Here's Mike Sweetney in this season's training camp with the Boston Celtics.

I saw this guy when he was at Georgetown years ago when I was a beat writer for The Dominion Post in Morgantown, W.Va.

Big wide body. Space eater. Score a ton (seventh on Georgetown’s all-time career scoring list at 1,750 points).

Michael Sweetney was an effective college player, but after being the ninth overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, his pro career fizzled. Sweetney only averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 boards in 233 games and with two teams in the Knicks and the Chicago Bulls.

Now he’s going to attempt to rekindle his career in the D-League.

Hmmmm.

The BayHawks are filling the roster void left by rookie point guard Cedric Jackson, who signed a 10-day contract with the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week.

Since All-Star point guard Tony Parker will be out six weeks with a broken right  hand for the Spurs, San Antonio will likely keep Jackson for at least two 10-day contracts and might keep him for the remainder of the season.

If the Spurs keep him for the playoffs, Erie won’t get Jackson back. If he’s gone after two 10-day contracts, Jackson would return for two games. So adding a player is understandable, but what this will do is force Blake Ahearn to play more point guard and not of the ball where he can catch and shoot. 

Now back to Sweetney.

 He was in training camp with the Boston Celtics before this season began and didn’t make the squad. Considering he’s listed at 6-foot-8 and 270 pounds, the guy is not in the type of shape he should be.

Went overseas to play for Shaanxi in China. At least that’s what asia-basket.com indicates. In either case, he’s back in the states looking to get back in the NBA via D-League.

Now how he’ll fit in with Erie? Hard to say.

The BayHawks have scoring at will since trading D-League All-Star rookie power forward Alade Aminu to Bakersfield for guard Blake Ahearn. They’re averaging 118 points in the three games since the trade.

On offense, Sweetney gives them an inside scoring presence, but may slow the offense down. On defense, Sweetney will be just as deceptive to pick-and-roll plays as is Erie’s 300-pound center John Bryant is, but he should do work on the boards.

Erie won’t play back home again until next Friday when it takes on Dakota. The BayHawks start a three-game road trip tomorrow against Albuquerque.

According to the official press release from the BayHawks, Sweetney will play either Friday or Saturday when Erie plays at Idaho.