History Repeats itself

Greetings Viper fans.




Seeing as how my blog is now a feature on RGVIPERS.com, it is probably a good idea that I start posting on a more regular basis. By the way my thanks to our new webmaster Jonah Goldberg, he is also the Vipers new Media Relations Manager. By the way he also serves as our Home Color Commentator on our radio broadcasts.





Let me just start by saying, RGV is a much better team than the record indicates. The Vipers have had a crazy schedule, even the eight game homestand was crazy. You had the last two D-League Champions, ( Dakota, Idaho) Two other playoff clubs (Sioux Falls, Colorado), and a very solid Utah club that had two NBA Assignees. Right now the Vipers cannot finish games. Coach Moser cant quite put his finger on it. But coaches don't like to make excuses. Since I am the broadcaster and subsequently a Viper apologist I will make the excuse. The Vipers are tired and have little to NO practice time. The first 12 games were in 24 days. 8 home games, against some of the clubs I mentioned, one was a day game with two back to backs. The the first road trip happened. 4 games in six nights in 4 different cities. Game one in frigid Colorado. Only day possible for practice was the Monday before and the floor was not maintained and slippery. Play Tuesday night. Fly for Tulsa on Wednesday, no practice just rest, why? Thursday the game was at 11:00 AM, no shoot around obviously. Win that game. Head over to Tulsa airport, wait, and wait, and wait. Flights are cancelled. Can't get to Des Moines, IA. We bus at 1:00 AM to Kansas City, that's as far as the roads would let us go. Stay the night in a great hotel in KC. Bus at 1:00 pm to Des Moines. Arrive in Des Moines at 5:30om head straight to arena. Play overtime game against Iowa. Fly out next morning at 5:30 AM for Austin. Play Austin on Sunday at 3:00 pm, bus home that night.





Look this is pro basketball, but you tell me that this was an easy stretch of games for a club that needs more practice time and I'll say that you need your head examined. Hopefully these next few days of practice will do the club wonders.





- Next item on the agenda, the assignment of Joey Dorsey. I was excited about the possibility of his assignment since draft day. I knew he wouldn't get any minutes with the big club, but I knew he would make the big club. He is a bruiser, a defensive force and someone who could develop into a strong Ben Wallace type of player. He needs playing time, and he will get a ton of it in RGV. He really is the type of player the Vipers need right now. A strong rebounder ( especially on the offensive side of the glass), shot blocking bruising defender, and a player to take some pressure off of Alton Ford, who can focus more on scoring with Dorsey in the line-up, and also to challenge Alton on the glass. I hope this is an extended assignment. I think it will be, although the Rockets have been mum as to just how long he will be on assignment.





- And now the bad news. Kendall Dartez is the latest Viper to graze in greener pastures overseas as he is off to China. Dartez had some interest from some clubs to join an NBA roster, likely after the showcase, but nothing ever panned out, he got an offer he couldn't refuse. I wish him the best, but now the Vipers will have to search far and wide for another big man, which are hard to find. This adds another hole to this club, who already needed a big, (before Dorsey's arrival), and a sharp shooting three-point specialist. Sadly the Vipers don't get any benefits in the waiver list because of Kendall's departure, that only happens with Gatorade Call-Up.



I am going to try to blog more... our friends over at Ridiculousupside...Who I have added to the blog roll, have challenged me to update more so I will. It's tougher to maybe link as much as I have in the past but I will try.

Untill later...Stay outta the paint

Vipers Game Blog

Halftime Vipers 52 - Wizards 42

Solid first half for Rio Grande Valley although Smush Parker is taking some terrible shots right now. He looks like he is just trying to get into a rhythm but hasn't been able to so far tonight. Craig Winder and Trent Strickland both have 11 points with Winder's coming off the bench. Alton Ford is drawing fouls from any Dakota players the crosses his way and he is making them pay as big Al has 12 points, but most importantly is 8 for 8 from the foul line. As for Dakota the don't have a single player in double figures.  Quemont Greer has nine points to lead the way for Dakota. The Wizards have played all 11 players. Let me just say that Hamed Haddadi is a beast. He needs ALOT of developing... but he is a beast!!

5:44 Remaining 2nd Qtr  Vipers 40 - Wizards 35

Dakota must like spotting its opponents  big leads and coming back. Vipers have led by as many as 12 but the Wizards have brought the game back into close single digits. Craig Winder has looked good off the bench with 9 points including two three pointers. Mo Baker is just a pest defensively and he has also put up seven points...He is a really good player on what could be a good Dakota team.

Second Media timeout 2:44 remaining Vipers 25, Wizards 13

Trent Strickland looks like the Trent Strickland from the weekend. He has nine 1st quarter points and is 4-5 shooting from the field. Quin Humphrey has been agressive in the early going as well with seven points.

Vipers are shooting over 70% from the field right now.. Lets see if they keep it up

Pre Game Versus Dakota Wizards

Hello Friends:

Well the Vipers got the stomach punch of the century in the third quarter of last night's game versus the expansion Erie BayHawks. The Vipers were nearly tripled up, outscored 35-12 in the third and dropped their first game of the season with a 101-86 loss. Personally I think it's better that it happened sooner than later. 

This Vipers team has a ton of talent, but has been developing some bad habits. They turn the ball over too much and think they can turn on a 10-0 run whenever they want. It doesn't always work that way in this league; especially when you play everyone in your division seven times. 

Tonight's opponent is Dakota. We saw Dakota twice last season and it is probably safe to say that they are the San Antonio Spurs of the the D-League and of minor league basketball. They just always win. I don't know what it is that draws people to Bismarck, North Dakota, but they put a winner on the floor year in and year out. They have four championships in the 12 year history of the franchise. One IBA championship, two CBA titles, and one D-League title. Duane Ticknor is their head coach, another minor league coaching legend. The schedule makers were not kind to the Vipers. Four of the first five teams the Vipers have faced this season have coaches with at least one minor league championship on their resume... NOT COOL!!!

The Wizards are 0-2, they suffered a home loss to Iowa to begin their season and started their road swing with a heartbreaking overtime loss to Austin last night despite coming back from a 19 point deficit. So Ticknor and the Wizards are dying for a win, lets hope they can wait till they go home.

Game Two vs. Utah Flash

Greeting my fellow Viper fanatics.

Well game one is in the book and the Vipers came out on top 83-82 to division rival Tulsa. The game ended up being much closer than it needed to be, but outstanding guard play down the stretch by Tulsa kept the Sixers in the game. Trent Strickland played a monster game scoring 24 and hauling in eight boards

Last night was not without its problems, shot clock did not work throughout the game. Public Address announcer Tony Forina had to give 10 second warnings with a countdown at 5 for every possession. There were issues with the live stats as well. Game started a tad late (7:23), and our official webcast NBA Futurecast was not operating.

Hopefully we've worked out the kinks and are ready to go tonight. Tonight the Vipers take on the Utah Flash. Oddly enough, even thought the Vipers only won 21 games last year, the Snakes beat every opponent in the D-League at least once except for one....Who was it...???? Yep you guessed it the Utah Flash.

This is seemingly the model franchise of the D-League. their owner Brandt Anderson is like the Mark Cuban of the D-League. Internet billionaire buys a basketball team, builds sparkling new practice facility, has largest front office in the D-League and is very active in the community. They do a great job in Utah, hence while they will be hosting the D-League showcase in 2009.

Random Notes: I am really digging the Snake Charmers secondary uniforms. They have a huge Vipers logo belt buckle which really stands out. Also I must say the Snake Charmers have improved from year 1 to year 2. A good mix of returnees and rookies. I like the squad Nora.

So far I like what this team has. Some good rebounding ability, great athleticism, good character players, and most importantly, veteran leadership. This team has the potential to be very good, provided there is a contingency plan if a certain Mr. Smush Parker gets a Gatorade Call-up.

TRAINING CAMP STARTS TODAY!

The day has finally arrived. Season 2 of Rio Grande Valley Vipers Basketball begins today. Well at least the training camp part of it. It seems as if the D-League decided to give coaches a couple extra days to get their camps started and whittle down their rosters from 17 all the way down to 10 for opening night.

Speaking with Coach Moser on the Vipers Coaches Show (Every Thursday at 5:00 pm on ESPN 1240) he was stoked about the team he was able to put together for this season. He was especially excited about former Lakers point guard Smush Parker dropping all the way to the 12th spot right into his lap. According to Parker's agent he is excited about the opportunity to showcase his game and get back to the NBA.

I am going to break down the 17 man training camp roster as best as I can. I am still getting to know the team and where they have been so bare with me.

Returning Players

1. G/F - Trent Strickland 6-6 Wake Forest
2. G - Quin Humphrey 6-4 Youngstown State
3. F - Stanley Asumnu 6-5 - Tennessee
4. G - Craig Winder 6-2 - Texas

Evaluation:

Sorry to say it is not the strongest returning line-up in the D-league. The Vipers will sorely miss Ivan Johnson who is a presence on the inside. Jesse Smith is now in Reno and should be a solid role player for that expansion franchise. The most important returnee is without a doubt Trent Strickland. Strickland is the quintessential pro hoops player. He fits into any role you give him. Early in the season Strickland played an off-the bench role but as the Vipers started to lose players to overseas defections he stepped up and filled in nicely and averaged over 13ppg. Strickland should continue to provide valuable minutes to the squad. As for the rest of the squad, Humphrey and Asumnu are very strong defensive players and both played big minutes last year, but they didn't have big nights offensively every night. Humphrey is a big time rebounding guard and both players work hard on both ends of the floor. As for Winder a very good, but streaky shooter. Stepped up for some big games and ran the offense late in the year along side Kris Collins (who is now in Austin).

I like all of these guys and they can all contribute, but will they all make the squad? Who knows. I think Strickland is a lock but not sure who else is. Coach Moser is keeping a tight lip on this. But these guys should know that no one has been guaranteed a spot on the roster or the rotation, they will have to earn it.

Allocation Players/Local Tryout:

1. C/F- Alton Ford - 6-10 - Houston
2. C/F- Kendal Dartez - 6-10 - Louisville
3. G -Damone Morris - 6-3 - Eckard College

EVALUATION -

SIZE!! This allowed Coach Moser to draft best available player and not need. Alton Ford is a familiar name to local hoops fans. He played at Houston Milby who played down here in the Valley in the Los Fresnos Tourney several years ago. He was a McDonalds All-American and was a Clyde Drexler recruit at Houston.. although he never played for Coach Drexler. He has bounced around the NBA and overseas. He is a big body who can score and rebound. Dartez much of the same, although not as big of a body. Long. Can block shots and rebound and has a couple years of D-League expereince. Not gonna light up the score sheet but can contribute off the bench. Damone Morris, the local tryout player,looks like he could be a steal. I am a big fan of small college guys who put up big guys. Why? They play with passion that some big time college program players don't. They play with a chip on their shoulder because they didn't get recruited by the big guys. Morris averaged 17 ppg for NCAA D-2 Eckard College in Florida and looks like a scorer in every sense of the word. I like this pick-up

Drafted Players - by round

1. G - Smush Parker - 6-4 - Fordham - LA Lakers
2. F- Delonte Holland 6-7 - DePaul
3. C- Kurt Looby 6-10 - Iowa
4. G - Alpha Bangura - 6-6 - St. Johns
5. G- Thomas Sanders 6-3 - Texas Pan American - Garnder Webb
6. C/F - Boomer Herndon - 6-10 - Belmont
7. C - Jeffrey Day - 6-9 - Creighton
8. G/F Lance Perique - 6-8 - Georgia State
9. G - Keoni Watson - 5-10 - Idaho
10. F - JR. Harrison - 6-6 - Rice

Evaluation:

Without a doubt the Vipers are thrilled to have a hungry NBA ready guy to lead the offense, until he gets a Gatorade Call-up of course. I like the Smush Parker selection.. Why? I know some of you might be saying, " But A.D.B. he's just going to get called up, won't that hurt us?" Well in a sense, yes. Parker has something to prove, it is always nice to have a guy who is hungry on your team. The other thing is, the Vipers start the season with 8 home games. Personally If I am a Team President, I love this pick because we have an NBA name guy to help put butts in the seat and to help my coach get off to a great start to the season.

Vipers Coaches Show is Back!!

The Vipers den is open for business again. After several months of hiatus the Rio Grande Valley Vipers Head Coaches show is back on the air. You can listen in every Thursday at 5:00 PM on ESPN Radio 1240 AM. As of right now the show is a 30 minute chat with Clay Moser and any other special guests we will have throughout the year. More on that later. However, we are discussing the possibility of doing the show on remote once a month and extending the time to an entire hour. This will give the fans a chance to interact with the show, and potentially win some great Vipers prizes.

We had our first show yesterday, and it went as smooth as possible. I have to say this.. Coach Moser is a great interview. He can give you the nuts and bolts, and he can give you a one liner. He can be serious and funny. But most of all he is informative and straightforward and those are two huge keys for a coach and his dealing with the media. He will make an entertaining guest week in and week out on the Vipers Coaches Show (Thursday's at 5:00 pm ESPN RADIO 1240 AM) .

As for potential guest on the show. The Rolodex is certainly full.. expect D-league President Dan Reed at some point, Daryl Morey (GM of Houston Rockets), Maybe other memebers of the other Rockets and Hornets Basketball operations department. We may be able to get NBA Commissioner David Stern at some point as well. There are all kinds of guests we can get if you have any suggestions, leave a comment, or send an email vipersradio@gmail.com . We will try to make it happen.

That's it for now... be sure to tune in to get all your Vipers info every Thursday!!

Back by Popular Demand

Seeing as we have had a lot to report, and I have remained silent on the sidelines. I feel it is about time I catch up with the Vipers blog. After all, I am the Voice of the Vipers. Well this voice has been awful quiet during the offseason, and for several reasons. We didn't have lot to report for a good majority of it, but lately there has been a lot to report now and I thought I would give some brief commentary on the news.

Story 1: Vipers Hire Clay Moser as Head Coach

This was a long time coming but the Vipers finally announced a new permanent Head Coach since Bob Hoffman's departure for Mercer University. I like Moser's resume, I like his demeanor. I like how he is with the media. I haven't spoken to him much. Obviously he has been spending time preparing for the draft and has been doing a lot of scouting etc. But from the little time I have spent with him, he seems like an energetic guy, ready to get back into coaching, (He has been an advanced scout for several years in the NBA) He also has an obvious sense of humor and is obviously very witty. (Which is great for a radio guy like me because he is always there for a good sound bite). I like the hire.. we will see how things go. It's no secret that I was back and forth in my favorability of Hoffman. I was never critical of him. (although he felt otherwise) But I don't think he understood the pro game as well as he should have. He was a great hire for the expansion team. A familiar face who was liked by sponsors and basketball fans alike. Long term though..we figured out he wasn't the right fit. But you live and you learn. As for Moser, so long as he never throws his headset on the table during a postgame interview, he will be ok with me.

Story 2

Vipers Hire Brian Michael Cooper as Team President-

Before I talk about Cooper. Who I think is a tremendous hire, I wanted to share more info on the Vipers front office and ownership. When the team started majority ownership was elsewhere. Ryan Murphy (former Team President) did a great job getting the ball rolling and getting the franchise down here. However it was obvious fairly quickly that there was an extreme disconnect between the Vipers local owners and the Front Office that was hired by the original majority owners. While I don't think anyone is truly right or wrong in these situations, it was fairly obvious that once Alonzo Cantu took the reigns as majority owner that changes had to be made. Our owners are very hands on, which in this situation is very good. They know how to do things first class, they run the Vipers operation as a mini NBA franchise. But, they need people to fit their mindset of how the franchise should be run. Now they finally have their man to head the operation. It was a long time coming, but did they find a good one.

Brian Michael Cooper's resume is so impressive, all that was missing was a military award like a Purple Heart of a Medal of Honor. This guy has had an amazing education, both in the classroom and in his professional life. He is a lawyer by trade, but knows the sports business like the back of his hand. He has worked on some high profile cases involving sports leagues, he has also been a player agent in the NFL and NBA. This guy knows his stuff. I met him the day of the presser and I was impressed by the fact that he had read the blog and said he enjoyed it. That makes me feel good and also tells me that he does his research. He should be an excellent fit for this Vipers franchise.

Time is ticking down to the home opener and I am excited for the season. I will be blogging more as more news becomes readily available. More in the coming days and weeks.

WALSH WINS TWO STRAIGHT FOR DEBUT

Not a bad debut for Brian Walsh as Vipers Acting Head Coach. No one from ownership or from the basketball operations department would admit that this is an audition for Brian Walsh to be the permanent Head Coach of the RGV Vipers, but we all know that it is. Frankly in two games, with the energy that the Vipers have shown, and of course the back to back wins against a team that had won six of seven coming into Dodge Arena, I think Walsh has put himself in a strong position to be named the head coach permanently.

I have been asked by a lot of people in the last week about Brian's credentials and if he should be the coach. I have always begun my answer with, "He has won everywhere he has been." He is a winner, and he knows the minor leagues. I know that Bob Hoffman was probably the right fit last May. Brian Walsh is the right fit this April. He knows the pro game. He is looking to do two things. 1) Put a winner on the floor every night. and 2) Get to the NBA.

We all kind of knew what Coach Hoffman wanted to do when he came back to the RGV last year. We all knew he was going back to the college game at some point. It just happened to be on weird terms. I don't fault Hoffman for doing what he did like some people do. But, here is the thing now, Hoffman was not the right fit, Walsh is.

Walsh won a title in the USBL, been to the final game of the CBA Finals with Dakota, been to the Finals in the D-League with Colorado. I could go on with his resume, but you get the point.

Names aren't going to win you games. They may sell tickets in the beginning, but you know what sells tickets from the midpoint on... WINS. Look at the coaches who are the winners in this league.

Brian Gates (Idaho Stampede)- A long time minor league coach. USBL, CBA, D-League. Never played a minute of college basketball let alone pro hoops, and he is going win (likely) his second straight D-league Coach of the Year award.

Dan Panaggio(LA D-Fenders)-Coached in the CBA and at the NBA level as an assistant. They have also clinched a playoff spot and are plus 30 wins.

Joe Wolf (Colorado 14ers)- Coached in Idaho before Brian Gates...former NBA player but was not a name by any stretch. The were one win from the D-League title last year.

Duane Ticknor. (Dakota Wizards) another minor league guy.... See a pattern here?

I could go on... but you get my point... Give him a chance. He has earned it, and he wants to be here.

Toros Ram Past Vipers

A strong defensive effort from the Austin Toros, and a poor shooting night from the entire Rio Grande Valley roster led to the lowest point total in franchise history as the Vipers fell 110-75 to the Austin Toros Thursday night at the Austin Convention Center. The win for the Toros breaks their four game losing skid, and the loss for the Vipers is their third straight defeat away from Dodge Arena.

The Vipers kept the game close in the first half despite shooting just 31% from the field. They lead for the majority of the first quarter before surrendering the lead at the 4:45 mark on a Serge Angounou bank shot from the wing giving the Toros a 14-12 advantage. The Vipers unfortunately would not sniff the lead for the remainder of the game. The Toros outscored the Vipers 22-18 in the second quarter and led 46-36 at intermission.

After the Vipers closed a 10-point halftime deficit to three, the Toros exploded for a 19-3 run and would lead by 25 at the end of the third quarter. Rio Grande Valley did not fare much better into the fourth as Austin outscored RGV 33-23 and ran their lead to as many as 40 points as the Vipers could not find the answer offensively to the stifling Austin defense. Rio Grande Valley shot just 32% from the field in the loss.

Ivan Johnson led the scoring load for the Vipers with 18 points off the bench. Vipers leading scorer Desmon Farmer was limited to only 17 points on 5-16 shooting. Kris Collins in his second straight start for the banged up Quin Humphrey scored 13 on a poor shooting night for him as well.

The Toros had six players tally double figures, and everyone on their roster scored. Marcus Williams scored 25 to lead the way for the Austin. Justin Bowen added a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, while DeMarr Johnson scored 19 in the Toros 26th win of the season.

The Vipers 75 points on Thursday, is the lowest point total in the young history of the franchise. The Vipers will play their final game versus their in-state rival on Friday night with a 7:00 pm tip-off at the Austin Convention Center.

Pre Game Austin vs RGV 3/20

Well its time for the Vipers to return to the city where we last saw CJ Watson. The Vipers played some entertaining games versus the Toros this year. Most specifically this one back on January 5th a Double OT defeat to the Vipers and see the end of CJ Watson tenure with RGV and he went out with a 42 point explosion.

Celebrity watch: Round Rock Express broadcaster Mike Capps is in the building. We hope to have him for a halftime interview. Also The Monitor's Sports Editor Wade Baker is in the building as well.

End of 1st qtr--

Vipers 18
Toros 24


Vipers started strong and sputtered out at the end of the period. Ivan Johnson is a difference maker and the big news is Ian Mahinmi is in foul trouble again as he picked up two quick fouls.


5:06 Remaining 2nd Qtr
Vipers 33
Toros 38

The game has slowed down a bit and there have been more missed shots. Both teams are playing pretty good defense. Ivan Johnson is on the bench, but he continues to play well for the Vipers as he is sitting with 12 points now and has a huge block shot off the backboard.