G League open tryout players to watch as the season progresses
Is anyone out there the next Jonathon Simmons or David Nwaba?
Some people let their past define them and professional sports is no different, but once players make it to the league their past pedigree really holds no weight.
Players from junior colleges, mid majors and other nondescript schools can still make noise in the NBA. We see it on nearly every roster. Guys from Tennessee State, University of Houston or California Polytechnic State University can morph into better players than guys from Duke, North Carolina or Kentucky.
While they are becoming more prevalent on the NBA level, the G League is littered with players from these schools. This is the place they can be noticed, make a name for themselves and eventually earn a payday either overseas or in the NBA.
Last season, David Nwaba was the guy who outworked everyone else, stood out from the crowd of prospects and earned an NBA deal.
Tryout players are slowly superseding draftees on the hierarchy of value in the G League, so let’s see who fans should be aware of this season.
Trey Davis — Maine Red Claws
24.8 mins — 21.2 points, 5.8 assists, 2.0 steals
This one has all the making of a Simmons-esque storyline. Davis was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 G League Draft only to be waived shortly after the season started by the Canton Charge. Not a single team picked him up out of the player pool, so he returned this year as a tryout player for Maine.
Now, Davis is a pivotal cog for a 4–3 Red Claws team off the bench. He’s top-10 in the league in scoring (non-NBA players with a five game minimum) and he plays less than 25 minutes a night. How efficient is he, you ask? Well, he’s hitting 54.7 percent of all his shots, 53.3 percent of his 3s (5.0 attempts/game) and knocking down 90.6 percent (5.3 attempts/game) of his free throws.
Frankly, he’s been unreal seven games into this season. Jabari Bird — two-way player for Boston Celtics — leads the team in scoring at 24.6 points a night, but Davis is the most dynamic player on the court during his limited time. He plays like someone on a Joel Embiid minutes limit, but doesn’t force hardly anything. He knows he can get to the cup and finish (71.4 percent in the restricted area) and 12 of his 16 made 3s have been off the dribble so he’s definitely a dual threat.
Two weeks ago Canton traveled to Maine for a barn burner of a game. Davis had his best game of the season with 28 points (10-of-17 overall; 5-of-7 from 3) and nine assists, but they lost the game 118–120 in overtime.
Watch the full highlights above and you will see the swag Davis carries. The last two 3s he hits are from Stephen Curry range, and he just calmly knocks them down in key moments for Maine. Davis — still just 24-years-old — has always had a knack for scoring, but has never been this efficient so that will be something to watch as the season unfolds.
Soon, first year head coach Brandon Bailey will have no choice but to start giving Davis 30 or more minutes a night, because his production has been bonkers.
Austin Nichols — Memphis Hustle
15.5 mins — 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks
Fans of college basketball — especially ones in Memphis — will certainly know the name Austin Nichols. He was Tennessee’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2013, then he enrolled with his hometown Memphis Tigers, transferred after two seasons and was subsequently dismissed from the University of Virginia team last season.
Talent has never been the issue with Nichols. Some questioned whether or not he even enjoyed playing the game, or if he simply just played because he was expected to. This move to the G League should suppress that ideology, because it’s a real grind in this league and only players who truly love the game are apt to handle it.
It’s a fresh start for a 23-year-old, 6-foot-9 forward with immense talent who has already been written off. Often fans — and media alike — want guys to immediately blossom and if they don’t, we dismiss them. Nichols has certainly contributed to the perception of him and his game, but the talent is still there.
His stats aren’t eye-popping, yet. He’s still recovering from an injury he sustained working out for the Toronto Raptors over the summer, so coach Glynn Cyprien is easing him back into the fray.
He’s played in five of the Hustle’s first seven games, and showed his potential with his first start of the season as well. He notched 31 minutes and finished with 15 points (7-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-2 from 3), 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. He has to work on his court vision as he hasn’t tabbed a single assist in his 78 minutes played this season, but the skills are there.
The Hustle are 3–4 to start the season and a healthy Nichols could help catapult them into playoff contention as the season wears on.
Stephaun Branch — South Bay Lakers
15.5 mins — 7.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal
Branch is a 6-foot-5 guard out of West Georgia who is an above average rebounding guard. Minutes will be tough to come by on this team as they are really humming early on, and have tons of talent. It will be important for him to show his quality in his spot minutes.
L.G. Gill — Greensboro Swarm
19.9 mins — 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds
Gill is a 6-foot-8 forward out of Maryland. He’s been solid when given 20 or more minutes for the Swarm and as the season goes on, he could be a wildcard off the bench for coach Gillespie.
Chance Comanche — Memphis Hustle
6.2 mins — 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds
Comanche is a 6-foot-10, barely-200 pound forward. In just under 32 minutes this season he has 14 points and 14 rebounds which is great, but he’s also committed nine fouls and doesn’t have a single blocked shot. Guys his size who don’t stretch the floor — and he doesn’t — have to block shots as a counterbalance. He’s only 21 and could develop nicely under coach Cyprien.
Taylor King — Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario
9.6 mins — 3.7 points, 3.0 rebounds
King is the old head of this group at 29. Once a highly touted McDonald’s All American, his career has taken a lot of twists and turns, but he now finds himself playing under one of the best coaches in the G League, Casey Hill. He can still shoot it, so he could be a valuable asset off the bench later in the year.
*Stats via gleague.nba.com and are as of Nov 24, 2017
