LOUISVILLE (WDRB) – The ball never stops bouncing.
Ever.
And that's a wonderful thing.
All it took Monday night was the presence of Chris Berman on ESPN's coverage of Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby and I was back, back, back to watching basketball. I love baseball. I cannot tolerate Berman.
I refused to work the mute button. So I changed channels and found the NBA Summer League on NBA TV.
That put me in pursuit of summer league rosters. There has to be a long string of local players still chasing that NBA Dream, right?. There are always are. I uncovered the names of 18 former Louisville, Kentucky and Indiana players listed on summer league rosters.
If I missed anybody, the names of the missing are not intended as a slight. Solid summer league news can be elusive. Some teams have not posted complete rosters yet.
Some interesting names. Edgar Sosa has apparently recovered from the gruesome knee injury he suffered a year ago. He's trying out with Sacramento, which has a team in Las Vegas. Sosa mentioned a flight to Las Vegas in a Tweet on Monday -- and followed it up with another one saying he landed in LV late Monday night.
His old U of L sidekick, Jerry Smith, has moved on from the New Jersey Nets to the Atlanta Hawks, even though he was an all-star for the Nets' team in the NBDL last winter. Terrence Jennings is back from Belgium and trying to become the next Moses Malone for the Philadelphia 76ers. I always thought Jennings had NBA skills because of the way he ran the floor and blocked shots. He'll make the league one day.
What is the record for the most former UK players on one NBA team?
The Houston Rockets can stage a University of Kentucky reunion with Patrick Patterson, Terrence Jones and Josh Harrellson, now that Harrellson has been traded from the Knicks to the Rockets.
Indiana has had three head coaches since Mike Davis left Bloomington, but two former Davis players – Robert Vaden and Earl Calloway – are still trying to fight their way into the league. (The three coaches? Kelvin Sampson. Tom Crean. And don't forget Dan Dakich.)
I did not list all the names I found. There are reports that Brandon Knight (Detroit), Eric Bledsoe (Clippers) and Morehead's Kenneth Faried (Denver) are going to play. I refuse to believe guys with that much NBA experience would risk injury in the summer league. Or that their teams would let them.
So here is The List (please share any additions):
Louisville (5)
Derrick Caracter – Atlanta Hawks.
Chris Smith – New York Knicks
Terrence Jennings – Philadelphia 76ers
Edgar Sosa – Sacramento Kings
Jerry Smith – Atlanta Hawks
Kentucky (9)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – Charlotte Bobcats
Marquis Teague – Chicago Bulls
Terrence Jones – Houston Rockets
Patrick Patterson – Houston Rockets
Josh Harrellson – Houston Rockets
Doron Lamb – Milwaukee Bucks
Darius Miller – New Orleans Hornets
DeAndre Liggins – Orlando Magic
Enes Kanter – Utah Jazz
Indiana (4)
Eli Holman – Houston Rockets (Hide the office plants.)
Robert Vaden – Indiana Pacers
Jeremiah Rivers – New York Knicks
Earl Calloway – Washington Wizards
Chris Smith is trying to join his brother, J.R., on the New York Knicks
