Rules Changes

Rules were made to be broken, right? Or in some cases... changed.

I am a big fan of the new goal tending rule. I despise goal tending and basket interference in most forms. My opinion is, if the ball goes through the hoops, it means points. If it doesn't, no points. So simple, right? This rule is a step in the right direction. If the ball isn't yet in the rim, the defender should be allowed to take a swipe at it. Now he can.

While I like the change, it is going to have a dramatic impact on the way teams play defense and how players learn to play defense, which can be really bad for those trying to make it to the NBA. It's great for guys with international experience/aspirations, but if the goal of the league is to develop players to play in the NBA, then isn't this rule change somewhat counterproductive? Maybe in the short run. However, in the long run, if the change works in the NBA Development League, it'll likely be changed in the NBA as well, making it a productive switch.

Shortening overtime from five minutes to three minutes is a great move. I never understood why overtime was five minutes. That means it was 41.67% of the length of a regular quarter. Who wakes up one day and says, man, we need to figure out how to resolve ties, so let's have the teams play part of a quarter, but half a quarter is too long... How about 41.67%? Perhaps they were looking at it in game terms. Well, a game is 48 minutes, so five minutes is 10.4167%. This theory is a little more justifiable (maybe they wanted to do 10%, but since that's not a round number, they rounded to the closest minute).

Anyway, three minutes makes perfect sense. It's one quarter of one quarter. If basketball is a game this is broken up into four quarters, and they're not going to play full quarter in overtime, why not break-up a quarter into quarters? Sheldon Cooper would be proud.

Houston, We Have Lift Off

Houston Rockets Media Day marks the unofficial start of training camp (the first practice is tomorrow). (Almost) all of the Rockets are there in uniform and available for pretty much anything you need. Brad Miller was not in uniform (sprained ankle), although he was in street clothes with a Cubs hat on. Antonio Anderson didn't yet have a jersey, so he was wearing a t-shirt (he did have shorts).

The Rockets were wearing their new uniforms. I'd heard negative speculator reviews (you know, before anyone had actually seen them). You know what? They were nice. The light really illuminated the red against the white. There were some breathing holes in them. I was impressed.

My favorite thing is that they look just like those replica jerseys you can already buy at the Vipers Pro-Shop. Now they're instead inexpensive authentic jerseys (in effect, anyway).

Aaron Brooks was funny. He was walking around with a walkie talkie (used by the Rockets media relations staff to coordinate things) requesting Gummy Bears and keeping everyone up to date on his movements. At one point, Shane Battier was recording a promo for us when Brooks walked in. He laid down on the couch and Battier deadpanned:

"Aaron Brooks IS the Rio Grande Vipers."

He and some others laughed. Then I chimed in:

"Hey! It's Rio Grande VALLEY Vipers!"

Battier cracked up.

Coach Finch is in Houston, he came down to chat, so we had him do some recordings too. I had him reading a script with Antonio Anderson's name in it. And he read it. "Hi, this is Antonio Anderson of the Houston Rockets." Oops. That produced some laughs.

We had them record some promos for the new 840 Fox Sports Radio. No one pronounced Eighty-Forty correctly (all said either Eighty-Four or Eight-Four). Kyle Lowry felt bad about it, but I assured him he wasn't the only one.

Most of the players came and did their thing. Some of them introduced themselves (usually the younger guys like Jordan Egelseder and Patrick Patterson). The one that really caught me off guard was Chuck Hayes. The man was the starting center last year. Of course we know who he is. Yao doesn't introduce himself. Why would he? We know who he is. Hayes went to everyone and said, "Hi, I'm Chuck."

It was great to see Mike Harris. He came to me to say hello. A classic nice guy. He likes the Valley and is really excited to come down for RGV Rocket Launch 2010.

He and Coach Finch chatted for a little bit. Mike asked when open tryouts are and said he might like to go to watch (although I'm not sure that he can based on timing). He then said something very interesting, and in my mind, telling. "Save a spot for me." At first I thought he was making a joke about the tryout. Given time to think about it, I was wonder if he was saying something more. I hope we don't find out. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Harris back for another season, but he's earned the chance to play in the NBA, so I am pulling for him to make the team. I like to see good people succeed and reach their goals.

Heading to Rockets Media Day

Should be a fun frenzy on Friday. We'll have chance to visit with several former-Vipers and several other Rockets as well. I'll fill you all in on the festivities Friday evening.

Mr. Anderson Takes the Red Pill

It's just like The Matrix. Always take the red pill, Mr. Anderson. Today, Antonio did just that.

I'm starting to wonder... Should Red Rising be the Rockets' marketing campaign or the Vipers'? Think about it. There are now FOUR Vipers in Rockets Training Camp – Aaron Brooks, Jermaine Taylor, Mike Harris and Antonio Anderson. That's 21% of the roster.

I wonder how much Red will Rise from the Rio Grande Valley this year.

The signing was timed appropriately. Anderson was the Vipers' first round pick last year (12th overall). The Vipers found out yesterday they'll pick seventh. Imagine what the Vipers can do with an even better pick?

Well, hold up a moment. Just because the Vipers pick higher doesn't mean they'll take a different player. I don't know this for sure, but I have a hunch they would've taken Anderson at #7 last year had they had that pick.

You know who was picked #7? Desmon Farmer. I don't think he was on the Vipers' radar...

Between the picks:
#8 Paul Harris
#9 Rashad Anderson
#10 Alade Aminu
#11 Curtis Whithers

The only guy I would've considered over Antonio? Aminu. That's it.

It was an interesting draft last year. Carlos Powell went #1. No surprise. Alonzo Gee was a steal at #6. Other than that? Eh. Antonio was an absolute steal at #12. Tells you about how good the Rockets/Vipers are at eyeing talent.

It's mildly amusing to me that Deron Washington was taken at #3. Remember, he was the guy guarding Anderson on a size mismatch on that final possession leading up to The Shot Heard 'Round the Valley. Anderson forced Washington inside, then set his own pick while passing to a suddenly wide-open Craig Winder. Washington's the guy who jumped to try to block the shot and came up empty.

Not that Washington's a bad player, nor should he be completely evaluated on one defensive possession. I'm just saying is all.

D-League Will Be Stronger This Year

I was catching up on my Ridiculous Upside (which, btw, Scott, has received a lot of clicks from rgvipers.com... you're welcome ;-)) when I came across this post.

I'll give you a few minutes to read the post and the corresponding posts from elsewhere on that site and on Jeff Potter's blog.

Basically, from what I can gather from some quick skimming (I hate admitting that I'm responding to something I didn't fully read, but I gathered the premise, and I really don't have time to fully read it right now) is that the theory is that the D-League talent level will go down because of players not returning.

I find that to be hogwash.

Here are the names of a hand full of players who were new to the D-League last season:
Jonathan Wallace
Garrett Temple
Antonio Anderson
Kenny Hasbrouck
Terrel Harris
Mickell Gladness
Sean Barnette
Jermaine Taylor
Kenny Dawkins
Kevin Rogers
Louis Graham
Travis Holmes

And here are a few more who were in the D-League last season, had prior D-League experience, but were out of the league the year before:
Mike Harris
Rich Melzer

And a few more who did not start the season in the D-League, but ended up back in the D-League after playing there the previous season:
Craig Winder
Will Conroy
Quin Humphrey

I just managed to named 17 of the 22 players who wore a uniform for the 2009-10 NBA Development League Champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers, who combined for a total of 10 GATORADE Call-Ups, four NBA assignments, one league MVP Award, one buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the Championship, one pass to lead to said shot, four regular season triple-doubles, one post-season triple-double (game one of the Finals), one half-court half-time buzzer-beater in game one of the Finals...

Need I go on?

It's true, some of the players I listed made minimal contributions, and could be used for my opposition's case. However, the contributions of the other players easily outweigh what those referenced players didn't do.

I've made the argument many times in this blog that talent in the NBA Development League has increased exponentially every year over the last few years. The reason for that isn't because guys stick around for a few years and the great players keep getting better to increase the talent level. That does occasionally happen (see: Will Conroy), but generally, if they're getting better, they're leaving for more money either in the NBA or internationally. The reason the talent level is increasing is because every year, the NBA Development League presents itself as a more legitimate option for non-NBA players. These players are taking notice of the ever-increasing number of call-ups and assignments and of single-affiliation relationships.

Consider Desmon Farmer, for example. After his stint with the Vipers in 2007-08, he ended up with the San Antonio Spurs for Training Camp and the start of the season. He got cut and vowed never to play in the D-League again. Well, that lasted all of one year. Farmer knew his best chance of getting back in the NBA was to return to the D-League. Maybe he regretted not going right back, considering how close he apparently was at the time. Now Farmer is going overseas again. He played another season in the league, scored a million points, and didn't get a sniff from the NBA. So, yeah, he's going to go make some money overseas. Will he back? I doubt it. But the point is he came back last year, just like folks will do this year.

Mike Harris is another prime example. He'd had a stint in the D-Leauge. He'd been in the NBA (albeit it briefly). He was now making money overseas. He saw what the D-League had become since he'd left, so he came back, earned three GATORADE Call-Ups and an invitation to this year's Rockets Training Camp.

It's more than just players coming back, though. It's those undrafted college players. It's those rookies who get cut out of NBA Training Camp. It's guys with a lot of talent who came up just a little short. In the past they might simply go overseas. After all, for every Jose Juan Barrea (Northeastern... Fort Worth Flyers), there was a Taylor Coppenrath and a T.J. Sorrentine (Vermont... both had the opportunity to go to Training Camp with the Celtics but turned it down to go overseas). I see that ratio turning around every year.

If Jordan Eglseder doesn't make the Rockets, where do you think he's going? Two years ago, the answer was probably overseas. These days? I'd think he'd come to the Vipers (please note: there is no inside information here. I have neither spoken to or met Jordan, nor have I spoken to anyone with the Rockets or Vipers regarding him, I am simply using him as an example).

I would be completely stunned if the talent pool in the NBA Development League failed to get better this year. I'd be be even more shocked if it took a step back. There will be plenty of players with Ridiculous Upside this year. No doubt about it.

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It occurred to me today that we're only two weeks away from Yao Ming and Dwight Howard tipping up the NBA pre-season on top of the Vipers logo at center court of the State Farm Arena court. How cool is that?

Truly a Global Game

One of the things the NBA has worked really hard at (and become very good at) is making basketball truly a global game. Remember the Dream Team? There wasn't a team in the world that belonged on the court with them. The talent gap has shrunk considerably, though. You hear it all the time. I don't need to rehash that.

But it's just not just about players, it's about branding.

Look what my parents found for me in Israel:

I'll Never Forget

How Could I? How Could Anyone?

I can tell you exactly where I was. AP English with Robin Aufses. Second Row. Fourth Seat. I was 15 years old... in 11th grade. I went to Kennedy High School in Bellmore, NY (Long Island).

The principal came over the loud speaker and told us a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. It sounded like she was fighting back tears. I don't think we fully grasped what had happened, though. We didn't know what kind of plane or anything like that. A prop plane had crashed into one of the Towers once years earlier, so we didn't know the scale quite yet. Still, we knew that it couldn't be anything light. Not based on the tone of voice of the Principal.

Mrs. Aufses asked us if anyone had family working in the World Trade Center. A few hands went up. Followed by silence. At the time I thought one of my cousins worked there. He worked on the third floor trading copper. Turned out their offices had relocated before that. Which was a sign of relief hours later when I got home and asked my Mom. She'd reached my cousin. He was fine.

The rest of the school day was a whirlwind. In every class we were glued to computer to try to get the latest information. As the day went on we started realizing what was going on. Rumors swirled about that made it sound worse than it was (that many other landmarks had been hit... we later learned they'd been evacuated, not hit). In AP American Government I thought the teacher might cry. She told us to make sure we went home and told our family we love them. That was the class in which some of us were discussing who did it. No one knew yet. Again, rumors were flying around, mostly without basis.

In gym class, the coaches made us run laps. My class was combined with a special class, and the coaches said, "what do we do when we're in trouble?" One of the students said, "run!" So we did. I was jogging with a few friends when we heard a loud noise. It was a plane overhead. It was moving fast. That was a scary moment. We all knew that all planes in the U.S. had been grounded. So what the heck was this one doing in the sky? It was probably a military plane. But for a few moments... we all froze.

The scariest thing was the wondering about a classmate's father who worked on the 103rd floor of one of the Towers. He was freaking out all day. He couldn't reach anyone. Finally did late in the day. Turned out his dad overslept and didn't end up going to work.

My Uncle lives in Manhattan. Not too close to there. He was fine.

My Dad was teaching at a New York City Middle School at the time. Thankfully, it was in Brooklyn, which is part of Long Island, so he could get home. He told me he could see the smoke from his classroom and had to close the windows.

I'm at home right now, with home meaning New York. I am home for Rosh Hashana. As I flew into LaGuardia on Wednesday the plane passed directly over ground zero. Two empty foot prints remain. It's still a chilling sight. I hear the memorial will finally be ready next year. I hope that's true. That way rather than the phrase being "Never Forget," it can become "Always Remember."

Here's what it will look like.

Coach Mo Returns, Coach Jai's a Star

It was a heckuva summer for the Vipers assistant coaches. The head coach did his thing. Chris Finch continued to turn anything he touched into gold.

Assistant coach Paul Mokeski got to assist him and also continue to expand his knowledge of international basketball, making his first coaching stop in Europe, while assistant coach Jai Steadman did everything from coaching the D-League Select Team and in the D-League national tryouts to helping out at the first Vipers open tryout (in Houston on August 27) to being a TV star.

Let's start with Coach Mokeski. He brought fans on a journey around the world this summer, but he did more than just keep us up to date on the Jamaican and British National Teams, he told us a little about himself. Coach Mokeski truly showed us his enthusiasm and love for the game. You could tell he was thrilled to be there and we got to learn along with him.

Saw him for the first time since he returned today. Always good to see him. A really nice guy. I think I've managed to goat him into a battle of the blogs. His blog developed a pretty good following this summer. We compared some of the numbers. It looks like we're pretty much even. So the question is, who can get the most views during the season?

As for Coach Jai, well, besides his D-League, Rockets and Vipers coaching responsibilities this summer, he's been a great member of the community. I said TV star, though, didn't I? The video below speaks for itself.







Thanks Coach!