Wednesday, July 18, 2007

RMR Newcomers

Five players have joined the Sonics for the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league who were not on the roster in Las Vegas. Here are a few quick notes on the newcomers.

PG Will Blalock
Blalock, who started and played 31 minutes last night against Utah, was "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2006 NBA Draft - the 60th and final pick. An early entrant out of Iowa State, Blalock saw action in 14 games for the Pistons, averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 assists per game. Detroit declined a team option on Blalock after the season. Blalock played for the Nuggets in Las Vegas, averaging 10.2 points (second on the team) and 3.4 assists (first).

PF Elton Brown
Brown spent last year in the NBA Development League with the Colorado 14ers, who lost to Dakota in the D-League Finals. The first overall pick in the D-League Expansion Draft, Brown averaged 18.4 points and a league-leading 9.6 rebounds per game last season. A little air ought to be taken out of those numbers because of the fast 14ers pace (the Suns of the D-League, they scored 112.5 ppg and allowed 108.9), but Brown was still a First Team All-D-League performer. My favorite Elton Brown fact is that he has a cousin who plays guard for the Arizona Cardinals. That cousin, who went to Virginia with Brown, is named ... Elton Brown.

PF Ryvon Covile
As a senior at Detroit-Mercy, Covile averaged a double-double (13.7 points, 10.6 rebounds). He went unselected last month and played for Cleveland in Vegas before joining the Sonics. Covile impressed with his play in the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp and is a very good rebounder.

SF Quinton Hosley
Hosley was considered a possible second-round pick after wrapping up at Fresno State. A Harlem native, Hosley was a JC All-American before making his way to Fresno, where he averaged 13.9 points and 8.9 rebounds as a senior. Supersonicsoul has more on Hosley's story, including his semi-famous basketball-playing parents.

G David Jackson
You might remember Jackson from his days at Oregon, but they were a ways back. He teamed with Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour as a senior when Ridnour was a freshman, averaging 4.7 ppg off the bench that season. Jackson spent the spring playing for the Portland Chinooks of the IBL, averaging 23.1 ppg. The Chinooks will play the Elkhart Express in Indiana Saturday for the IBL Championship.