Bear Down Wildcats

Like the NFL board, figured we needed one of these to capture updates about former Cats that don't have their own thread.

Here's a SacBee article on Derrick. He's in the last year of his contract. Didn't get much playing time with the Wolves, traded to the Kings early last year. Once they gave him some minutes, he started becoming a scoring monster. Then late in the year they picked up Gay and put Derrick on the bench. Now he's voluntarily playing in the Summer League to show the Kings what they traded for (and hopefully get a good 2nd contract).


Kings’ Williams gets message, gets aggressive
By Jason Jones
Published: Monday, Jul. 14, 2014 - 9:00 pm

LAS VEGAS -- Derrick Williams doesn’t need to be reminded how important the upcoming season is for him.

Williams, in the final year of his contract, needs to prove his value in the NBA.

Perhaps that led him to try too hard early in the NBA Summer League. After two forgettable games, he scored 17 points in the Kings’ 89-75 win over NBA D-League Select on Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center. In the first two games, he had 20 points on 5-of-16 shooting before making 6 of 10 shots Monday.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/14/655635 ... rylink=cpy

Where he needs to get aggressive is on defense.

Lute's former players continue to raking in the dough. Combined salaries exceed $1B.

Nice to see Gimino back at writing and posting.

$1 billion earned: Lute's recruits still raking in big money

http://msn.foxsports.com/arizona/story/ ... ies-070714

UAtrue wrote:Lute's former players continue to raking in the dough. Combined salaries exceed $1B.

Nice to see Gimino back at writing and posting.

$1 billion earned: Lute's recruits still raking in big money

http://msn.foxsports.com/arizona/story/ ... ies-070714

Update: Jordan Hill making $18M over 2 years with the Lakers.

Sources: Timberwolves shopping forward Chase Budinger

The Minnesota Timberwolves are shopping forward Chase Budinger in trade talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Among talks with several teams, the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets have shown an interest, league sources said.

Houston is reluctant to take on the $5 million player option Budinger’s deal has in 2015-16, as are the Pistons, sources said. Nevertheless, the Pistons are taking a long look at Budinger and considering the possibility of making a deal. No trade is considered imminent for Budinger.

The Wolves have a glut of forwards, and Budinger could struggle to find minutes this season. Budinger also is guaranteed $5 million for the 2014-15 season.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--t ... 57155.html

Too funny Miles!

Nick Johnson looks to be the odd man out with isiah cannon

Nick tied with Jason Terry (played in only two games due to injury) for worst performance by former Arizona players in the 2014 NBA preseason.

Marcus Williams, after signing a $915,243 make-good contract with the Denver Nuggets, did not make good.

http://www.arizonawildcats.com/ViewArti ... =209735649

TUCSON, Ariz. – With the NBA regular season set to begin on Tuesday, the Arizona men’s basketball program is represented by 12 former players currently on NBA rosters.

Jerryd Bayless is entering his seventh season in the NBA, and first with the Milwaukee Bucks. The 11th overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft has career averages of 8.5 points and 2.9 assists per game, and advanced to the postseason three times in his six years in the league.

Chase Budinger is in his third year with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and his sixth season in the league. A second-round draft pick by Detroit in 2009, he was traded on draft night to Houston, where he spent his first three NBA seasons. Budinger has career averages of 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

Channing Frye is in his first year in Orlando, and his ninth as a pro, after signing with the Magic as a free agent this summer. The eighth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft was a first-team All-Rookie selection in 2006 and owns career averages of 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He is also 38.5 percent shooter for his career from outside the arc.

Joining Frye in Orlando for his first NBA season is Aaron Gordon, who became UA’s latest lottery pick in 2014 when the Magic selected him fourth overall. Gordon was the 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for the Wildcats, averaging 12.4 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game in his lone season in Tucson.

Jordan Hill, the eighth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, is in his sixth year in the league and third full season with the Lakers. He has averaged 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds for his career and helped lead the Lakers to the playoffs twice in his tenure in Los Angeles.

A second-year pro, Solomon Hill was the Pacers’ first-round draft pick in 2013. He played in 28 games for a veteran-laden Indiana team last season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds as the Pacers made the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Andre Iguodala is entering his second year with the Golden State Warriors, which will mark his 11th season in the NBA. He has been in the playoffs seven times in his first 10 years in the league. Iguodala was named to the NBA All-Defensive first team in 2014 and the second team in 2011, won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2012 Olympics and has career averages of 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

Iguodala teams with three former Arizona players on his coaching staff in Golden State, as Steve Kerr is entering his first season as the team’s head coach and Bruce Fraser and Luke Walton both serve as Warriors’ assistants.

Richard Jefferson is in his first season with the Dallas Mavericks, marking his 14th year in the NBA. He was the 13th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft and has posted career averages of 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Jefferson is a nine-time playoff participant, won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2004 Olympics and was a second-team All-Rookie selection in 2002.

Grant Jerrett is in his second year with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization, and is currently rehabbing from injury. He was a second-round pick by Portland in the 2013 NBA Draft, and was dealt to the Thunder on draft night. He was the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA D-League Draft by the Tulsa 66ers and was named to the D-League All-Rookie second team after averaging 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

The Rockets’ second-round pick in 2014, Nick Johnson is entering his first season with the Rockets. He was a first-team All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year at UA in 2014, averaging 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Johnson is joined in Houston by another former UA All-American in Jason Terry, who is entering his 16th season in the league and first with the Rockets. An NBA champion in 2011 with Dallas, Terry has career averages of 15.4 points and 4.4 assists per game. He was 10th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, and was named the 2009 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Derrick Williams is in his first full season with the Sacramento Kings, marking his fourth year in the NBA. The second overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft has career averages 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds, and was an NBA All-Rookie second team selection in 2011.

In the summer of 2013, ESPN ranked Arizona sixth among all college programs in terms of producing top NBA talent over the last two-plus decades.

UA players have been far from content by just hearing their names called on draft night, however. As has been reported by various media outlets, the fraternity of Arizona’s NBA players has surpassed the collective $1 billion mark in career earnings.

Collectively, the Wildcat players who have been drafted since 1988 are an accomplished group, having won 13 NBA championships and made six All-Star appearances. The group boasts a Rookie of the Year (Damon Stoudamire), a Sixth Man of the Year (Jason Terry) and a Most Improved Player (Gilbert Arenas).

For the latest updates on Arizona men’s basketball and an inside look at the program, follow @APlayersProgram on Twitter and @uaplayersprogram on Instagram.

Add Will Bynum - currently with the Boston Celtics.

Since they mentioned Pitstop Jerrett, though I would look up Shakur since he was also in the D league last year.

Looks like he is playing in Lithuania.

KaibabKat wrote:Add Will Bynum - currently with the Boston Celtics.

Not anymore

Houston's plan for Nick involves time in the D League as they have done with previous rookies:

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2014/10 ... raft-picks

Bummer. Canaan is legit enough to take some mins from Harden

Jordan Hill had an awesome game tonight. 10 of 15 for 23 points.

Derrick Williams didn't get off the bench tonight.

Jefe wrote:Bummer. Canaan is legit enough to take some mins from Harden

Yeah you could see that coming in the summer league! Nick dominated the Orlando session and then Cannan played in the Las Vegas session and NJ was set aside!

Nick isnt playing right now due to a sore lower back. He played 4 mins against the Celts on Saturday though so first game in the books!

Anyone see Kerr's first game last week? Jud Buechler was with some buddies in the first row behind the Warriors bench. After the buzzer went off Steve went back and got high fives from all the guys

AG with a nice block of dougie mc buckets 3pointer right now

Solo had a pretty nice game. 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting with 8 rebounds/ in 37 minutes. Played ok defense. On offense though he looked pretty stagnant. Not sure what the Pacers offensive philosophy is, but Solo kind of planted himself in the right corner and waited for passes that never came.

AG with 17pts (6 pts in overtime; 6-9 shooting overall with 2-2 3's and 3-3 fts ) 6 boards, 1 assist and 2 blocks vs. the T-Wolves

Solo went for 28 tonight.

Chicat wrote:Solo went for 28 tonight.

On 10/19 shooting with 6 boards, 3 steals and and assist!

In his rookie season Solomon played a grand total of 226 minutes. In the first seven games this year (all starts) he has already played 222 minutes.

KaibabKat wrote:In his rookie season Solomon played a grand total of 226 minutes. In the first seven games this year (all starts) he has already played 222 minutes.

That's because Indiana has been decimated by injuries. But it's nice to see Solo step up and take advantage of the playing time.

Solo is more assertive on offense, more so than even the first few games. The shooting percentage is fantastic.

Gordon's last game was exceptional down the stretch. The offensive stats don't tell the full story. He was on the floor late in the game because of excellent interior defense. The Orlando announcers were pleasantly surprised by his contributions, and of course, his athleticism was on display on both ends.

Bright futures for both!

12 pts, 6 boards and 7 (!) assists for Jordan Hill in the Lakers first win of the season.

Gordon breaks foot, out indefinitely.

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/2014/11/16 ... roken-foot

Merkin wrote:Gordon breaks foot, out indefinitely.

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/2014/11/16 ... roken-foot

Sucks. Gordon really needs all the playing time that he can get as he adapts to the league. Big time setback on development.

Very sad for AG

Really sad about Aaron's luck.

Now, Nick gets assigned to the D League:
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/11/18/ ... -d-league/

Both of these guys will be back.

DWill had the most minutes off the bench last night for the Kings. Ended up with 10 points, 2 rebounds, & 2 assists.

Chicat wrote:DWill had the most minutes off the bench last night for the Kings. Ended up with 10 points, 2 rebounds, & 2 assists.

Kings’ Williams capitalizes on recent chances to play

There’s nothing like a contract year to bring out the best work habits in a player....

In the past two games, he has played more than he had in the previous 11, and the Kings have liked what they’ve seen. Williams has been active and aggressive, as expected for a player with his athletic ability. Williams hopes to show that when his rookie contract expires at the end of the season, he will deserve a new deal....Before the past two games, Williams had scored 11 points all season. He has played 52 minutes in the past two contests after playing 43 for the season in seven appearances

Keep working at it Derrick; if not the Kings, then another team will notice and give you the chance.

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacram ... rylink=cpy

Grant Jerrett made his NBA debut tonight after spending last year in the D-League and rehabilitating from off season ankle surgery this past July. He scored 3 points and grabbed 1 rebound in 9 minutes of action against the NY Knicks. It should come as no surprise if he were to effectively replace Nick Collison on the Thunder team before the end of this season.

AG breaking world records in his spare time:

http://websta.me/p/866810171445190886_1259753047

https://vine.co/v/OvLFrQUOTuH

Here's a video of it. Nice job Nick.

I didn't even notice it was against LaVine. Priceless.

AZCatGirl wrote:I didn't even notice it was against LaVine. Priceless.

And Jason Terry passed him the ball.

I really don't get why DWill isn't getting consistent minutes. His last five games go:


- 17 minutes, 6-8 fgs, 1 rb, 14 points
- 0 minutes, 0-0, 0, 0
- 14 minutes, 8-12 fgs, 4 rbs, 18 points
- 0 minutes, 0-0, 0, 0
- 17 minutes 3-6 fgs, 4 rbs, 9 points

This is like his time in Minny all over again.

From Facebook:


Zona Zoo
29 mins ·

Congratulations to Jason Terry on being the 3rd player in NBA history to make 2,000 career 3-pointers!

NJ back to the Rio Grande Vipers. 23 last night off the bench. The Vipers have 4 Johnson's on the roster including a Jaron and a Geron

AG out of his boot and in shoes. Still wont be back for at least a month or more

DWill started at Minn. Scored 17 and hit a late 3 that put them up to seal the win

When it comes to University of Arizona basketball practices, it's all about the gold jersey. To the players the jersey is literally treated like gold. The premise behind the sought-after uniform? The Wildcat that has the best week of practice gets to wear the jersey the following week -- and doesn't have to run sprints.

Solomon Hill rarely relinquished the jersey his last two years at Arizona.

“The thing is even if you're just trying to win the gold jersey so you don't have to run, you still had a good week of practice,” Hill said. “If you have a good week of practice you're building good habits. So it's hard to have good weeks of practice and nothing good happens in the games. So [for me] it became trying to knock them together: gold jersey after gold jersey after gold jersey.”

http://www.si.com/nba/2015/01/05/solomo ... nnie-walsh

Nice summary of the current status of the former Cats in the league put out by the UA.


Wildcats in the NBA Update
Courtesy: Arizona Athletics
Release: 01/07/2015

http://www.arizonawildcats.com/ViewArti ... =209838237