# Minnesota Summer League Day 1--7/15/05



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Today is the first day of the summer league. Usually, a lot of questions are answered during these games about young players, to measure their potential. I am going to try to go everyday, but realisticly it won't happen. But all discussion fromt the first day will be held here.

• July 15: Indiana vs. Houston, 3 p.m.; Toronto vs. New York, 5 p.m.

7p.m. Minnesota vs. Milwaukee
*Potential Wolves Starting Lineup*




































Jamison Brewer /Bracey Wright /Ndudi Ebi / Nikoloz Tskitishvili / Dwayne Jones 

*Bench*
15 Jeff Hagen C 7-0 270 2/16/82 Minnesota '05 R 
6 Nick Horvath F 6-10 250 2/18/81 Duke '04 R 
13 Marlon Parmer G 6-3 187 9/28/80 Kentucky Wesleyan '03 R 
0 Ricky Shields G 6-4 185 7/27/82 Rutgers '05 R 
55 David Simon C 6-10 260 8/9/82 IPFW '05 R 
40 Jamel Staten F 6-6 225 2/22/83 Minnesota State '05 R 
7 John Lucas G 5-11 165 11/21/82 Oklahoma State '05 R 
1 Rashad McCants G 6-4 207 9/25/84 North Carolina '05 R (INJURED)
30 Ivan McFarlin F 6-8 240 4/26/82 Oklahoma State '05 R 
20 Paul McPherson G 6-4 210 7/3/78 Depaul '00 1 
3 Yakhouba Diawara F 6-7 225 8/29/82 Pepperdine '05 R 

*Opposing Team Spotlight*
Andrew Bogut 








- Bogut was the #1 pick of the 2005 draft. The guy has been compared to Tim Duncan. Watch out for the Bucks to feed the ball down low to him a lot. This game will get a lot of attention. Hagen and Jones maybe able to handle him for a little. I do not think Simon stands a chance.

*Bucks Roster*
*Andrew Bogut C 7-1 255 11/28/84 Utah '05* 
*Reece Gaines G 6-6 205 01/07/81 Louisville '03* 
Quemont Greer F 6-7 240 12/05/81 DePaul '05 
*Donnell Harvey F 6-8 220 08/26/80 Florida '03 * 
Cordell Henry G 5-10 155 02/28/80 Marquette '02 
*Ersan Ilyasova F 6-9 235 05/15/87 Turkey '05 * 
Dan Langhi F 6-11 220 11/28/77 Vanderbilt '00 
Jeremee McGuire F/C 6-11 220 11/17/81 Houston '03 
Chris Owens F 6-7 245 03/01/79 Texas '02 
Scoonie Penn G 5-10 185 01/09/77 Ohio State '00 
*Kirk Penney G 6-5 220 11/23/80 Wisconsin '03* 
T.J. Sorrentine G 5-11 185 07/29/82 Vermont '05 
Szymon Szewczyk F 6-10 242 12/21/82 Poland '03 
David Young G 6-5 205 08/18/81 NC Central '04 
*BOLD*= Probable Starters

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Game anaylsis will be here after the games later tonight. I am going, are any of you?


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## KG4MVP2 (Jul 28, 2003)

No i have to work tonight i will try to go tommorow though.


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## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

I'll probably go on Monday and Tuesday, haven't decided yet...


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I will be going everyday! I let my boss know at Davanni's that I need July 15-19th off.... But I have been spending too much money.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

*Game 1, Indiana vs. Houston Thoughts:* Well it was a close game throughout. From what I remember Indiana went off for the early lead and Houston came back and kept it close throughout. Houston ended up winning. Houston simply excecuted better, they were obviously not the better team. 
Everyone wants to know how Artest did. Offensively he did pretty good. I believe scoring 15 or 17 points. His perimeter defense was not what you would expect. David Buthenthal really did good against Artest. You could also tell Artest did not play since November, he was way out of shape. Although he got a couple steals here and there, he was not at the top of his game.
Houston, wow. This team came out and played hard. It was obvious that Head was one of the top athletes that came out of the draft. He played great defense. He was very active. And he was really who kept everyone focused. His point guard skills could use some work (passing, ball handling etc.) but I am convinced he will be a pretty good ball player.
Lonny Baxter shoed some impressive post moves. The guy is slowly getting bigger which should stop if he wants to make a team. But he is much improved.
Man, Harrison did good in this one. I think he has 13 or 15 but he cleaned up the boards and had a few pretty good blocks and dunks. He kept us entertained.
Bender, he did alright. I expected a lot more from him but he really never showed up. This guy is supposed to be good when he is healthy.... What happened? He really could only shoot.
*Game 2, New York vs. Toronto thoughts:* Well it looked like a bowout from the start. Toronto went off early on the Knicks. The Raps played without Graham, Charlie V, and Roko Ukic. When I found that out I lost interest but they still manhandled the Knicks in the first half. Ruben Douglas was the one guy who really did anything for the Knicks in the first 3 quarters. 
The Raptors got their help from Bryant Mathews, a Virginia Tech alumn. He was their leading scorer. He was a guy who reminded me of a poor man's bigger Sprewell. The guy was a hard worker. Also playing big roles for the Raps was Omar Cook and Tim Pickett. At half time, I lost all interest, it was a blow out.
I get back with my burger and fries with a Rashad McCants autograph and I notice the Knicks making a come back. The got their 3rd quarter scoring help from Ruben Douglas again. Plus Nate Robinson began to change the game. Nate came in as a sub for Steven Barber, and if this was any indacation of what kind of spark the guy would be off the bench, he has my vote for 6th man of the year. He really did not score, but he got everyone involved and energized. Twice he jumped up for a loose ball with someone at least a foot and a half taller than he was and won the tip. On the last play of the game that tip was the assist for a fastbreak. He was great at penetrating, he was great at making the right pass. He was also making his free throws. The guy made everyone in the crowd love him. He was energized and so was everyone else. Nate had Bruno Sundov so amped, he even got a technical for taunting and hit a three.
As for Frye, yeah he had 11 points but man can a guy be more foul prone? The guy is super afraid of contact too. Lee was probably the glue for this team though. This was the only team there tonight that simply looked like they had a lot of fun. This was the most gelled team there.
Kudos though to Douglas, had 25 points and seemed to be on fire out there. Plus good job to Sundov. Man the Knicks made a good comeback in this one to win it. The Raps had to let off the gas sometime, they had really no go to player. Plus the officiating was absolutely terrible.

*Game 3, Minnesota vs. Milwaukee thoughts:* Well really this is what we have been waiting for. First off Kudos go off to Skita, fabulos game today. The Wolves won but that was the last thing you remember from this one. It was a shear blowout. A 30+ point victory for the Wolves.
For the Bucks in this one, the only guy who showed up was really number 5 (noone knew who he was), Kirk Penney, Chris Owens. Owens is what made sure that it was not a 50 point win for the Wolves.
Penney was doing it all. He was hitting 3s, taking it in, just eveything. His stroke looked good tonight, he should make a roster again this year. Hopefully he will be on that roster for the whole year.
Bogut did absolutly terrible. He had 7 points and 5 fouls. He had trouble holding onto the ball. He made some pretty good passes and then he made some very bad passes. The guy has good post moves though. The crowd and the Wolves defense got into his head. He got easily discouraged. As the game went on and he did worse, he decided that he would simply stop taking shots. He only had 2 points in the 2nd half. But he didn't have any fouls in the 2nd half. He had a couple rebounds here and there but that was it. Skita simply owned Bogut. I even heard a senior citizen yelling "Good shot Bogus!" LMAO! He thought it was hilarious too. He had some decent blocks here and there I won't lie but he was just terrible defensively. Skita was nailing 3s left and right and Bogut would never come out to play defense... Why? 
Ersan Ilyasova looked good even if he didn't score. He moved well without the ball and seems pretty cordinated, hopefully he will develop. In warm ups his shot was on though.
As stated before, Skita just owned off the bench. He was hitting threes everywhere. He was hrowing up fade-aways. He was a beast on the boards, and would dribble out of danger when he rebounded. He altered shots, he forced 2 jump balls out there. 25 points and what it looked like 11 boards and 2 blocks. Plus he was making good passes.
Ebi had 11 but his game has improved a lot. He is now a perimeter-oriented small forward. His shot is not dropping consistently but he perimter speed and skills are very nice. Add to that defense too. He stays in front of his man now. He is a better perimeter defender. One thing he needs to improve though from what I have seen is his court awareness ( stepping out of bounds too much) and he should not be passing the ball in bounds, he is simply terrible at it.
Dwayne Jones showed good defense but offensively he looked really raw. He has terrible hands and really no post moves. He hustles out there though.
Bracey Wright looked really good. He played the passing lanes really good. His ball handling looked really good too. His passing was a little off mark but it was okay. He was fouled a couple times on his shots but his shot looks nice too. He is a good peneatrator.
Jamel Staten's jumper was nice early on. He was consistent and was a good plug off the bench...

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Any questions? Just ask away guys.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

*Studs of the day:[/B]
Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Wolves)- 25 pts, 10 rebounds, 4/5 3FG
Ruben Douglas( Knicks)-25 pts

Duds of the day: 
Andrew Bogut (Bucks)- 7 pts, 3 TO, 4 rbnds, 5 fouls
Jonathon Bender (Pacers)- Stateline not out yet

Most Fun to watch: 
Nate Robinson(Knicks) and Luther Head(Rockets)

Notables: Ndudi Ebi 11 pts and 9 rebounds*


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## TWolvesGG2144 (Apr 2, 2005)

Just got back from the games. I wasn't all that impressed with Lucas, I'm suprised he had so many assists. Bogut was playing passively, and looking to get his teammates involved. Jones played good D on him though, but the couple times Bogut looked to score, he did more often than not. Here's what I thought of each player that got enough minutes to prove something. 
Paul Mcpherson- Short for a shooting guard, but he's built like a tank, and athletic as hell. He was wowing the crowd with some of the dunks he threw down before the game. He used his athleticism nicely to score points in the game, but nothing else about his game stood out to me. 
Ndudi Ebi- Forced the hell out of his game today. He took many wild shots. He made some amazing ones, but also missed a lot of shots badly. He needs to just let the game come to him, and he will be fine. He moved his feet very well on D, but bit on too many ball fakes. Made some nice passes, but also a couple bad turnovers. 
Nick Horvath- Got pushed around when he tried to play D, but made a couple shots. Obviously this guy has no NBA potential. 
Dwayne Jones- Solid D on Bogut. He sure doesn't look that big, but he held his ground. I expected him to be foul-prone (just as you expect out of any good college shot blocker), and he was a little, but didn't get past 5 until late in the game, and Bogut was in foul trouble quicker than he was. Made a pair of free throws with nicer form than I expected, but didn't do much else on offense. Had a couple good blocks and nice offensive rebounds. 
John Lucas- Very quick with the ball, and good at pushing it up the court. He made some good passes in transition, but also made some bad decisions, and took quick shots a couple times rather than setting up the offense. He's damn small, which hurt him on D. 
Marion Palmer- Played some in the 4th quarter, and did a decent job. His handles aren't the greatest, but he didn't turn the ball over. He got into the lane a few times, but wasn't quick enough to finish, and had to pass out of it. 
Ricky Shields- Didn't get much of a chance to prove himself, and only got one chance to show of his athleticism, but made some nice shots, and worked the ball around well. His shot actually looks really nice (supposedly his biggest weakness), and he made 1 out of his 2 threes. Only got about 4 or 5 shots in the game (that i counted), and finished with 8 points. 
David Simon- He tore his ACL last year, which took all of his explosiveness away, and it shows. He didn't get up in the air at all going for rebounds, and he'd miss out even though he had good position. He had a nice dunk, but I expect him to be in the Euroleagues next year. 
Jamel Staten- Has the NBA body, and in warmups, I don't think I saw him miss a single shot. His shot was hit or miss in the game, but he made good choices with the ball, and didn't force anything on offense. Played agressive defense as well. 
Nikoloz Tskitishivilli- I knew he could shoot, but I was suprised at how polished his all-around offensive game is. If he had any space at all, he'd put up a shot, which might as well have been an open layup. If somebody was on him, he showed a very good passing game, hitting the cutting on the way to the hoop a couple times for easy scores. He took the ball to the hoop a couple times, and finished well. He also made 2 nice cuts off the ball, and missed a layup (barely) the first time, but put the ball in off a nice finesse move the second time. He isn't the most explosive athlete, but when he got under the hoop, he was able to use his footwork to finish. He needs to bulk up, which will really help his D (which was ok, but not great), and he only boxes out half the time. He got position on Bogut once in the post, and turned around and knocked in a jumper right over him. 
Bracey Wright- To my suprise, he started at point guard. His handles are slow and he isn't very quick with the ball. Despite his akwardness bringing the ball up, he only turned it over a couple times in the process. He created well too, making 2 nice runners in the lane, and getting to the line a few times as well. Wright also set up his teammates nicely, and he played some tough D too. Still, he really needs to improve his handles and his shot to become a solid backup point guard.


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## Jonathan Watters (Jul 20, 2002)

My Day One Thoughts 

#5 was Lee Benson, a guy that was going to be a star before he got arrested and went to jail for quite a few years. He was a big deal a few years back, before people found out he is 6'9 instead of 7'0. He looked decent tonight...


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I didn't know you were there JW.... You going tomorrow? I am. So is twolvesgg. Maybe we could all hang out..


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Yes I forgot to talk about Malick Badiane.... I heard one Rocket fan talk about him, how he has KG type athletism.... I was shocked on how terrible he was.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Thanks for the info sheefo, much appreciated. I sure hope Skita turns his career around. I really do.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

No prob! I do this stuff for fun. I will keep you posted for tomorrow too.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Thx for the info Sheefo13. I love a guy who can put up a great game without filling up the stats sheets, and it sounds like Head is that type of player. I'm looking forward to seeing more from him, esp. when his shots start falling.

Badiane is not a KG-type player at all, he's suppose to be a rebounding/blocking PF (maybe a poor man's Mutumbo), but seems like he's still got a long ways to go.

As for you guys, I hope Skita keeps up his good play and cracks into the regular season line-up, you guys can really use a player like him.


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## kaniffmn (Jul 29, 2003)

Staten is too cold.


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## KJay (Sep 22, 2002)

Lucas! I'm glad he's out there somewhere.


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## Jonathan Watters (Jul 20, 2002)

sheefo13 said:


> I didn't know you were there JW.... You going tomorrow? I am. So is twolvesgg. Maybe we could all hang out..


I will be there all day. I tend to move around a lot, but might be over by the press tables right away. I'm getting some spotty cell service in there, but I will PM you my number anyways.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Alright sounds good. I was impressed with Ebi's game last night. Yeah he is forcing shots but when has he not done that? His perimeter game is looking good, I just hope he can start consistently hitting that jumper.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I didn't even notice Lucas had 9 assists. He was dribbling too much from what I saw. He got assists because Skita was simply owning out there.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I kinda think Lucas can make it somewhere as a backup.He is small,but he is an outstanding passer and penetrator with a better than average outside touch.It might take some persistence though.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

This is a great thread. Much props to the Minnesota forum.


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## kentuckyfan13 (Dec 26, 2003)

you should come to the forum more often, its been getting better lately


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