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Tag Archive - Tulsa 66ers

Sam Presti Talks D-League

January 6, 2010 in by with 1 Comment

Q: How important is it to have Tulsa and OKC so close and have such a close working relationship between the two?

Presti: It’s a tremendous advantage for us. The ability to assign a player to Tulsa and watch him continue to develop is critical. The coaching staff that’s present in Tulsa was with us during the summer and Tulsa is running a system that is identical to the one we’re running in Oklahoma City. It’s great to have the opporutnity to not only have up-and-coming players in Tulsa, but up-and-coming coaches as well.

We feel like we’re much further ahead in terms of synergy than we were last year, and we’ve put more energy and focus into building that synergy. We’re committed to continuing to build that synergy. The players and coaches in Tulsa are part of the Thunder family.

via 66ers Nation.

Presti gets it. He learned it from Buford and Pop, but he gets it. In the interview, he talks about Mullens and how there were specific goals for Mullens while in Tulsa and the players that are there. Building the synergy is so important. That’s what teams don’t get, I think. If you use it right, you can use the league as your own farm system. You just have to know how to use it and invest both the money and time into making it matter.

Tulsa’s starting to win, too, as Tibbett’s coaching sinks in. I know everyone hates the team because of the move, but honestly, the entire Thunder organization has played it smart from draft day to D-League to marketing and fanbase development. This is no fly-by-night organization.

Tulsa Continues To Stockpile Talent That Somehow Can’t Win

December 18, 2009 in by with 0 Comments

Tulsa, Okla., December 18, 2009 – The Tulsa 66ers announced today that the team has acquired forward Deron (Der-ON) Washington from the Los Angeles D-Fenders in exchange for forward Keith Clark.

Washington (6-7, 215) was drafted third overall by the D-Fenders in the 2009 NBA Development League Draft. Through eight games in the 2009-10 season, Washington has averaged 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per contest

via 12.18.09 Tulsa 66ers Acquire Forward Deron Washington

The 66ers roster now includes Bryon Mullens, assignee, Latavious Williams, fresh out of high school uber-prospect, Steven Hill, monster on the boards, Mustafa Shakur, dagger-man, and Larry Owens. Granted, they’ve underperformed, but with the addition of Williams, who was brilliant, and I mean brilliant at summer league with the Pistons a few years ago, and has great ability to get to the rim, they’ve not got depth, talent, and speed. They have to start getting wins, now, right?

Oh, wait, they’ve got two back to backs with RGV and Reno. Nevermind. Man the West is tough.  How tough? You’ve got 9 teams in the West, seven in the east. Three teams in the East are above .500, six in the West. Yikes.

Latavious Williams Is A Prototype, Of Sorts

December 8, 2009 in by with 0 Comments

Williams became the first player to be drafted out of high school by the D-League when the Tulsa 66ers made him the final selection of the first round last month. A star forward from the Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center Academy, Williams was rated as the 17th best player in the 2009 recruiting class by Rivals.com. He selected Memphis over Georgetown, Kansas State and Florida International, but had trouble qualifying academically and began to consider his professional options. Like Jennings, Williams wanted to improve his stock for the NBA draft. He chose to stay closer to home to do it.

“There are no regrets at all,” said Williams, who has played sparingly since the 66ers’ season started last week. “…I just came here to get better.”

via D-League offers option for prep-to-pro players – NBA – Yahoo! Sports- Marc Spears.

Williams is talented, and you can see that. Nate Timmons is going to take it easy with him, after all, he’s got established guys and Mullens that he needs to focus on. But he’ll develop him, and he’ll get better. Good news is he’s projected at 16 rebounds per 40, which is kind of awesome. Also hard to throw the high schooler a bone when you’re struggling to get back to .500 and play in the Western Conference.

What I think is so great about Williams is it could be the first step in we as a basketball society stopping the charade that is college athletics. Now, it says something that no one could sneak Williams into college. But I don’t care if my plumber nailed his ACTs, if my doctor failed English, or if my senator struggles with long division, so it doesn’t bother me any that the kid couldn’t make college. But if he can be succesful, it opens the door for more kids to take that route. And with a little help from the CBA in 2011 (please, Lord, remember the D-League), you could see the pay jump or God willing the salary cap removed for the league. Why is this good? Because kids won’t have to go to college, deal with faking SATs, deal with being scrutinized for their behavior when the only reason they’re at the school is so alumni can cheer for them while they’re not getting paid and the schools can get rich off of them.  There will always be kids who want to go to college. But we can stop fooling ourselves into thinking this is the right way for these kids to be forced to live their lives. More time can be spent on teaching defense from a young age. More scholarship money can be spent on kids who actually need the money because they won’t have a professional athletic career.

LW is just a kid who’s trying to pursue his best option to make a living at what he does left. And right now, his life sucks pretty hard. Living in Tulsa making $16,000 even with accomodations is pretty crappy. But if it means this kid gets drafted and gets to play in the NBA, having walked the hard road that wouldn’t have been available to him if it weren’t for the D-League? That’s a dream I think everyone can get behind.

Somehow, The Vipers Are Much Better Than They Should Be, And The 66ers Are Much Worse. Who Knew?

December 6, 2009 in by with 1 Comment

Harris led the Vipers with a game-high 30 points. Anderson had 16 points. Wallace and Garrett Temple scored 14 points apiece. Joey Dorsey had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with his nine points.

Two 66ers had double-doubles led by point guard Mustafa Shakur’s 24 points and 10 assists. Byron Mullens, an Oklahoma City Thunder assignee, had 23 points and 10 rebounds.

“We’re showing maturity,” Harris said. “But we need to learn how to sustain leads.”

Tulsa had the early advantage, jumping to an 18-15 lead through the first seven minutes of the first quarter.

Shakur had eight points for Tulsa in that span. The Vipers responded with a 13-4 run included back-to-back baskets by Harris and 3-pointers from Ernest Scott and Wallace.

via Vipers outlast 66ers in home debut | vipers, 66ers, debut – Sports – TheMonitor.com.

MShakalaka (Mustafa Shakur) has been absolutely sick this season, and it’s a shame he can’t get a lick of support from the frontcourt.

Gotta love what the Vipers have put together, with wins over tough teams. Harris is such a boon for them, and they’re using the second rounders to just punish guys. Having Anderson in a secondary role is good for the team and for the player, which is rare in the D.

And hey! Mullens is alive! REPEAT, B.J. MULLENS IS ALIVE!

Put Alonzo Gee On Your Radar

December 2, 2009 in by with 0 Comments

For the Toros, Alonzo Gee is very good. Very good. Yes, I just repeated myself. 25 points on 10-17 shooting along with four rebounds, and one of the best things about his game is that he knows what he can and can’t do. He doesn’t take a bunch of long twos or outside shots that he’s not going to make (ahem, Dar Tucker). Gee is an explosive player, and it’s clear why the Spurs like him. They have an eye for talent, that team; they should take advantage of it somehow. I said that some non-Gee Toros would have to come through in this game, and boy did they ever. Curtis Jerrells finally had an overwhelmingly positive games, with eight assists and only one turnover to go with 5-8 shooting. Justin Bowen also played very well with 18 points and six rebounds. Dwayne Jones had eight points and 13 rebounds, but then he should have. He’s a veteran by this point with several years spent working on his footwork and positioning (though the footwork on his offensive game is still pretty bad), so he should be able to take advantage of still-raw players like Hardin and Mullens.

via Last Night in the D-League; Just Keep Shooting – Ridiculous Upside.

This Gee kid is legit. Saw him last night and at 6-6, he’s going to be a nightmare for teams in the Toros/Spurs system. Throw in only 1 turnover in 38 minutes of play last night, and I’ve got to put this kid at or near the top of the Call-Up charts.  It’s hard for me to do because he does all the things that teams DON’T look to the D-League for (scoring, shooting, not just being a body), but his shooting numbers are good enough to make you think Anthony Morrow with a bigger body size.

Dwyane Jones worked like a pro last night, too. I’ve seen him take games off where he looked like a D-Leaguer, but last night he was attacking and dominating the interior like a pro should, especially against Mullens.

Poor, poor Mullens.

Also, as a sidenote, you’re not going to find a better D-League announce team than Marc Hoenig and Malik Rose. Yes, that Malike Rose. Check out Marc’s Twitter here.

66ers Nab Former Thunder Pick Devon Hardin

December 1, 2009 in by with 0 Comments

DeVon Hardin, a second-round pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008, has joined the team’s NBA development league affiliate in Tulsa.

Hardin played overseas after being drafted 50th overall by the Thunder last year. He has yet to play in the NBA, but was included in a trade to the New Orleans Hornets last year that was later rescinded when Tyson Chandler failed a physical.

via Former Thunder 2nd-round pick DeVon Hardin headed to D-League – KFSM.

I really like what OKC is doing here. Bringing in guys and seeing how they work in the system.  It’s why I get so excited at the possibility of loosening up the cap restrictions in the ’11 CBA. Letting teams spend non-cap-hit money on projects, sending them down, keeping them from going overseas and seeing how they develop in the team’s system. It’s a long-term process and it may not work out. But it’s still a better investment than nabbing a guy and having him never play ever, ever. That’s that the Collins brothers are used to be for!