Tarik Black, C, 6-9, 250, Kansas/USA
Anthony Brown, G/F, 6-7, 210, Stanford/USA
Jabari Brown, G, 6-4, 215, Missouri/USA (out with eye injury)
Dwight Buycks, G, 6-3, 190, Marquette/USA
Jordan Clarkson, G, 6-5, 185, Missouri/USA
Will Davis II, F, 6-8, 210, UC Irvine/USA
Tony Mitchell, F, 6-6, 216, Dolomiti Energia Trento (Italy)/USA
Xavier Munford, G, 6-2, 180, Rhode Island/USA
Larry Nance, Jr., F, 6-9, 230, Wyoming/USA
Julius Randle, F, 6-9, 250, Kentucky/USA
D'Angelo Russell, G, 6-5, 195, Ohio State/USA
Robert Upshaw, C, 7-0, 258, Washington/USA
HEAD COACH: Mark Madsen (Stanford)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Larry Lewis (Morehouse), Thomas Scott (Pasadena CC)
ATHLETIC TRAINERS: Marco Nunez (Cal Poly Pomona), Nina Hsieh (Cal State Fullerton)
Some of these players don't have much of a shot of making the Lakers team during the regular season. They will be competing to make other rosters of find a job overseas. For the players that are expected to remain on the Lakers after the summer league ends, let's discuss three questions to watch for in their play.
D'Angelo Russell
1) Will his elite passing and shooting displayed in college translate, with more athletic defenders guarding him?
2) Will he be able to defend point guards and shooting guards without being a liability?
3) Can he lead a team at this level?
Julius Randle
1) Has his jumper become consistent?
2) Has he improved his conditioning, pick setting, and pace of play (knowing when to attack and when to hold back)?
3) Is he healthy?
Jordan Clarkson
1) Has his 3 point shooting improved?
2) Has his on ball defense improved?
3) How does he adjust to playing off ball with Russell?
Robert Upshaw
1) Can he be an elite defensive center as he was in college?
2) How does he gel with Randle, Russell, Clarkson?
3) Can he mature and not regress to drugs or breaking rules?
Anthony Brown
1) How well does he shoot from 3?
2) Can he defend other perimeter players well?
3) How good is he at picking up the offensive concepts?
Tarik Black
1) Has he added any outside range to his game?
2) Does he still have that high motor that makes him effective?
3) Is his defense improving?
Larry Nance Jr.
1) What does his jump shot look like?
2) Will he do all the dirty work to make the team more effective?
3) Can he posterize at least one person in summer league?
As a team
1) How does the young core gel on/off the court?
2) Do they play a brand of basketball that will equate to wins down the line?
3) Do they compete as hard as they can regardless of the outcome?
I plan on watching as much of summer league as I can. It should be a lot of fun. This is the most talented summer league team the Lakers have probably ever had. And while the end result doesn't matter much, expect the Lakers players to compete hard. These are all highly competitive guys who want to win no matter what the stakes. Next article will be a summary after the first game :)
Also, coming up soon on July 23rd I'll be apart of a team doing missionary work in Kenya. We'll be working in Kibera Slums which is the largest slum in Africa and is home to over 2 million people. There is one toilet with plumbing for every 2000 people there. We are in need of prayers and financial assistance. If you'd like to give you can at the link below:
www.wateroflifecc.org/gorgive
Register and then hit the give to teams button to select "2015 - Kenya Team 1" and my name is Jason
Thank you SO MUCH for your help. Any amount counts :)
Thanks for reading, go Lakers!!!
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