What’s up, loyal blog readers? We are still a few months away from any meaningful basketball games, but there is still a good bit of news on former Hoyas making moves in the professional ranks. Let’s get you up to speed, shall we?
Roy Hibbert – The 17th overall pick in the 2008 draft became an All-Star in his fourth season, and the Pacers are going to pay him like one. The Trail Blazers offered the unrestricted free agent a 4-year 58 million dollar contract, but the Pacers matched it to keep Big Roy in Indy. Hibbert and Indiana will look to improve upon their 42-24 regular season mark (good for the three seed in the East) and second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Miami Heat.
Austin Freeman – Austin has signed on to play for the New Orleans Hornets summer league team, having spent last year playing for Marco Polo Shop in Italy until a hernia problem sidelined him in March. Freeman still has one of the purest jumpers in the game, so I fancy he can find himself a place on a Hornets roster that lacks scoring punch behind Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis.
Hollis Thompson – I would like to officially welcome Hollis as he makes his debut in this feature. The Oklahoma City Thunder signed Hollis to a one-year deal that has options for a second and third year. He will not be playing any summer league basketball, though, as Thompson had minor surgery on his groin this week; that groin problem is believed to be the reason that Hollis went undrafted.
Jason Clark – The defending champion Miami Heat have invited Jason Clark to play for their summer league team. Clark unsurprisingly did not hear his name called on draft night, and he is definitely considered a long shot to make an NBA roster. There are, however, only a handful of guaranteed roster spots on the Heat, as some of the rest of the team is mostly filler. Despite the odds, then, Jason should at least have a chance to try to play his way into a job.
Henry Sims – It was not too surprising to see big Hank go undrafted: when you look at the numbers, Sims only saw significant minutes in one season, and he only managed six boards a game. Still, Henry does have the size, athleticism, and court awareness to have earned a summer league invitation from the Utah Jazz.