen anything about Justin Bowen anywhere, he's the guy I hope come back the most. Regardless, it looks like we are going to be rebuilding our guard core from scratch -- again.

[ShoogarBear]

So in general, each year every D-League team re-invents its roster?

[ChumpDumper]

So in general, each year every D-League team re-invents its roster?Most of the time. Teams were able to keep four players last season. We kept four big men -- Fuqua, Smith, Jeff Hagen and Scott Merritt -- but Hagen had a season ending injury and we traded Merritt to Tulsa for Gadson.

[LEN BIAS 4EVER]

Why is Kris Clack wasting his time in the D'league ?? he will never make it to the NBA, why not go off and make some good money playing overseas ??? Reggie Freeman has done it know for over a decade and made a great life for himself, although I thought he was overratted at Texas. Terrance Rencher was the man. To bad he never improved after his freshman year. Fuckin' Penders....

[ChumpDumper]

Why is Kris Clack wasting his time in the D'league ?? he will never make it to the NBA, why not go off and make some good money playing overseas ???I agree he doesn't have the conditioning or skill to make the NBA, but it was great having a heady vet around last season. He's a very smart player who has made and will make money in Europe.

[Darkwaters]

Regardless, it looks like we are going to be rebuilding our guard core from scratch -- again.

Sounds like a good situation to insert either Marcus Williams or Darius Washington. So, frankly, I think I can live with that.

[THE SIXTH MAN]

I read a while back that Derrick Byars was waived by philly.

[LEN BIAS 4EVER]

Hey Chumper, how did Troy Bell look?? I really thought he could play but I know had a bad knee injury in training camp before his 2nd year.

And where do the Toros play their games at ? I might have to come up to see them play in person once or twice this year.

[ChumpDumper]

Troy was actually a pretty capable combo guard at the D-League level. He was fair at running the team, played good D and rebounded extremely well at times for a guy his size. It's a shame he got injured near the end of the season; he was finishing pretty strong once he got comfortable coming off the bench after starting his first couple of months in Austin.

The Toros play in the convention center on Fourth Street downtown, so you can always go someplace before and/or after the game. All but seven of the home games fall on weekends this season.

[Bruno]

Gadson should be soon waived by his team in Europe. I don't know if he will try to play for another European team or go bask in D-League.

[ChumpDumper]

That's too bad -- it would be great for the Toros to have him back though.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I wish the NBA would do like MLB and just have a straight up farm system. They draft high school players anyway but they could expand the draft, utilize the farm system to develop the skills of players and stick it to the usuring NCAA the entire time.