Solomon Alabi D-League Tracking Thread

[Built Ford Tough]

Just thought I would make this thread to track Alabi's (and maybe Davis for his brief stint) progress in the D-League. His first game is Friday vs. Springfield and if you are interested, you can watch all of his games in the D-League online for free at:

 

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/dleague_webcasts.html

 

Erie's schedule is as followed:

 

November

 

Fri 19 vs Springfield 7:00pm

Sat 20 vs Springfield 7:00pm

Fri 26 @ Fort Wayne 7:30pm

Sun 28 @ Fort Wayne 5:00pm

 

December

 

Fri 03 @ New Mexico 9:30pm

Sat 04 @ New Mexico 9:30pm

Tue 07 @ Utah 9:00pm

Fri 10 vs Maine 7:00pm

Sat 11 vs Maine 7:00pm

Fri 17 @ Iowa 8:00pm

Sun 19 @ Fort Wayne 5:00pm

Sat 25 @ Iowa 8:00pm

Mon 27 vs Dakota 7:00pm

Tue 28 vs Dakota 7:00pm

Thu 30 @ Maine 7:00pm

Fri 31 @ Springfield 7:00pm

 

Averages:

 

G   GS   MPG   PPG   RPG   BPG   APG   SPG   TO   PF
06  06   22.0  08.0  6.0   3.0   0.3   0.33  1.5  3.6

Edited December 8, 2010 by Built Ford Tough

[Doc]

Im excited to see how he turns out. I'm hoping for high rebounding and blocks numbers. I don't expect anything on the offensive side.

[Dash]

I wouldn't expect too much out of him even in the d-league, everything I read about him during the weeks leading up to the draft screamed long-term project and the fact that he is already 22 does hurt him a little. However, the Raptors merely gave up cash considerations for him so its not like they are taking on much of a risk. Anyways I'll be keeping tabs on this thread throughout the season, hope he does well because the guy has plenty of potential.

[Built Ford Tough]

I wouldn't expect too much out of him even in the d-league, everything I read about him during the weeks leading up to the draft screamed long-term project and the fact that he is already 22 does hurt him a little. However, the Raptors merely gave up cash considerations for him so its not like they are taking on much of a risk. Anyways I'll be keeping tabs on this thread throughout the season, hope he does well because the guy has plenty of potential.

 

Believe me, I don't think any Raptor fans have any sort of expectations for him. Most would be shocked if he ever develops into a rotation player in the NBA (myself included) and realize that the chances of him ever becoming relevant are very small.

 

I also don't expect much from him in the D-League. Not only is he insanely raw, but the D-League is a completely guard dominant league and big men never seem to put up any sort of offensive numbers. As long as he pulls down a fair amount of rebounds and blocks some shots while not looking completely lost on the floor, I'll be satisfied.

 

One thing worth mentioning, though, is that despite the fact that he is 22 years old, he hasn't been playing basketball for very long so he is still really young in terms of basketball experience. I'm not sure of the exact time he started playing ball was, but I think he was only 15 or 16 years old.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Built Ford Tough

[headliner]

Solomon Alabi will only be useful if he becomes a great shot blocker and if that all he accomplish I would be very happy.

[Built Ford Tough]

Looks like he will be getting some company in the D-League, and no, it is not Ed Davis (yet).

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned guard/forward Christian Eyenga to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced on Thursday.

 

Eyenga has yet to make an appearance with the Cavaliers during the regular season. He played in six games during the preseason, averaging 4.3 points on .625 shooting and 0.8 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.

[Built Ford Tough]

Tonights' numbers:

 

13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 blocks on 4/10 shooting and 5/9 FT in 27:13 minutes of action. The BayHawks won 109-71

 

I defintiely like what I see, at least judging by these numbers. The points were more than I expected, which is awesome, but the blocks are simply amazing. 7 blocks is an accomplishment regardless of what league you are playing in. I wish I could've saw the game, but he looks like he played very well tonight.

[headliner]

Absolutely agree, Solomon Alabi biggest impact will be on the defensive end and his length should make him a great shot blocker in the NBA. I just think his body needs to fill out and he needs to get stronger. He is just to skinny and he needs a lot more muscle. It’s great to see him start of well and I hope his confidence sky rockets. When he is ready to come back he will do the same things in a NBA game.

[Dash]

Alabi performed MUCH better than the guy selected 36 spots ahead of him. I am baffled.

[Doc]

Lovin the 7 blocks.

[Built Ford Tough]

Game 2 wasn't nearly as good as his first game.

 

8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks on 1/6 shooting and 6/8 from the line in 23:50.

 

Erie also lost the game 98-93.

 

I like the rebounds and the 2 blocks are nice as well. The shooting isn't particularly appealing, but like I said before, any offense that he gives you is a bonus as far as I am concerned because he is never going to be an offensive player. I like that he is able to hit his free throws at a fairly high rate. It is always good to see a big be able to knock down his free throws.

 

He has basically a week before his next game, so hopefully he can have a solid showing.

[Built Ford Tough]

Tonight's numbers:

 

7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks on 3/7 shooting in 15:13

 

I'm curious as to why he only played 15 minutes tonight. He didn't seem to be in foul trouble at all (only had 2), so that wasn't the issue. The 3 blocks in 15 minutes is pretty nice to see, though.

 

 

Also, Ed Davis made his debut tonight and his numbers were:

 

10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks on 3/7 shooting and 4/4 from the line in 18:18

 

Davis seemed to have a huge impact on the game, though. He had a plus/minus of +21 which was far and away the highest on the team. For not playing competitive basketball since last Feburary, I'm pretty impressed by his numbers. Hopefully he can have a better game tomorrow and we will see him up with the Raptors next week.

[Built Ford Tough]

Numbers from the game earlier today:

 

Alabi

 

9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks on 4/7 shooting in 19:33

 

Davis

 

10 points, 5 rebounbs, 4 blockson 4/5 shooting in 17:10

 

Alabi showed his shooting touch by draining a 16 footer from the right baseline off of an inbounds play when Fort Wayne didn't bother covering him. That is the only highlight I saw that included Alabi. As for Davis, he had a nice dunk over a couple of Mad Ants defenders that showed nice explosiveness considering his lack of paying time as of late and the fact that he is coming off of a knee injury.

 

I wish I could actually watch one of these games, but unfortunately I've had to work during every single one of them so all I can go off of is the box scores.

[Guest The REAL STL10]

Numbers from the game earlier today:

 

Alabi

 

9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks on 4/7 shooting in 19:33

 

Davis

 

10 points, 5 rebounbs, 4 blockson 4/5 shooting in 17:10

 

Alabi showed his shooting touch by draining a 16 footer from the right baseline off of an inbounds play when Fort Wayne didn't bother covering him. That is the only highlight I saw that included Alabi. As for Davis, he had a nice dunk over a couple of Mad Ants defenders that showed nice explosiveness considering his lack of paying time as of late and the fact that he is coming off of a knee injury.

 

I wish I could actually watch one of these games, but unfortunately I've had to work during every single one of them so all I can go off of is the box scores.

 

When is Davis expected to return?

[Built Ford Tough]

When is Davis expected to return?

 

Not sure exactly.

 

I think the original plan was for him to play the games this weekend, next weekend and probably the Tuesday game on the 7th before making his return. That would give him around 5 games to get his legs under him and the Raptors certainly don't want to rush him back.

 

However, with Evans now out of the lineup for the forseeable future, they may decide to bring him up a bit earlier than expected. The Raptors don't play again until Wednsday, so I wouldn't be too shocked if they give him a few minutes during that game.

 

If it were up to me, I would keep him down in the D-League for another week. Let him play the two weekend games and then bring him up. By the sounds of it he is still very out of shape and is sucking air after about 5 minutes of playing time. No point in bringing him up if he isn't going to be able to play more than 5 minutes without getting exhausted.

[Guest STL10]

Not sure exactly.

 

I think the original plan was for him to play the games this weekend, next weekend and probably the Tuesday game on the 7th before making his return. That would give him around 5 games to get his legs under him and the Raptors certainly don't want to rush him back.

 

However, with Evans now out of the lineup for the forseeable future, they may decide to bring him up a bit earlier than expected. The Raptors don't play again until Wednsday, so I wouldn't be too shocked if they give him a few minutes during that game.

 

If it were up to me, I would keep him down in the D-League for another week. Let him play the two weekend games and then bring him up. By the sounds of it he is still very out of shape and is sucking air after about 5 minutes of playing time. No point in bringing him up if he isn't going to be able to play more than 5 minutes without getting exhausted.

 

Listening to Jay after today's game it is clear that he has little confidence in Amir as a starter.

 

He spoke of that Amir would get 2 fouls anyways starting so it's better for him to come off the bench.

 

Splitting the minutes between Ed Davis and Amir Johnson for the rest of the season at the four sounds quite feasible at this point.

 

Hopefully the Raps can rebound from their injuries and shooting woes and get back on track.

[Built Ford Tough]

He had a pretty poor game tonight. Only 5 points, 4 boards and a block in roughly 25 minutes in a loss. Didn't seem to have much of an impact at all on the game and from what I read, he was pretty much invisible on the floor.

 

Hopefully he has a better showing tomorrow.

[Built Ford Tough]

Got two games to post here, as I forgot to update this after the game on Saturday night.

 

On Saturday, he had a brutal game of only 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks on 2/8 shooting in 20 minutes.

 

However, he bounced back tonight and had arguably his best game in the D-League with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks on 4/5 shooting and 4/4 from the line in 28 minutes.

 

I was a bit worried after see how poorly he played during the weekend games, but it is nice to see him bounce back tonight and have a solid game. He hasn't put up numbers like this since his first game in the D-League when he put up 13/7/7. Hopefully he can keep this kind of play up, although I don't expect much considering the D-League is so guard oriented.

[headliner]

The #Raptors have recalled rookie centre Solomon Alabi from the @ErieBayhawks of the NBA D-League... more details to come.

via TweetDeck

[Doc]

Geez already?

[headliner]

Here is the actual details of the recall

 

“Part of it is we want to keep in touch with him, have him work with our coaches and have him be up here with us and with the team and not to lose that connection with the team that he has here,” said said Raptors head coach Jay Triano after practice on Thursday.

 

“The idea to go down there was to go down and play in games, which he wouldn’t of had the opportunity to do up here … and get minutes and see where he is.

 

“The team he was with is a smaller team and so much of the game down there is small so his minutes weren’t high and we just figured at this point it was better to have him come back and work with our team and be available to help us practice and be thrown into the game if he has to be.”

 

National Post

[Built Ford Tough]

Meh, I would've liked to see him stay in the D-League if they are just going to have him sit on the bench for the rest of the season and not get any game action, outside of 20 point blowouts. Practicing with the team and developing relationships is great and all, but there is no substitute for legitimate game action, and he probably won't be getting much of that with the Raptors.

 

If he actually gets minutes, which I just don't see happening, my opinion will obviously change.

[headliner]

He should have stayed in the D League but my thing is he should be getting a lot more minutes then he has been. I’m not sure how many times he can go back but it’s not a bad idea to bring him up see where he is at then sending him back to the D League.