Archive for December 2nd, 2012

Catching up with ex-Huskies: Lamb scores 33 in D-League debut

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Jeremy Lamb has the dubious honor of becoming the first 2012 lottery pick in the NBA Developmental League. Of course, Lamb is operating under different circumstances than most other top draft choices: He was traded to Oklahoma City, a championship contender, and buried behind Kevin Durant, Kevin Martin and Thabo Sefolosha.

Jeremy Lamb (AP)

In his first game with the Tulsa 66ers, Lamb dropped 33 points and grabbed 10 boards (for what it’s worth, he did take 33 shots, which is ridiculous). He’d be lucky to get 33 field goal attempts the entire season with OKC.

Here’s a look at some other young ex-Huskies in their new homes:

*Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats: Has reached double-figures in all but one game, a goose egg in a 114-69 throttling versus Oklahoma City. For the year, Walker is averaging 16.3 points and 5.9 assists.

*Hasheem Thabeet, Oklahoma City Thunder: Posted first career double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in blowout victory over Walker’s Bobcats. Averaging a career-high 13.1 minutes per game.

*A.J. Price, Washington Wizards: Averaging career-high 8.9 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds. The downside: Price is shooting 35.4 percent from the floor.

*Jeff Adrien, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBDL): Tallied 29 points and 13 rebounds in victory on Nov. 24.

*Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: Single-digits in four straight games after a 13-point, 13-rebound performance against Toronto. Shooting 40 percent from the free throw line (which is over 10 percent better than his freshman season at UConn).

*Alex Oriakhi, Missouri Tigers: Averaging 10.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in his senior season with Mizzou.

Notes/Quotes from Dec. 2: “It doesn’t revolve around him and that’s what makes him such a great person.”

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UConn guard R.J. Evans  — who Ollie calls “the rock” of the team — may return to action Tuesday against N.C. State.

After missing the past two games with a sternalclavicular sprain, Evans said he’ll likely be a gametime decision when the Huskies take on the No. 18 Wolfpack in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

R.J. Evans (AP)

“I’ve been in the training room twice a day,” Evans said. “I felt like I had a lot of progress on it. I felt pretty good today.”

Some other comments on Evans, Madison Square Garden and N.C. State from Sunday’s practice:

*Shabazz Napier on Evans: “He brings back that leadership. Against UNH, we kind of played selfish a little bit. We missed having RJ. RJ would have kept us in our plays, he would have kept us going. He’s a key guy. A lot of people see him on the court and they’re like ‘why is he on the court?’ but he does all the things and intangibles that you need to win games.”

*Kevin Ollie on Evans: “It doesn’t revolve around him and that’s what makes him such a great person. He just wants to give to others. And that’s what I’m trying to teach my team.”

*Napier on Madison Square Garden: “You never know who is there. My freshman year, Bill Clinton was there, Carmelo Anthony was there.”

*Omar Calhoun, a Brooklyn native, on playing in Madison Square Garden for the first time: “I’ve been there a couple of times to watch the Knicks play. It’s definitely something I want to be a part of, being on that court, having that feeling.”

*Tyler Olander on his ongoing foul trouble: “We looked on the tape with the coaches. I’ve been a step slow with everything, with my help and recovering back to me guy. And not being straight up, just reaching a little bit…It’s a little harder, just to stay in the flow of the game when I’m coming in and coming right back out. You just have to maintain focus and always be ready.”

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