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Thursday, July 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Five players from the 2013 NCAA runner-up team are playing in the NBA, while Jordan Morgan is playing pro ball in France.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Trey Burke struggled in his second NBA season, but showed potential with the Jazz.
Catching up with former
Michigan basketball stars
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Editor
It has been a busy summer for
Michigan basketball alumni.
Two recent stars have been
traded, and another finally appears
to have found a longer-term home.
Whether they’ve stayed put or
moved around, there has been no
shortage of developments for the
former Wolverines.
So, with the NBA Summer
League now in the books, The
Daily put together a roundup of
what notable Michigan alumni
have been up to this offseason.
Nik Stauskas: Stauskas was
traded from the Sacramento Kings
to the Philadelphia 76ers, which
is sort of like escaping the Titanic
in a life raft without a paddle. You
made it out alive, but you have
to do a lot of work before feeling
secure again.
On the 76ers, Stauskas should
have a chance for more touches,
which will be a warm welcome
after sharing minutes with former
Kansas standout Ben McLemore
in Sacramento. This summer, he
came back to Ann Arbor to work
with Michigan strength and con-
ditioning coach Jon Sanderson and
will hope to build on a strong finish
to last season.
Tim Hardaway Jr.: Hardaway
was part of a draft-day trade to
the Atlanta Hawks, flipping him
from one of the worst teams in the
league (New York) to one of the
best. The problem now might be
finding minutes.
The Hawks have Kyle Korver
and Kent Bazemore at Hardaway’s
position, so he’ll have to fight for
time on the court. Still, his career
10.8 points per game is a respect-
able number, and being part of a
winning environment could help
raise Hardaway’s pedigree.
Glenn Robinson III: After a
rookie year that saw him waived
by the Minnesota Timberwolves
and claimed by the 76ers, Robinson
dazzled fans with 360 dunks and
big numbers for the Hawks’ Sum-
mer League team along with fellow
former Wolverine Jon Horford. He
played so well that his hometown
Indiana Pacers signed Robinson to
a three-year contract at the end of
Summer League.
Robinson enters the season as
the fourth small forward on the
Pacers’ depth chart, but his ver-
satility could allow him to move
around for them. It’s hard to imag-
ine Robinson in their regular rota-
tion just yet, but his improvement
was widely praised in Summer
League. Maybe he has more in
store for the season.
Mitch
McGary:
When
he
wasn’t making appearances at the
Women’s College World Series,
McGary continued his rise to cult
heroism with hustle plays and put-
back dunks that made the rounds
on social media. He recently
told NewsOK.com he had lost 20
pounds over the summer, giving
hope that McGary could still live
up to his potential.
His energy and athleticism
could pay big dividends for the
Oklahoma City Thunder, a team
that looks ready to contend for a
title. It wouldn’t be too surprising if
the new-look McGary has a break-
out season for the Thunder.
Then again, McGary still has to
beat out fellow centers Enes Kant-
er and Steven Adams for minutes.
Health will a key factor in that, and
down 20 pounds, this could be the
year Big Mitch manages to stay on
the court.
Trey Burke: Burke’s playing
time trailed off a bit last year with
the emergence of Dante Exum.
He still managed 12.8 points per
game and nearly five assists, but
his shooting percentage was hov-
ering around 38 — too low to war-
rant the 30 minutes per game he
was getting.
There were rumors Burke might
be traded this offseason, but he
stayed put, and still has a chance
to stick around in Utah. The Jazz
have a bright future, and Burke will
still have opportunities to carve
out a role with them.
He had a handful of 20-point
games last season, and if he can get
his shot more consistent, we could
see Burke play a role for a playoff
contender sooner rather than later.
Jamal Crawford: Remember
Jamal Crawford? The Clippers’
sixth man hasn’t received the con-
tract extension he was hoping for,
but still finds himself surrounded
by a bevy of talent in Los Ange-
les. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and
DeAndre Jordan have the Clippers
once more primed for a playoff run,
and bringing Lance Stephenson
will make for an interesting experi-
ment as well.
Crawford is 35, but he can still
play, and he should still have a
well-defined roll off the bench in
2015-16.
Jordan Morgan: After playing a
year in Italy with Virtus Roma, the
former Wolverine captain joined
the Orlando Magic and Minne-
sota Timberwolves for the Orlando
and Las Vegas Summer Leagues,
respectively.
It didn’t translate to an NBA
contract, but Morgan did earn
a contract with L’Hermine de
Nantes Atlantique of the French
Professional B League this season.
He also kicked off his founda-
tion, The Jordan Morgan Foun-
dation, which aims to “provide
education, support and encourage-
ment to today’s youth so that each
individual has the opportunity to
overcome any circumstance.”