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After the Goodman League defeated the Drew League last weekend, they were soon being dubbed the best summer league in the country. However, many other regions that didn’t get a chance to compete disagreed with that sentiment and wanted their shot against Goodman’s finest.
On August 30, one such league will have that opportunity. The Melo League is located in Baltimore and has had many NBA players in their gym throughout the course of the summer. They’ve been one of the more competitive pro-am leagues in the nation over the last few years and want to see if their All-Stars can take down the group from D.C.
Entering this game, the Melo League is the likely favorite and not just because they’ll have home court advantage at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. They have a star-studded group that is sure to attract plenty of attention.
The Melo League will be represented by Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Josh Selby, Gary Neal and Donte Greene.
The Goodman League will be represented by Kevin Durant, John Wall, Brandon Jennings, DeMarcus Cousins and Hugh “Baby Shaq” Jones.
The showdown between Drew and Goodman made headlines because of the players involved, but this game tops last weekend’s in terms of the talent suiting up. We’ve seen superstars play this summer, but never against equal talent like this. Durant will be matched up against James and Anthony throughout the game while Paul is taking on Wall and Jennings. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Unfortunately, this game won’t be streamed online, but there are still tickets available. The gym doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets can be purchased on game day. There will be cameramen on hand to record a highlight reel of the game, but it won’t be available live. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Las Vegas League Coming Together: Impact Basketball isn’t having any trouble finding players to participate in their new league in Las Vegas. The rosters are still being assembled, but plenty of players are already reserving their spots.
Many of the players that have been working out at Impact this summer are expected to play in the league. That includes Chauncey Billups, Corey Maggette, Al Harrington, J.J. Hickson, Austin Daye, Jared Dudley, Marreese Speights, Dahntay Jones and James Anderson among others.
Impact has also received commitments from John Wall, Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Zach Randolph.
Blake Griffin and Mo Williams haven’t yet committed, but they seem very interested in playing. They were actually trying to organize team workouts at Impact prior to the league’s formation, so it appears they’ll bring their other members of the Los Angeles Clippers as well.
Jones has been in contact with his Indiana Pacers’ teammates about holding a similar minicamp for the team. Danny Granger and Paul George are among the players interested in participating in the league.
Nazr Mohammed, who has worked out at Impact in the past, has reached out to his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates about playing in Las Vegas as well. Kevin Durant appears to be interested.
Brandon Jennings has also been in touch with organizers and expressed interest in the league.
The official rosters will be released on September 6 and the games will begin on September 12.
Stone May Return to UTEP: Julyan Stone’s future is up in the air, but he has plenty of options going forward. After going undrafted two months ago, the point guard has received offers from international teams, training camp invites from several NBA teams and an offer to return to the University of Texas El Paso as an assistant coach.
Stone received camp invites from the New York Knicks and Miami Heat prior to the lockout, and has significant interest from teams in China and Italy. One Italian team is offering him $150,000 with an NBA opt-out clause that would allow him to return to the United States whenever a new collective bargaining agreement is ratified.
However, the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach is also attractive to Stone. It’s something he’ll definitely consider and he’s excited about the possibility.
“It would give me the opportunity to learn from Tim Floyd, who is an outstanding coach,” Stone told HOOPSWORLD. “I’ll be meeting with the coaching staff to discuss everything next week. It’s a great opportunity though because I could work out on campus and start graduate school as well.”
While Stone wouldn’t be able to participate in practices because of NCAA rules, he would be able to coach from the sidelines during practices and games. Luke Walton made headlines last week when he was hired by the University of Memphis as their newest assistant coach.
Stone wants to pursue a coaching career whenever his playing days are over so the assistant job at UTEP could provide him with some much needed experience and preparation.
Sixers Hold Team Workout: The Philadelphia 76ers met in Los Angeles yesterday for their first group workout of the summer. Elton Brand organized the impromptu minicamp, which will last several days.
Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner, Lou Williams, Jodie Meeks and Spencer Hawes were in attendance.
The workout lasted three hours and took place on UCLA’s campus. The players will continue to meet throughout the week and are encouraging Marreese Speights, who is working out in Las Vegas, to join them in the next few days.
