Jan 9, 2010

Return By Harris Sparks Vipers Win Over Energy


DES MOINES, Iowa – Mike Harris may not have started in his return to the Rio Grande Valley line-up, but he made his return to the squad count. Harris tallied a double-double by scoring 27 points and hauling in 12 rebounds at the Vipers knocked off the Eastern Conference leading Iowa Energy 109-100 Saturday night at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The loss was the first at home all season for the Energy.

The Vipers got out a strong first half start by scoring the first eight points of the game. Rio Grande Valley led by nine at the end of the first stanza 30-21. The second quarter was more of the same for Rio Grande Valley. The Vipers pushed the lead to as many as 16 and led by 11 at the end of the first 24 minutes 59-47. Garret Temple scored 16 first half points, including four three pointers to help lead the Viper charge.

Iowa Head Coach Nick Nurse, who is Viper Head Coach Chris Finch’s assistant for the British National team, rallied his troops in the third quarter. After the Vipers began the quarter on a 9-4 lead to push the lead to 17, The Energy rallied by going on a 15-0 run, led by Pat Carroll’s seven points on the charge and trailed 68-64. With 1:34 remaining in the third quarter Sean Barnette’s three pointer gave Iowa their first lead of the game. Iowa lead 79-76 going into the final period.

The Vipers rallied behind Harris who scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. After falling behind by seven with 9:27 remaining in the game, the Vipers proceeded on a 13-2 run to give the Vipers a 91-87 lead with just over five minutes remaining. It was a lead they did not relinquish. The Vipers outscored Iowa 33-21 in the final frame to earn their fifth road win of the season.

Harris led five double-digit Viper scorers with his 27. His double-double was his third of the season. Temple finished the game with 21, with four assists. Meanwhile reigning D-League Player of the Month Antonio Anderson finished two rebounds shy of a triple double as he scored 14, while dishing out a game-high 11 assists. Will Conroy added 14 points and nine assists, and Houston assignee Joey Dorsey scored only 7 while hauling in 11 boards.

Carroll’s 29 points lead all scorers as he led the Iowa charge. He hit 12 of his 17 shots, including four three pointers. Curtis Stinson finished the game two rebounds, and two assists shy of his second straight triple-double as he scored 16. Former Viper Jeff Trepagnier struggled with his shot as he hit just three of his 12 shots scoring only nine points.

The Vipers and Energy will square off again on Sunday night. The venue will shift however, as they will move to the normal Iowa home building, the Wells Fargo Arena. Tip-off for Sunday’s match-up is scheduled for 6:00pm CST.

Jan 6, 2010

DORSEY DOMINATES IN SHOWCASE WIN OVER JAM


BOISE, Idaho – Houston Rockets assignee Joey Dorsey tied a career high with 27 points and set a new career high in rebounds with 22 as the Rio Grande Valley Vipers knocked off the Bakersfield Jam 115-107 Wednesday afternoon at the NBA Development League Showcase in Boise Idaho. The Vipers are now 11-4 on the season while the Jam fall to 3-13 on the year. The win for RGV is just their second in franchise history at the 2010 NBA D-League Showcase.

In a game with little rhythm the Vipers took a 58-50 lead into half time. The Vipers went on a 9-2 run capped off by a Joey Dorsey tip-in at the 3:31 mark of the second quarter to take a 50-40 lead. They would expand their first half lead to as many as 13 before going into the locker room with an eight point lead.

The Jam would not go quietly, especially in the third quarter. The Jam, after falling behind by nine, proceeded on a 14-5 run, capped off by a Rodney Web jumper to tie the game at 70 with a little over four minutes left to play in the half. The rest of third quarter was mostly Vipers. RGV hit four three-pointers, including three by Ernest Scott on a 16-5 run to end the quarter to go into the final stanza with an 86-75 lead. The Vipers would lead by as many as 16 in the final quarter en route to the eight point victory.

Dorsey was perfect 11-1 from the field o lead all scorers with his 27 points, tying his career high set on 12/21 versus the Reno Bighorns. Five additional Vipers scored in double-figures Antonio Anderson had a strong bounce back game after scoring just four points on Monday, he tallied 17 and dished out seven assists to help the Viper cause. Ernest Scott hit four three-pointers off the bench to tally 12 points, while Will Conroy pitched in with 14 points and seven assists. The Vipers dominated on the boards, out-rebounding the Jam 47-36.

Bakersfield’s Amara Sy finished a rebound shy of a double-double after tallying 24 points. Jeremy Wise and James Jackson each added 19 points in the loss for Bakersfield.


The Vipers will continue their stretch of games away from Dodge Arena on Saturday when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face the Iowa Energy. It will be the first of back-to-back games against the Eastern Conference leaders. 

Jan 5, 2010

Showcase Day 1 Re-Cap. Other Stuff

Hello Viper Nation...

Well we are finished with Day 1 of the 2010 D-League Showcase.

Seeing as I am sitting next to the great Scott Schroeder, who is to blogging as this guy is to professional wrestling, I figured I should go ahead and try to put in a thought provoking blog on ITK. So here goes...

The Vipers dropped their first game in five tries today, but you knew that already. The real story is that the Vipers are once again trying to find themselves after making the big trade to bring in the D-League's all-time leading scorer Will Conroy in. Anytime a team makes a move its for a reason and the reason to bring in Conroy was simply this, THE ROCKETS REALLY LIKE WILL CONROY.

Conroy was the last person cut off of the Rockets training camp roster. The Rockets instead with Pops Mensah-Bonsu who of course has since been waived and has subsequently joined the Toronto Raptors... again.  Now let me remind everyone that Houston does not have an open roster spot at the moment.

When Mike Harris was called up to the big-club that ate up the 15th and final spot. But you should also be aware that January 10th, all players with non-guaranteed NBA contracts become guaranteed for the remainder of the season. So expect Houston or a lot of other NBA teams to be letting some of these players go.

Remember if Harris is waived by Houston, he would have to clear NBA waivers first, then (if he chooses) he can return back to the D-League with RGV. He could also sign a pair of 10-day contracts with Houston, after he returns to the D-League to further prove himself to the Rockets front office brass, and make a little NBA money.

One remote possibility is that the Rockets allow Harris' contract to become guaranteed and send him to the D-League as an assignment player to further enhance his development. I don't see this happening, even though Harris does have assignment eligibility as he is considered a second year NBA player as we speak.

The Vipers will hope to bounce back against Bakersfield, who have struggled since the start of the season. There are rumors floating around that they may be acquiring THIS GUY. But I don't think he will be here in time for tomorrow's game. THANK GOD.

Here are a couple of other notes from the Showcase so far.

  • Frisco Head Coach Nancy Lieberman is in the house. Nice to see her here, they start play next season. Going to try and snag an interview with her later. 
  • There is a Paul Woolpert sighting in the building. It was kind of awkward watching him watch his former team in action.
  • Sundiata Gaines was called up today by the Utah Jazz... hey I guess the showcase served its purpose eh?
More later from Day 2.



Jan 4, 2010

VIPERS FALL TO THUNDERBIRDS IN SHOWCASE OPENER

BOISE, Idaho – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers were outscored 56-42 in the second half en-route to a disappointing 101-84 defeat to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the opening game of the NBA Development League Showcase Monday afternoon at Qwest Arena in Boise. The Vipers are now 0-3 in their first game of a D-League Showcase.

The Vipers were playing the second half of a back-to-back after winning in Los Angeles on Sunday, the travel seemed to affect them as they scored just 42 points in the first half. The Vipers also committed 13 first half turnovers but trailed only by three at the half. The Vipers kept it close thanks to Garrett Temple’s 13 first half points.

The Vipers (10-4) never saw the lead for the remainder of the game. Albuquerque (5-9) began the third quarter on 13-4 run capped off by a Yaroslov Korolev three-point play to give the Thunderbirds a 58-46 lead with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter. The T-birds would close out the third stanza on a 7-0 run to lead 77-64 at the end of three quarters. Albuquerque would lead by as many as 19 as they cruised to the win.

Temple led all Viper scorers with 18 points. Will Conroy scored 13 and hauled in six rebounds in his first start in a Viper uniform. Craig Winder and Jonathan Wallace scored 11 and 10 points respectively off the bench in the losing effort for Rio Grande Valley. Houston Rockets assignee Joey Dorsey hauled in a team high 11 rebounds for RGV.

Korolev and Carlos Powell each tallied 20 points to shoulder the scoring load for the Thunderbirds. Korolev also added a team-high seven rebounds. Antoine Agudio, starting for the injured Keith McLeod, scored 15, hauled in 5 boards and dished out five assists while Shane Edwards chipped in 14 points off the bench in the win for Albuquerque. It was the Thunderbirds first win versus Rio Grande Valley since January 9th of 2009.

The Vipers will return to action on Wednesday when they round out their 2010 D-League Showcase appearance with a match-up against the Bakersfield Jam. Tip-off is schedule for 2:45 Central time.