The Revised Greenburgh Five For October Invites

30 Morris Almond G 6-6 225 Feb. 2, 1985 Rice Utah (NBA) 2
23 Toney Douglas G 6-1 200 Mar. 16, 1986 Florida State (NCAA) R
43 Jordan Hill F 6-10 235 Jul. 27, 1987 Arizona (NCAA) R
47 Yaroslav Korolev F 6-10 245 May 7, 1987 Moscow, Russia Dynamo Moscow (Russia) 2
50 Rashaad Singleton C 7-0 270 May 22, 1987 Florida Southern/ Georgia (NCAA) R

Can't teams sign any player that is not under contract? Does it really matter what team they are on?

Alex Acker, 6-5, Shooting Guard

Scott Nadler

Talent wise, Acker was clearly a level above the rest of the competition here, at least on the offensive side of the ball. He has NBA range, with a beautiful stroke, quick release and good elevation, be it pulling up off the dribble in transition, or off the catch. He can stop on a dime in the lane and hit the in-between shot, but will force up an occasional unnecessary fade-away when he is well defended. He’s deadly coming off screens to his left for catch and shoot opportunities, something Acker showed repeatedly during quite a few of the Mad Ants’ out of bounds plays.

Incredibly smooth, he plays at a good pace, and for the most part stays under control, although there are a few instances where his decision making is questionable. For example, he attempted to lead 1 on 3 fast breaks on several possessions this week, which inevitably led to turnovers. Acker has a tendency to fall in love with his jump-shot at times and refrain from attacking the hoop, the reason why he traditionally shoots a low percentage from the field and gets to the free throw line at a poor rate.

His passing ability is undeniably one of the best parts of his game. He can make difficult passes in both the half court and in transition, often threading the needle to a teammate under the hoop. He also showed the ability to act as a facilitator in an offense, making the extra pass to open shooters or driving to the hoop and finding an open man.

His whole game however, offensively and defensively, seemed to deteriorate as the games progressed. It was a trend for him to play aggressively early, looking for his shot and pushing it in transition. But by the 4th quarter, he was passive and would even go several possessions without touching the ball. He seemed to almost give up and not care that both games were very winnable – not doing his part to secure a victory. He shows very little emotion and almost seemed relieved in both games when the 48 minutes were up. Clearly Acker did not want to be here, as you can see from his body language that this level is most likely beneath him. Defensively, he put almost no effort into stopping his matchup, which is not surprising considering his reputation.

Acker is a great talent who could be able to live up to his potential and be productive NBA rotation player if he were able to channel his energy, maintain his focus and play hard on both sides of the ball for every minute he’s in games. He didn’t seem eager to fill that role this week, though, and considering that he’s 26 years old, he might not any time soon.

In today's first day of summer league practice, Douglas stood out in the two-a-day sessions. He looks well capable of handling the backup point guard duties. And that's what Walsh wanted to see here in Vegas to make sure he does not have to bring in another PG. Nate Robinson is still on their radar and they hope he signs the one-year qualifier.

Marc (cough) Berman

The best part of the Knicks season begins tomorrow.

Posted by misterearl:

The best part of Summer League is that one dude who shows up in your favorite teams colors, out of nowhere, and demonstrates some unbridled passion, eagerness and a potential NBA skill set that captures the imagination of every underdog.

This guy is an unknown. He is a longshot. He has no agent. He has kicked around Division 2, or Europe or the playgrounds of Chicago. He is unpolished and raw.

I like these kinda guys.

The group we have playing for us this year is much more interesting that what the Knicks put out last year. Last year the only guys on the team I was interested in looking at were Gallinari and Chandler. This year we have a number of people worth studying. Don't know who I am "rooting" for in terms of making the team (We already know about Hill and Douglas)- just hope that we see some players (one of the retreads or undrafted college players) who have developed and tinkered with their game enough to be worth a contract.

[Edited by - Paladin55 on 07-14-2009 1:16 PM]