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December 30, 2011 - NBA G League (G League) News Release


WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

It's a dollar-and-a-dream story. Actually, it was more like $650 and a dream.

In June, Dennis Horner, a guy who played in Belgium and Cyprus last season, spent $650 (plus travel expenses) to try out for the NBA Development League. Six months later, Horner was making his NBA debut for the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center, just a two-hour drive from his home near Atlantic City.

It was a unique journey, and the dream of every guy that paid that $650. But Horner admits he really wasn't thinking this big when he made the trip to Louisville for the D-League tryout.

"I was just trying to impress the people that were there," he said, "taking baby steps."

Afterward, he felt good about how he played. He got positive feedback from the scouts that were in the gym, and his agent told him that he was going to be selected in the D-League draft. So there would be no return to Cyprus, which had to be a relief for the 23-year-old.

More from NBA.com's Jon Schuhmann

PROSPECT REPORT

Marqus Blakely, Iowa Energy -- Said a longtime NBA scout of Blakely following the 2010 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, "It wouldn't surprise me if he were on an NBA roster at some point next season. He is an NBA-level athlete at two positions, because he plays much taller than his listed height. He would be a smart second-round pick, although almost nobody is projecting him to be drafted at all. Do not overlook this player." Blakely went undrafted, then spent most of his rookie season with Iowa before being called-up by the Houston Rockets in April 2011. He never appeared in an NBA game, went to training camp with the Rockets in December, was eventually waived, then recently reacquired by the Energy. Not much of a shooter, Blakely, a three-time America East Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Vermont, will look to make the NBA as an athlete/defender, who by all accounts is extremely intelligent and coachable.

NEWS & NOTES

Milwaukee Bucks Assign Hobson to NBA D-League Affiliate Fort Wayne The Milwaukee Bucks assigned guard Darington Hobson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Bucks? NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced yesterday. The assignment mark the sixth time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for Hobson this season. He was the Mountain West's Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year in his only season at New Mexico in 2009-10 while averaging 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game. Drafted by the Bucks with the 37th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, Hobson sat out the 2010-11 season after undergoing surgery to repair both of his hips. He was re-signed by the Bucks on Dec. 10 and appeared in both of Milwaukee's preseason games, averaging 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 20.0 minutes. Hobson has not appeared in a regular season game for the Bucks.

Former NBA Star Ricky Davis Sets Sights on Comeback

Over the past 15 months, the man who once scored 20 points a game in the NBA has called three continents and four countries home. Ricky Davis' travels started after he was waived the Clippers in the 2009-10 season -- following a 12-year NBA career -- when he picked up with Turkish club T�rk Telekom B.K in March of 2010. He left Turkey for China that October, signing with the Jiangsu Dragons, then headed to France in the spring, joining up with Chorale Roanne. Fully recovered from a knee injury that hobbled him during his years in Los Angeles, he felt, as he put it, that he was "back." So he came home. Urged on by a compacted season that's already opened the door for 11 players out of the NBA D-League to earn call-ups, Davis signed with the Maine Red Claws -- affiliate of his former team, the Boston Celtics -- and started his NBA comeback tour last night against the Canton Charge. NBADLeague.com's Kevin Scheitrum caught up with him after Red Claws shootaround on Thursday. More

Ostertag Takes One Last Shot at the Big Time

On Tuesday, the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League announced that they'd signed center Greg Ostertag from the available player pool. Ostertag hadn't played any sort of organized basketball in five years, ever since he retired from an NBA career that saw him play a key role on Karl Malone and John Stockton's Utah Jazz teams of the 90's and early 2000's, and consistently finish near the top of the league in blocked shots. He called it quits in 2006 and proceeded to do, in his words, "nothing." A few short-lived comeback attempts dotted his retirement, until he decided, early in December, to drag his 38-year-old body back onto the court to see if it can still do what it once could. "One last good effort," he said. On Wednesday, NBADLeague.com's Kevin Scheitrum caught up with the 7-2 big man to talk about what he expects from his final comeback attempt, how life changed during retirement and the void in his life that only grew with every year away from the game. More

AROUND THE D-LEAGUE

Andre Emmett (39) and Blake Ahearn (35) combined for 74 points in Reno's 139-114 win over Bakersfield last night. Emmett shot 16-for-20 from the field, while Ahearn went 11-for-13. Emmett also had eight assists, while Ahearn finished with a game-high 12 assists ... The Canton Charge, owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers, added Manny Harris after the second-year pro was cut in camp in favor of former NBA D-Leaguer Mychel Thompson . Canton also brought back the last of its remaining camp invites this week when Keith McLeod returned from the Utah Jazz training camp ... The Erie BayHawks were able to add Devin Green after their new owners, the New York Knicks, cut him in training camp. The team also re-acquired big man Chris Daniels after he was released by the Los Angeles Lakers during their final round of roster cuts ... In addition to claiming Ricky Davis, the Maine Red Claws traded for NBA cuts Jerome Randle and Lawrence Hill in return for a pair of picks in next year's NBA D-League Draft. Maine also added Xavier Silas from its NBA affiliate Philadelphia 76ers, while returning Durrell Summers and Kenny Hayes from NBA camps ... The Bakersfield Jam added rookie Jeremy Hazell after he was cut in training camp from their affiliate, the Phoenix Suns. They also added Miami Heat camp invite Jeremy Wise and former NBA player Brandon Wallace last week, as well ... The Iowa Energy brought back Marqus Blakely and Jarrid Famous after they were cut in camp. The team also added Mike Efevberha and traded Mardy Collins (whom they acquired after their affiliate Washington Wizards cut him) to the Los Angeles D-Fenders for two future third-round picks.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS

Cleveland's Alonzo Gee scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 28 minutes in a loss to the Toronto Raptors last night. Not drafted by an NBA franchise in 2009, Gee signed with the Austin Toros, and was named the 2009-10 NBA D-League Rookie of the Year, averaging 21.0 points and 6.6 rebounds in 36 games with the Toros. After spending time with the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs at the end of the 2009-10 season, Gee was signed by the Cavaliers in December 2010, and went on to average 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 40 games.-->

LOOKING AHEAD

The 2012 NBA D-League Showcase is slated for Jan. 9-12. The eighth annual event, hosted this season by the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, will take place at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev., home of the NBA D-League's Reno Bighorns. NBA TV will air 12 Showcase games -- eight of them live. Each day is comprised of four games. The NBA D-League Showcase welcomes general managers, player personnel staff, and scouts from each of the 30 NBA teams who will be in attendance to evaluate the league's talent. Conceived prior to the 2004-05 season, the NBA D-League Showcase provides an opportunity for NBA D-League players and coaches to perform in front of NBA general managers, player personnel executives and scouts over four consecutive days at one location. The 2012 event will feature each NBA D-League team competing in two games each over four days.

GATORADE CALL-UP BOARD

Boston's Ray Allen needs 28 threes to pass Reggie Miller (2,560) for first on the all-time list ... Boston's Kevin Garnett needs 60 rebounds to pass Charles Barkley (12,546) for 16th on the all-time list ... The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant needs 52 points to pass Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) for eighth on the all-time list. Bryant needs seven steals to pass Rod Strickland (1,616) for 22nd on the all-time list.

ASSIGNMENT BOARD

NBA Players Currently on Assignment in the NBA D-League:

Player NBA Team NBA D-League Team Assignment Date G PPG RPG APG

Hassan Whiteside Sacramento Reno 11/29/10 7 5.1 3.2 0.1

DeMarre Carroll Memphis Dakota 12/14/10 6 35.7 18.3 6.8

Pape Sy Atlanta Utah 12/27/10 6 24.0 5.5 5.0

Devin Ebanks L.A. Lakers Bakersfield 12/27/10 6 26.5 12.0 8.0

Garret Siler Phoenix Iowa 1/4/10 16.0 4.0 7.0

Cole Aldrich Oklahoma City Tulsa 12/30/10 28.8 7.3 8.1

-->Today's Quote

RICKY DAVIS, on his struggle to make it back to the NBA: "My knee was hurting so bad. I lost my explosiveness and I wasn't really able to do what I wanted to. It was just kind of like I was a person out there knowing what I could do and knowing what I used to do, and getting out there and not being able to do it, it's kind of the part that hits you deep in your soul." CSNNE.com, Dec. 30, 2011

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