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Posted 3-25-09

It’s getting close to the homestretch for the Idaho Stampede and the 2008-09 NBA Development League season. The season ends on April 11, and as things stand right now, Utah would edge the Stampede for the West Division championship. But the Flash hold a slim .001 lead in the standings, and Utah has 11 games left, while the Stampede play 6 more contests.

There’s been a shakeup in the playoff picture, which looks like this right now. Bakersfield has leap-frogged over Dakota into the 6th seed. Albuquerque has moved past Erie for the final playoff spot, and Utah as jumped from 5th to 2nd. Remember, the three division winners and the team with the highest winning percentage will host first-round games:

1. Colorado 29-12 .707

2. Utah 24-15 .615

3. Iowa 25-17 .595

4. Austin 27-15 .643

5. Idaho 27-17 .614

6. Bakersfield 25-19 .568

7. Dakota 23-20 .535

8. Albuquerque 22-20 .524

9. Erie 23-21 .523 .5

10. Sioux Falls 22-22 .500 1.0

11. Reno 19-23 .452 3.0

12. Rio Grande Valley 18-24 .429 4.0

Under this scenario, Idaho would be the fifth seed, and would play at one of the top four teams in the first game. But of course, like I said, there’s a lot of games left to be played. The Stampede play two at home (April 8 and 10 vs. Bakersfield), and four on the road (at Reno, Dakota, Sioux Falls and Utah).

Utah has 7 of its final 11 at home, with road games at Colorado, Bakersfield, Los Angeles and Anaheim. Let’s take a look at the relative strength of each teams’ remaining opponents: Utah’s are a collective 151-149 (.503), while the Stampede foes are collectively 109-99 (.524).

One key may be that the Flash play 7 games in the first 11 days in April, with two back-to-backs, while Idaho doesn’t have any back-to-back games and plays 6 games in 15 days. And, starting with Thursday night, the Flash play three in a row (at Colorado, home vs. Anaheim). Those off-days may turn out to be big at the end. The final game of the season is potentially a biggie: Idaho at Utah. The Stampede own the tie-breaker over the Flash, thanks to winning the season series, which currently stands at 4-1. Obviously Coach Bryan Gates and the Stampede are hoping that the season doesn’t come down to that game in Orem. If Idaho were to win their final six and finish with a 33-17 record, Utah would have to play .900 ball (win 10 of 11) to overtake them.

That’s an awful lot of numbers, and really all Idaho is thinking about now is Saturday’s rematch with the Bighorns in Reno. There’s a score to settle between these two teams, and Idaho wants to avenge the 119-115 loss to Reno in Boise last Saturday.

When the Stampede take the court at the Reno Events Center Saturday, it will most likely be without Nate Jawai. The rookie was recalled by the Toronto Raptors this week, and when I asked Toronto’s Director of Player Personnel, Jim Kelly, whether Nate would be returning to the Stampede, he said it all depends on the health of some of the Raptors’ players. If the Raptors are still shorthanded, Nate will likely stay with the NBA club. Otherwise, he may come back for the home stretch.

But, judging by Jawai’s comments to the Toronto media after he was recalled, he may not be so happy to come back to the D-League. In interviews with the Toronto Sun and the National Post, he equated the Stampede and the D-League with high school, and said he was not warmly welcomed when he arrived in Boise. The only good that came out of the assignment, he said, was that he was able to get into shape after not playing much for Toronto. From the National Post: “Despite the boon to his conditioning, Jawai hopes he has seen the last of Idaho. He said the atmosphere in Australia, where he played professionally last year, was better than it was in the D-League. And after practicing at a Boys and Girls Club in Idaho and working out at a public Gold’s Gym, he is about ready to resume living the NBA lifestyle.” The other good thing, Jawai said, was that he had his own room, and was treated like an NBA player.

In the Toronto Star, Jawai said much the same things, but said the players who were “mean” to him came around in a few days. Still, he said the D-League is a guard-dominated league where everyone just wants to get their points, stats, to get a call-up to the NBA. “I tried to play as much team ball as I could, but with guys trying to get their own, you don't get to see the ball as much,” he said. “I tried to not let that affect me but I got frustrated a little bit because we lost a couple of games when I was there. It looked bad on me because I went in there and they could blame the losses on me. But you just have to take it on the chin and keep going.”

I have to say that I didn’t see this side of Nate when he was here. He was pleasant, and seemed to have a good attitude. Maybe once he got back to Toronto he felt more comfortable speaking his mind. Either way, in his 10 games (9 starts), he averaged about 12 points and 6.5 rebounds a night, and was given a chance to play through foul trouble.

Idaho is hoping to have Luke Jackson back in the lineup, maybe in time for the final two home games on April 8 and 10, and the road game at Utah the 11th, leading into the playoffs. Luke’s been home in Oregon, and has been getting treatment and rehabbing his injured ankle at the sports medicine facilities at the University of Oregon. When he returns, the question will be how much confidence he’ll have in the ankle and whether he’ll be comfortable slashing to the hoop like he was before suffering the injury. Numerous reports suggest that Luke was this close to getting another NBA call-up before he got hurt.

I think Coach Gates’ biggest concerns right now have to be the defensive breakdowns his club has suffered in recent games. Reno was able to get a basket from under the rim off an inbounds play with :01 left on the shot clock the other night; Gates knew what play the Bighorns were going to run, and he yelled instructions to his team before the play. But Reno converted anyway. When it gets to the playoffs, defense wins (unless you’re the high-flying Colorado 14ers, who will try to outscore everybody!). Gates is going to use the days off before the post-season starts, I’m sure, working out the kinks in his defense.

Setting Sun: Enough, already! I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit tired of the NBA Development League pumping up Sun Yue of the D-Fenders. Have you looked at the league’s website lately? Every headline is Sun Yue this, Sun Yue that. In fact, after Tulsa beat the D-Fenders one game last week, the headline was “Sun Yue, D-Fenders edged by Tulsa.” Before Idaho played Los Angeles, the website touted, “Watch Sun Yue play tonight!”

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that Sun has injured his knee and will miss 3-6 weeks, and certainly will miss the rest of the D-Fenders’ season. Even with that, there’s currently a link on the D-League site to “Watch video of Sun Yue’s Game.

” I realize that there are something like 3 billion potential NBA fans in China, and the league is hoping to showcase its Chinese stars to that audience. But all this for a guy who averaged less than 10 points a game in six games, and shot under 40 percent from the field? Brutal.

How ‘bout Mike? Congratulations to former Stampede guard Mike Taylor. In a horrific season for the Los Angeles Clippers, Mike had a career-high 35 tonight at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. Of course you know that Mike was the first D-Leaguer drafted in the NBA, and he’s had a frustrating season, missing a lot of time with a hand injury. But against the Knicks, he was 14-20 from the field, 7-7 from the line, had 8 rebounds and 3 assists in his 36:45 of playing time off the bench. And the Clippers won only their 18th game of the season, 140-135 in overtime.

That’s enough for now…hopefully the days off since last Saturday have helped get players healthy and ready for the home stretch. Don’t miss the games at Reno and then the trip to Bismarck and Sioux Falls (better than playing in the Dakotas in January!) on AM 630, KIDO. And we’ll see you at U.S. Bank Court at Qwest Arena for the final two home games of the regular season April 8 and 10 against Bakersfield!

Posted 3-10-09

Now that’s a nice way to kick off the last month and a half of the season! Idaho won its second straight road game, and only it’s second in the last nine away from home, with a dramatic come from behind 105-100 win at Utah Monday night.

Trailing by as much as 21 in the third quarter, Idaho owned the second half, outscoring the hosts, 58-36 including 35-16 in the final quarter. The Stampede took the lead for good with 1:20 to go on a pair of Lance Allred free throws. Foul shooting was a big key in this game, as Idaho was 17-22 in the second half (28-38 for the game) while Utah was only 5-6 from the stripe in the second half, after shooting 18-19 in the first two quarters. Idaho played much better defense in the second, and stayed out of foul trouble.

Luke Jackson continued his strong play, with 29 points, and Mohammed Abukar contributed 21 off the bench.

There’s something about the McKay Events Center in Orem that the Stampede like. During the D-League Showcase in January, Idaho overcame a 25-point third quarter deficit to beat Fort Wayne 99-96. Interestingly, the Stampede took the lead for good in that contest with 1:20 left to play, the same as they did last night against the Flash. In three games in Orem, Idaho is a perfect 3-0 after the two Showcase wins and the win Monday night.

With the win, the Stampede are now 1.5 games up on Utah in the West with two more head-to-head meetings against the Flash, both in Orem. Idaho is now 3-1 against Utah in the season series.

More than anything, I think it was a statement game against a division rival that had won 7 of its last 9 games and was confident and kicking off an eight-game homestand. Coach Brad Jones’ team even had two players assigned from the parent Utah Jazz, Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko, but maybe they disrupted the chemistry more than they helped. Almond did score 22, but only 6 in the second half. Fesenko was a non-factor, with 2 points and 2 rebounds in 7:30 of play.

Now each team has won a game on the other’s home floor, and as things stand now, both are in the playoff picture. In fact, if the playoffs were to start today (and they don’t!) Idaho would be the second seed and Utah the 5th.

Speaking of the playoffs, this season 8 of the 16 teams will make the post-season, with the three division winners and the next five teams with the best winning percentages, regardless of divisions, qualifying for post-season.

So after Monday’s game, the seeding would be:

1) Colorado (Southwest Division leader)

2) Idaho (West Division leader)

3) Iowa (Central Division leader)

4) Austin

5) Utah

6) Dakota

7) Erie

8) Bakersfield

Number nine and on the outside looking in right now is Albuquerque. The unique thing about the playoffs is that the first three seeds, the division winners, get to choose which of the teams that finish 5-8 they want to play. So as it stands now, Colorado would get first choice, and host that one game, Idaho would choose second and host, and Iowa would choose third and host. Austin would play whichever team was left from the bottom four qualifiers. First and second round series are one-game, and the finals are best-of-three, starting on the lower seed’s home court with the final two, if necessary, at the higher seed (just like last year, when Idaho opened the finals at Austin and then played Games 3 and 4 in Boise).

Of course, things could change dramatically over the last six weeks of the season. Colorado leads Austin by just .021, and has played fewer games than the Toros. They’re essentially tied for the division lead, but the 14ers have the top spot based on winning percentage. In the Central division, Iowa leads both Dakota and Erie by just one game. Idaho enjoys the largest division lead at 1.5 games.

As it stands now, the West and Central divisions would qualify three teams each, the Central two. But as I said, a lot can change over the next few weeks.

There’s been a lot of player movement over the past couple of weeks, more than we’ve seen all year. Reno traded its All-Star, Antonio Meeking for David Noel from Albuquerque and acquired Rod Benson from Dakota for Mackay, Idaho native (and Idaho State University product) Jesse Smith. The Bighorns have also said goodbye to Damone Brown (personal reasons – he was arrested in connection with a drug ring in Buffalo) and Gerry McNamara (personal reasons) and now have 98 players on their current roster after picking up Lamar Butler on Monday (waived by Colorado March 5th). And before, they had three Syracuse alums, now they have none.

A number of teams have re-made themselves in an attempt to gain a playoff spot, but for the most part, Idaho has stood pat. They picked up Abukar from Austin for Dwayne Jones and of course, had Toronto assign Nate Jawai. But overall, Coach Bryan Gates has stuck with the core of his team. Still, looking at the lineup these days, it’s a far cry from the starting five that opened the season.

Way back on November 29, Idaho lined up against Anaheim this way: Ernest Scott and Jermareo Davidson at forward, Lance Allred in the middle, and Brent Petway and Coby Karl at guard. Against Utah last night, they started with Petway and Jawai up front along with Allred, and a backcourt of Luke Jackson and Kevin Burleson. Scott is now with Rio Grande Valley, Davidson is with the Golden State Warriors, and Karl is playing in Spain. So only Petway and Allred are still in the lineup, and Brent has shifted to forward.

Of the Idaho opening day roster, six of the original 10 players are still with the team (Allred, Petway, Jason Ellis, Jamaal Tatum, Mildon Ambres and Lanny Smith). Luke Jackson (December) and Roberto Bergersen (January) rejoined the team they helped to win last year’s title, Burleson was picked up in a trade from Iowa in late January, and Abukar came over in the trade with Austin.

Burleson got to see his younger brother, Lyndale, play against Boise State on Saturday night for the University of Nevada. He had 3 points, 3 rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes in the Wolf Pack’s 9-point win over BSU. Of course, Burleson’s other brother, Nate, is a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. Kevin scored 7 points in the win at Utah Monday, and is averaging 9.7 points and 4 assists in his 10 games with Idaho (6 starts). He’s the kind of veteran point guard that Coach Gates is relying on to settle his young guards down. Jamaal Tatum is more of a “2,” or shooting guard, and Lanny Smith has played well in spots, and is a key defender. But he sometimes dribbles too much and has been inconsistent in running the offense. But both Tatum and Smith were on the floor during the rally at Utah, and they compliment each other well.

Luke Jackson is averaging 21 points in four games against Utah, and against the next three opponents (Anaheim, L.A. and Rio Grande Valley), he’s averaging 15, 20 and 10 points per game. Idaho needs his leadership and all-around strong play over the rest of the season to lock down a playoff spot.

(Briefly) Around the League: Please welcome your Maine Beacons! (Or Crushers!) (Or Claws!) Those are just three of the nicknames that the new D-League expansion team in Portland, Maine will have next season when it opens play. The name-the-team contest is underway now, and besides those three, the other candidates are: The Destroyers, Red Claws (in honor of the late Red Auerbach), Swarm or Trap. Ugh.

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the NBA has devised what’s being called a “hybrid affiliation” for D-League franchises. Under the plan, NBA clubs control their D-League affiliate without buying them. The parent club would assign coaches and make all player personnel decisions. The cost of this arrangement would be between $300,000-400,000 per season to pay for run the basketball side of the business, including coaches, players and trainers. The local owners would continue to own the club. Right now, all D-League players sign contracts with the league, and the teams hire their own coaching staff and medical personnel.

13 of the 16 D-League teams are owned by local owners, with Los Angeles, Austin and Tulsa being owned by their NBA clubs (L.A. Lakers, San Antonio and Oklahoma City). So under this scenario, it would be possible for one of the Stampede’s two NBA affiliates, Portland or Toronto, to come in and completely run the team, and leave the business side (marketing, ticket sales, PR, etc.) to the existing front office. I don’t know how this would fly with the Stampede ownership group, but I intend to find out.

See you at U.S. Bank Court at Qwest Arena for a key 3-game homestand this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday!

Posted 3-03-09

Well, sorry it’s been a while since I last sent an entry…the “real” job has kept me hopping! So I’ve written a lot to catch up!

But here we are, getting ready for the D-League’s version of March Madness. Idaho enters March in first place in the West, but just barely.

A weekend split at home against Utah gave the Stampede a 1-game lead over the Flash with the next game between the two on March 9th in Orem. The Stampede have a 2-1 lead in the season series, and all three have been in Boise. The schedule for the Flash would appear to favor them the rest of the way; Utah plays 12 of their final 16 games at home, where they’re 8-4. Utah is 11-9 on the road.

The Stampede, on the other hand, has 7 at home and 7 on the road the rest of the way. But, uncharacteristically, Idaho is under .500 away from home, with a 7-11 mark. In their first D-League season, Idaho was 15-10 on the road, and during last year’s championship season, the home mark was 17-8. So this is unfamiliar territory for Bryan Gates and his team. Idaho has lost 7 of its last 10 road games, including 7 of its last 8. If Idaho wants to hold onto the lead in the division and make a charge in the playoffs, winning on the road will be critical. Two road games at Utah, and single games at Colorado and Reno are on the March slate.

The newest Stampede, big Nate Jawai, played his first two games in an Idaho uniform against Utah. And, not a bad showing, considering the 22-year-old played the most minutes in a real game in nearly a year.

The young Aussie was hampered by heart problems that delayed his working out with the Toronto Raptors. He got into just 5 games with the Raptors, played just over 3-and-a-half minutes, and scored 2 points and pulled down 2 rebounds. He made a layup with 1:12 left in a 93-76 home court loss to Cleveland on February 18.

But the Raptors have high hopes for Nate, as Toronto’s Senior Director of Player Personnel, Jim Kelly, told me during Saturday’s halftime radio interview. Toronto likes Jawai’s skills, however raw. He only started playing basketball six years ago, and was Rookie of the Year in the top Australian professional league, the NBL. Playing for the Cairns Taipans, Jawai averaged 17.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and one block per game. He led his team in scoring, and was the 18th leading scorer in the league. He also shot 57.5% from the field, good for fifth best in the league. His 9.6 rebounds a game was second, and he was also 4th in offensive rebounds per game, with 3.3. So you can see he has talent. And that talent will be honed with the Stampede.

Expect to see Nate stay with Idaho for a while, depending on the injury situation in Toronto. He was supposed to be assigned earlier this season, but a depleted Raptors roster force the NBA club to keep him.

Coby Karl update: I’m not sure this is what Coby had in mind when he left the Stampede for DKV Joventut in Spain. He’s played in four games since leaving, and is averaging 5.3 points per contest. He’s averaging 10.5 minutes a game, compared to the 36.8 per game he played with the Stampede. All his stats – shooting percentage, 3-point percentage, assists, rebounds, steals – are down compared to his Idaho numbers. Only at the line, where he’s 9-of-10, is he performing better than he did with the Stampede.

He got the start on February 15th at Granada, and scored a season-high 12 points on 4-6 shooting (2-2 on 3’s), 2-2 from the line and he had 4 rebounds in 18 minutes. His team won the game, 92-86. Joventut is 3-1 with Karl, and currently resides in 3rd place with a 17-6 record. Next up is a March 7 showdown against Real Madrid, who is one game back in the standings.

Cory Violette update: Things are going pretty well with Cory, starting center for the Toshiba Brave Thunders in the Japan Basketball League. He’s 5th in the league in scoring at 16.6 per game, and leads in rebounding with 9.9 a game. Former UCLA star Charles O’Bannon is 7th in scoring (16.3 PPG) and Yuta Tabuse, who was the first Japanese player in the NBA and spent time in the D-League, leads the circuit in assists and steals per game. Unfortunately for Cory, the Brave Thunders are in 6th place in the 8-team league with two games left. The Aishin Sea Horses are the top JBL team at 23-10. Toshiba’s season ends March 7. Might Cory be tempted to return to Boise and try his hand at the D-League again?

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Lots to talk about, including news about one new team, a couple possible teams and one D-League club in trouble…in no particular order, here goes.

To no one’s surprise, Portland, Maine will be the newest team in the D-League next season. And, while formal affiliation decisions won’t be made for many months, the announcement looked like a Boston Celtics board meeting.

The unnamed team is run by a former Celtics coach, John Jennings. Investors include the folks behind TD Bank North, the sponsor of Boston’s arena. And Celtics officials gave the press conference at a Portland high school a certain green look to things. The Celtics have a relationship with the Utah Flash (thanks, Danny Ainge), but would certainly like their D-League team to be closer to Boston. Portland fits the bill.

Now that Portland’s in, can another Northeast team be far behind? As it stands now, Portland is 644 miles from the next closest team, Erie. That’s a long road trip. Boise to Portland is a mere 2,766 miles away. So, you can see that for travel purposes and to keep costs down, it would be good for the league to have another team or two in that area to help out.

What about Halifax, Nova Scotia? There’s a team in that Atlantic Canada city that draws nearly 3,000 fans a game to the Metro Centre. It plays in the Premier Basketball League, and is on the D-League radar. The Halifax Rainmen, currently 9-7 in the PBL’s Atlantic Division, are a team looking for a stable league. Their owner, Andre Levingston, has already hosted D-League President Dan Reed in his city, and has made no secret of his desire to join the D-League. It came close to happening before this season, but the D-League decided not to expand beyond the new teams in Erie and Reno. But Halifax could be a viable option, and while it’s a 587 trip by land, it can be an easy short flight from Boston.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is reported (New York Times, Nov. 12, 2007) to be backing a Knicks-affiliated team in Harlem, which would follow the legacy of the old Harlem Renaissance, or “Rens.” They were the first all-black team, and started play in 1922, playing their games in the old Renaissance Casino and Ballroom. A new version of the Rens, joined by teams in Halifax, Portland and Erie, could make up a decent Northeast Division.

Former D-League President Phil Evans is heading up a company looking to add a D-League team in the Richmond, Virginia area. The company, SportsQuest, LLC, is developing a $100-million, 35-acre sports and family entertainment center in Chesterfield County. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Evans’ goal is a D-League hoops team and an ECHL hockey team in their yet-to-be-built 6,000-seat arena as soon as 2011. He’d like the team to be affiliated with the Washington Wizards, who are current the NBA parent club for the Dakota Wizards. Washington, of course, had no comment. Evans certainly knows his way around the D-League, as he led the evolution of the league from an NBA-owned league in the Southeast to the local ownership and a national footprint (based mainly in the western US).

And then, there’s the Colorado 14ers. Currently the second-best team in the D-League, the squad is drawing the fewest fans (not counting the Los Angeles D-Fenders, who don’t sell tickets or count attendance for the JV games at Staples Center).

Colorado’s owners have given up management of their arena in Broomfield, and the future of both the basketball team and the hockey team they own are very much up in the air. The Denver Post’s NBA beat writer has blogged that he hears the basketball team’s demise is at hand. The 14ers are averaging only 1,132 fans per night, and they’re missing a great shot. The team leads the league in scoring with 117.5, and also gives up the most, 114.1. So if you like to see run-and-gun, up-and-down the court basketball, a 14ers ticket fits the bill.

One last note: the fine beat writer covering the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Todd Mavreles of the McAllen Monitor, reports that talks are ongoing between the Vipers and the Houston Rockets to hold part of next year’s training camp at the McAllen Convention Center. And they could play a preseason game at the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, just a couple of minutes away. The Vipers play at Dodge Arena.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Portland or Toronto, the Stampede’s NBA affiliates, held their camp here? NBA training camps generally open in early October, and last about a month. Sure there would be scheduling issues with the Idaho Steelheads, who open their season in October, but I think something could be worked out. The Utah Jazz have historically held a week or so of their camp in Boise at BSU, but that was done in part because their late owner, Larry Miller, owned a series of car dealerships in this area. It will be interesting to see whether the Jazz come back next year. Anyway, Portland makes sense geographically, and Toronto hosted a Stampede player tryout camp before this season, so the relationship with both teams is solid. We’ll have to see what develops.

Posted 2-04-09

The Stampede are coming off a busy week…four games in five nights. Idaho finished 3-2, losing twice to the Los Angeles D-Fenders. One in LA, and one in Boise.

That loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday proved to be costly in more ways than one…it cost Bryan Gates a chance to coach in the D-League All-Star Game for the second year in a row.

The league selected its coaches based on the winning percentage through games of January 27. Entering that afternoon’s contest with the D-Fenders, Idaho was 17-7, for a .708 winning percentage. That was behind Iowa’s .714 (15-6) and ahead of Austin’s .696 (16-7). But the overtime loss to L.A. dropped the Stampede’s record to 17-8, a .680 percentage, now third behind Austin. Had Idaho held onto some of its 17-point lead, the Stampede would have finished Tuesday with a .720 winning percentage, which would have meant Gates and his good friend, Iowa’s Nick Nurse, would have been the opposing All-Star coaches. Instead, Nurse and Austin’s Quin Snyder will patrol the sidelines in Phoenix on Valentines Day.

Idaho will be well- represented at All-Star festivities, as Brent Petway, the reigning D-League Slam Dunk champion, Lance Allred, the H-O-R-S-E champion, and Luke Jackson were named to the team yesterday.

I expected Allred and Petway would be on the All-Star team, and I suspected Luke Jackson would also make the team, but when you look simply at numbers, there are very few Stampede players among the league leaders. That’s a blessing and a curse. Blessing because it means the team is really a team, without any superstars to carry the load. It could be a different guy each night leading in scoring or rebounding.

It’s a curse because of times like these, when individual statistics jump out and highlight someone as a true star. Obviously, had Jermareo Davidson not been signed by Golden State for the rest of the season, he would have earned an All-Star spot. Likewise Coby Karl, who was Idaho’s leading scorer before leaving for a team in Spain.

The Stampede have three road games before the All-Star break; tonight at Erie, and then games at Tulsa on Saturday and Iowa on Sunday. The turnaround from Saturday to Sunday will be tough; a Saturday night in Bixby (outside of Tulsa) and then an afternoon game at Iowa, which is one of the best teams in the league.

Idaho’s record stands at 19-9…20 wins at the break would be a good number. I think that’s possible. Erie gave the Stampede fits in Boise, but the Bayhawks won 7 in a row before falling at Qwest Arena. It’s a winnable game and the first one of the trip. The Saturday game in Tulsa is winnable; the 66ers are only 2-8 in their new arena. Iowa, on top in the Central division, is a tougher challenge. I see a 21-10 record at the break. Last year after 31 games, Idaho was 24-7.

It’ll be interesting to see if newly acquired guard Kevin Burleson gets much playing time on the road trip. He saw only two minutes of action in the weekend games against Los Angeles. He’s now got the benefit of some practice time. Gates told me he picked up Burleson because he’s a “character guy” who’ll fit in to the existing personalities on this team. That’s the way Bryan built this year’s squad; yes, they’re quality players, but they’re good guys too. That’s important to him.

Mike Taylor update: the former Stampede guard, who made history as the first D-Leaguer to be drafted in the NBA Draft, is targeting a late-February return from thumb surgery. He suffered a fracture of his right thumb on December 19th and was expected to miss eight weeks. In 24 games (1 start) for the Clippers before being injured, Mike was averaging 3.4 points and 1.7 assists a game in 11.8 minutes per night. His injury coincided with the first game of a 12-game losing streak for the injury-plagued Clippers, who are struggling this season (10-35, 25.5 games behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division)

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Three games against Idaho agreed with the D-Fenders’ Joe Crawford, who was named the D-League’s Performer of the Week. In the games against Idaho, Crawford had 26, 29, and 24 points (26.3 PPG), averaged 44 minutes a game, shot 48% from the field, 82% from the line and turned the ball over only 8 times. Nice week.

Bighorns Sold: The Reno Bighorns have been sold. The owners of the Reno Triple-A baseball team, the Aces, have purchased the Bighorns basketball team for a figure reported to be “in the millions.” Nothing is expected to change in the Bighorns’ front office. This is an interesting development, because according to the Sacramento Bee, Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie had suggested to the Kings’ owners, the Maloof brothers, that they would benefit by owning the Reno team, which is the Kings’ D-League affiliate. Joe Maloof, who said Donte Greene’s assignment to the Bighorns was beneficial, said of the D-League, “So, yes, I like it a lot. I think it would be very good for us to have complete control over them (Bighorns) at some point.” Oops.

T-Birds change hands too: USA Today reports that Sam Bregman, a lawyer and prominent Albuquerque citizen, has taken over ownership of the Thunderbirds. He and his wife, Jackie, were formerly minority owners of the team.

CBA DOA: Sound the death knell for the Continental Basketball Association. The league that gave the Idaho Stampede its first home ended its season Tuesday. The victim of the poor economy and massive fan apathy, the once-proud league, the oldest professional league in the country, was down to just four teams: East Kentucky, Minot, Lawton-Fort Sill and Albany. Lawton-Fort Sill and Albany, the teams with the best records, play a best-of-three series in Albany this week to crown a champion. The CBA began play in April 1946 – as the Eastern Basketball League – two months before the birth of the NBA.

Former Stampede (and Boise State) forward Jermaine Blackburn ended the CBA season with the East Kentucky Miners as the league’s second-leading scorer at 20 PPG. He led the league with 2.3 steals a game and had the league high in steals in a game with 7 against Lawton-Fort Sill on January 16. But his team finished 7-7, and lost its last 3 in a row. In the Miners’ last game, a 98-90 loss at Albany on January 31, Blackburn led his team with 26 points.

While the CBA plans an owners meeting this weekend and there’s talk about restructuring the league and coming back, I wouldn’t count on it. I’d look to the Albany team maybe moving into the D-League (to partner with Portland, Maine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Harlem, NY) as new teams in the Northeast. They could join Erie and give the D-League a 5-team division in that part of the country, and a 20-team D-League. I have some questions about whether Albany would support the D-League, but given the storied history of the franchise, they might be able to pull it off…if the D-League gives them a chance. The Patroons only reported attendance at four of their five CBA home games this past season, averaging 1,116 fans a game, good for third in the four-team league. In the D-League, only Colorado (1,035) is averaging fewer fans. Of course, Los Angeles doesn’t sell tickets and so it lists the official per game crowd as 0. As a point of reference, the Stampede average 2,546 per game, which is 8th in the league. The league average is 2,666.

Next Idaho home game is February 19th against Iowa. Get your tickets now…we’ll see you there!

Posted 1-27-09

What a weekend! First of all, the Stampede played perhaps their worst game of the season (certainly their worst home game) last Wednesday, in an uninspired 105-98 loss to Albuquerque. That game proved to be the final one in a Stampede uniform for Coby Karl, who accepted an offer to play for Club Joventut in Badalona, Spain.

It was a stressful day for Coby, to be sure. And a major distraction for Coach Bryan Gates. Turns out that the Cleveland Cavaliers inquired about Coby’s availability, and offered him a 10-day contract shortly before tipoff against the Thunderbirds. But in the end, Coby decided to honor the commitment he made to the Spanish club. He told the Los Angeles Times that the NBA offer was, at best, two 10-day contracts, and he wants more than 20 days out of his next NBA contract. So he’ll be teammates with Ricky Rubio, perhaps the most hyped European player in years.

Rubio is compared to Pete Maravich, and, after a couple of years in the spotlight is old enough, making him eligible for the 2009 NBA Draft, where he’s expected to be an early selection. Expect Coby to get plenty of exposure to NBA scouts the rest of the season, as NBA teams make the pilgrimage to watch Rubio at work.

It was a scary moment Wednesday night against Albuquerque when Brent Petway and Jason Ellis, both going hard after a loose ball, collided. Ellis got up, but Petway stayed on the ground for a few minutes, and when he finally got up, he looked woozy and didn’t appear to have any idea where he was. It was later diagnosed as a minor concussion, and he sat out the rest of the game, playing only 12 minutes.

So, the shorthanded Stampede (having already lost Jermareo Davidson to a second 10-day NBA contract with the Golden State Warriors – more on him in a minute) had to face the D-League’s highest-scoring team on Friday night with only 8 players. But the team played one its best games of the year in a 129-111 win over the Colorado 14ers (more on the 14ers off-the-court issues later). Coach Gates was pleased with the intensity of his team, and not pleased with giving up 111 points. But Idaho led wire-to-wire, and got great games out of guards Lanny Smith and Jamaal Tatum, who combined for 38 points, 12 assists and only 6 turnovers.

And then, Idaho was down 15 to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Saturday night, before blitzing the visitors from Indiana for a 90-80 win. Idaho won the season series against Fort Wayne, after rallying from 25 down in the first meeting at the D-League Showcase in Utah earlier this month. Coach Jaren Jackson told me before the game that his young team is getting better (it had won 7 in a row before losing the night before playing the Stampede) and is learning how to close out games. But the Stampede showed that the Mad Ants still have some learning to do. Idaho held the second-highest team in the league to its lowest points of the season in the win.

One constant for the Stampede in this week of turmoil was Luke Jackson. He was named the D-League’s Performer of the Week, the first Stampede player to earn that honor this season. For the week, Luke averaged 24.3 points, 6.7 assists and played an average of 37.3 minutes per game. He also shot extremely well, 57-percent from the field, 82-percent from the line. Luke is now the Stampede’s leading scorer for the season, at 16.5 PPG (34th in the league).

Don’t look for Jermareo Davidson back in a Stampede uniform the rest of the year – or next year for that matter. After signing two 10-day contracts with Golden State, the Warriors signed Davidson for the rest of the year. Davidson told the San Jose Mercury News: “To me it's like another chance,” he said. “I wasn't sure how the playing time would go, but I just thought to give them what they asked for — mainly rebound, running the floor, block shots and staying focused so I could be ready to play. I've been sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for that chance, waiting for that opportunity to come out and show them right away.”

Davidson averaged a double-double for Idaho, with 16.1 points and 10.8 rebounds a game in his 15 games with the Stampede.

Warrior Coach Don Nelson told the paper, “We figure he's as good as anything we'd get in the second round, and from what they're telling me, we don't have a second-round pick. We got him signed for this year and one additional year, if he can make our squad.”

So, Idaho has 9 players right now. With four games this week, starting with today’s at Los Angeles, it’ll be interesting to see if fatigue sets in. And there’s still the chance that Toronto will send down Nathan Jawai. It looked like he was about to be assigned to the Stampede, but a rash of injuries forced the Raptors to delay his stint in the D-League. The 6’10” Aussie native has played just 5 minutes in two games with Toronto, as he regains his strength and fitness following concerns over a heart condition.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Rocky Mountain Low? Not all appears well with the Colorado 14ers franchise. Recent attendance at 14er games in the three-year-old Broomfield Events Center has been grim: 434vs. Albuquerque on January 20, and 834 last week against Bakersfield. That’s a lot of empty seats in the 5,800-seat building. Average attendance this season (including the 0 reported from the January 5 game against Austin) is 1,060. By comparison, Idaho is averaging 2,404 per game. The league leader is Fort Wayne, with 4,082 per game for their 11 home dates.

The team’s owners, Broomfield Sports and Entertainment, who have managed the building, have asked the city or Broomfield to hire someone else to operate the facility. The future of the 14ers appears to be shaky. In a recent story, the Broomfield Enterprise quotes Tim Weins, the principal of Broomfield Sports and Entertainment, who owns both the 14ers and the Central Hockey League’s Rocky Mountain Rage, said both teams will complete their current seasons. Whether they will play after that will be evaluated after the season ends, but Wiens is optimistic at least the hockey team will survive. “I'm quite sure there will be a long term commitment to the Rocky Mountain Rage and we'll look really closely at the 14ers,” Wiens said. Doesn’t sound promising, does it?

Now They Notice: The Sacramento Bee, in a story about Kings players honing their game in the D-League (Reno is the Kings’ affiliate) quotes Kings president Geoff Petrie as saying the D-League is a evolving into a valuable tool. “Going forward, you have some teams that own their own teams, and have control over the coaching, the way you want to play. That may become more prevalent. And it would be a great place to send a veteran player who had been injured and needed to get some rust off.”

Interesting to see Petrie is now such a booster of the potential of the D-League, since Sacramento didn’t send anyone to the league the last two years, and recalled Donte Greene after just seven days with the Bighorns.

From the Cart Before the Horse Department: Officially, Portland, Maine has not been granted an expansion team in the NBA Development League. Still, the Salem (MA) News reports that Cam Twiss will soon be named the operations manager for the franchise. John Jennings, a former Boston Celtics assistant, will be the new team’s CEO, president and general manager. He plans on making the new team a Celtics affiliate (goodbye, Utah Flash!). The paper reports that plans are already well underway to make improvements to the proposed team’s new home, the Portland ExpoBuilding: “We're planning on a lot of new seating, a new floor and will be investing money in the building,” Twiss said. The city, which owns the building, has approved a five-year lease for the team’s ownership, starting with the 2009-10 season.

If Portland is actually on board, that signals additional expansion in the Northeast, where the league would need at least two more teams to make the geography and travel work. Halifax, Nova Scotia wants in, and the word is NBA Commissioner David Stern wants a team in Harlem, NY. Those three cities could join Erie, PA, as the Northeastern division, making road trips more bearable.

Posted 1-9-09

Well, the D-League Showcase in Orem, Utah is over for this year, and for the Stampede, it was a success. They overcame the loss of their leading scorer and rebounder, Jermareo Davidson to a Gatorade Call-up by the Golden State Warriors, and then they rallied in both games to record a 2-0 mark in the Showcase.

The first game, a Tuesday morning affair against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, was the most dramatic comeback of all the 16 games played in Orem. Down 25 in the third quarter, the Stampede clamped down on defense and ratcheted up the offense to win 99-96. Not only was Davidson missing, but Luke Jackson sat out with a concussion suffered in the win over Austin the Saturday before. So, down to eight players, it took the Stampede time to get going. But when they did, the Idaho squad outscored Fort Wayne 60-37 in the second half. Seven of the eight Stampede players in uniform that day scored in double figures, led by Coby Karl’s near triple-double (20 points, 13 assists, 9 rebounds).

The next game, Jackson was back, and the script was about the same. This time facing the Tulsa 66ers, Idaho found itself down 40-34 at the half and took the lead for good on a Karl 3-pointer with 6:57 left in the game. Down the stretch, Idaho outscored Tulsa 16-3 to win going away, 82-68. Karl finished with 30, including 7-10 from beyond the arc. Lance Allred scored 16 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the win.

It didn’t get much easier for Idaho on Friday. They continued the road trip at Anaheim, where they’d split a pair in mid-December, falling by 15 and then winning by 1. The Arsenal gave Idaho all it can handle, and Tierre Brown’s 3-point bomb with Brett Petway in his face at the buzzer forced the game into overtime tied at 120. Neither side led by much in the extra period, and in fact, Anaheim tied it at 130 with a hoop with :04 to play, before Karl was fouled heading to the basket on a pass from up top, and he canned both free throws for the final 132-130 margin. Idaho shot an amazing 51-91 from the field for 56-percent. Anaheim was able to keep close on the foul line, shooting 43 free throw, and making 37, while the Stampede only went to the line 26 times, converting on 18.

While Davidson was the first call-up to the NBA from the Stampede this season, it seems as though Karl must be close. In the last five games, all wins, he’s averaging 22.4 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 41-69 (59.4%) from the field, 15-27 (56%) from 3-point range, 15-21 (71.4%) from the line. In an interview on NBA-TV during the Showcase, Coby’s dad, Denver Nuggets Head Coach George Karl, said Coby has the NBA skills, but he needs consistency to make it back to the league. He’s scored in double figures in 15 of 18 games, and is playing an average of 40.4 minutes per night.

The long road trip ends with a Sunday matchup at Bakersfield, and then 7 of the next 9 are back home in Qwest Arena. Idaho is 8-0 at home this season, one of only two D-League teams still unbeaten at home (Iowa is 6-0 at home).

Are the Stampede on the way to repeating as the best team in the league? It’s hard to say right now, but last year after 18 games, the Stampede were 13-5 and were 8 games into their record-setting 18 game winning streak. After 18 games this year, Idaho is 14-4, a .778 winning percentage. They’re on pace to win 38 games, which would be a league record. They were 36-14 last year.

Earlier I mentioned Jermareo Davidson’s call up to Golden State. The Warriors have yet to use him in a game, however. The San Francisco Chronicle did a great story on Jermareo when he signed, talking about how a tragedy when he was in college at Alabama affected his life. Here’s a link to the story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/07/SP2J154H7V.DTL&hw=Jermareo+Davidson&sn=001&sc=1000.

I have to wonder how long before an NBA team realizes the skills of Coach Bryan Gates. The two-time D-League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year Award winner, Gates is now 83-35 (.703) in regular-season games in two-plus seasons in the D-League. Gotta think he’s on the radar screen of at least one NBA club by now.

Think of it…Gates’ team has the best record in the league right now, and doesn’t have a single player in the Top 16 scorers in the league. He’s got his team buying into his system as the Stampede are playing lock-down defense (leading the league in field goal percentage defense) and are tops in defensive rebounding and overall rebounding percentage. They’re also tops in points allowed, with a stingy 94.6 given up a night.

SMUSH’d: Former Stampede guard Smush Parker, who was playing for Rio Grande Valley in an attempt to get back to the NBA, has left the Vipers for a team in China. Newspaper reports in Texas say the Chinese team has been after Parker for a while, and a sub-par performance at the Showcase apparently convinced him to take the big money in Asia. Parker’s the second Viper to leave Coach Clay Moser’s team for China this season. Forward Kendall Dartez left after 11 games. Parker was the team’s second-leading scorer (17.2) and led in assists with 7.5 a game. Former Stampede Alpha Bangura leads RGV with a 17.6 PPG average. Of course, Coach Moser is familiar to local hoops fans as the former coach and GM of the Stampede, and he also was head man at Treasure Valley Community College. The Vipers come to Boise March 14.

Elsewhere around the league: Reno, which has won straight after a 12-game losing streak, has gotten its first player from Sacramento. The Kings made Donte Greene from Syracuse their first-ever D-League assignment, and he’ll join former Syracuse stars Gerry McNamara and Damone Brown to give the Bighorns a definite “Orange” feel. The expansion Reno squad makes its first-ever visit to Boise this Thursday.

Utah has lost its two Boston Celtics-assigned players, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker, while picking up Kyrylo Fesenko from Utah.

Posted 12-20-08

Hi again! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this blog fired up for the new season, but hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.

When we last blogged, the Stampede were coming off the D-League Championship, beating the Austin Toros in three games to claim the crown at Qwest Arena. And now, the players, coaches and front office staff have collected their championship rings.

Coach Bryan Gates will be the first to tell you that last year is in the past, and it’s time to look ahead. And so far, his squad has done so. Even with several returning players (Lance Allred, Luke Jackson, Jason Ellis and Brent Petway) who helped win the title, there’s not been any complacency. The Stampede have started the season 5-1, and are a game behind the surprising (8-1) Bakersfield Jam.

In the past, Idaho’s been more guard-oriented. This year, the early-season strength of this club is the “bigs.” Allred is averaging just short a double-double (16 points, 9.7 rebounds) while newcomer Jemareo Davidson is showing why Idaho made him their first round draft pick (#3 overall) by averaging 18.4 PPG and 12 RPG. Add to that Ellis’ 8.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and you can see how this team’s strengths are inside. (If you’re doing the math, those three guys are combining for 42.5 points and 30.3 boards a night. Not bad).

Petway’s off to a slow start offensively, but he turned up the defense the other night against Utah, holding the Flash’s NBA-assigned forward J.R. Giddens to a single basket in the Stampede’s 88-74 win. The second players Boston has assigned to the Flash, Bill Walker, went scoreless after suffering a neck injury in the first quarter and sitting out most of the game. The Stampede held Utah to 31-percent shooting, including 11-percent in the fourth quarter.

Of course, Coby Karl has made his return to the site of his collegiate glory a success so far. He’s second on the team in scoring (18.1 PPG) and leads in assists, with 5.3 per game. Coby looks great at times, and even when his outside shot isn’t falling, he’s shown a dynamic first step and has scored on a number of drives to the basket. He’s shooting 52 percent from the field. The question now is just how long will Coby stay before the NBA comes calling.

Jamaal Tatum is showing why he was the Stampede’s first round draft out of Southern Illinois. Of course, he missed last season after suffering an ankle injury early in training camp, but he’s come back strong. He’s averaging just over 27 minutes a game, and Coach Gates has shown confidence in him, letting him run the point during critical times in the game. Tatum scored 28 points in the win against Anaheim in the second game of the season, and then put in 22 last week in the win on the road against Los Angeles. He’s averaging 13.3 points a game and 3.3 assists.

Posted 05-01-08

Wow! What a way to end a record-setting season!

As you know now, the Idaho Stampede have won their first NBA Development League championship, defeating the Austin Toros 2-games-to-1 in the best-of-three Finals.

Although the D-League doesn’t award a playoff or Finals MVP, Cory Violette would have been the winner in my book. He averaged 18.5 points and 12 rebounds a game, and played lock-down defense on Los Angeles’ Jelani McCoy in the Stampede’s second-round game. And in the Finals, Violette kept hitting big shots and getting big rebounds. Maybe his biggest shot was a fade-away, 29-foot three-pointer at the end of the third quarter of Game 3 to give Idaho an 81-69 lead. It was only his fourth triple of the season, and as soon as it went in, I turned to the D-League’s Communications Manager, Larry Berger, and said “I think it’s Idaho’s night!”

The story of the playoffs was, of course, the end of Randy Livingston’s career. A 12-year run is over for the man who was considered, along with Jason Kidd, as one of the top point guards in the country coming out of high school. Then, Randy suffered an injury, and his career never took off. He played more than 10 years in the NBA, and is the career leader in games played for the Idaho Stampede franchise.

I suspect we’ll see Randy’s #32 jersey hanging from the rafters of Qwest Arena soon, along with the D-League Championship banner and the Western Division Championship banner, both won this year.

Now, everyone’s attention turns to next year. (Well, actually the first order of business will be to design the championship rings). What will the roster look like? Who will be back? Will Coach Bryan Gates, fresh off his second consecutive Coach of the Year Award, get an NBA job?

Livingston is out of the picture, but look for him to be on the sidelines as a coach somewhere. Could it be as Gates’ assistant? Might happen, if Associate Head Coach Ray Lopes lands another job as a top college or pro assistant or head coach. Point guard could be Mike Taylor’s, depending on what happens in this spring’s NBA Draft. You know the story by now: Mike left Iowa State after his junior year, and he’s eligible for the NBA Draft. He’d be the first D-Leaguer drafted if he’s selected in either of the two rounds. Mike certainly didn’t hurt his chances with his 27-point effort in the clinching game, including 7-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line. Mike is an exciting young player who tends to get a bit out of control at times, but he can run, has tremendous hops, and has improved his defense and passing. Even if he’s not drafted, I suspect he’ll be on some team’s summer league roster, with a chance of making an NBA club next year.

Idaho should retain his rights, if Mike’s back in the D-League next season.

Brent Petway, winner of the D-League’s Slam Dunk contest during the All-Star weekend in New Orleans, is an athletic player who learned a new position this year. He was in Portland’s camp before this season, and the word is that Cleveland is interested in him. Idaho should retain his rights as well if “Air Georgia” doesn’t stick with an NBA squad.

Roberto Bergersen and Jason Ellis, the Stampede’s Boise State connection, both make their homes in Boise, and should return, if they don’t get a look. Jason, in particular, shined in the last quarter of the season and playoffs, as a monster on the glass and he showed the ability to bury the open jumper.

Cory Violette has done the international thing; he’s looking for an NBA summer league spot. As a Boise native, I would think that if he wants to keep playing next season, he’d do it with the Stampede if he doesn’t make the League. I think the NBA will look at Cory like they looked at Lance Allred; it might take two years for Cory to catch the NBA’s eye, and he could get a call-up during next season.

Luke Jackson is still being paid by Miami, and he impressed during the playoffs with his overall play. He got the big basket, led the team in assists, and did the dirty work on the boards. His numbers weren’t spectacular, but I think Luke showed skeptics that he’s a good all-around player. Remember, he was an NBA lottery pick coming out of Oregon.

Josh McRoberts is property of the Trail Blazers, and if Idaho remains a Portland D-League affiliate, he could be eligible to be assigned to Boise next season. The Blazers are currently evaluating their roster, and I think Josh earned points with the Blazer brass by playing hard in helping Idaho win the title. There was some question about McRoberts’ attitude coming to the D-League, but he said all the right things and was a good addition.

Eric Chenowith probably won’t return. The other two late-season pickups, guard Duwan Rice and center Anthony Washington, could come back, depending on whether the Stampede can protect them in the D-League expansion draft when Reno and Erie come into the league for next season. Chenowith probably won’t be protected, and could go in the expansion draft. Rice was Idaho’s seventh-round pick in November’s D-League draft, and could become backup point guard to Taylor, if both return. Washington, the CBA Rookie of the Year, is a player Gates covets, and he picked him up to get a chance at coming back next season. Idaho may protect him from the expansion teams.

Mouhamed Sene, injured late in the regular season, is no longer eligible to play in the D-League. And with the uncertainty of the SuperSonics, it’s not clear whether Idaho will even be a Sonics affiliate next season (either in Oklahoma City or Seattle).

That’s the roster that ended the season. It will be interesting to see who gets protected in the D-League expansion draft, and after a short rest, Coach Gates will turn his attention to next year’s team. Look for Gates to be active in an NBA summer league, and that will give him a great chance to see young players and NBA draft picks. He’ll be making his list of prospective Stampede players to defend the title.

Elsewhere around the D-League: New Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles has confirmed that he wants current Colorado 14ers and former Stampede head coach Joe Wolf on his coaching staff. Skiles, who replaced former Stampede head man Larry Krystkowiak on the Bucks’ sideline, was quoted in today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talking about his choices for his staff: “I'm in the process of putting together my staff and I have a high level of interest in Jim Boylan, Lionel Hollins, Kelvin Sampson and Joe Wolf," said Skiles. "I'm hoping in the next few days we can get something resolved.”

The expansion team in Reno doesn’t have a name, logo, colors, or players, but it now has a General Manager. Tony Funderburg will head up the Reno franchise, resigning as GM of the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, leaves minor league baseball for hoops. With the Grizzlies, he helped set league attendance records, and attracted national media attention for “Baseball’s Best Burger,” an artery-clogging bacon-cheeseburger served between Krispy Kreme donuts.

This is the final blog of the season. I apologize for not updating it as often as I’d like. Turns out the real job got in the way. But I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire Stampede organization, starting with Managing Investor Bill Ilett, President and General Manager Steve Brandes, coach Bryan Gates, and the entire front office and game day staff (thanks, Jinny!) for making this such a memorable season. The coaches and players were always accessible for interviews and to offer insight into the game and strategy. Thanks also for the help of Ryan Williams, who was PR director until he got his call-up to Seattle with the Sonics and the WNBA’s Storm. Then, Jeff Johnson, who was juggling school work with the PR duties, filled Ryan’s shoes and did a great job.

And of course, I want to thank the fans and the players’ families, who told me that they listened, either on the radio or on the web, and offered their comments and feedback. It was a great season, and hopefully, I’ll have the honor of calling another season next year.

Until then, celebrate, Boise! Your team, the Idaho Stampede, in its 10th year of play, is the new NBA Development League Champions!

Posted 04-08-08

It would appear as though Lance Allred has played his last game as a member of the Idaho Stampede. Lance’s second ten-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers expired and the Cavaliers signed him for the rest of the season. Not only did he sign for the rest of the season, but the deal is also a non-guaranteed contract for the 2008-09 campaign as well. The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that by signing for next year, Allred’s rights will be retained by Cleveland, which will likely assign him to their summer league team and invite him to next year’s training camp.

So, if Lance’s Idaho Stampede career is over, he can look back on it and be very proud of what he accomplished. He averaged a double-double this season, made the D-League All-Star Team and won the league’s HORSE competition in New Orleans earlier this year. All this after essentially starting out as the fourth big man last season, who finally got his chance when Peter John Ramos, Jeff Graves, and Mouhamed Sene left the team for one reason or another.

Much has been written and said about Lance, and the struggles he’s overcome to make it to the NBA. No need to re-hash them here. You know about his family history, his hearing disability and his obsessive-compulsive behavior. He’s quite open in discussing those topics. So too, does he discuss the problems he faced playing overseas and the despair that led him to tears in the locker room when he tried out for the Stampede in shoes so poor that they tore up his feet.

I am so happy that Lance has been rewarded for his persistence and hard work. And, despite his somewhat cynical view of the world, he has maintained a good attitude and pretty even keel. He’s always willing to talk with me before games and after games, even if he had another 21-point, 14-rebound night, he’d beat himself up over missing an easy layup that cost Randy Livingston an assist. I’d tell him not to be so hard on himself, and look at the big picture (usually a win and a great game).

I started writing this before the D-League announced their post-season award winners, and I was prepared to make a case for Lance being named MVP of the league. But, that honor went to Sioux Falls’ Kasib Powell. Randy Livingston, last year’s MVP, made the First Team, and Allred was named to the Second Team list. Idaho is just now over the .500 mark without Lance (5-4) and who knows, if he’d been with the team, maybe the division would be wrapped up by now. We’ll never know for sure.

I’ll miss Lance, and I’m sure so will his Stampede teammates. But that’s the reason for the D-League, to give guys a chance to advance. So Bryan Gates will have to work around the roster down the stretch.

Speaking of down the stretch, the best scenario for the Stampede is to win their remaining three games. If that happens, and if LA continues to win, both teams would finish tied in the standings. But Idaho owns the tie-breaker, thanks to their winning the season series against the D-Fenders, 5-3. That would give the Stampede home court advantage in the playoffs, and the best record in the league. Los Angeles and Idaho potentially could each finish with 36 wins. Austin, leaders in the Southwest Division, could finish with 33 wins. No other team can top 30.

The Stampede have appeared to have shaken the doldrums from a 1-4 record recently, winning key contests in Bakersfield and Tulsa. In recent losses, they’ve failed to hold late leads, something that didn’t happen earlier in the year. They had a 19-point advantage over Anaheim on March 21st before being outscored, 25-10 in the fourth quarter. And in the Wednesday loss at Los Angeles, the Stampede held an 11-point third-quarter lead.

So now, Idaho plays the final three games of the season, one more on the road tonight (at Utah) before closing out the season at home April 11 at home against Bakersfield and the 12th against Iowa. The combined records of the three remaining opponents is 53-88 (.376 winning percentage). Los Angeles’s final four games are as follows: Wednesday at Bakersfield, home against Anaheim and they close out the season at Utah. The combined record of their three opponents is 51-85 (.380). Anaheim did Idaho a favor, beating L.A. in overtime the other day, (their first win over the D-Fenders all season) and now Idaho has a one-game lead in the division.

Idaho is 7-0 against Bakersfield this season, 1-0 against Iowa, and 5-2 against Utah. Los Angeles is 6-1 against Anaheim, 4-3 against Bakersfield and 6-1 against the Flash.

This is why the five-point loss to Los Angeles the other day was so critical. Essentially, Idaho’s fate is in its hands, but it won’t be easy.

I think the game against the Flash tonight is a trap game. Utah has won three in a row since losing league leading scorer Morris Almond and starting center Kyrylo Fesenko back to the Utah Jazz. Kevin Kruger, who torched the Stampede for 43 in the Flash’s 109-106 win on March 29, is averaging 29.3 points per game in those three wins. The Flash did have Boston recall Gabe Pruitt over the weekend, so Utah has no more NBA assigned players. Still, the Flash are dangerous, and Idaho needs to be careful. A win gives Idaho a one-and-a-half game lead over Los Angeles.

Where’s Mo? The Seattle SuperSonics announced on April 4 that center Mouhamed Sene was being reassigned to the Stampede, but he didn’t appear in either road contests last week, at Bakersfield or at Tulsa.

Taurean Green, who was assigned to the Stampede by Portland earlier this season and played in four road games, averaging 19.3 points and 9.7 assists, is back in the D-League. But this time, he’s a member of the Colorado 14ers, who were assigned Green by the Denver Nuggets. Denver acquired him in a deadline deal from Portland in exchange for former D-League All-Star Von Wafer. Now, former Stampede coach Joe Wolf is stocking up for the playoffs. His squad currently is a game-and-a-half ahead of Tulsa for the final playoff spot. As things stand now, Colorado would open on the road at Sioux Falls, with the winner playing at Austin.

Posted 03-19-08

Hi again, Stampede fans!

Sorry it’s been so long since my last blog entry. I know you were all waiting with breathless anticipation for my words of wisdom!

A lot has happened to your Idaho Stampede in recent weeks. The team has survived the NBA call-ups of two big men, welcomed back a couple of familiar faces, and has still remained the top team in the D-League. All quite a tribute to Coach Bryan Gates and his crew.

Of course, the big news was the March 12 call-up of Lance Allred by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lance had told me that he had a hunch Cleveland would come calling, since they’d been watching him closely over the past few weeks. Still, it was a long time in coming for the well-deserved promotion to the League.

In Cleveland, Lance has gotten into just one game since his call-up, a scant 18 seconds in Monday night’s loss to Orlando. Still, the experience has to be a good one for Lance, who has rededicated himself this season and his hard work has finally paid off. The Cavaliers have two more games before Lance’s 10-day contract expires, and then Cleveland has to decide whether to sign him again or let him return to Idaho. If they don’t keep him, he could be back in Boise when the Stampede host Utah on Friday the 28th.

Mouhamed Sene played well enough in his 27 games to earn his recall to the Seattle Supersonics. Mo started his final four games in an Idaho uniform, and left shooting almost 54 percent from the field, averaged 9 rebounds a game and 12.4 points per contest. He also blocked 1.7 shots a game, and altered a host of others.

Coming back to Boise are Josh McRoberts from the Portland Trail Blazer for his second assignment of the season and former Stampede big man Eric Chenowith. The former Kansas Jayhawk joined the team last week in Utah, and pulled down four rebounds in his 9 minutes of action. Eric holds the team’s single-game rebounding record with 29.

Idaho’s riding a four-game winning streak, all over the Utah Flash. They won two at home, and two in Orem in come-from-behind fashion. The Stampede also remain at the top of the D-League Power Rankings, for the fourth week in a row. They’re the first team in the league to 30 wins (in 40 games) and all this while not having a single player named Performer of the Week or the Month. And with Lance Allred up in the NBA, no Stampede player is in the Top 10 in scoring or rebounding. It’s truly a team.

Consider Jason Ellis. Biding his time on the bench while NBA assigned players get the minutes, Jason never sulked and always did his work. And it paid off, with outstanding games in Utah when the Stampede were undermanned. The Friday night game saw the Boise State product score 12 points and pull down 7 rebounds. The next night, in a game won by the Stampede 100-99 on a Cory Violette tip-in in the closing seconds, Jason scored a career-high 20 points and got 9 rebounds.

The Stampede play two more on the road before coming home on the 28th to host Utah (again!) They play at Anaheim, against the Arsenal, a team that Bryan Gates says is the most talented in the league. Former Stampede center Marcus Campbell, waived after playing five games with Idaho, is lighting things up for Anaheim, averaging 13.9 points and 9 rebounds a game for Coach Reggie Geary.

After these weekend games at the Anaheim Convention Center, the Stampede play 8 more games, four at home and four on the road. The Stampede are 18-3 at home, and need to just split their remaining home games to set a D-League record for best home court record. Last year Dakota only lost six at home. But other teams can also set the mark; LA is 15-3 at the Staples Center, Austin is 16-4 at home, and Sioux Falls is 14-5 on their home floor.

If the playoffs started today, the Stampede would be the overall #1 seed and would have home court advantage throughout the post season. The three division winners qualify for the playoffs, along with the three teams with the best records. The current seedings would look like this: Idaho and Austin would have first round byes. Central Division leader Dakota would be the #3 seed, and would host a first-round game. Los Angeles would be #4, Tulsa #5, and Colorado is hanging around as the sixth and final playoff team. Dakota would play Colorado and LA would host Tulsa. Those are all one-game playoffs.

The Tulsa/LA winner would play at Idaho, and the Dakota/Colorado survivor would play at Austin. The winners of those games would play in the best-of-three championship series. The first game would be at the home of the lower seed, the second and third (if necessary) would be on the home court of the highest seed.

That Colorado is in the playoff picture is a testament to former Stampede coach Joe Wolf. His team looks nothing like the powerful squad that opened the season. The 14ers lost All-Stars Kaniel Dickens and Billy Thomas, who signed two 10-day contracts with Cleveland. Both have just returned to the team. Not returning will be Elton Brown, who was the league leader in double-doubles with 26. Elton has left to play in Israel, on the same team as former Boise State standout Tanoka Beard. The 14ers hold a game-and-a-half lead over Sioux Falls for the final playoff spot. The Skyforce are just one game behind Dakota for the Central Division lead; winning the division punches the ticket for the playoffs. The Southwest looks to have three playoff squads, with the West two (Idaho and LA).

Expansion news comes from Reno and Erie, Pennsylvania. The Reno franchise will likely be in the Stampede’s division and is expected to be affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Erie team will be the league’s farthest eastern squad, and is expected to be aligned with the Cleveland Cavaliers. (While affiliations aren’t official – wink, wink – Cleveland General Manager Danny Ferry was at the Erie announcement and the Kings’ Director of Player Development, Lafayette “Fat” Lever was in Reno for the press conference.)

Erie is should be the first of a new Eastern Division in the future, with the NBA still interested in putting a D-League team in Harlem, the Toronto Raptors expressing their desire to put a team in southern Ontario, and groups in other Northeast cities lining up for teams. And just yesterday, the CBC reported that the Halifax (Nova Scotia) Rainmen have left the ABA and are immediately pursuing D-League membership. Halifax led the ABA in attendance this past season and hosted that league’s All-Star Game.

Any second thoughts Stampede fans had about leaving the CBA for the D-League should no longer be valid. That league has several teams in trouble; the Great Falls Explorers suspended operations with nine games left in their season and the Atlanta Krunk’s home court was ruled inadequate to host CBA games, causing them to forfeit nine games and play the Great Falls road game schedule when that team went away.

And the team that ran away with the best record over the regular season (43-5), the two-time champion Yakama Sun Kings, were upset in two straight games in the playoffs by Oklahoma. The Cavalry will now face the Minot Skyrockets in the Finals. Minot got past Pittsburgh in the playoffs. Nate Green, who played at Idaho State, is on the Oklahoma roster.

Posted 02-13-08

They say all good things must come to an end, and for the Stampede, it was their D-League record-setting 18-game winning streak. The loss last Saturday night to the Los Angeles D-Fenders marked the first time since December 15 that the Stampede were on the short end of a final score.

The Stampede shot poorly against L.A. for the first three quarters of the game, and after a sub-par first quarter, the D-Fenders lit up the gym at a 61-percent pace the rest of the game to win going away. The Stampede didn’t quit, and outscored L.A. in the fourth quarter. But, with such a large deficit, Idaho was only able to get within 17 in the final frame.

And then, against Utah on Monday, Idaho shot poorly again, and dropped its second in a row for the first time since a four-game slide December 7-15. Idaho played in Orem without Roberto Bergersen, out with a toe injury suffered in the Saturday game against Los Angeles.

Now, the Stampede have to regroup after the All-Star break. It’ll be a tough task, since the travel will be difficult after the festivities in New Orleans. Bryan Gates and Ray Lopes will coach the D-League’s “Red” team in the game, and Randy Livingston, Lance Allred and Cory Violette will play in the game. Brent Petway and Mike Taylor are competing in the Slam Dunk contest the night before the All-Star Game. So, the five players and two coaches will leave New Orleans at 6:00 am Sunday, fly to Des Moines, and meet the rest of the Stampede team for that afternoon’s game against the expansion Iowa Energy. Assistant Coach Guy Beach will travel to Des Moines with the rest of the Stampede roster and meet the crew from New Orleans.

We need to hope that weather isn’t a concern, and that the players and coaches get to Iowa on time. But with the travel and the schedule, it’ll be interesting to see how Idaho comes out in the first quarter against Coach Nick Nurse’s team.

Coach Nurse is a good friend of Gates’, and was in his wedding this past summer. So the old friends will do battle for the first time under some trying circumstances. Iowa has won five in a row, and is 10-7 at home. The Energy has only one All-Star, guard Dwayne Mitchell (20.7 PPG). He’ll play on the Red team with the Idaho players and under Coach Gates. Let’s see if Bryan plays him all 48 minutes to get him tired out for Sunday’s matinee in Des Moines (I’m joking, of course).

The Stampede will be down to nine players Sunday, unless they make a move before then. The Sonics have recalled Mickael Gelabale, and Ricky Sanchez is still taking a personal leave from the squad.

I’m wondering if Lance Allred is starting to run out of gas. Or maybe he’s suffering a post-Showcase depression. Lance attracted a lot of attention at the Showcase, which the Stampede hosted January 14-17. Entering the Showcase, Lance was scoring about 19 points per game and shot 54-percent from the field. In the two Showcase games, he was 16-25 from the field (64-percent). All the national talk was about Lance’s overcoming his hearing impairment, and his battle to make it from a reserve who nearly was cut last season to one of the league’s best players. Well, since the Showcase, Lance is 44-105 (42-percent) and in the last five games, he’s struggling at 22-62 (36-percent).

All the talk was not if, but when, Lance would get his chance in the NBA. So far, nothing has happened, and maybe Lance is trying too hard to impress NBA scouts and executives and earn that coveted Gatorade Call-up.

Now, before everyone gets upset, and tells me I’m out to lunch, I realize that Lance is his own worst critic. He can shoot 9-12 from the field and beat himself up for missing an easy layup or missing a free throw. To his credit, Lance isn’t making excuses, and he’s still averaging 10.1 rebounds a game, and is still fourth in the league in rebounding and second in the league with 16 double-doubles.

But having watched him all season, something doesn’t look right. In the Saturday game against the D-Fenders, he missed shots he normally buried, and he shot a season-worst 1-11 in the loss at Utah on Monday. One interesting note: In the nine games since the Showcase, Lance has only gone to the free throw line 19 times (2.1 per game). That’s an odd statistic for someone who plays inside. He still leads the Stampede in free throw attempts, but through the Showcase, he shot 135 from the line, an average of 6.4 a night, a far cry from what he’s getting these days from the stripe.

Brent “Air Georgia” Petway is the newest player blogging on the D-League’s website. I’d suggest you click on his blog and see what the rookie from Michigan has to say. His latest post was a call for fans to suggest dunks he attempt during Friday night’s All-Star Game dunk contest. I’d give Brent the nod as the favorite heading in, since he finished second in last year’s NCAA Final Four dunk contest, and probably could have won it had a few more attempts gone down.

Before leaving the discussion of the Stampede, I’d like to offer my condolences to Bryan Gates and his family over the passing of his mother. I’m sure that all Stampede fans join me in sending our thoughts and prayers to Bryan at this difficult time for his family.

Elsewhere (briefly) around the league, comes the news that the Tulsa 66ers are moving from their downtown Tulsa home at the Fairgrounds to a new, still under construction 4,500 seat arena in the suburb of Bixby, Oklahoma. Attendance must be pretty bad for the 66ers at their current home, since the team has stopped reporting nightly figures. The official tally only shows two home games for an average of 2,909 a game at Expo Square Pavilion (capacity 10,000). The new home will feature luxury suites, a center court scoreboard with video playback, and what the team calls a “more intimate” seating bowl. The team will retain the Tulsa name.

Posted 01-31-08

14 and counting: The winning just continues for the Idaho Stampede, but it hasn’t been easy along the way. A pair of close wins over the Los Angeles D-Fenders Thursday (seven points) and Saturday (one point) gave Idaho a franchise-best and D-League record 13 consecutive home-court wins.

Mike Taylor, the rookie point guard from Iowa State, has been a catalyst during the winning streak, and in the past four games in particular. He’s scored 20-plus points in three of the last four games, including 21 Saturday in the win over L.A. His two free throws with 3.9 seconds left gave Idaho the win, 100-99.

In the Idaho Press Tribune, Taylor downplayed the pressure on him as he attempted the game-winning free throws, but the numbers say something else. He’s shooting .588 from the line, which will need to improve. Taylor’s not a stranger to late-game heroics. Remember his coast-to-coast drive with seven seconds left to beat Colorado on January 11?

He’s scored in double figures in five straight games, beginning with the first game of the Showcase, and is averaging 19.6 in those five contests. He’s also averaging 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Equally important, he’s an “energy” guy off the bench, one of the fastest and most athletic players on the Idaho roster. Mike started the last road game at Bakersfield in the absence of Randy Livingston, who was nursing an injury. He’s still young, and prone to rookie mistakes, but Coach Bryan Gates has confidence in him to put him in at critical game situations.

While it’s not been officially announced, Coach Gates can book his flight to New Orleans for the D-League All-Star Game. As the coach with the best winning percentage in the league, Gates will coach one of the teams in the upcoming All-Star Game on February 16. The two coaches with the highest winning percentage at the completion of play yesterday (January 30) earned All-Star nods. That would mean Gates and Los Angeles’ Dan Panaggio, who edged Dakota’s Duane Ticknor by a half-game. The D-Fenders have a winning percentage of .680, while Dakota checks in with a mark of .654. Idaho? Well, one game shy of the halfway point in the season, the Stampede are playing at a .792 clip, and are on pace to shatter the league mark for most wins in a season. The Stampede and Dakota set the mark with 33-win campaigns last year, and Idaho is on pace for a 40-win season. The Stampede play their 25th game on Friday against Bakersfield.

Idaho was a perfect 9-0 in the month of January, which was the best mark in the league. Tulsa wasn’t too far behind, going 9-2 for the month, and Dakota was 8-4. Looking at the standings at the end of the month, Dakota has the biggest lead of any of the three division leaders, with a 5 game edge over Sioux Falls. The Stampede are next, with a 2.5 game lead over Los Angeles, and Austin’s advantage in the Southwest Division is 2 over Colorado.

The Stampede are undefeated against their Western Division rivals this year (10-0) and play 22 of their final 26 games against the West (10 at home, 12 on the road). Interestingly, the Stampede still haven’t played their closest geographic rival, the expansion Utah Flash, based in Orem. They hooked up in a pre-season game in Burley, but the teams (377 miles apart), don’t play each other until February 11 in Orem, and then the two teams play each other six times in eight games between March 7 and 29.

TRIVIA: After the Utah Flash, which is the next closest D-League team to Boise? Which is the farthest away? Answers at the end of the column.

With Seattle sending seldom-used 6-7 guard/forward Mickael Gelabale to the Stampede, it’ll be interesting to see how Gates works the Frenchman into the rotation. Obviously, when a player is assigned by an NBA club, it’s to give him playing time. But Idaho’s been doing pretty well with its rotations and playing time so far, so I’ll be interested in hearing from the coach how he’ll make it work. Tune in to my pregame interview with Gates at 7:00 tomorrow night to hear the answer to that question.

Since Mouhamed Sene and Josh McRoberts have been assigned to the Stampede (from Seattle and Portland, respectively), minutes along the front line have dropped for guys like Cory Violette and Lance Allred. Lance is averaging just under 29 minutes a game, and Cory’s minutes are 26 a night. Sene and McRoberts are averaging just about 26 per contest as well. So Gates has done a good job juggling those minutes. Brent Petway is at about 23 minutes a night on the front line as well, but he also gets some time at guard. Randy Livingston leads the team with 40.5 minutes a game and Roberto Bergersen’s second with 33 minutes a game. The Tacoma News Tribune reports that Gelabale will play in Idaho for six games (three home and three road) before being recalled by Seattle for the two-game road trip to Sacramento and Phoenix before the NBA All-Star break.

Almond Goin’ Nuts: Morris Almond, assigned to the Utah flash by the Utah Jazz, set another D-League single-game scoring record last night with 53 in a win over Bakersfield. That goes along with his 51 on December 21 against Austin. Interesting numbers for Almond and the Flash. With Almond, Utah is 7-7, and averaging 95.8 points per game. Without the rookie from Rice, the Flash are 7-6 and averaging 106.3 points a game. Almond, who leads the league in scoring with 27.6 ppg, has scored 29 percent of Utah’s points in the 14 contests he’s played. Against Bakersfield last night, he accounted for 52 percent of the Flash’s scoring.

Portland’s Got Next? No, not Portland, Oregon, but Portland, Maine. Maine’s Governor is part of a group that will welcome an NBA delegation today to study the city for a possible D-League expansion team. Local officials haven’t settled on a home court, with the Cumberland County Civic Center and the Portland Expo as potential sites. The Maine group includes a former Boston Celtics assistant coach and executive, Jon Jennings, and former Celtic great K.C. Jones. The group appears to be well-financed and well-connected. If Portland gets the team, speculation is the club will be a Celtics affiliate. There will be a public rally supporting a D-League team in Portland at City Hall today.

Springfield, Massachusetts was one Northeast city the group considered, but now it looks like New England will be about two years away from consideration for a franchise, according to the Springfield Republican newspaper. Other cities that were studied before the group settled on Portland were Worcester and Lowell, MA, Hartford, Providence and Manchester, NH, the paper reports.

TRIVIA ANSWERS: The Colorado 14ers, based in Broomfield, is next closest team to the Stampede, at 821 miles. The farthest away team is the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, which play in Hidalgo, TX, 2,030 miles away. Bakersfield is the next closest, at 843 miles, and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, at 1,840 miles, are the next longest road trip. (All mileage courtesy of Mapquest).

Posted 01-22-08

Whew! The D-League Showcase in Boise is over, and congratulations to all those who worked so hard to make it such a success!

I talked with numerous NBA front office personnel, D-League executives, and players and coaches from the 14 D-League teams. They were unanimous in their praise for the Stampede organization, the Qwest Arena and Grove Hotel staffs and the community of Boise for putting on a first-class event.

And, hold on to your hats, sports fans, there’s even talk of Boise hosting the event again – very soon. Next year’s Showcase host city hasn’t been officially named, but there are rumblings that if the D-League expands as expected to two more teams, the league may split the Showcase into two separate events. It would make sense, you’d think, since by the fourth day nearly everyone was wiped out. So, if there were 16 teams, you could invite eight to one Showcase, eight to the other Showcase…each would get two games and you could get things wrapped up in two days of play. Maybe each Showcase would be three days, and you could plan more extensive community outreach events. It would also be nice if games could be played on weekends; maybe the Showcase could run Thursday-Saturday, with two games on Thursday, three on Friday and three on Saturday. Or maybe four on Saturday, with two games on Thursday and Friday. Either way, that would make it more manageable, and make it possible for more fans to come out to evening games.

I also noticed that in the early games, which started around 11 a.m., teams didn’t perform as well as the teams playing later in the day. So, if there are only two games on a particular day, then they could start at maybe 4:45 pm and 7:30. That would give fans a chance to catch most of one game and all of the other.

Still, great job everyone!

Besides scouts, general managers and personnel directors from all 30 NBA teams, and scouts from numerous international squads, the Showcase attracted national media attention. Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated wrote about top NBA prospects in his “Inside the NBA” column for SI.com. He ranked who he considers the top four D-League free agents ready to make the jump to The Association. Stampede fans will like his rankings (with his comments):

4. Brent Petway, 22 years old, 6-7 forward, Idaho Stampede. A superior athlete who is excellent in transition and capable of knocking down the 18-footer when his feet are set. Will rebound the defensive glass, but must improve his ball handling. Will help a team in need of mid-range scoring.

1. Lance Allred, 26 years old, 6-11 center, Idaho Stampede. A smart, hard-working big man with touch out to 17 feet and a good feel for the game. Consistently outruns other centers in transition and extends his range for rebounds and loose balls. Allred knows how to play and has become the top-rated D-League center after barely making the Stampede last year.

Look for more from Thomsen about Allred, the Stampede and the D-League soon.

(By the way, his #3 free agent prospect was Dontell Jefferson of the Dakota Wizards and #2 was Michael Cuffee of Bakersfield).

Allred was named to the D-League Showcase First Team, and Randy Livingston was named to the Honorable Mention squad.

I had the opportunity to do the television color commentary on the two early games last Thursday; Los Angeles vs. Austin and Colorado vs. Tulsa. Working with pros like Andre Aldridge and Rick Kamla from NBA-TV was a blast! The broadcasts all week did a great job of spotlighting Boise and Idaho, with scenic shots of the Sawtooth Mountains, downtown Boise at night and snow-covered landscapes from the surrounding areas. The NBA uses the D-League as a testing ground for new rules, equipment (baskets and balls), and technology (the pop-up cameras, which rose high into the air to get shots of the court from previously unseen angles).

The D-League is also kicking off what they call the “Tri-Caster,” which will allow fans all over the world watch D-League games live on the web. The Stampede have been offering this type of coverage for home games for a while, thanks to Fiberpipe. But now, you can also tune in road games. Go to the D-League website, you’ll have to register (it’s free!) and click to watch. You’ll see video with the home team’s radio play-by-play broadcast. The league is offering this free for the rest of the season. Tune in.

Now, what about the hottest team in the league, your Idaho Stampede? Winners of 12 in a row, and 11-0 at home. The Stampede have already eclipsed last year’s 11-game winning streak, and now are co-holders of the D-League record for home winning streak. Two teams (Charleston and Columbus) held the record at 9 until Austin recorded 11 in a row earlier this season. Idaho has since tied that mark, and can top it with a win on Thursday. The longest winning streak in league history is 15, held by the Arkansas RimRockers from December 14, 2006 through January 26, 2007.

Now comes the showdown against the Los Angeles D-Fenders for top spot in the west. Idaho holds a one-game lead heading into the Thursday and Saturday games at Qwest Arena. L.A. looked impressive in the Showcase in downing one of the other top teams in the league, the Austin Toros. Running the Lakers’ triangle offense, the D-Fenders are in constant movement and are always looking for openings in the opponent’s defense. It’ll be a challenge for the Stampede, since the D-Fenders boast several former NBA players and appear stacked.

L.A. comes to Qwest Arena off a close loss at Fort Wayne, and you know they’ll be gunning for the top spot. On November 27, Idaho beat L.A. in Southern California by a score of 118-111. The Stampede broke open a close game with a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter, as Lance Allred paced the visitors with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Randy Livingston had a double-double, with 20 points and 10 assists, and Roberto Bergersen chipped in with 18. The Stampede shot 54 percent in the win, and outrebounded the D-Fenders 48-33. Sean Banks paced Los Angeles with 35. Idaho was able to pound the ball inside and that resulted in them shooting a season-high 43 free throws (making 31). The Stampede also turned the ball over a season-low 13 times.

We’ll see you at U.S. Bank Court at Qwest Arena for these two critical games Thursday and Saturday nights.

Back to the Showcase for a moment: Much was made of the fact that two of the top teams in the D-League, Austin and Los Angeles, are the only two owned outright by their NBA affiliate. Austin (San Antonio) and the D-Fenders (L.A. Lakers) are the model that many see the NBA and D-League following in the future. Now comes a report out of the Toronto Sun newspaper that the Raptors are looking at owning their own D-League team and operating it in southern Ontario. Toronto’s D-League affiliate is Colorado, and the NBA club hasn’t sent anyone to Joe Wolf in Broomfield. Distance is one of the main reasons cited for the fact that the 14ers’ relationship isn’t that solid with the Raptors. But, for a team in Canada to work, the D-League will need to add teams in the Northeast to make travel worthwhile. The NBA apparently is pushing Harlem, NY, and there is speculation that the Cleveland Cavaliers want to buy a team and put it in Erie, Pennsylvania or somewhere in Ohio. The owners of the Manchester (NH) Millrats of the ABA have been pretty clear from the beginning that they want to move their team into the D-League. According to media reports, the Millrats have a multi-millionaire owner and have already requested a membership kit from the D-League to begin play in the 2008-09 season. The Millrats want to become a Boston Celtics affiliate (Boston currently has an agreement with the Utah Flash). “A D-League team in a nearby city would be appealing,” said Danny Ainge, Boston's executive director of basketball operations and general manager in an article from the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester. Ainge added the Celtics “have a lot of say in our affiliate,” and explained affiliations are assigned on a “relatively ad hoc, case-by-case basis with input from each team.”

D-League President Dan Reed had promised to announce at least two expansion teams this month. Manchester probably won’t be one of those, because the NBA won’t enter formal talks with the club until after the ABA season is over, to not make it look like it’s poaching teams. We’ll have to see what happens.

Elsewhere, former Idaho Stampede and Boise State Bronco Jermaine Blackburn has been named to the National Conference All-Star team in the CBA. Jermaine is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Yakama Sun Kings. Yakama, the defending CBA champions, is tearing up the league with a 23-1 record. Blackburn’s teammate and fellow former Stampede, Desmond Ferguson, is also on the National Conference roster. Ferguson is averaging 18.1 points a game and leads the league in three point shots made. The CBA All-Star Game is Tuesday night in Yakima.

Posted 01-08-08

A belated Happy New Year to all our Stampede fans! Sorry I haven’t updated my blog in a while…I promise to do more frequent updates.

Since the calendar turned from 2007 to 2008, the Idaho Stampede have been red hot, winning seven in a row.

This has been an interesting season: Idaho started out 5-1, then lost four in a row on the road to even the record at 5-5, and then the current winning streak bringing Idaho into a first-place tie with the Los Angeles D-Fenders with a 12-5 mark in the Western Division.

During the seven-game streak, Idaho has benefited from jumping out to big leads and putting space between themselves and their opponents. So, I did some digging through stats today, and found that in the past seven games, Idaho is outscoring opponents by nearly 10 points (9.6 to be precise) in the first quarter. During the four-game losing streak, Idaho outscored its opponents in the first, but by just 1 point. For the season, Idaho has outscored its opponents 489-411 in the first 12 minutes, an average of plus-6.5 a contest.

Blazing a trail to Boise: In a move that had been widely rumored for a couple of weeks, the Portland Trail Blazers have now made it official: Tauren Green will be re-assigned to the Stampede and fellow rookie Josh McRoberts will come with him for his first D-League assignment. They’ll be here Wednesday, and according to Blazer coach Nate McMillan, as quoted in the Oregonian, “We've been waiting for the right time,” McMillan said. “Both of those guys need to get some playing time. We have guys who are banged up, but we do have enough guys healthy and (Green and McRoberts) are not getting enough practice time or time on the floor, so we need to try and get them some minutes.”

Look for Green and McRoberts to be in Boise for at least a couple of weeks. Media reports from Portland say at least during the Blazers’ seven-game road trip which starts on Wednesday. The Stampede would like to keep the pair a bit longer, say through the two-game set with the D-Fenders February 8 and 9.

As reported in the Vancouver (WA) Columbian, Green has a good attitude on his second trip to the Stampede (his first home games with Idaho): “It's good for me and Josh to go down there and get some reps in,” Green said. “Now, for me, going down a second time I know what to expect and now I've got a feel for everything and just get a chance to play and work on my game.” Green averaged 19.3 points 9.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds a game in his four contests in an Idaho uniform. The Stampede went 2-2 in those games, losing to Rio Grande Valley and Austin and winning a pair in Bakersfield.

Both McRoberts and Green come from very successful college programs: Green was the point guard for back-to-back NCAA champions at the University of Florida, and McRoberts, a 6-10 forward, played for Duke, where he left after his sophomore season. Despite what some observers called a “lackluster” season last year, McRoberts was the only player in the nation to average at least 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.5 assists.

Unfortunately, when the two Blazers get to Boise, there will probably be some roster shuffling, and it’ll be interesting to see who the odd man out will be. Former Boise State standout Jason Ellis has seen his minutes shrink since Seattle sent Mouhamed Sene to Boise, and with Portland looking to get their players minutes, coach Bryan Gates will have some work to do. Rookie swingman Brent Petway has been spectacular, and Gates predicts he’ll be an NBA superstar one day. It’s safe to say that Green will spell Randy Livingston to give him some rest. Green averaged 37.5 minutes in his four games earlier this year, and Randy started along with him, logging a minute more (38.5 minutes). So the question is, who is going to be on the floor? Lance Allred is tied for the league lead in double-doubles with 10, so don’t look for him to sit. Cory Violette is Idaho’s third-leading scorer, and Roberto Bergersen is fourth in scoring. If Petway continues to start, I’m not sure how Gates will work McRoberts and Green into the lineup. I guess that’s why I don’t coach.

The duo’s second game with Idaho will be played, ironically, in Blazer uniforms as the Stampede stage their second NBA Affiliate Night by bringing a Portland game experience to Qwest Arena in the contest with the expansion Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Ants Marching: Speaking of the Mad Ants, they make their first-ever appearance in the Treasure Valley with the game Saturday night. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports that Mad Ants’ coach Kent Davison (former assistant to Joe Wolf with the Colorado 14ers last season) thinks the team’s current 12-day, six-game road trip will help bring his struggling squad together. While the game against the Stampede during the D-League Showcase is technically a Fort Wayne home game, the fact that it’ll be played in Boise takes the home court advantage away from the Ants. Their normal home court hasn’t proven to be too friendly, since they have only a 4-6 record in their own building.

T-Birds flying the coop? Nothing firm yet, but there are some in Albuquerque who speculate that the Thunderbirds need a new arena to make things work in New Mexico. Playing at Tingley Coliseum, the T-Birds are averaging 2,317 fans a night, good for ninth in the 14-team D-League (Idaho ranks seventh, and Los Angeles, which doesn’t sell tickets, is last with an average of 0 fans a game). The Rio Ranchero Observer newspaper, in a story about the T-Birds’ attendance, quoted the team’s new General Manager: “People don’t know about the Thunderbirds,” lamented the team’s new general manager, Chris Holland, at a small news conference last week in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights. This despite Albuquerque winning the D-League title two seasons ago. The paper says the team’s home court is better suited to rodeo than basketball, but praised the team for trying to make the Coliseum a pleasant place to watch hoops.

Showcase Spectacular: If you’re a hoops junkie, or even if you’re a casual fan, you don’t want to miss the D-League Showcase, set for Qwest Arena January 14-17. All 14 D-League teams will be there, playing two games each. Scouts, General Managers and other front office personnel from every NBA team will be there, as will representatives of numerous international teams. They’ll be scouting players, looking for the next D-Leaguer to be called up to the NBA or to sign a lucrative contract overseas. Tickets are on sale now; go to the Qwest Arena box office or the Stampede front office or call 331-TIXS. Idaho plays Tuesday and Thursday nights, but there are going to be great games starting on Monday morning.

See you there!

Posted 12-19-07

Let’s hope the Stampede and Coach Bryan Gates get their Christmas wish about a week early; so far all they’ve found in their stockings during this road trip has been four lumps of coal.

Not only have the Stampede lost four in a row on the road (part of a season-long six game trip), but their once-reliable defense has sprung some leaks.

Two teams, Rio Grande Valley and Austin, set franchise scoring records in wins over Idaho. The RGV Vipers torched the nets for 132 points, shot 54.7 percent from the field, and was a remarkable 15-15 from 3-point range. Idaho actually shot better from the field than did the Vipers (57.5 percent), only missed 2 3-pointers (10-12) but missed 12 free throws (31-43). Idaho scored a season-high with 125 points, which is just 2 shy of the franchise’s D-League record of 127 set last year vs. Tulsa in a 127-124 overtime win at Qwest Arena.

The next night, in Austin, the Stampede yielded 127 points in a 127-117 loss to the Toros. Idaho launched a season-high 31 3-point attempts, hitting 12 (38.7 percent), got 31 points from Roberto Bergersen and double-doubles from Lance Allred (18 points and 11 rebounds) and Randy Livingston (17 points and 12 assists). But it wasn’t enough, as the Toros hit 53.5 percent of their shots and was 20-22 from the line.

These two losses point out what I think are a couple of troubling trends for the Stampede: 1) The defense is struggling. Maybe it’s because of the roster turnover, or maybe because the level of competition in the league has gotten better. Either way, it’s not a good sign. The Stampede are giving up 108 points a game vs. 96.3 a contest last season and opponents are shooting 47 percent from the field as opposed to 44.6 percent last season. 2) Idaho is last in the league in opponents’ turnovers forced at 15.4 a game, and last in turnover margin at -4.8 a game. Normally, any team with Randy Livingston would take good care of the basketball, but Randy’s 39 TO’s are fourth-highest in the league. Maybe Randy’s recent scoring touch has taken something out of his playmaking.

It’s not all doom-and-gloom, however. There’s still the fact that Randy leads the league in assists per game (10.1) and as a team the Stampede leads in average assists a game, so it’s obvious that this is an unselfish squad that distributes the ball well. Also, Idaho is shooting much better from the free throw line than it did last year (79 percent vs. 75.5 percent last season), good for second in the league in FT percentage. The Stampede are still second in defensive rebounding, and Lance Allred is tied for first in double-doubles with six, and Livingston is fourth with five this season.

Still, you have to think that Coach Gates has been spending time tightening up the “D” and emphasizing ball security.

Bakersfield (2-10) can be a nice cure for the Stampede’s ills heading into Christmas. The Stampede would like to see two wins under their tree, heading into a stretch of 12 of the next 13 at home, including the D-League Showcase starting in Boise on January 14. (One Showcase game is technically a “road” game, but the Stampede won’t have to travel, of course.) A trip to Bakersfield on January 19th is the Stampede’s only game away from Boise until February 2nd. This stretch will be a great opportunity for the Stampede to make a strong move in the West Division.

Out of Uniform? Interesting item in the blog written by Jason Quick, the Oregonian’s Trail Blazer beat writer. Turns out that Blazer assignee Taurean Green’s first game with Idaho was the night that the Stampede were supposed to where their green Seattle Sonics uniforms at Rio Grande Valley as part of the D-League’s “NBA Nights, presented by adidas”, honoring D-League NBA affiliates. Portland’s coach didn’t like his rookie point guard in rival colors: “We called the league about that,” coach Nate McMillan said. “Our kid is up there wearing a Sonics uniform. It's something the league didn't think about. They didn't do their homework on that.” Well, hold your hat, coach. The Stampede will wear Sonics uniforms again – at home – on January 4th during the SLIERS Sonics Affiliate Night and if Green is still with the team, he’ll wear Portland colors when the Stampede hold their Trail Blazers Affiliate Night on January 12th.

Hungry like a Wolf: Former Stampede (and current Colorado 14er) coach Joe Wolf was profiled in the Denver Post. The article mentions his NBA career, his coaching history, including the Stampede, and quotes Nuggets coach George Karl about Wolf’s possible NBA future. In the story, Wolf says he’s just like players, referees and front-office types using the D-League as a stepping stone: “I'm working every day to make myself a better coach so I can help somebody's staff; building my resume to make it impressive enough that somebody feels comfortable in hiring me,” Wolf said. “From all the things I do on the general manager side, to the head coaching side, it's a situation where I know that this is a valuable stop for me. I'm trying to educate myself the best I can.” The story calls the now-43 year-old Wolf a “hot coaching candidate.”

Hello, Goodbye: Brandon Wallace, who wowed the crowd at the Utah-Idaho preseason game in Burley last month, has gone from a member of the Boston Celtics to the unemployment line. Assigned by the Celtics to the Flash, Wallace averaged 12.5 points and 9.2 rebounds a game in six games for Utah, but he injured a wrist and was cut by the Celtics on Monday, the day before his contract would have been guaranteed for the season. The Boston Globe reports that the move gives the Celtics what coach Doc Rivers calls “flexibility.” The rookie from South Carolina was making the NBA minimum of 427,000 this year, and with Boston already over the luxury tax threshold, the paper reports the transaction was not a surprise.

Here I Am! The first pick in this season’s D-League Draft, Eddie Gill, finally suited up for the team that selected him on November 1st, Colorado. Called up by New Jersey before the D-League season opened, Gill made his long-awaited debut for the 14ers by recording a triple-double (19 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists) in Colorado’s 117-101 win over Austin on Tuesday. The loss snapped the Toros’ seven-game winning streak and tightened up the standings in the Central Division. That division appears to be the league’s strongest, with Austin, Colorado and Rio Grande Valley all with 7 wins. Only one other team, Los Angeles in the West, has 7 wins.

Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season, and we’ll look for you courtside at US Bank Court on December 26th. Celebrate Boxing Day, or Proclamation Day or the beginning of Kwanzaa with the Stampede and the Bakersfield Jam, and don’t forget the long homestand that includes the D-League Showcase, January 14-17.

Posted 12-10-07

Hi Stampede fans!

I know, the season is eight games old, and I’m finally getting around to posting my blog. Sorry about that. So, to catch up, here’s a courtside take on the 10th Anniversary edition of your Idaho Stampede:

Randy Livingston is amazing. After missing the season opener at Albuquerque due to a commitment to his foundation, Game Time Louisiana, he’s been Mr. Everything for Idaho. He tied the D-League record for assists in a game (20, he set the record last season), and he took over the game against Thunderbirds at home, scoring nine straight 4th quarter points and clinching the game with a three-pointer late in the contest. He also leads the D-League in assists.

Then, over this past weekend, with the Stampede looking for a boost, he turned on the scoring, tallying 37 in the Friday night game at Sioux Falls and then 28 at Bismarck against Dakota.

Livingston was hosting a free basketball clinic for more than 100 kids at the Bayou Classic in New Orleans, and that’s why he missed the opener. During the NBA’s All-Star weekend, also scheduled for New Orleans, he plans on holding some events with his foundation in conjunction with the NBA and the D-League’s All-Star Game. The way Randy has opened his season, it looks like he’ll be playing in the D-League game in his hometown.

Lance Allred began the season the way he ended last – scoring in bunches and pulling down rebounds. Lance has scored in double figures in six of eight games, and has collected double-digit rebounds in five contests. He works hard and does the dirty work down low, and is shooting 50% from the field. But he’s at just 37.5% at home and 56.5% on the road. That has to improve, and I’m sure it will.

Idaho faced road games at Dakota and Sioux Falls without Luke Jackson, who joined the Stampede for the win over Sioux Falls in Boise, and put in 30 points in his debut. A Cleveland Cavaliers scout told the Idaho Statesman after the game that the Oregon grad (and former Cleveland first round pick)’s second quarter was “…the best performance in a quarter in any D-League game I've seen this season.” Luke was 3-4 from beyond the 3-point arc, hit all five of his free throws and scored 18 points in about an 11:30 stretch of the quarter. He also dished out three assists and had a rebound. He finished the game with 9 assists and showed he was NBA-worthy. Indeed.

Luke is headed to Miami to play for the Heat, who badly need some outside shooting and some younger, athletic players. Now, it’ll be up to Coach Bryan Gates to find a replacement for Jackson, who may be with the Heat for some time.

The Stampede have not one, but two replacement for injured point guard (and first round draft pick) Jamaal Tatum. First, Mike Taylor, a rookie from Iowa State signed with the team. In one season for the Cyclones, he averaged 16 points and 4.5 assists a game and was an Honorable Mention All Big-12 pick.

Then, the Stampede received their first NBA assignment of this season, getting Portland’s rookie point guard Taurean Green. Green starred for the back-to-back NCAA champions Florida Gators, and appears to be headed to Boise with a good attitude, telling the Oregonian, “I don't feel like it's a demotion, Green said. “I’m just going to go down there and play, and when I get called back up, I get called back up.” Tatum is lost for the season with an ankle injury, first diagnosed as a sprain, and later determined to be torn cartilage requiring surgery. I talked with Tatum at the preseason game in Burley and again after the game against Dakota, and found him to be a bright, articulate, entertaining and honest young guy. It’s too bad he may never wear a Stampede uniform. He’d be a great representative for the team and wonderful in the community. And, despite his injury, he has a great outlook and attitude about rehabbing after surgery and suiting up again. The Stampede retain his D-League rights, so if he does come back to play next season, it’s possible he still could play for Idaho.

While Taurean Green has a good attitude about being assigned to the D-League, the same can’t be said of the Golden State Warriors’ Marco Belinelli. Despite being inactive for the sixth straight game Friday night, and even though he’s only played in 10 games for the Warriors, averaging 9.3 minutes, he’s not thrilled at the prospect of playing for the Bakersfield Jam, telling the San Jose Mercury News, “I don't want to go, because I think that I am an NBA player,” Belinelli told the paper. “I think that I can play at this level, and I want to be here, to work with my teammates. We have a beautiful group and I'm part of it.” The newspaper reports that the Warriors aren’t pushing the issue – so far.

The D-League has released the logo for the Showcase, to be played in Boise January 14-17. I’ll try to be kind. The best thing I can say for the artwork is that it’s – well, it’s…how do I say…generic. It would have been nice if the logo had incorporated the Stampede’s logo or team colors. Instead, we get a basic, blue-silver logo that simply lists the event’s dates and the host city of Boise, Idaho. It looks like the kind of a thing they can use for next year’s Showcase, just change the dates and the city. Still, it’s going to be a great event, and a logo won’t change things.

Former Stampede draft pick Dwuan Rice, picked by Idaho in the seventh round last month out of Cal State-Bakersfield, has signed with the Vermont Frost Heaves of the ABA. His ABA debut was successful, with 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal in Vermont’s 118-94 win over Quebec.

Another former Stampede guard, Mike Efevberha, is averaging 15.1 points for the expansion Iowa Energy, and is coming off back-to-back games of 28 (vs. Bakersfield) and 21 (vs. Fort Wayne). He’s helped the Energy come out of the blocks with a 5-3 record and first place in the D-League’s Central Division.

Under the category of “How’s that working out for you?” we have to look at the pro basketball situation in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This season, the Valley is home to not one, but two expansion minor league basketball teams. The D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, playing in Hidalgo, and the CBA’s Rio Grande Valley Silverados up the road in McAllen.

I guess the Vipers win, at least in the early going. They’re 6-2, and are averaging 4,120 per game at Dodge Arena. The Silverados are 1-12, just fired their head coach and are drawing 1,580 fans to the McAllen Convention Center.

The Stampede continue their road trip in Texas, playing the Vipers on Friday and league-leading Austin on Saturday. The Toros handed RGV its first home loss the other night.