Summer League rosters filled by some solid undrafted players

Our top rated players that did not get drafted are accepting invites to NBA Summer League rosters. Vermont’s Marqus Blakely, who we think is a first-round talent, has signed on with the Clippers. See this video of Blakely who clearly has skill to transition to guard in the NBA.

Duke big man Brian Zoubek is scheduled to play with the Nets in the Orlando Summer League. 

Mikhail Torrance (pictured at left) was not drafted in part due to a heart condition known as “athlete’s heart”.  The classy Alabama Point Guard looks to have agreed to ball for the summer Bobcats.  

Aubrey Coleman led the nation in scoring at Houston. So far I have not been able to track down where he will play this summer.  

Scottie Reynolds, the first player to be a First Team All-America selection yet go undrafted since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, will play with the Phoenix Suns summer team. 

I have not yet been able to track down where Tyler Smith will play. The Tennessee swingman is versatile and tough. Someone needs to get him on a summer roster ASAP.  

Jerome Randle of California will hoop with the Wizards summer squad. Forget his size. Randle is a certified shooter and ball-handler that will excel in the NBA. 

Sylven Landesberg will play for the Sacramento Kings Las Vegas Summer League team. Landesberg is capable of getting to the hole in a similar fashion to Tyreke Evans. 

Ben Uzoh, who was one of our favorite sleeper Point Guards has signed up to play with New Jersey in the summer. 

Michigan guard Manny Harris is down with either the Celtics or Cavs (depending on what you believe) for the hot months. 

Matt Bouldin, the highly skilled Gonzaga combo-guard has a deal with the summer Bulls. 

One unconfirmed report has speedy UConn guard Jerome Dyson (pictured at left) headed to the Wizards for the summer. If true, Dyson will join former Duke Point Guard Jon Scheyer in D.C.

Other undrafted notables that appear to have their summer plans in place include: Omar Samhan (Atlanta Hawks), Sherron Collins (Charlotte Bobcats), Jared Quayle (signed with a team in Belgium), Ryan Thompson (Sacramento Kings), Art Parakhouski (Boston Celtics), Marquis Gilstrap (Charlotte Bobcats), Charles Garcia (New York Knicks), Jeremy Wise (Golden State Warriors), Raymar Morgan (Washington Wizards), and Samardo Samuels (Chicago Bulls).

Up in the air at the moment: A.J. Ogilvy, Edwin Ubiles, Mac Koshwal, and Alex Franklin.  

Media bias on the NBA Draft? You Bectha.

NBA Studios (a singular place) is based in Atlanta. That is important to note when viewing  "the Jump", an NBA-TV program that has spent recent days focusing on the 2010 NBA Draft. I've noticed a lean toward talking about what is comfortable (i.e. local) on this show that should be thinking globally. I don't need more info on Al Faroqu Aminu, Derrick Favors, and Gani Lawal. Tell me something about Nemanja Bjelica. Can I see any love for a Pac-10 player? Quincy Pondexter (pictured) is a first round pick too.

I've changed my tune on Eric Bledsoe. I've almost totally discounted his putrid numbers after digging into game tape to refresh my memory about his fireplug body with outstanding athleticism, court vision, and instincts. He plays at NBA speed and has room to grow. (Thanks to Marty McNeal and another unnamed source for planting the seed of giving Bledsoe another look.)

Always tweaking my ways to evaluate players with a combo of data and common sense, I added a "simple 20 category checklist" last year to my myriad of mathematical factors. It proved to be a worthwhile, albeit timely, exercise.

This year I did the checklist again. Here are the players that according to my checklist - are being undervalued right now on mock drafts worldwide: Lance Stephenson, Scottie Reynolds, Ben Uzoh, Jerome Randle, Edwin Ubiles, Jeremy Lin, and Sylven Landesberg.

You can always view our 2010 NBA Draft Big Board at BasslineSpin.com

Finally, there are some guys with a remote chance of being drafted that we at least wanted to cover the basics of. They are linked here: Stephen Dennis, Matt Janning, Boban Marjanovic, Tim Ohlbrecht, Michael Roll, and Patrick Sullivan.

Cal's Christopher, Robertson on the bubble to be drafted

Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson are two of the potential NBA Draft prospects we highlight today. Please click on the player's name to read an independently thought-out capsule of their skills and their chances to be selected next Thursday.

Patrick Christopher, Bryan Davis, Mac Koshwal, Quincy Pondexter, Jerome Randle, Theo Robertson, Donald Sloan, Evan Turner, Jarvis Varnado, and Jahmar Young.

As always - you can view how we rank the top 115 players in the 2010 NBA Draft at BasslineSpin.com

Who got down at Portsmouth?

A computer issue as yet unresolved has kept us from blogging about basketball for seven days. ...The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament took place from April 7th through April 10th. The P.I.T. is a collection of NCAA Seniors that are split into teams who play in front of NBA talent scouts. Last year, Jon Brockman, Wesley Matthews, and DeMarre Carroll emerged from the showcase.

So who played well at the 2010 version? We go game by game - giving you the best player on the winning team and what they accomplished.

Day one:
A.J. Slaughter - W. Kentucky. 6'3" 180 PG, SG ...28 points in 21 minutes on 10-12 FG. w/ 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Donald Sloan - Texas A&M 6'3" 205 PG, SG. (Pictured at left.) ...20 points, 6 rebounds, 8-12 FG in 32 minutes.








Day two:

Roderick Flemings - Hawaii. 6'7" 210 SG. ...14 points (7-7 FG), 6 rebounds, 4 assists in 27 minutes.

Tyren Johnson - Louisiana Lafayette 6'8" 204 SF. ...15 points (5-7 FG), 6 assists, 6 rebounds in 22 minutes

Jerome Randle - California. 5'10" 172 PG. ...18 points (7-13 FG), 10 assists, 4 steals in 31 minutes.

Randle (pictured at left) was named the MVP of the three-day tourney. Readers of this space know that we think Randle has an NBA future. His accurate shooting, ball-handling ability, and instant energy separate him from other small guards.


Day three:

Reggie Holmes - Morgan St. 6'4" 180 SG. ...22 points (7-11 FG), 7 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Jason Love - Xavier. 6'9" 265 PF. ...11 points (5-9 FG), 7 rebounds, zero turnovers in 25 minutes.

Kevin Palmer - Texas A&M Corpus Christi. 6'6" 204 SG. ...21 points, 11 rebounds, 6 steals in 31 minutes.

Day four:

DeShawn Sims - Michigan. 6'8" 235 PF. ...21 points (10-17 FG), 7 rebounds in 22 minutes.

Hamady Ndiaye - Rutgers. 6'11" 235 C. ...19 points (7-13 FG, 5-5 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, zero turnovers in 23 minutes.

Ben Uzoh - Tulsa. 6'3" 205 PG. ...15 points (6-8 FG), five assists, five rebounds, three steals, in 24 minutes.

Trevon Hughes - Wisconsin. 6'0" 193 PG. ...21 points (7-14 FG, 4-4 FT, 3-5 3PtFG), 7 rebounds, in 32 minutes.

As always you can follow us on twitter @basslinespin

John Wall is the one. Right?

I admit to letting it enter my mind that John Wall may not be the best player ultimately in the 2010 NBA Draft. ...Then I slap myself. If not Wall, could it be DeMarcus Cousins, Evan Turner, or even a Greg Monroe? ...Turner seems like he could be a superstar or he might be just a star. If it is the latter - then choosing him first would be a bad look. ...Monroe, I’m certain, will flourish outside of the constraints of the Georgetown offense which uses less possessions per game than the average team. But in the final analysis - Wall is just too dynamic to pass on. He is already a superstar.

Players coached by Bob Huggins seem to gain confidence as they gain weight in his strength and conditioning program. Devin Ebanks is the best example of a guy who has dramatically changed his body in the Huggins Boot Camp. It will be interesting to see what happens next year when Huggins' best finesse player De’Sean Butler is no longer around. Right now Huggy still has leftovers from the Jim Beilein era. The mixture of some finesse from the Beilein days with the traditional Huggins-style player has served West Virginia well this season.

Who will have a better NBA career? Jerome Randle, Matt Bouldin, Austin Freeman, Luke Harangody, or Jared Quayle? Will any make the NBA? My money is on Randle to have the best NBA career. Quayle may be hard pressed to make an NBA roster due to a horrid performance on the biggest stage in the NCAA Tourney, and the NBA’s lack of respect for Utah State.

Dominique Jones of South Florida and Virginia’s Sylven Landesberg both declared for the NBA Draft. Jones I like because he passes it as well as he scores it.

Does Kansas State coach Frank Martin remind you of rocker Henry Rollins?