When the Spurs picked James Anderson with the 20th overall pick in the draft, my first reaction was something along the lines of, “Huuuhh?” I hadn’t even considered it, so I thought that maybe I needed to go back and look at some highlights on Youtube or something, but there was nothing there that convinced me that I had overlooked something extraordinary. If this was any other team I would be ready to say that this was a bad pick, but with the Spurs you have to realize that there is almost always a method to the apparent madness. I figured that, as usual with the Spurs, the decision was not only based on talent, but also on the player’s disposition. The Spurs are known for not just shying away from any potential head-cases, but bringing in potentially great players who are willing to play team basketball and have a good attitude. That’s why I am hopeful that I did overlook something about James Anderson. Then, of course, this article came out on Sunday from the San Antonio Express News that details the humble roots of our newest Spur. It’s definitely the sort of player story to make any sports fan interested in seeing the player succeed.

Of course, we still have to look at the stats. At least I do. Anderson played three years at Oklahoma State and got better each year. He never averaged less than 30 minutes per game, and from his freshman year to his junior year when his minutes per game jumped from 30.9 to 34.1, his scoring average jumped from 13.3 to 22.3 points per game. So in just over three more minutes per contest his scoring average went up nine points. He shot the ball slightly better in his sophomore season, but he became a better passer by his junior year when he went from 1.4 assists per game to 2.4 per game. He still needs to work on his turnovers, also at 2.4 per game. He seems comfortable shooting the three, but I am not so sure I am comfortable with him shooting it at 34 percent. He may develop a decent three-point shot at the NBA level, but I don’t see it happening right away. He’s a decent rebounder at 5.8 per game in his junior year – up from 3.7 in his freshman year – so I think I’d rather see him play closer to the rim.

So what are we looking at here? It’s hard to say since we didn’t get to see him play in the Summer League, so we’re left waiting until the preseason. For right now, we’re looking at a 6-6, 210 lb.  Shooting Guard/Small Forward who can kinda shoot threes, has the same amount of assists as turnovers, can score about 22 points a game if he gets 15 shots, is an adequate rebounder, and has no special defensive skills to speak of (1.4 steals and .6 blocks in his junior year).  Looking at all of that, I don’t see much to get overly excited about, but as the Spurs have shown us time and time again, there are intangibles that don’t show up in the box score. Here’s hoping that those intangibles are what I overlooked and what James Anderson brings to the table.

I can’t take it anymore. Even with the Fantasy Baseball Playoffs and the fact that football season has finally started and I am once again in an inordinate amount of fantasy football leagues (Eight to be exact – Money, IDPs, Keepers, Expert Leagues… you name it), I am anxious to focus on the upcoming basketball season. Let’s start today with a quick summary of what has happened and is about to happen in Spurs Land.

Last year we started the season with archaic has-beens like Theo Ratliff and Michael Finley, projects like Ian Mahinmi and Malik Hairston, and a deadly three-point shooter in Roger Mason. Oh yeah, and Keith Bogans (blech). None of them are in San Antonio anymore. Ratliff and Finley’s corpses were cast off mid-season, while Roger Mason’s jump shot and hopes for a lucrative off-season deal both died a horrible and unexpected death over an agonizing season of inconsistency.  Mason is now in New York where he will probably have much more opportunity to either find his jumper again or at least jack up tons of errant threes. Mahinmi was not retained and is now the problem of the Dallas Mavericks, and the promising Hairston decided he would rather play in Europe than watch his teammates play in the NBA. Oh, and Keith Bogans was allowed to leave (blech again).

Mid-season acquisitions Alonzo Gee and Garrett Temple are both still around as is Curtis Jerrells who was cut, then brought back later in the year.

The Spurs did mediocre in the draft by picking up James Anderson with the 20th pick and Ryan Richards at #49. I wasn’t a big fan of the picks (I liked Jordan Crawford, Dominique Jones, and maybe even Damion James better), but I am keeping an open mind.

Also added to the mix was Summer League sensation Gary Neal. And of course, the most unheralded major off-season acquisition, Tiago Splitter was finally brought to San Antonio from the Spanish League where he is the reigning MVP.

I’ll do some more analysis of the Spurs newbs in the coming weeks.

The NBA Preseason begins October 3rd, but the Spurs have their first game on October 7th @ Houston. Their first home game is October 9th vs Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Friends. The rest of the Pre-season schedule goes like this:
Oct 12 @ Clippers (in Mexico City)
Oct 14 @ Cleveland (at the U of Pittsburgh)
Oct 16 vs Vitoria (I believe that this is one of the 50 names for Tiago Splitter’s old Spanish League team)
Oct 18 vs Oklahoma City
Oct 21 vs Houston

The season opener is a home game vs the Indiana Pacers on October 27th.

The Spurs signed their summer league star, Gary Neal, to  a contract yesterday. He was definitely the brightest spot on the summer team and could be on his way to helping put last year’s Roger Mason fiasco behind us. One can only dream.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Neal led the Spurs’ summer league team in scoring with 16 points in 25.8 minutes per game in five games. He was 30 of 60 from the field and 17 of 34 from beyond the 3-point line in Las Vegas.

He went undrafted in the 2007 NBA draft after playing college ball at La Salle and Towson. Since then, he has played one season of pro basketball in Spain and two in Italy.

I think Neal has a solid chance to stick and make the active roster to start the season. Keith Bogans and Roger Mason are still unsigned right now, so it remains to be seen just how this will play out, but I am all for the new blood after the way those two played last year.

The Spurs finished 5-0 in the NBA Summer League this past week. That’s not really saying much in the grand scheme of things, but it beats going 0-5 any day. The Spurs’ top draft pick, James Anderson, did not participate in the Summer League due to a bad hamstring. Well that bodes well for the future. OK, fine, I will reserve judgement a little longer. Also, it’s worth noting that none of the Spurs stars, young or old, were on this year’s team and they still handled up. Nice..

Here are the averages of the best performers for the Spurs in this year’s Summer League:
Tyler Wilkerson: 12 ppg, 6.5 rpg – Best game: 20 points, 9 rebounds, one assist.
Alonzo Gee: 14.2 ppg – Best Game: 24 points, four rebounds, four steals, one assist.
Gary Neal: 16 ppg – Best Game: 25 points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals
Curtis Jerrells had a 20 point game, but not much else of note, and we saw him last season so we kind of know what he can do.

I like Gary Neal so far, and he has made a strong case for himself with his three-point shooting, and Wilkerson has some potential as well since he can grab some boards. I like Gee’s scoring, but his turnovers (3.8 per game) are terrible.
James Gist sprained his wrist and missed the second half of Summer League play. The injury may have hurt his chances of moving on with the Spurs this season, and it’s a shame he couldn’t compete a little longer. We’ll have to wait and see I guess.
Neal, Wilkerson, Gee, and Jerrells will probably all be at the Spurs training camp.