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Posts Tagged ‘Mustafa Shakur’

The Big Surf: DeRozan’s hard foul on Johnson ignites teammate

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

These are some items reported on the Internet last week. Please check out WildAboutAzCats.com for some recent video footage of Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson was the recipient of a hard foul this week by DeMar DeRozan and his teammate Jabari Brown stood by his side

Things got a little touchy with current NBA players and college basketball prospects leading up to the Boost Mobile Elite 24 game in Venice Beach on Saturday. According to a tweet by RealGM.com, Nick Johnson was at the center of a dispute between former Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep teammate Jabari Brown and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan during one of the scrimmages during the week. “Jabari Brown getting into it with DeMar DeRozan. Some serious ****-talking going on here after DeRozan hits Nick Johnson with a hard foul,” is what the Twitter feed reads.

If anything, this shows the strong relationship between Brown and Johnson. During their summer together with the Drew Gooden/Oakland Soldiers, Johnson and Brown were recipients of many passes from Josiah Turner that led to uncontested shots or dunks. Out of the many AAU players I watched in Las Vegas in July, Brown and Johnson are unparalleled when it comes to working hard away from the ball to becoming a threat to score or open up a possibility for others. … Depending on who you read this week — the Arizona media vs. the Kansas media — there are varying outlooks concerning the decision of Sacramento point guard Josiah Turner to move up his visit to Arizona on Sept. 17-18 from Oct. 22-23. That leaves Turner’s visit to Kansas on Oct. 15 for The Late Night in the Phog event as his last visit. The general belief of those who follow Arizona, including yours truly, is that Turner’s move is a good sign for the Cats. A source indicated to WildcatSportsReport.com’s Gary Randazzo last week that Arizona’s coaches wanted the visit to be earlier in the process. The reason: Turner’s interest in the UA program has never been more robust, especially with Johnson committing to the Cats. They want to seize the moment and hope Turner commits after his visit. Kansas’ viewpoint is different, as evidenced by Gary Bedore‘s article in the Lawrence Journal-World. Bedore quotes Rivals.com analyst Shay Wildeboor as saying the fact that Turner will tentatively visit Kansas last is “huge.” “By the time he announces, it will be the last thing he’ll remember,” Wildeboor said. “He attended Late Night on an unofficial visit last year. He’s coming back on an official visit this year and has made KU his final visit. He obviously has great interest in KU.” …

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Ex-Cat Williams shows defensive improvement in summer league

Monday, July 5th, 2010
Former UA wing player Marcus Williams is trying to show his playmaking abilities with Indiana but he was most impressive with his defense and rebounding in the Pacers' first NBA Summer League game in Orlando on Monday (Photo by US Presswire/Rick Scuteri)

Former UA wing player Marcus Williams is trying to show his playmaking abilities with Indiana but he was most impressive with his defense in rebound in the Pacers' first NBA Summer League game in Orlando on Monday (Photo by US Presswire/Rick Scuteri)

Former UA wing player Marcus Williams did not get a chance to show his skills in an NBA summer league last year, which adversely affected his 2009-10 season.

He slipped under the radar — or is it slipped Far East of the radar? — to the point that he played professionally in China last season. Williams tried to land a spot with the Spurs again after he was cut the year before, but he was waived during preseason camp. He played in China before ending the season with the Spurs’ NBA D-League affiliate Austin, where he averaged 24.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in eight games.

Indiana contemplated signing Williams in April before the season ended, although the Pacers did not plan to use him in games. Williams reportedly balked at the idea in order to keep his options open heading into the summer. Evidently, the Pacers came calling again after the season and Williams agreed to show the Pacers his value this summer in Orlando.

So far so good for Williams, a 6-7, 205, player who has added some muscle to his frame since leaving UA after his sophomore season in 2007. In the Pacers’ first game Monday, Williams led the team with six rebounds to go along with six points in 27 minutes against Orlando.

And get this: He blocked two shots. Is this the same Williams who was a liability on defense with the Wildcats? We will see through the next four days if Williams can play consistently well. Some reports indicate Indiana wants to try Williams at point guard, but he is more suited to play on the wing. He played some minutes at the point for Austin. He did not record an assist Monday.

Other Arizona angles of note in the summer leagues: Former UA recruit Ndudi Edi, who spurned the Cats in 2003 by declaring himself for the NBA draft out of high school, is on Philadelphia’s summer-league team in Orlando. He did not play Monday in the 76ers’ 84-74 win over the Nets. After failing to find his niche after Minnesota drafted him in the first round, Edi has played professionally in Italy and Israel. The D-League will not accept him because he has spent two years in the NBA, albeit briefly. … Damon Stoudamire is returning to the Las Vegas summer league as a coach of the Memphis Grizzlies’ team. … Mustafa Shakur is in Orlando with Oklahoma City, which owns his rights. He played almost seven minutes and recorded one assist in the Thunder’s 87-82 win over Boston.

Budinger, Hill on Houston’s NBA Summer League roster

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Former UA forward Chase Budinger will look to refine his ball-handling skills in another NBA Summer League appearance in Las Vegas starting July 9 (US Presswire photo/Thomas Campbell)

Former UA forward Chase Budinger will look to refine his ball-handling skills in another NBA Summer League appearance in Las Vegas starting July 9 (US Presswire photo/Thomas Campbell)

Reports out of Houston suggest the Rockets will include former UA teammates Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill on their roster for the upcoming NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

However, a reunion among Hill, Budinger and Houston native Nic Wise on the Rockets’ roster does not seem likely for the summer league, which starts July 9.

Former UA point guard Mustafa Shakur, who landed a 10-day contract with Oklahoma City last year after toiling in Europe for parts of three seasons, is reportedly on Portland’s NBA Summer League roster. This will be the fourth time that Shakur has played in the summer league.

Last year, Shakur played well enough for the Lakers’ team in Las Vegas that the Thunder signed him to a D-League contract. He became an NBA D-League All-Star with Tulsa.

At this point, six rookies, including USC’s Dwight Lewis, are on Houston’s roster, but not one of them is Wise. According to Kevin Grigg, the media-relations director of the Detroit Pistons and a UA grad, there is no deadline for NBA Summer League rosters to be set.

Not all the teams have announced their rosters. Wise had an encouraging pre-draft workout with the Rockets. He also visited Milwaukee and Indiana. Milwaukee does not include Wise in its roster. Indiana plays in the Orlando summer league from July 5-9 and has yet to release its roster.

Budinger had a credible rookie season with Houston, averaging 8.9 points and 3 rebounds per game. He started four games and averaged 20 minutes a game. He emerged in last year’s NBA Summer League after dropping to a second-round selection in the 2009 NBA draft.

Budinger made the All-Summer League team making 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from three-point range, shooting 68.1 percent overall and averaging 17.8 points in five games.

Hill, the ninth selection overall last year taken by the Knicks, was traded to Houston in the middle of the season in a swap that included Tracy McGrady. The NBA Summer League will be particularly important for Hill, who will be working out against Houston’s first-round draft pick Patrick Patterson of Kentucky.

Hill averaged 6.4 points, 5 rebounds and 16:11 of playing time in 23 games with Houston last season after averaging 4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 10:30 of playing time in 24 games with New York.