This Week in the NBDL, Feb. 10-16
Like a Good Neighbor ... the Flight is There
Speaking of matinees, the result of the Huntsville Flight simply being a good neighbor to fellow Von Braun Center tenants resulted in Saturday's upcoming matinee in Huntsville. To keep the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey team from having to play at an inferior arena, the Flight agreed to move its start time from 7:30 to 4 p.m., allowing the Chargers to play later that evening at the VBC.
Soaking up a Crowd
Thanks in part to an appearance by Nickelodeon cartoon superstar SpongeBob SquarePants, the North Charleston Lowgators drew a team-record 6,132 to last Friday's overtime victory over Roanoke. Lowgators head coach Doug Marty expressed an interest in getting SpongeBob in a home green uniform for the remainder of the season, but couldn't come up with a pair of square basketball trunks.
Roanoke's Mikki Moore
Jennier Pottheiser NBAE/Getty Images |
Give it to Mikki
Since rejoining the Roanoke Dazzle after a 10-day stint with the Boston Celtics, 7-foot forward
Mikki Moore has let it be known by his play that he intends to return to the NBA in short order. The former Detroit Piston has scored 29 points in each of the Dazzle's last two games and is averaging 18.6 points and 8.7 rebounds in six games since returning to the NBDL on Jan. 27. He has recorded three consecutive double-doubles to give him nine for the season.
Long-Range Stempin
Columbus forward Greg Stempin has suddenly found his shooting touch from long distance, converting 13-of-18 (.722) over his last seven games and 16-of-21 (.762) in January and February. By comparison, the league's current leader in three-point field goal percentage (.533), Stempin converted just 38-of-137 three attempts last season (.277).
Who's Your Nemesis?
With just six games in the win column separating the top from the bottom of the NBDL standings, conventional wisdom says no one team would have a decided advantage in the season series record. Tell it to the Altitude, Riverdragons and Lowgators. The Dazzle has a winning record over just two teams in the league, but has won six of seven against Asheville. Columbus has won five of six over North Charleston, but has also lost 12 of 15 to Huntsville and Mobile combined.
Wet Behind the Ears
There are currently 19 first-year professionals filling the 80 available roster spots in the NBDL. League-leading Fayetteville leads the way with four, including two who hold down starting positions in Devin Brown and Jason Capel. Following is the NBDL rookies top five lists in selected statistics categories:
Games Played
35 Rodney Bias, Huntsville
35 Demetric Shaw, Huntsville
34 Jason Capel, Fayetteville
34 Matt Barnes, Fayetteville
34 Marc Mazur, Fayetteville
Games Started
34 Jason Capel, Fayetteville
29 Kevin Lyde, Greenville
26 Devin Brown, Fayetteville
9 Demetric Shaw, Huntsville
6 Ron Rollerson, Asheville
Minutes Per Game
26.5 Jason Capel, Fayetteville
23.8 Devin Brown, Fayetteville
23.8 Kevin Lyde, Greenville
20.3 Alpha Bangura, North Charleston
18.9 Luke Recker, Asheville
Points Per Game
16.4 Devin Brown, Fayetteville
12.5 Jason Capel, Fayetteville
9.6 Kevin Lyde, Greenville
9.5 Matt Barnes, Fayetteville
9.5 Luke Recker, Asheville
Rebounds Per Game
8.0 Rodney Bias, Huntsville
6.7 Kevin Lyde, Greenville
5.0 Kitwana Rhymer, Columbus
4.0 Devin Brown, Fayetteville
3.6 Matt Barnes, Fayetteville
Assists Per Game
2.0 Devin Brown, Fayetteville
2.0 Jason Capel, Fayetteville
1.7 Sean Peterson, Columbus
1.6 Demetric Shaw, Huntsville
1.2 Courtney Eldridge, North Charleston