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January 3, 2012 - NBA G League (G League) News Release


It's only been six games, and already Paul Pierce has seen enough of Greg Stiemsma to come up with a nickname for the unlikely starting center for the Boston Celtics: The Steamroller.

"That's my man," Pierce told the Boston Herald. "He got himself to the league, and now I'm going to keep him here. He's going to have a 10-year career. Just rebound, set picks and block shots ? and know the plays. And get paid."

Sounds simple, though for Stiemsma, it's a journey that began in Turkey in 2008, took a detour through South Korea and Sioux Falls, and ended up with the seven-footer from Wisconsin jumping center for the Celtics on Jan, 2, 2012 against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden.

"It's a little overwhelming," said Stiemsma, who appeared in four games with the Sioux Falls Skyforce this season before earning an invite to an abbreviated training camp with the Celtics. "I think it was on our first road trip when one of the guys asked me where I was at this time last year. It sure wasn't on a plane with the Boston Celtics, I can tell you that."

Starting in place of the injured Jermaine O'Neal, Stiemsma scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, to go with seven rebounds and two blocks in last night's win over Washington. In his first NBA game on Dec. 28 against New Orleans, Stiemsma had six blocks. For the season, he's averaging 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. In four games with Sioux Falls, Stiemsma averaged 9.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks.

"Seriously, man, I'm happy for Greg," said Kevin Garnett. "He's coming in here, coming from the bottom, coming from nothing, very appreciative of his opportunity. He comes in and works his (butt) off. I'm not just saying that.

"What I hate now is that everybody knows who Greg is. He's not our big secret anymore. He has uncanny instincts. He can block shots like anybody else, like no one I've ever seen. He doesn't look all that fast and quick and explosive, and I think that's kind of his mystique. I told him he's in the league now, so he's not going to be that much of a mystery anymore, but, truth to him, he's worked his behind off to get to where he's at, so I'm just happy for him."

PROSPECT REPORT

Da'Sean Butler, Austin Toros -- The story didn't go according to script. Instead of capitalizing on a brilliant senior season at West Virginia, in which he led the Mountaineers to the Final Four, Butler tore the ACL and MCL in his knee against Duke in the National Semifinals. Suddenly, a player some had projected as a potential late-first round pick, was unable to work out for teams in the hopes of cementing his place in the 2010 NBA Draft. The Miami Heat still took a flier, selecting Butler with the 42nd overall pick, but eventually waived him in training camp. Signed by the Spurs in March 2011, Butler did not appear in an NBA game, but went to camp this season with the Spurs before getting cut before the start of the season. Not a freak athletically, Butler has a nose for the basket to go with solid range and good instincts. Coaches and teammates to a man also rave about his character. The Spurs, who own and operate the Toros, will no doubt be keeping a close eye on him.

NEWS & NOTES

San Antonio Spurs Assign Joseph to NBA D-League Affiliate Austin Toros The San Antonio Spurs assigned guard Cory Joseph to the Austin Toros, the Spurs' NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. The assignment marks the 12th time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. Joseph (6-3, 185) is in his rookie season and has appeared in four games this season with the Spurs. Selected by the Spurs with the 29th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft out of the University of Texas, he started all 36 games in his lone season with the Longhorns and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. This is his first assignment.

Houston Rockets Assign Morris to NBA D-League Affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Houston Rockets assigned forward Marcus Morris to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. The assignment marks the 11th time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for Morris (6-9, 235), who's is in his rookie season and has appeared in three games this season with the Rockets. Selected by the Rockets with the 14th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft out of Kansas, he was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player last season.

San Antonio Spurs Assign Neal to NBA D-League Affiliate Austin Toros The San Antonio Spurs assigned guard Gary Neal to the Austin Toros, the Spurs' NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced yesterday. The assignment marks the 10th time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for Neal. Neal (6-4, 210) is in his second season with the Spurs and was named to the 2010-11 NBA All-Rookie First Team. Undrafted out of Towson in 2007, Neal appeared in 80 games last season averaging 9.8 points, while shooting .451 from the field, .419 from three-point range, and .808 from the free throw line. He has not played this season for the Spurs after undergoing a successful appendectomy last month.

Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt and Whiteside to NBA D-League Affiliate Reno Bighorns The Sacramento Kings assigned forward Tyler Honeycutt and center Hassan Whiteside to the Reno Bighorns, the Kings' NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced yesterday. The assignments mark the eighth and ninth time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for Honeycutt and second for Whiteside in his career. Honeycutt (6-8, 188) is a rookie this season after being selected out of UCLA by the Kings in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft (35th pick overall). He has appeared in one regular season game this season and competed in both of the Kings' preseason games. Whiteside (7-0, 235) is in his second NBA season after a rookie season in which he played one game and missed a majority of the season due to an injury. He played 14 games for the Reno Bighorns during an assignment last season and averaged 4.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.14 blocks per game.

Washington Wizards Assign N'Diaye to NBA D-League Affiliate Iowa Energy The Washington Wizards assigned center Hamady N'Diaye to the Iowa Energy, the Wizards' NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced Sunday. The assignment mark the seventh time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for N'Diaye this season and second of his career. N'Diaye (7-0, 235), in his second NBA season, appeared in 16 games last season for Washington. He also appeared in 11 games for the NBA D-League Dakota Wizards in 2010-11 and averaged 4.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. While at Rutgers he was named the 2009-10 Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

AROUND THE D-LEAGUE

The Reno Bighorns have acquired NBA veteran Bobby Simmons . In order to make room on the roster, the team waived forward Taj McCullough. Simmons returns to the Bighorns after playing 15 games with the team last season, averaging 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The 2005 NBA Most Improved Player, Simmons played nine seasons in the NBA, averaging 9.4 points and 4.0 rebounds, including 16.4 ppg during his breakout 2004-2005 season ... In two games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on assignment from the Milwaukee Bucks, Darington Hobson is averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists ... Since returning to Springfield from New Jersey Nets training camp, JamesOn Curry has scored at least 20 points in four of five games, averaging 19.2 points during this stretch. For the season, Curry is averaging 18.9 points, 5.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds.

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.

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

CARLDELL 'SQUEAKY' JOHNSON, on the difference in travel accommodations from the NBA D-League to the NBA: "Oh my gosh, it's crazy. You can use your phone on the plane. It's like a four-star restaurant up there. You have seats where you pretty much can lay down. Trust me, I'm enjoying every moment." The Birmingham News, Jan. 3, 2011

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