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What ever happened to Gist? Did he go back overseas?
The Austin Toros kick off their '09-10 season this Friday, 27 November against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and I thought it would be good to give a preview of the squad.
A big part of that squad is Curtis Jerrells, an undrafted PG out of Baylor. Jerrells was a training camp invitee and late cut for the Spurs. Jerrells is a big playmaking score-first PG that should do well in the d-league. If his first pre-season game was any indication (23pts, 7rebs, 5asts, 2stls, 1blk), he'll do well.
Another training camp invitee was Center Duane Jones. Jones bounced around the D-League last year, but posted more than respectable numbers at every stop. He ended up with the Toros for the playoffs and they brought him back again this year. Jones is a big body, which is a rarity in the d-league, so he should be very useful this year.
The Toros also drafted G/F Alonzo Gee earlier this month. Gee, you may remember, was a part of the Spurs summer league team. He brings a big dose of athleticism and energy. Both of which he showcased in the pre-season game, collecting a double-double with 31pts (9-15 from field, 13-18 from line) and 10 boards. He also had 3asts, 4blks and a steal. His versatility to play multiple positions should be invaluable for the Toros going forward.
The most notable returning player (other than Jones) is PG Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson. Johnson will be relegated to a reserve role with Jerrells at the point, but he should still get plenty of burn.
The two other players that stood out in the pre-season game were also recent d-league draftees.....guards Russell Carter and Lewis Clinch. I don't know much about either, but Clinch poured in 23 points (10-14 from field including 3-5 from deep) in less than 20 minutes, and Carter, who started, put up 15 on 7 of 9 from the field. I'm not sure how either will factor long-term, but if they can keep up that kind of offensive production it'll be big for the Toros.
Again, I just wanted to open up a thread to have discussion on various Toros players and games as the season wears on. I'm by no means an expert (will leave that to Chump and others), and I would love to hear thoughts or even see photos (not local). Who knows, we could be looking at a couple players that "grow up" in the system and become viable options for the Spurs down the road.
I'm looking forward to a good season...go Toros!
What ever happened to Gist? Did he go back overseas?
I didn't think he was still eligible?
Do u know where?
I don't think anyone knows where Gist is and Ian is no longer eligible to play for the Toros. Their opening day roster is firm and pretty damn good. Seemingly the only additions they could have in the short term would be Hairston and/or Blair...but I doubt either will see the Toros at all this year.
Good article on Jerrells...looks like Snyder and the staff will count on him to be a big part of the team.
http://www.statesman.com/sports/cont...1127toros.html
AUSTIN TOROS
Now on same side, Toros coach roots for Jerrels
By David Robb
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Friday, November 27, 2009
When Curtis Jerrells was allocated to the Austin Toros earlier this month, coach Quin Snyder needed no introduction to the rookie point guard.
Nearly four years ago, in what wound up being his final game as Missouri's basketball coach, Snyder and the Tigers traveled to Waco for a Big 12 Conference clash against Baylor.
"That was actually one of my best games," Jerrells recalled.
Snyder remembers that game, too. How could he forget the time Jerrells, then a freshman, poured in a game-high 28 points and led Baylor to a 90-64 trouncing of Missouri?
"I told him I don't remember that," Snyder said. "I'll never admit that to him."
These days, Snyder wouldn't mind seeing more performances like that from Jerrells. In fact, he'll be expecting those types of nights from his young floor leader.
"We're counting on him to be the anchor of our team in a lot of ways," said Snyder, the NBA Development League's reigning coach of the year. "At 22 years old, I think he's got his best basketball ahead of him."
Jerrells should feel right at home with the Toros, who tip off the D-League season tonight at home against Rio Grande Valley. After all, Austin is home to the Del Valle grad. After his standout career with the Cardinals, his No. 0 jersey was the first in program history to be retired.
"I didn't ever think I'd be this close to home," said Jerrells, who grew up working concessions at University of Texas football games to raise money for his AAU basketball teams. "I'm right in my back yard."
Of course, if it were up to Jerrells, he wouldn't be here. If things had gone according to plan, he would have been selected in the NBA draft last June.
When his name wasn't called, the Dallas Mavericks scooped him up and placed him on their summer-league roster. Jerrells also was invited to training camp with the San Antonio Spurs before being allocated to the Toros.
"It was good for me," Jerrells said of not being drafted. "It kind of raised my intensity and my determination. I'm here now, and this is another opportunity. I'm thankful for the opportunity, and I'm ready to make the best of it."
Snyder is counting on him to replace the prolific production of Marcus Williams, who ran the point for the Toros much of last season before being called up to the NBA.
Jerrells showcased his skills in the Toros' 101-98 exhibition victory over Rio Grande Valley last Saturday. He scored 23 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
"I can see him having a 30-point game," Snyder said. "I can see him having a 13-point game with 11 assists — doing whatever he needs to do to help his team win."
Austin, TX November 25, 2009 - The Austin Toros announced today the opening night roster for the 2009-10 season after waiving Jawan Bailey and Quemont Greer in the final cuts of this year's training camp. The roster now stands at 10.
PLAYER POS. HT WT FROM
21 Justin Bowen F 6-7 210 Illinois- Chicago
7 Ryan Bright F 6-6 210 Sam Houston State
9 Russell Carter SG 6-5 220 Notre Dame
15 Lewis Clinch G 6-3 195 Georgia Tech
23 Alonzo Gee G 6-6 219 Alabama
0 Curtis Jerrells G 6-1 190 Baylor
10 Carldell Johnson G 5-10 180 Alabama-Birmingham
44 Dwayne Jones F/C 6-10 250 St. Joseph's, PA
24 David McClure F 6-6 205 Duke
41 Augustine Okosun C 6-10 230 Northwood University
The Toros tip-off the season this Friday, November 27th against the RGV Vipers at 7:30p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. Tickets are available now by calling the Toros office at (512) 236-8333 or visiting austintoros.com.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/serv...es/?id=3933735
The waiving of Greer in favor of some total scrubs is a surprise as he has been a productive D-League player for a few years. Roderick Riley had been waived earlier due to injury, so I imagine he will return at some point, probably in place of Okosun. If that's the way things end up, it's going to be a weird team with two huge, slow centers and undersized players in pretty much every other slot.
I think coach Snyder has his work cut out for him if this is going to be the lineup for the entire season -- but history says that this won't be the case at all.
Someone shot some video of the exhibition game:
Last edited by ChumpDumper; 11-26-2009 at 10:31 PM. Reason: added player numbers
Thanks for the update CD.
Are you going to the first game?
Edit: That question is for anyone...post-game thoughts would be appreciated.
Yeah, their schedule sucks so badly this season I won't be able to see a lot of them, but I'll make this weekend at least.
Jerrells looks good in that video. That block was sweet. But does he fade away from every shot he takes? Even the uncontested ones? Still, he looked good.
This definitely seems like a team made for Malik Hairston to come in and run. If hes not getting time in the big club I'd love to see him down in Austin and see what he can do this year without his old running mate Marcus Williams.
Any news on M.Williams?
Williams is going to China to play. But Malik is doing Color Commentary on the games now.
Marcus was at the game last night; I don't doubt pablo3po. Too bad he couldn't catch on in a better league.
2. D-League Preview
Here's our annual flurry of factoids to get you ready for the ninth season of the NBA Development League, which had 63 alumni on NBA opening night rosters. The D-League's 16 teams tip off their 50-game schedules Friday night.
The four teams operated by NBA franchises: Austin Toros (Spurs), Los Angeles D-Fenders (Lakers), Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets) and Tulsa 66ers (Thunder).
The Toros, D-Fenders and 66ers are fully owned by their parent clubs, but Houston's affiliation with Rio Grande is the first example of the NBA's new "hybrid" model. The hybrid option enables NBA franchises -- for a three-year commitment that costs up to $1.5 million -- to fully control the basketball-operations side of a D-League team while leaving the business side to the minor league team's original owners.
The Rockets inaugurated their new hybrid affiliation with Rio Grande by holding this season's training camp at the Vipers' home in McAllen, Texas. Houston also played the Boston Celtics in a preseason exhibition game there.
The player you'll recognize most:Robert Swift will play for his hometown Bakersfield Jam after multiple knee injuries with Seattle/Oklahoma City left the famously (infamously?) tattooed 7-footer without an NBA team. Swift, who turns 24 next week, was taken No. 12 overall in the 2004 draft by the Sonics.
The history-making rookie: Brandon Jennings (Italy) and Jeremy Tyler (Israel) went overseas straight from high school to study for the NBA, but Tulsa's Latavious Williams is the first high schooler to go straight to the D-League after being selected with the last pick of the D-League draft's first round (No. 16 overall) on Nov. 5.
Williams ultimately was persuaded to start his pro journey on U.S. soil as opposed to going abroad, undoubtedly helped by the knowledge that 20 percent of NBA players at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season had D-League experience, something no other pro league in the world can claim. The 6-foot-8 forward will be eligible for the 2010 NBA draft.
The three NBA players currently on D-League assignment: Houston's Joey Dorsey (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Oklahoma City's Byron Mullens (Tulsa 66ers) and Boston's Bill Walker (Maine Red Claws).
The first call-up: It already happened. Chris Hunter of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants was summoned out of training camp by the Golden State Warriors last week after an All-Star season in the D-League in 2008-09 that was punctuated by a call-up to the New York Knicks on the final day of the regular season.
The Knicks, though, didn't play the 6-11, 240-pound big man in April's finale. Hunter had to wait until his first game as a Warrior for his NBA breakthrough, totaling four points and three rebounds in 14 minutes of Golden State's recent home upset of Portland.
After being granted a hardship waiver to temporarily carry 16 players (one more than the league limit) because it has so many injuries, Golden State chose Hunter on the recommendation of Warriors assistant coach Scott Roth, who served as Bakersfield's coach last season.
The coaching carousel: Austin Ainge, son of Celtics personnel boss Danny Ainge, is the first coach of the Celts' D-league affiliate in Maine, assisted by longtime NBA guard Randy Livingston. Ex-Celtics guard Dee Brown, meanwhile, is the first coach of the expansion Springfield Armor.
Another former NBA player -- Chucky Brown -- has been elevated by the Lakers from assistant to head coach of the D-Fenders. And Austin's Quin Snyder, whom you surely remember from his college coaching days at Missouri, has been joined this season in Texas by Rio Grande's Chris Finch, who doubles as Luol Deng's coach with Great Britain's national team.
Roth, Bryan Gates (former coach of the Idaho Stampede) and Robert Pack (an assistant with Rio Grande last season after retiring as a player) all moved to the NBA as assistant coaches this season with Golden State, Sacramento and New Orleans, respectively.
The future: Nancy Lieberman will debut as the D-League's first female coach next season when an expansion franchise begins play in Frisco, Texas, co-owned by Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.
The compensation: D-League players are placed in one of three classifications (A, B or C) based on experience and earn salaries of $25,500, $19,000 or $13,000. Swift, for example, is at the $25,500 mark after making (gulp) $3.6 million with the Thunder last season.
Daily per diem on road trips has been increased from $30 to $40 this season, compared to $113 in the NBA. The D-League also provides housing and medical care to players to offset the comparatively low salaries in relation to what foreign teams pay.
The buyout rules: Foreign teams that wish to extricate D-League players from their current contracts must pay between $15,000 and $45,000 depending on the player's salary.
The All-Star Game: It will again be staged in conjunction with the NBA's All-Star Weekend, starting with a Friday night skills compe ion and the actual game Saturday afternoon at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas.
League sources say one idea for the All-Star Game still under consideration would pit D-Leaguers on assignment from NBA against D-League stars with no NBA affiliation.
The NBA D-League Showcase: All 16 teams will convene in Boise, Idaho, from Jan. 4-7 for a total of 16 games in four days, all of which will be televised on NBA TV. Each D-League team will play two games at the showcase in addition to its 24 home games and 24 road games, with executives and scouts from all 30 NBA teams in attendance.
The playoff format: The D-League is bringing back the innovative system introduced last season that enables the East and West division winners and a third team with the next-best record to choose their first-round opponents from the bottom four seeds.
Eight of the D-League's 16 teams qualify for the playoffs, with the first round expanded this season from a one-game showdown to a best-of-three series.
The two division winners and the next six best teams based on record qualify for the playoffs.
(We wrote extensively about this format in the spring because NBA commissioner David Stern said at the time that it would be studied for possible down-the-road implementation in the NBA … which would be as radical as anything the NBA has ever tried but most welcomed here.)
The favorite to win it all: There isn't one. Conventional D-League wisdom holds that every team will spend some time during the season in the top five and the bottom five of the mythical D-League power rankings because rosters are always changing.
The only negative on this scorecard (because we've always been minor league junkies at Stein Line HQ): No Cal State Fullerton alumni on D-League rosters at the minute.
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...st-nba-chatter
Box score from last night:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/box...eId=2020900005
Gee had a nice game...Jerrells, not so much. It looks like he did a good job getting to the line but was pretty bad everywhere else. 6 turnovers and only 3 assists.
Joey Dorsey 1-9 FT
Jones played pretty good defense on Dorsey all night. He seems to be altering more shots than last season.
Ball movement was horrible all night except when Squeaky was in the game. Turned into a tedious trading of baskets between Gee and Antonio Anderson late.
Jerrells had some trouble guarding the small and quick Kenny Dawkins but got better late. Kurt Looby was setting some really good picks for Dawkins to free him up.
FYI: They switched the futurecast to the same flash video they used in summer league. Looks ok, and the production is a lot better since Grande is showing home games on their cable system. Malik Rose is doing color commentary.
Tonight's game:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/box...eId=2020900017
Gee continues to light up the scoreboard. What's the skinny on him? Does he score more on penetration? How is his jumper?
Yes.
No.And just to clear things up; Ian can still play in the D-League if both Ian and the Spurs agree to send him to Austin. Same goes for Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu but the team won't want to send rotation players down of course and most players would rather be in the NBA even if they are not playing. More of a lifestyle thing if you ask me. First class hotels and transportation. Coaches see you on a daily basis etc.
His jumper is good out to about 16 feet or so. He has a good first step and draws a lot of contact. Gets to the line very often. Doesn't rebound or defend as well as his physicality would suggest. Kind of a D-League Corey Maggette.
Ball movement is getting much better though Gee, Carter and especially Clinch are black holes -- only Gee's ball-hogging is decently justified.
BJ Mullens is one of the softest centers I have ever seen. I'm stunned he got picked in the first round over Blair or anyone else for that matter.
Los Angeles D-Fenders 103, Austin Toros 119
by Andrew A. McNeil
Amidst the crazy partying for the arrival of PTR’s LatinD in the Live Music Capitol of the World and the pe ions passed around to enshrine former Toros coach Dennis Johnson in the Hall of Fame, there was a basketball game played at the Austin Convention Center on Thursday night.
Curtis Jerrells led the way for the Austin Toros with 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists and four steals as the Toros won their fifth straight game, beating the Los Angeles D-Fenders 119-103. The win solidifies the Toros position as the second seed in the D-League’s Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (the Houston Rockets D-League affiliate).
Despite an obvious size and athleticism advantage (Austin out-rebounded Los Angeles in the game 55-28), the Toros went into halftime up only one point, 56-55. Austin had trouble slowing down the D-Fenders 5′7″ point guard Horace Wormely, who scored 17 points on 7-10 shooting. On a number of occasions, Wormely went coast-to-coast for layups that the Toros transition defense was helpless to stop.
But early in the fourth quarter, Toros coach Quin Snyder got more animated on the sidelines when his team was playing defense. The motivational tactic seemed to work and Austin got the requisite stops to pull away from the D-Fenders.
Malik Hairston scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out 10 assists, and the D-League’s top rebounder, Dwayne Jones, grabbed another 17 boards to go with 14 points.
The Toros take on the D-Fenders again tonight at the Austin Convention Center.
Damn, my bad guys, I just started another thread on this earlier today cause I couldn't find a toros thread. Here is the box score for the game and if someone could erase my other thread that would be great. http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/box...eId=2020900175
It's all good.
I almost started one about a week ago, but stopped myself when I remembered seeing one a while back (I just never got around to using the search and forgot about it).
Malik Hairston scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out 10 assists, and the D-League’s top rebounder, Dwayne Jones, grabbed another 17 boards to go with 14 points.
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