# Summer League Thread



## MJG

*Summer League Roster*

Summer League Info


Code:


Players          POS  School/Team College                   HT    WT 
Rodney Bias      F    Huntsville/NBDL Shelton St. (AL) '02  6'8"  245 
Steve Blake      G    Maryland '03                          6'3"  175 
Taliek Brown     G    UCONN '04 UCONN '04                   6'0"  180 
Maurice Evans    G    Treviso Italy Texas '01               6'5"  215 
Gerald Fitch     G    Kentucky '04 Kentucky '04             6'2"  185 
David Graves     G    CBA NotreDame                         6'5"  215 
Jarvis Hayes     G    Georgia '03                           6'7"  220 
Delonte Holland  F    Cincinnati                            6'7"  220 
Jared Jeffries   F    Wizards Indiana '02                   6'11" 230 
Jason Jennings   C    Arkansas St. '02                      7'0"  250 
Art Long         C    Cincinnati '96                        6'9"  250 
Jelani McCoy     C    Cleveland Cavs UCLA '99               6'10" 245 
Rich Melzer      F    Wisc-River Falls '04                  6'8"  225 
Gabe Muoneke     F    Beijing Olympians Texas '02           6'7"  250 
Laron Profit     F    Maryland '99                          6'4"  204 
Norm Richardson  G    Hofstra '01                           6'5"  205 
Michael Ruffin   F    Utah Jazz Tulsa '99                   6'8"  246 
Billy Thomas     G    Coop Nordest Trieste/Italy Kansas '98 6'4"  208 
Ime Udoka        F    Charleston/NBDL Portland St. '02      6'5"  210 
Jameel Watkins   C    Georgetown '01                        6'11" ???

Any names jump out at anyone? I don't especially see anything amazing on there, but I'm sure others are more knowledgable about the unknowns than me.


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## CP26

I've watched Taliek Brown play a lot for UConn last year. He is a pretty nice player to watch.


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## kamego

Jefferies needs to do something leaving college was a huge mistake for him even though he did get paid. He might have been able to go higher as a senior.


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## MJG

> Originally posted by <b>kamego</b>!
> Jefferies needs to do something leaving college was a huge mistake for him even though he did get paid. He might have been able to go higher as a senior.


Or maybe he would've gone the route of a Duhon or Paulding, where we was a lottery pick in his early years only to drop like a rock the longer he stayed.


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## jazzy1

> Originally posted by <b>MJG</b>!
> 
> Or maybe he would've gone the route of a Duhon or Paulding, where we was a lottery pick in his early years only to drop like a rock the longer he stayed.


I totally agree. The Buzz was at its peak for him. He had taken his team to the national title game. He has the kinda game that would have been dissected and ripped apart if he had stayed. 

Smart decision by him. 

Nothing on that summer league roster excites me. 

Gerald Fitch is interesting maybe as a defensive stopper though thats not his strength but he needs to play that way if he wants to be an nBA player. I think he's a smart enough player that if he really locked in he good maybe develop a niche. 

All of these guys are Niche guys at this point. 

Where are all the Pure Shooters, there doesn't seem to be any dead eye wide open 3 pt shooters looking for work anymore. ala Legler. 

I always like to have one of them around. With Arenas able to penetrate we could use one.


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## kamego

Blowing his knee out might not have happened if he would have stayed in school though which was the end to his productivity. I like Delonte Holland but if they team can't get his college right thats a shame.


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## Shanghai Kid

Blake is a deadeye shooter. The guy was not missing 3's towards the end of the season.


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## MJG

Washington 79, Orlando 78

How about Steve Blake? 21 points (7-12 FG, 4-6 3P), 7 rebounds, 7 assists. He did have 5 TOs, but that's life. Hayes was solid again with 15 on 6-13, while JJ came back to Earth with what is a typical NBA game for him -- 6 points on 2-9. 5 boards, 3 steals and a block is nice though.

Once again, absolutely nothing to note about any of our non-main roster guys. Honestly, I'm not so sure we pick up anyone this offseason besides signing Ramos.


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## bballer27

Wait why is michael ruffin on their roster i thought he played for Utah.


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## CP26

Wow, Steve Blake put on a show today, an amazing 4-6 beyond the arch and 7 rebounds and 7 assists is really something that amazes me. He will be an excellent back up behind Gilbert.
Rod Grizzard is on the Orlando roster


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## f22egl

Blake hit the game winner too


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## jazzy1

Its ptitful that JJ can only score 6 points against what amounts to scrubs. Granted Dwight Howard is the 1st pick and bigger than jj is but he should be able to manuever into double figures easily. 

Its just summer league but JJ is proving to be a complete bust. he'll have a long career in the nba as a role player but he'll never be a star. He doesn't even show us flashes of brillance even when he's played well it wasn't really anything that special. 

To think we missed Caron Butler by 1 selection. 

Kwame has shown us spectacular play at times and even Haywood whom I like has done some really good things in flashes. 

JJ to me of all our young guys is the one that is the most disappointing. 

I still don't know what postion he plays. 

I'm not as high on Blake as some others are but he's competitive. He's not gonna let Nelson outplay him. 

I found it funny last season about all the talk that Blake outplayed Hinrich in their work-out here and when the Bulls played here late in the season Hinrich just killed Blake and the whole team for that manner He just kept hitting shots and penetrating. 

I really like Kirk Hinrich a whole lot he's one of my favorite young pg's to watch. 

Only thing he does well is offensive rebound from time to time.


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## f22egl

The Wizards missed Caron Butler by one pick and Amare Stoudamire by two. I thought the Wizards should have traded up in the draft before hand simply because they were projected to pick Jeffries and I didn't like him that much before the draft.

The Wizards did have 2 first rounders and with the other one they took at 17 was Juan Dixon. I wouldn't have minded if they had gotten Nene even. 

Anyways, Jeffries can be good at doing the little things I guess. Maybe Dwight Howard came out with more energy after his lackluster performance. Maybe Jeffries isnt suited as a 4 and couldn't match up with Dwight who could probably play the 5. There is a reason he was pickeed number 1. Plus the Magic probaly doubled teamed Jeffries; who else down low earns any respect?

Anyways it wouldn't have made much of a difference if Jeffries had scored 30 points. It's still summer league. Even the highlights look like a practice on CSN. Jeffries still would need to prove himself during the regular season. At this point, his offensive game is terrible.


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## MJG

Washington 81, Cleveland 72

Steve Blake, man on a mission. 27 points on 9-14 FG, 2-4 3P, 7-8 FT. Also added 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 rebounds. Still had 5 TOs, which isn't good, but the rest of the game made up for it.

Hayes was good as always with 22 on 7-16 shooting, including 4-8 3P. He also had 7 boards, along with a steal and a block. JJ rebounded from a poor game with a solid outing, nabbing 10 points on 4-6 FG along with 9 boards and 3 blocks.

Feeling like a broken record here, but no one else is worth talking about. Ruffin did have 10 rebounds, but also shot 1-6 along the way. The next highest scorer on the team after the big three was Maurice Evans, who managed 6 on a whopping 1-8 shooting (4-4 FT at least).


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## jazzy1

Could we be looking at an Arenas situation with Blake next summer. 

Blake can shoot it alot better than in his college days. 

I want to see him start dropping 10+ dimes rather than a bunch of buckets. 

JJ man o man.


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## MJG

Game Recap


> There is no official MVP award given out at the Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando. But if there was, a leading candidate to this point would be Washington’s man at the point, Steve Blake.
> 
> Blake, who poured in 20 points and hit the game-winner with 1.8 seconds left against Orlando yesterday, led the Wizards with 27 points and five assists, as Washington defeated Cleveland, 81-72, in Game #7 at the RDV Sportsplex.
> 
> Jarvis Hayes added 22 points for Washington, which improved to 3-0 in PPSL action. Dajuan Wagner led the way for the Cavaliers (2-1) with 22 points.
> 
> The second-year guard out of Maryland continued his hot shooting early in the first quarter. Blake hit his first four shots and scored nine quick points, helping the Wizards jump out to a 16-6 lead. He finished the quarter with 12 points and Washington led, 25-16.
> 
> Following another Blake jumper, Michael Ruffin took a no-look feed and threw down a two-handed dunk with a little more than two minutes remaining in the first half, extending Washington’s lead to 36-22. The Wizards outscored the Cavaliers during the second quarter, 16-7, finished the quarter with a 14-3 run and led 41-23 at halftime.
> 
> During the third quarter, Blake continued his strong play. He stole an inbounds pass and took the ball the length of the court for a fast break layup. On the ensuing possession, Blake dished a no-look pass to a slashing Hayes, who finished with a layup of his own and pushed the Wizards lead to 50-25. They led 55-40 heading into the fourth quarter.


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## jazzy1

I find it funny that some people thought Blake was too slow to play in the NBA. I've always thought speed and quickness was his strength. He's exceptionally quick. needs to just get that strength up thats all.


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## IggytoWiz_at5

Blake is really lighting it up, but it's only the summer leauge.


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## MJG

Wizards 78, Celtics 61

Hayes: 15 points (5-8 FG, 1-1 3P, 4-4 FT)
Blake: 10 points (3-13 FG), 9 assists, 4 TOs
Jeffries: 22 points (6-17 FG, 8-10 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 steals

McCoy finally had a good enough game by a non-big-three player to be worth mentioning -- 6 points on 3-3 shooting with 9 boards and 4 blocks. Outside of that though, nothing much new.


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## CP26

Throw it down Jeffries!!!


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## jazzy1

I really like the numbers Hayes has been bringing in summer league very efficient. He's scoring double figures taking a minimim of shots. 

Blake seems to be controlling too much of the action and forcing things. he's always got more fg attempts that the other players amd he's had 2 really bad shooting games. He always seems to have 4-5 to's every game. 

I'd be more happy if blake had 8-10 assts and a couple to's than a bunch of points. He's here to run the team not jack up shots.


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## MJG

> Originally posted by <b>jazzy1</b>!
> I really like the numbers Hayes has been bringing in summer league very efficient. He's scoring double figures taking a minimim of shots.
> 
> Blake seems to be controlling too much of the action and forcing things. he's always got more fg attempts that the other players amd he's had 2 really bad shooting games. He always seems to have 4-5 to's every game.
> 
> I'd be more happy if blake had 8-10 assts and a couple to's than a bunch of points. He's here to run the team not jack up shots.


Blake's basically our second best player out there besides Hayes, so maybe he's trying to shoulder too much of the load. He didn't really play like that last season, so I won't put too much stock into his gunning in the summer league. What is a bit of an eyebrow raiser is the TOs. He's averaging 4.0 per game, which is not so hot. His assists are solid though -- I'd wager his 7.0 per game is just about tops in the league. Still, that ratio isn't very good.

Hayes is definitely playing on top of his game. Just looking at the box scores, he's giving us exactly what I'd like to see in the regular season. Here's his stats through four games:

PPG: 17.8
RPG: 4.5
APG: 1.0
SPG: 1.0
BPG: 1.0
FG%: 49.0 (6.3-12.8)
3P%: 20.0 (0.5-2.5)
FT%: 79.2 (4.8-6.0)

The three point percentage could obviously climb a whole lot, but everything else is solid. Shooting almost 50%, getting to the line 6 times a game, playing some decent defense with a steal and a block every game. Obviously he won't be scoring 17.8 during the regular season with us, but if he can keep up all the other numbers, he'll be a fantastic sixth man (or maybe even a better starter at SG than Hughes?).


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## Shanghai Kid

I wouldn't be shocked if Hayes challenges Hughes for the starting 2 spot. It all depends on if Hayes has developed decent handles. Last season his ball-handling was atrocious, that's the biggest thing he needs to be a 2-guard.

If you really think about it, Hughes is more equipped to be a 6th man since he's a scorer who can play different posistions.


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## afireinside

from what it looks like, the Wizards could defiantly go undefeated in the summer league. the last team they play is New Jersey who is 1-3 and doesn't have any notable players on their team. I could see Blake getting MVP of the league, if their is one.


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## jazzy1

> Originally posted by <b>MJG</b>!
> 
> Blake's basically our second best player out there besides Hayes, so maybe he's trying to shoulder too much of the load. He didn't really play like that last season, so I won't put too much stock into his gunning in the summer league. What is a bit of an eyebrow raiser is the TOs. He's averaging 4.0 per game, which is not so hot. His assists are solid though -- I'd wager his 7.0 per game is just about tops in the league. Still, that ratio isn't very good.
> 
> Hayes is definitely playing on top of his game. Just looking at the box scores, he's giving us exactly what I'd like to see in the regular season. Here's his stats through four games:
> 
> PPG: 17.8
> RPG: 4.5
> APG: 1.0
> SPG: 1.0
> BPG: 1.0
> FG%: 49.0 (6.3-12.8)
> 3P%: 20.0 (0.5-2.5)
> FT%: 79.2 (4.8-6.0)
> 
> The three point percentage could obviously climb a whole lot, but everything else is solid. Shooting almost 50%, getting to the line 6 times a game, playing some decent defense with a steal and a block every game. Obviously he won't be scoring 17.8 during the regular season with us, but if he can keep up all the other numbers, he'll be a fantastic sixth man (or maybe even a better starter at SG than Hughes?).


I really like that fg%. 

I really think Hayes has a shot to be good in this league. If he would only catch and shoot it and leave those idiotic post ups alone. Those post up do nothing for him he never scores using them all he does is turn and shoot . No moves with it at all. He creates no space at all. 

When he catches and squares up he's deadly. 

I like the kids game if he'll just keep it simple. Thats why I like Rips game its simple. 

Hughes's game is too complex even for himself . 

Hughes would be a better 6th man as Shanghai says. His ball handiling would blend well with the 2d unit rather than the 1st unit.


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## Shanghai Kid

But you need ball handling from your starting 2 guard also. Arenas needs someone to help bring the ball up the court. Hayes can only do it if he improves his ball handling greatly.


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## BCH

I like Hayes at the SF spot. If he shows some defense there I would be happy.l


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## afireinside

Nets 76, Wizards 67

Amazingly, 2 non-Wizards were the top scorers for us, but dissapointly with just 9 points apiece(Gerald Fitch and Jameel Watkins). Steve Blake and Jared Jeffries both had minor minutes so that brought their prodection down. But what really bugged me was that Jarvis Hayes didn't play. He's the leading scorer for us with 17.8 ppg and he didn't play. I guess coach EJ just wanted to give the players not on the Wizards roster some PT. But why take out your leading scorer? 

Good experience for our three original Wizards. Hayes finishes 2nd in scoring; Blake 6th in scoring, 2nd in assists, and 8th in steals; Jeffries finishes 5th in both rebounding and steals. and the Wizards finally got some taste of domination. 

:clap:


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## MJG

Can't blame EJ for sitting the big guns in the last game. Honestly, there wasn't a real reason for them to be playing major minutes in any of the games. I mean it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't really help either.

We start our second summer league on Tuesday against the Suns. If anyone has NBATV, you can watch the first three games we play in this one.


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## CP26

Can we invite anyone on our roster to play on our team? Like put Kwame and Gil on it?


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## MJG

> Originally posted by <b>CP26</b>!
> Can we invite anyone on our roster to play on our team? Like put Kwame and Gil on it?


I don't believe there are any rules about who can and can't be on these teams. However, players with more than two years of experience (or three, depending on production and age) very rarely play unless they are fringe NBA players looking to catch on with a team.


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## IggytoWiz_at5

Blake playes well against the Suns, 19 pts, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. I heard a lot of his assists were blown so he could have had more and I heard that Atwan Jamison was in attendance.


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## MJG

Suns 92, Wizards 88


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## CP26

Jarvis Hayes only 1 point? Or am I reading the thing wrong?


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## MJG

> Originally posted by <b>CP26</b>!
> Jarvis Hayes only 1 point? Or am I reading the thing wrong?


Their alignment is a little messy. Hayes had 14 points on 6-11 FG and 2-2 FT.


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## burnet

> Originally posted by <b>CP26</b>!
> Jarvis Hayes only 1 point? Or am I reading the thing wrong?


A little better:

http://www.vegassummerleague.com/2004/stats/suns_wizards-boxscore-13july2004.php


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## BCH

Jared Jeffries should improve his FT shooting before he tries to get a go to move. Our else his defender's go to move will be to foul the hell out of him and send him to the line.


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## Nevus

I want Steve Blake... like, I want him to just come play in my driveway all the time. I like watching him. He's a cold-blooded assassin. I'll trade you my bicycle, some CDs, and a hammock for him.

Steve Blake looks like a player who wouldn't think twice about making a pass that endangers human life, if it's the right pass to make. Or taking a clutch jumpshot that would break the will of his own mother and leave her a senile vegetable, he wouldn't hesitate to let the rock fly.


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## MJG

Wizards 111, Magic 94

Jeffries: 17 points (6-11 FG, 7-12 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals

Hayes: 20 points (7-14 FG, 6-6 FT), 1 block

Blake: 11 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3P), 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 TOs

Profit (!): 20 points (7-12 FG, 6-6 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals

There you go jazzy, an almost perfect game you'd like to see Blake play. Hayes continued his ultra-efficient shooting, we finally had a non-roster guy step up with a major game, and even JJ managed to do something good out there (outside that FT% that BCH mentioned).


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## jazzy1

> Originally posted by <b>MJG</b>!
> Wizards 111, Magic 94
> 
> Jeffries: 17 points (6-11 FG, 7-12 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals
> 
> Hayes: 20 points (7-14 FG, 6-6 FT), 1 block
> 
> Blake: 11 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3P), 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 TOs
> 
> Profit (!): 20 points (7-12 FG, 6-6 FT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals
> 
> There you go jazzy, an almost perfect game you'd like to see Blake play. Hayes continued his ultra-efficient shooting, we finally had a non-roster guy step up with a major game, and even JJ managed to do something good out there (outside that FT% that BCH mentioned).


Yeah he gotta bring those fga's down. I like them sorta numbers right there.

Blake needs to slow his pace also, he plays so fast at times. He doesn't seem to understand half court basketball that much. He thinks he needs to make something happen himself too often.

He's developing though. Once he loses some of that youthful exuberance he's gonna be fine.


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## BCH

> Originally posted by <b>jazzy1</b>!
> 
> 
> Yeah he gotta bring those fga's down. I like them sorta numbers right there.
> 
> Blake needs to slow his pace also, he plays so fast at times. He doesn't seem to understand half court basketball that much. He thinks he needs to make something happen himself too often.
> 
> He's developing though. Once he loses some of that youthful exuberance he's gonna be fine.


Watching the game, I am a little surprised at his attempts. I can definitely say that I thought he took most of his shots in the offense, or in breaking down his guy. 1 of those shots was a buzzer beater to end the first half.

He does play quick, but the more I see of him, the more I like him and think he is gone next year when he becomes a restricted free agent. He has worked himself into a decent shooter, and he can handle pressure and make good passes. However, he still will force passes, and his defense is not stellar. I think he is a very good backup point.


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## jazzy1

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> 
> 
> Watching the game, I am a little surprised at his attempts. I can definitely say that I thought he took most of his shots in the offense, or in breaking down his guy. 1 of those shots was a buzzer beater to end the first half.
> 
> He does play quick, but the more I see of him, the more I like him and think he is gone next year when he becomes a restricted free agent. He has worked himself into a decent shooter, and he can handle pressure and make good passes. However, he still will force passes, and his defense is not stellar. I think he is a very good backup point.


I kinda got the feeling he's gone also. Someone will make him an offer that won't be worth it to the Wizards to match. 

I just don't have a feel for where Blake's ceiling is. I think he'll eventually be someone's starter.

My fear with him is this. He eventually becomes one of those pg's that average's 8-9 assists per game. I doubt it but it could happen.


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## Shanghai Kid

I've also been thinking about Blake's ceiling, and I keep thinking Steve Nash. Nash was underrated coming into the league and was even horrible his first year, but then he added a little muscle and improved his playmaking skills and jumpshot and became an All-Star.

I think Blake has that same Nash potential. Blake pushes the ball just like Nash did in Dallas, and even has that same killer 3-point shot. Blake can't take people off the dribble yet like Nash can, but he could very well develop that as his quickness and ball handling are underrated.


The question is, would a Blake/Arenas backcourt work? In the longrun a line-up of Arenas/Hughes/Jamison/Kwame is just way too offensive and not enough ball movment. I think Hughes might be gone in free agency anyways, and they might in the back of their head think about moving Arenas to the 2.

Gil is 6'3, but he's stronger than Larry Hughes and has a 6'10 wingspan. His defense on PG's are terrible, so I don't know how much worse his defense on SG's could be.


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## f22egl

It's hard to imagine any team offering the mid-level exception for Steve Blake unless he improves A LOT. He needs to improve his shot selection and ball control. 

Steve Blake has played well in the summer league but I won't be impressed until he consitently plays well in real NBA games. 

I don't think Steve Blake at this point is much more than a backup point guard to Arenas. A backcourt of Blake and Arenas would be terrible defensively.

If Arenas improves his decision making, there is no need to overpay for someone who will be a backup pg.

Other pgs available next offseason include Damon Stoudamire, Gary Payton, Jeff McInnis, Nick Van Exel, Andre Miller, and Jason Terry.


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## MJG

Wizards 102, Celtics 98

Jeffries: 19 points (6-11 FG, 2-3 3P, 5-7 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 TOs, 40 minutes

Blake: 2 points (1-6 FG), 3 assists, 16 minutes

Hayes: 8 points (3-7 FG, 2-2 FT), 12 minutes

Profit: 22 points (7-12 FG, 2-2 3P, 6-8 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 TOs, 29 minutes

Udoka: 14 points (6-12 FG, 2-4 FT), 6 rebounds, 29 minutes


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## afireinside

I really like Profits stat line besides the 4 TO's. I watched his last game at UMD and he was very popular. After that I really never heard of him again until now. Maybe he might show his true potential and get a spot as a back up guard? 

And Jeffries shooting 3's?! What is wrong with this kid?


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## f22egl

> Originally posted by <b>shonin</b>!
> And Jeffries shooting 3's?! What is wrong with this kid?


Jeffries is 2 for 3 and did show range when he was at Indiana. Hell, he shoot more if he keeps nailing them.


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## MJG

Wizards 113, Celtics 65

Hayes: DNP:CD

Blake: 5 points (2-4 FG, 1-1 3P), 6 asssists, 3 steals, 2 TOs, 21 minutes

Jeffries: 6 points (3-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 17 minutes

Profit: 15 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 19 minutes

Udoka: 21 points (8-14 FG, 1-1 3P, 4-6 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 TOs, 37 minutes

Melzer: 24 points (9-12 FG, 6-6 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, 25 minutes

McCoy: 13 points (6-9 FG), 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 18 minutes

I can only imagine what type of defense was being played by the Cavs with those kind of shooting numbers on our side. Also, for anyone wondering who the heck this Melzer guy is, here is some info from SI:


> Position: SF
> Class: Early Entry
> High School: Wisconsin River Falls
> Ht., Wt.: 6'8, 225
> 
> ANALYSIS: Melzer was the Division III Player of the Year this season. He suffered a hip pointer in the first game at the Portsmouth Invitational and sat out the final two contests but showed enough to get invited to Chicago. Melzer was just 7-of-27 from the field in Chicago but played good defense and was active. He has worked hard in the weight room since the end of the season. He has nice mid-range jumper and 7-2 wing span but needs to show an outside game after playing mostly inside in college. Melzer is a good, but not great athlete who hopes to be the first Division III player drafted since Devean George, another Minnesota native.


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