Jordan Hill dunks in a game against the L.A. Clippers earlier this month. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Former Arizona Wildcats post player Jordan Hill will miss the rest of the NBA season because on an injured left hip, the Los Angeles Lakers announced late Friday night.

Hill has “loose fragments in addition to a possible labral tear,” according to a release from the team, which added that Hill has been advised he will need surgery. The release went on to say Hill is expected to get a second opinion before scheduling surgery.

The Lakers acquired Hill late last season in a trade with Houston and have been using him as their top backup big man. Hill, a fourth-year pro, was having his most productive NBA season, averaging 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in only 15.8 minutes per game.

Hill, who made about $8 million in his first three years in the league, signed a two-year $7.1 million contract in the offseason.

His former Arizona teammate, Chase Budinger, has had a tough season, too. He was off to a good start with his new team, averaging 11.8 points in six games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, before suffering torn meniscus in his left knee.

He is aiming for a possible return in March.

Sorry to hear abt my friend @jordanchill43 with his season ending injury

— chase budinger (@CBudinger) January 12, 2013

Derrick Williams dunks over Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko last month. Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

The NBA slam dunk contest isn’t what it used to be, and the potential biggest draws beg off the competition, but there are reasons for Arizona Wildcats fans to watch this year.

A pair of ex-Cats — Minnesota rookie forward Derrick Williams and Houston third-year forward Chase Budinger — make up half of the field for the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, which will be held Feb. 25 in Orlando.

Rounding out the fresh faces in the field are Indiana’s Paul George and Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks.

This link from NBA.com has highlight videos of each of the four competitors.

Williams will also compete in the Rising Stars Challenge, a game matching first- and second-year players. That game will be held Feb. 24 in Orlando.

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Chase Budinger is attacking a different kind of net in pro volleyball. Photo by Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats basketball player Chase Budinger made his pro volleyball debut over the weekend as he waits out the NBA lockout.

He and partner Dane Jensen were eliminated in the second round of the Corona Light Wide Open tournament at Hermosa Beach, Calif.

“We were competitive,” Budinger told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. “And I thought we had a good crowd, too, so that was pretty exciting. We competed very well, but I just wished we had been able to finish better.”

Budinger, who was the 2006 Mizuno national high school volleyball player of the year, has spent the past two seasons with the Houston Rockets, averaging 9.4 points per game.

Budinger last week talked with J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today, our Gannett big brother. Here is that Q&A:

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Chase Budinger splits two Chicago Bulls defenders in a game last month/Photo by Jerry Lai/U.S. Presswire

Remember when former Arizona forward Chase Budinger slid all the way out of the first round of the NBA draft last summer?

Turns out, he was a pretty good steal in the second round.

Budinger, in the midst of the most productive stretch of his rookie season with the Houston Rockets, is the third-highest scorer among all second-round draft picks. (Can you name the other two? Answer below.)

Injuries have cleared the way for Budinger to see more playing time recently, and he has responded by averaging 16.2 points in the past six games.

He has set and matched his career high during that span, scoring 24 against Washington on March 30 and 24 against Boston three days later.

“I think throughout my whole career it’s going to motivate me, to prove people wrong,” Budinger was quoted as saying in the Houston Chronicle.

“A lot of it is just getting the opportunity to play. Having so many guys out, especially in my position, has given me more minutes, more opportunity for me to be more aggressive.”

Compare these two stat lines (stats before Sunday’s games):

Not a lot of difference. The first line belongs to Oklahoma City guard James Harden, the former Arizona State star who was selected third overall last summer. The second line belongs to Budinger, selected 44th by Detroit and then traded to Houston.

With his 17-point effort off the bench Sunday, Budinger has increased his season scoring average to 8.7 points.

And to answer the question from earlier: The top second-round scorer is New Orleans guard Marcus Thornton, who is averaging 14.0 points per game. He was selected one spot ahead of Budinger.

Detroit forward Jonas Jerebko, who had played professionally in Sweden and Italy before entering the NBA draft, is averaging 9.4 points.

(Ex-Cat post player Jordan Hill has done better since his trade from the New York Knicks to the Rockets. Hill, the eighth overall pick in the draft, is averaging 6.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 17.8 minutes in 16 games in Houston. He averaged 4.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 10.5 minutes in 40 games with the Knicks.)

The Rockets have six games left in the season, including one at Phoenix on April 11.

Jordan Hill takes a shot (with Chase Budinger on far right) against Stanford last season/Tucson Citizen photo

Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill, who both left Arizona last year after their junior seasons, have been reunited with the Houston Rockets.

Hill, the eighth pick in the NBA Draft, never found his footing with the New York Knicks — was that his fault or the fault of a poorly-run franchise? — and was part of a three-team, eight-player trade at the trade deadline on Thursday.

Hill will go to the Rockets, who nabbed Budinger in the middle of the second round with the 44th overall pick.

Hill and Budinger were in Tucson last weekend during the break for the NBA All-Star weekend, hanging out with their former teammates.

“I think it’s great,” UA junior forward Jamelle Horne said of the trade. “I think they’re going to have a great time. They are truly blessed to be together in the NBA at the next level. I think they will be good together. … Or they could be really bad together.”

That last part was a little joke — perhaps a reference to too much partying? — but the early change of scenery should be good for Hill. He played in only 24 games with New York, averaging 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds.

He already has garnered the “bust” label from Knicks fans, who would have liked point guard Brandon Jennings (or a few other players) at the No. 8 spot in the draft.

With his relative lack of basketball experience, Hill still has lots of upside, and playing time should be more available with the Rockets. It took him a while to adjust to Arizona; his learning curve could be similar in the NBA.

Budinger, who slid further in the draft than everyone expected, has been more than solid as a rookie, considering where he ended up in the second round. As a bench player, he is averaging 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and is hitting 34.4 percent of his 3-pointers.

He has scored in double figures in five of the past seven games.

Now, he has his ol’ UA buddy with him.

The Arizona Wildcats have sent so many players to the pros in the past 20 years or so that it’s not usual when there is more than one Wildcat on an NBA roster.

The question is, how many players have been teammates at UA and in the NBA?

Our sports partner, WildAboutAZCats.com, lists three four cases:

–Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler (Chicago Bulls, 1994-98).
–Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott (San Antonio Spurs, 1998-2001).
–Brian Williams and Jud Buechler (Chicago Bulls, 1996-97). Yes, Kerr was on the team, too, but Kerr and Williams were not teammates at UA, like Williams and Buechler were for the 1989-90 season.
–Mike Bibby and Michael Dickerson (Vancouver Grizzlies, 1999-2001)

Former Arizona forward Chase Budinger — you can now call him “Smooth Jazz” — scored 15 points in his preseason debut with the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

Budinger was in the starting lineup and played 32 minutes, hitting 7 of 10 shots, including his only 3-point attempt. He had two rebounds and two assists from his small forward spot.

Chase Budinger has impressed the Houston Rockets' coaches so far/Tucson Citizen file photo

“I had a lot of butterflies in my stomach coming into the game,” Budinger told Rockets.com. “The coaches were all being encouraging and telling me to just go out there and be aggressive and do what you do in practice and you’ll be fine. I was able to knock down my first shot and it gave me a little confidence.”

Sounds a lot like his Arizona days.

Budinger, who slipped to the middle of the second round of the draft (44th overall) when he figured he would be a first-rounder, has drawn consistent praise during training camp. Assistant coach Pat Zipfel has taken to calling him “Smooth Jazz” as you can read about in this good feature on Rockets.com.

Smoothness was never Budinger’s issue in three seasons with the Wildcats. Aggressiveness was. Defensive intensity, too. He says he is turning to Houston’s Shane Battier for defensive tips … which is a good thing if you can get past the part about an Arizona player asking a former Dookie for help.

Bottom line, Budinger seems to have found a good fit with the Rockets, who will be without injured center Yao Ming all season and want to put together an athletic team that will push the pace.

Budinger should be able to help out with that as a reserve player once the season starts.

“(H)e’s so well-rounded and just knows how to play and he really fits in,” assistant coach R.J. Adelman told Rockets.com. “That could have been one of the reasons he slipped in the draft, just because it looks like it’s so easy for him that people maybe think that he’s not giving it 100 percent even though he really is.

“Sometimes he just blends in and doesn’t assert himself, so we’re on him to be aggressive and really want the ball, rather just fit in with his teammates because he really is a talented scorer. Part of that is just being a rookie. But he’s getting things done. He’s just so smooth that sometimes it’s elusive to see how effective he really is.”