"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

RELATED LINK: Jordan Hill overcomes tough road to reach NBA (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Jordan Hill

By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS — If only college hoops allowed a player 10 fouls like the NBA Summer League, Jordan Hill‘s scoring and rebounding averages might have increased by a couple in both categories for the Wildcats last year because of additional playing time.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Hill said with a laugh after committing nine fouls in the Knicks’ 90-84 loss to Chicago today at the Cox Pavilion.

When Hill committed his eighth foul with 5:18 minutes left in the game, Knicks summer-league coach Phil Weber barked at him to stand straight, arms high straight and to jump straight.

“You’ll learn this,” Weber yelled to him from the bench. “Just jump up straight and there’s no way they (the refs) can call it.”

Hill shook his head at Weber in disagreement as if he was listening to the ref counsel him on why he was whistled.

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By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS — The turbulent times of former UA guard Chris Rodgers trying to make an NBA roster continue.

A Suns spokesman tonight cited roster size as the reason why Rodgers was dismissed from their NBA Summer League roster after one game. Rodgers played three minutes in the Suns’ 95-90 victory over Dallas on Monday.

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  Chase Budinger

By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS — Chase Budinger’s shooting performance in this gambling town was as close a player can get to hitting a royal flush.

“I think I’m closer to where I need to be and it’s pretty much up to my agent (Kevin Bradbury) now,” said Budinger, who made 7 of 9 field goal attempts today, including all three of his three-point tries, to lead the Rockets past the Lakers 92-77.

“I’ll head home now and rest for about a week, and talk to my agent to see if he can get something worked out with the Rockets. I’m hoping that can happen soon.”

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By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS — The last time Chase Budinger and Jerryd Bayless played on the same court, they finished one of Arizona’s most forgettable seasons since Lute Olson became head coach a quarter-century ago.

The UA lost to West Virginia that night in Washington, D.C., in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. In the days before the game, it was reported that Bayless got into a minor scuffle with Zane Johnson in practice.

The loss capped a frustrating 19-15 season for Arizona under interim coach Kevin O’Neill. Bayless became the first one-year-and-done player recruited by Olson, who was not around to coach the Phoenix St. Mary’s star because of personal problems involving his divorce. Budinger averaged 17.1 points that season but returned for his junior year because he received feedback that he would likely not be drafted in the first round if he left early.

Tonight, Bayless and Budinger shared the same court for the first time since that forgettable game 16 months ago. This time, they were opponents in the NBA Summer League at Cox Pavilion. They were all business after a handshake and brief hug. That West Virginia game was a distant memory.

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By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS — It took a half today for Jordan Hill to feel acclimated to playing with new teammates in a much different setting at the Cox Pavilion against taller players than his games with Arizona.

But once he felt comfortable playing in the NBA Summer League, against improved competition such as Memphis center Hasheem Thabeet, Hill literally ran with it in the Knicks’ opener here.

Using his quickness in the post to offset the taller Thabeet, who is 7-3 compared to Hill’s listed height of 6-10, the former Arizona player came alive in the second half of the Knicks’ 90-86 loss to Memphis. Hill finished with 13 points, 11 in the second half on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.

“I had to break out of it,” Hill said of his nervousness as the game started. “It took a little bit for me to feel like myself. My teammates started getting me the ball more too.”

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By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

Shakur has grown stronger physically and mentally since leaving Arizona in 2007

LAS VEGAS — James Harden, the hyped third pick overall in the NBA draft by Oklahoma City, tried to maneuver his way around Mustafa Shakur — an NBA reject twice-over — tonight at Thomas & Mack and it was a mismatch.

Shakur stripped the ball from Harden, who did not factor in Shakur’s long reach and many years of studying opponents. Shakur dribbled strong to the hoop never hesitating, looked at a streaking Lakers teammate as if he was going to pass, and swooped around a defender with a double-clutch acrobatic layup.

Harden’s incredulous look at the play resembled that of the crowd of approximately 3,000, but the former ASU star refrained from saying, “Oooh” and “Aaaah” like the fans in the stands. Shakur, a former UA guard, struck one for the Wildcats against their former Sun Devil nemesis (Harden went 5-0 against the Cats in his two-year career).

The Lakers — Shakur’s third team in three years at the NBA Summer League here — defeated Harden and Oklahoma City 74-68.

Harden’s overall performance was more impressive statistically, with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes, although he and Shakur were not matched against each other most of the game. Shakur’s efficient 13-point performance — his most production to date — was arguably more substantial because of the guard’s grueling quest for a spot on an NBA roster.

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By Javier Morales
wildaboutazcats@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS — Jerryd Bayless would be ideal in the military because he is straight-laced, serious and determined on the court and off it, even though this is only July and he’s been through this NBA Summer League thing before.

Minutes after leading Portland in scoring tonight with 22 points in the Blazers’ 92-87 loss to Toronto, Bayless emerged from the dressing area at Cox Pavilion with a slight scowl. Weighing on his mind were the six turnovers he committed in 31 minutes, although he tallied a game-high seven assists.

One of the media members asked him about how he is dealing with trade talk involving his name. Needless to say, the reporter’s question did not butter Bayless up.

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