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May 18, 2013

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  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 10: Somebody give Marcus Williams a job

    July 19, 2009 (9:50 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    2009 NBA summer league coverage 2009 NBA summer league schedule/results 2008 NBA summer league coverage A former standout at UConn and first round pick of the New Jersey Nets, Marcus Williams apparently has no desire to play another year of pro ball away from the ...

  • Former UNLV guard Wink Adams sits, again, during the first half of the New York Knicks' game against Sacramento on Friday afternoon at the NBA Summer League at Cox Pavilion. He didn't play in New York's first game and only logged seven minutes in its second.

    Adams upbeat at NBA Summer League as he waits for his chance

    July 19, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Wink Adams heard the chants — “We want Wink!”— early in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon against Chicago at the NBA Summer League inside the Cox Pavilion. However, for the third time in four New York games, Knicks summer coach Phil Weber did not play Adams.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 9: Beaubois leads Mavs to first summer victory

    July 18, 2009 (7:08 p.m.)

    By Rob Miech

    One of our favorite players in the NBA Summer League finished with a flurry Saturday afternoon inside the Cox Pavilion. Rodrigue Beaubois, the first-round draft pick by Dallas, ensured that the Mavericks wouldn’t go winless this summer with 23 points in a 73-54 victory over ...

  • D-League underdogs turning heads at NBA Summer League

    July 18, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    They don’t have their last names on the back of their jerseys, and that’s Dwayne Archibald – not Jerry West – on the logo on the front of the jersey. However, the D-League Select squad has become one of the more compelling topics here at the NBA Summer League on UNLV’s campus.

  • Memphis Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur takes a breather during action in the NBA summer league, where he's averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through three games as the team's starting power forward. After an up-and-down rookie campaign, Arthur's trying a new high-energy approach to the game in an effort to secure his spot in the squad's regular rotation this season.

    Charged-up Arthur ready to find his niche with Grizzlies

    July 18, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Most rookies at the NBA summer league learn that pro ball is whole different game compared to what they just came from playing. Memphis Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur was no different last summer in Las Vegas. But his true eye-opening experience came about six weeks later.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 8: Young misses key shot for Wizards

    July 17, 2009 (6:54 p.m.)

    By Rob Miech

    Nick Young kept the heat on Friday against Minnesota in the NBA Summer League. The third-year guard out of USC who wears No. 1 on his Washington Wizards uniform had 21 points midway through the third quarter inside the Cox Pavilion. The lead see-sawed back ...

  • Golden State guard Anthony Morrow leaves his hand up on a follow-through after hitting one of his 18 shots in Thursday's 104-84 victory over New Orleans at Cox Pavilion, as teammates Stephen Curry, left, and Anthony Randolph celebrate on the bench. Morrow scored a Las Vegas NBA summer league record 47 points, including 7 3-pointers.

    Scoring record belongs to summer league rags-to-riches story

    July 17, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    If there's any true justice in professional sports, the NBA Las Vegas summer league's single-game scoring record will belong to Anthony Morrow forever. It was only a year ago when Morrow came to the summer league to play for the Warriors with nothing more than a sliver of hope to hold onto. This year, he arrived with a wealth of confidence and a mohawk.

  • Walter Szczerbiak -- a three-time European champion for Real Madrid, the 59-year-old father of NBA player Wally Szczerbiak and an executive for Spain's elite basketball league -- peruses the talent and takes notes on the NBA Summer League on Thursday at Cox Pavilion.

    Foreign teams scout NBA Summer League for next star players

    July 17, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Julius Erving battled Larry Bird in a HORSE competition. Well, a kid in a white Erving No. 6 jersey challenged his buddy, wearing a green Bird No. 33 jersey. A vendor tried to get anyone within earshot to try his La Veneto Italian ice. Steve Nash, Tony Parker and LeBron James jerseys were going for $100 a pop at a stand. The competition on the Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center courts has paled in comparison to what has transpired in the horseshoe-shaped concourse between the two arenas.

  • A skeptic returns for a day in the life of the NBA summer league

    July 17, 2009

    By Ron Kantowski

    The first thing I notice upon dropping into the NBA summer league on Wednesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion is dozens and dozens of very tall men, most of whom are speaking foreign languages. It is hard to tell whether they are European scouts or Turkish power forwards.

  • Former UNR star battling for roster spot with Washington Wizards

    July 17, 2009

    By Steve Silver

    JaVale McGee caught the attention of many NBA scouts at the Thomas & Mack Center while battling UNLV as a standout at Nevada-Reno. But now McGee must fight to earn the confidence of his coaches on that same hardwood in Las Vegas, because Washington Wizards aren't exactly keeping it a secret that they are shopping around for an experienced big man. McGee, though, hopes to put an end to that free agent search.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 7: Mavs run suicides after dropping to 0-4

    July 16, 2009 (10:18 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene,
    Rob Miech

    Dallas wasn’t finished after it dropped to 0-4 in the NBA Summer League, as owner Mark Cuban watched from his courtside seat, with a 75-62 defeat to Cleveland at the Cox Pavilion. During the game, Cuban left to get some snacks. Five seconds after buying ...

  • Walt Frazier calls the action from the sidelines during a contest between the Knicks and Grizzlies on Wednesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion. Frazier averaged 18.9 points per game during a 13-year NBA career from 1967 to 1980. Frazier was known just as much for his style as he was for his skill.

    Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier smooth as ever

    July 16, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Las Vegas sweltered in triple-digit heat Wednesday. Walt Frazier, as cool as ever, didn’t drop a bead of sweat. As he does everywhere he goes, his presence added a measure of class and respect to the NBA Summer League at Cox Pavilion. Wearing an untucked black polo shirt, fuschia shorts and white hand-woven leather slip-ons, “Clyde” glided across the bubbling Cox asphalt to the New York Knicks’ team bus.

  • Former UNLV guard Wink Adams (3) defends in the closing moments of New York's 96-73 loss to Detroit on Wednesday afternoon in NBA summer league play. Adams went scoreless with 2 rebounds and an assists in 7 minutes of play for the Knicks.

    For former MWC standouts, summer league minutes are at a premium

    July 16, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Not walking off the court after a game in dire need of a shower is a new feeling for Lee Cummard. The former BYU guard -- who last season ranked in the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference in points, rebounds, assists, blocked shots, field goal percentage and free throw percentage -- left Cox Pavilion on Wednesday evening as clean as he was when he arrived.

  • Adam Morrison of the Los Angeles Lakers (left) talks with Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw at the NBA Summer League in the Cox Pavilion.

    Morrison transitions to NBA after Gonzaga stardom

    July 16, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Adam Morrison is supremely confident these days that he is quite tired of answering questions about his confidence. The former Gonzaga star is attempting to show his many critics that, after major knee surgery, he can still produce and be a viable weapon in the NBA.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 6: Raptors forward Ibekwe leaves Cox on a stretcher

    July 15, 2009 (7:03 p.m.)

    By Rob Miech

    After a hard fall on his face and a long delay to allow medical personnel to check his condition, Toronto Raptors forward Ekene Ibekwe was wheeled off the Cox Pavilion court on a stretcher Wednesday night at Cox Pavilion. Ibekwe had gone up to defend ...

  • New York Knicks forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who was the MVP of the first Las Vegas NBA Summer League in 2004, is trying to resurrect a once-promising career that fizzled and had him playing overseas over the past two seasons.

    Once declared an NBA bust, Tskitishvili back to prove himself

    July 15, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    The biggest bust in NBA lottery history. That’s a tough label to shake, but that’s just what Nikoloz Tskitishvili is trying to do here at the NBA Summer League with the New York Knicks.

  • Chicago Bulls forward James Johnson takes a breather during a contest against Golden State in NBA summer league action on Tuesday at Cox Pavilion. Johnson, the 16th overall pick in last month's NBA Draft, relies on a heavy background in kickboxing, karate and mixed martial arts to play light on his feet at 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds.

    NBA rookie’s roots in MMA, focus solely on hoops

    July 15, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Chicago rookie forward James Johnson showed up to Cox Pavilion for his NBA summer league pro debut on Tuesday afternoon thinking much the same way his favorite fighter -- heavyweight mixed martial arts Frank Mir -- showed up to the Octagon for the UFC 100 main event down the street last weekend. Both came to win. Instead, both lost. That's not all that the two athletes have in common.

  • Sacramento Kings head coach, Pete Carril, left, watches the action during the NBA summer league at the Thomas & Mack Center.

    At age 79, Kings coach still in love with the game of basketball

    July 15, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    After this season with the Sacramento Kings, 79-year-old Pete Carril likely will leave the game that, after a long stretch at Princeton, landed him in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “I think this might be it,” he says. “I’m not sure. You can never tell, but it might be the end. I don’t know. I’ll see how I feel.”

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 5: Randolph ties summer league scoring mark

    July 14, 2009 (11:31 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene,
    Rob Miech

    2009 NBA summer league coverage 2009 NBA summer league schedule/results 2008 NBA summer league coverage Golden State forward Anthony Randolph saw his streak of summer league double-doubles come to an end at 3 on Tuesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion. So what? In exchange, the second-year ...

  • No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers pumps his fist in celebration during a break in the action Monday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Oklahoma product registered 27 points and 12 rebounds in his pro debut at the NBA summer league.

    In different positions, Griffin brothers begin summer journeys

    July 14, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    After filling up the stat sheet with 27 points and 12 rebounds in his pro debut Monday night in NBA summer league play at the Thomas & Mack Center, Blake Griffin -- the top pick in last month's NBA Draft -- towered over a horde of cameras, notepads and recorders with questions fired at him in a cramped hallway. Just hours earlier, his older brother, Taylor, spoke in a similar tone with a much smaller group of reporters -- three, to be exact.

  • Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond has a bit more passion for this particular stop in his career, since he was born and raised in Zion, Ill., a short hop from Milwaukee where he listened to Hank Aaron play baseball for the Braves in his youth.

    Milwaukee GM ‘back home’ while leading Bucks

    July 14, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    John Hammond grew up listening to Hank Aaron play baseball for the Milwaukee Braves and watching Marquette coach Al McGuire stalk the court at The Mecca.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 4: Bayless is back; Bucks continue to roll

    July 13, 2009 (9:51 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    Typically, MVPs of the NBA summer league don't need an opportunity to defend the crown. Last season's winner -- Portland guard Jerryd Bayless -- is trying to do so as a completely different player. The 11th overall pick in last year's NBA Draft averaged just ...

  • Milwaukee Bucks guard Jodie Meeks drives to the bucket during Milwaukee's opening-night victory over Dallas on Friday at the NBA summer league. Meeks scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The Kentucky product who was selected 41st overall last month could turn out to be one of the steals of the 2009 NBA Draft.

    From a fishbowl to Milwaukee, Meeks could be a steal

    July 13, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Friday night, while all eyes were on Brandon Jennings during the U.S. pro debut of the most talked-about prospect in last month's NBA draft, Jodie Meeks flew under the radar. For the former Kentucky guard, who was the 41st overall pick in last month's draft by Milwaukee, he hadn't been in that position in awhile.

  • Iranian center Hamed Haddadi, the only player to average a double-double (16.2 points, 11.2 rebounds) at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, glances at the Cox Pavilion scoreboard during Memphis' game Sunday.

    Iranian making his mark on basketball’s highest stage

    July 13, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Hamed Haddadi returned home last month to Tehran as a hero, the first Iranian to play in the National Basketball Association. When, that is, he chose to venture outside his house and go to a restaurant or visit with friends.

  • 2 years after injury, Livingston hopes full circle almost complete

    July 13, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Today, the NBA is more of a young man's game than it's ever been. That said, it may be tougher to find an older soul in the league than baby-faced, rail-thin 23-year-old Shaun Livingston.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 3: Jennings looks like a million Bucks

    July 12, 2009 (7:16 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene,
    Rob Miech

    Brandon Jennings continued to show that he just might belong in the NBA on Sunday night at the Summer League in the Cox Pavilion. Jennings led the way with 23 points, 5 assists and 4 steals in Milwaukee’s 80-69 victory over Cleveland in the day's ...

  • Blog: Sports: UNLV

    Ex-UNLV swingman Beck playing for Spurs

    July 12, 2009 (4:21 p.m.)

    By Rob Miech

    Romel Beck was taken out of the San Antonio Spurs’ lineup with two minutes left Sunday afternoon against New Orleans at Cox Pavilion. Yet, the former UNLV swingman couldn’t sit still. He stood, watching his teammates take control against the Hornets in the NBA Summer ...

  • Trent Plaisted (44), plays against the Sacramento Kings during the NBA Summer League at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

    Former BYU star back on track in NBA Summer League

    July 12, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Former BYU center Trent Plaisted has simplified his basketball expectations. He doesn’t look beyond today, and today looks pretty good in the NBA Summer League.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 2: U.S. steak the best, says Ukic, but he’ll take Croatia

    July 11, 2009 (9:14 p.m.)

    By Rob Miech

    Croatian point guard Roko Ukic is strong and confident, and he’s sure about one thing from his first tour of the U.S. this past season as a reserve point guard for the Toronto Raptors. “I like the steaks here,” he said Saturday afternoon after Detroit ...

  • Golden State guard Stephen Curry works against Houston's Brad Newley during his pro debut on Friday afternoon at the COX Pavilion. Curry scored 16 points on just 4-of-14 shooting, but showed a professional demeanor which can be attributed to growing up around NBA locker rooms.

    One game in, Golden State’s Curry has look of a pro

    July 11, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Don Nelson has coached in 2,482 NBA games dating back to 1976, and over that period of time, it was never a secret that he favored veteran players to rookies and other youngsters. Never one to go out of his way to pad a young ballplayer's ego or hand him too much praise during their development, what he had to say on Friday from the COX Pavilion stands while watching rookie Stephen Curry's pro debut in the NBA summer league came a bit out of left field.

  • A look at Brandon Jennings' debut Friday at the 2009 NBA Summer League in the COX Pavilion.

    Back on U.S. soil, Jennings anxious to prove himself in NBA

    July 11, 2009

    By Rob Miech

    Brandon Jennings shot his Under Armour ad campaign inside the Colosseum, and he got to see Greece and Spain during the season he spent in Rome. Now part of the Milwaukee Bucks, courtesy of the 10th pick in last month’s draft, he is anxious to play in the NBA. He is participating in the NBA Summer League.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Day 1: Jennings steady, Meeks smooth as Bucks cap opening day with a win

    July 10, 2009 (9:30 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    2009 NBA summer league coverage 2008 NBA summer league coverage 9:21 p.m. Brandon Jennings finally scored his first pro bucket with about a minute to go in the third quarter Friday night for the Milwaukee Bucks. Once he did so -- hitting a 3-pointer from ...

  • No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin, left, stands next to Clippers head coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy while holding his jersey at a news conference Monday, June 29, 2009, at the Clippers' training center in Playa Vista, Calif. He will make his pro debut at the Thomas & Mack Center for the Clippers' summer league squad on July 13.

    Names of local, national interest pepper rosters

    July 7, 2009

    By Ryan Greene

    Rosters from nearly all 22 participating teams in the upcoming Las Vegas NBA Summer League are in. That said, here are some names that carry national and local interest that will be invading the desert July 10-19.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    Timberwolves release summer league roster; Rubio not included

    July 2, 2009 (3:14 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    It now appears certain that Spanish teen hoops phenom Ricky Rubio's pro debut in the United States will not take place in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League, which comes to town July 10-19. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who selected Rubio No. 5 overall in last ...

  • Blog: The Greene Room

    With NBA draft done, big debuts coming in Vegas

    June 25, 2009 (10:57 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    Everyone loves the buzz that comes hand-in-hand with an NBA lottery pick. Is he a star? Is he a bust? Well, first impressions are priceless, and, barring any more major trades coming up in the next few days, several of those bonus babies will introduce themselves to the pro ball world in Las Vegas next month.

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    NBA Summer League releases 2009 schedule

    June 22, 2009 (12:04 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    The 2009 NBA Summer League, which takes place at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion from July 10-19, released its game schedule on Monday. The 10-day affair includes 21 NBA teams sending rosters filled with draft picks, other young prospects and free agents. ...

  • Blog: Sports: Upon Further Review

    2009 NBA Summer League tickets on sale Monday

    May 29, 2009 (5:37 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    Tickets for the 2009 NBA Summer League, which takes place at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion from July 10-19, will go on sale to the public on Monday at the UNLV box office and on unlvtickets.com. The summer league will feature 21 ...

  • Blog: The Greene Room

    Red tux and 34 points from Houston’s Brooks provides Summer League flashback

    May 13, 2009 (2:11 p.m.)

    By Ryan Greene

    Special summer league section NBA Day 10: And the winners are ... NBA Day 10: … then there were the little guys NBA Day 10: Have passports and visas, will travel NBA Day 9: Just crown him already NBA Day 9: Augmon happy to be ...

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