Kyle Goldcamp, who starred at Gannon and in the D-League with the Erie BayHawks, will play overseas in Russia this season.
Erie Times-News sports reporter Duane Rankin caught up with the power forward before he left last weekend.
Here’s a quick look at how current and former Erie BayHawks have fared so far in the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Donald Sloan is averaging double figures for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas/Erie Times-News staff photo.
New York Knicks (Erie’s NBA hybrid affiliate) – SF Mychel Thompson (two games, 7.0 ppg., 20 3-PT%, 3.5 rpg., 0.5 assists per game); PF Kyle Goldcamp (two games, 4.0 ppg., 60 FG%, 4.0 rpg.)
Next game for Knicks – Today 4 p.m. vs. Denver Nuggets
Cleveland Cavaliers (Was Erie’s NBA affiliate) – PG Donald Sloan (two games, 13.5 ppg. 53.3 FG% 1.0 assists per game, 3.5 TOs a game); SG D.J. Kennedy (two games, 3 ppg., 33.3 FG%, 4.0 rpg., 0 assists); SG Garrett Temple (two games, 1.5 ppg., 12.5 FG%, 3 rpg., 0.5 apg)
Next game for Cavs – Today 8:30 p.m. vs. Phoenix Suns
D-League Select Team – C Chris Daniels (two games, 7 ppg., 54.5 FG, 4 rpg. 1 block a game)
Next game for D-League Select Team – 10 p.m. vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Bobcats – SG Cory Higgins (two games, 9.0 ppg., 16.7 3-PT FG, 83.3 FT%., 2.5 rpg. 1.5 apg.)
Next game for Bobcats – Thursday 10:30 p.m. vs. Denver Nuggets
Forward Sharrod Ford averaged 15.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in 2010-11 with Sutor Montegranaro in Italy.
The Erie BayHawks thought they had got the big man they had been scouting for a minute.
They’ll instead have to keep the player they needed to get the player they wanted.
Earlier today, a trade that sent forward Sharrod Ford to the expansion Canton Charge for forward Frank Hassell on Monday was voided because Hassell failed a team physical due to some problems with his right knee.
At Tuesday’s practice in Erie, Hassell said his knee had swollen as he had ice on it. Out of Old Dominion, Hassell said the ice was just a precaution. Turns out it was enough to stop the trade.
So Hassell, 23, returned to Canton where he was a fan favorite and Ford, 30, is with the BayHawks, who were looking to add size.
The BayHawks have been lacking size since 7-footer Chris Daniels left to play overseas in South Korea last month
When Erie got Ford out of the D-League player pool, coach Jay Larranaga had every intention of trading him because several D-League teams including Canton were interested in him.
Now they’ll play Thursday night at Fort Wayne with him. Ford, who has played overseas most of his pro career after playing at Clemson, was with the Phoenix Suns in 2005-06.
The Erie BayHawks have a temporary replacement for 7-footer Chris Daniels.
Earlier today, the D-League announced the New York Knicks have sent down 7-footer Jerome Jordan to play for the BayHawks. Jordan, who is in his rookie season with the Knicks after being taken in the second round (44th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Knicks got Jordan in a trade with the Bucks for cash considerations. Out of Tulsa, Jordan is averaging 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in six games with the Knicks. He’s expected to practice with the BayHawks on Wednesday before they play at Maine on Friday and Sunday.
As a senior in college, Jordan averaged 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 35 games. Now if he can get close to those numbers in the D-League, that would be around Daniels provided the BayHawks.
Daniels averaged 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.14 blocks in 14 games for Erie before leaving the team Monday to go play in South Korea.
Donald Sloan
Erie BayHawks point guard Donald Sloan had three points on 1-of-6 shooting for the Atlanta Hawks in their 79-77 loss at Charlotte tonight.
Sloan, who was invited to Atlanta’s training camp, had three assists and two rebounds in 16 minutes, 53 seconds.
Former BayHawk power forward Ivan Johnson is also in Atlanta’s training camp. He had four points on 2-of-6 shooting and seven rebounds in 17 minutes, 18 seconds.
If Johnson is waived by the Hawks and returns to the D-League, he’ll join the BayHawks.
BayHawks center Chris Daniels is playing in tonight’s preseason game for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Erie has four players in NBA training camps in Sloan, Daniels, combo guard Cory Higgins (Denver) and forward Mychel Thompson (Cleveland).
The NBA season starts Christmas Day.
Cory Higgins
Check out Erie BayHawks combo guard Cory Higgins dancing along with three other rookies at the Denver Nuggets scrimmage tonight.
No. 22. Kind of in the background wearing an underneath shirt.
Higgins was one of five BayHawks who was invited to NBA training camps with the other four being Donald Sloan (Atlanta Hawks), Chris Daniels (Los Angeles Lakers), Mychel Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Kyle Goldcamp (Cleveland).
Thompson played in Cleveland’s preseason win at Detroit on Friday night. He scored three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Goldcamp didn’t play, but his parents made the trek from Pittsburgh to see him play.
Goldcamp is in his third season with the BayHawks after starring at Gannon.
Sloan saw action in a public scrimmage and had five points and three assists. Played solid.
With Erie's top four scorers at NBA camps, Kyle Spain will get more scoring opportunities./Photo by Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News
Kyle Spain is not one of the five Erie BayHawks players averaging double figures in points.
But since four of those guys – point guard Donald Sloan, who leads the team in scoring at 24.8 points a game, small forward Mychel Thompson, 7-footer Chris Daniels and combo guard Cory Higgins – are in NBA training camps, Spain’ s numbers may rise dramatically starting Friday night against expansion Canton (2-2).
“Eighty percent of our scoring has gone,” said Spain, who is averaging 9.2 points a game. “So that’s opened up some more minutes for myself. Obviously that’s an opportunity. An opportunity I need to capitalize on.”
Sloan, Daniels, Higgins and Thompson will miss Saturday’s game against Fort Wayne (2-2) as well so Spain will get at least get two chances to show he can put up big numbers.
Spain is also working on his ball handling as evident of a drill he was doing at today’s practice in which he dribbled a ball in each hand across the court and put both basketballs between his legs at the same time without having them touch.
“I got a little drill from Donald Sloan,” Spain said. “Asked him for a few dribbling tips so I can tighten up my handle.”
Greg Washington ended his senior year at Hofstra in 2010-11 with a school-record 275 career shot blocks./AP Photo.
When the Rio Grande Valley Vipers made Greg Washington their final cut in training camp, he didn’t wear that as a badge of honor.
“At that point, I was at my lowest,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect next. Speaking with my agent, he said he was going to do his best to find me another team.”
Enter the Erie BayHawks.
Erie picked Washington out of the D-League player pool and he had his first practice with the BayHawks earlier today.
“Thank God I was still packed,” Washinton said. “My mindset was still as positive as anybody’s. I’m blessed to be here. I’m ready to work.”
The BayHawks are trying to get the rail thin 6-10 center ready for Friday’s game against expansion Canton at Tullio Arena. Washington has the school record for shot blocks at Hofstra with 275.
Donald Sloan hit the game winner in the scrimmage.
Just got back from Geneva, Ohio where the Erie BayHawks beat the expansion Canton Charge in an exhibition game at the SPIRE Institute.
First off, the SPIRE Institute is a magnificent facility. Took a tour with the BayHawks there before the scrimmage. Very nice facility.
Now let’s talk hoops.
Erie won, 105-103, but Erie coach Jay Larranaga said, “We got a lot of work to do” afterward.
It’ll be interesting if the BayHawks show improvement in their defense in terms of defending dribble penetration in Saturday’s three-team scrimmage with the Charge and Fort Wayne at Penn State Behrend’s Junker Center.
As far as Wednesday goes, the game was close throughout but three guys came to the front when the game was on the line for the BayHawks.
1. Donald Sloan – Hit the game-winner with 19 seconds left after breaking the defense down with the dribble. This guy can get in the lane, has a nice runner and is automatic from the line.
Kyle Goldcamp survived the first cuts the Erie BayHawks made Tuesday. Erie waived three players./Photo by Janet B. Kummerer/Erie Times-News
Earlier today, I went to Penn State Behrend’s Junker Center to check out the Erie BayHawks practice.
Here are a few notables:
1.Erie waived three players – guard Adrian Bowie out of Maryland, forward Kayode Ayeni out of St. Francis and power forward Joseph Kennerly II out of Central Oklahoma – today. The odds were against Kennerly III because he was one of four true big men in camp.
Erie traded a second-round pick to Idaho for Jeff Graves, drafted 7-footer Chris Daniels in the first round and Kyle Goldcamp has been with the BayHawks for the last two two seasons.
2. Goldcamp said the biggest difference between Erie coach Jay Larranaga’s system of a season ago and how the New York Knicks play is how the big men run the floor. The former Gannon star said before, bigs ran down the middle of the floor. Now the big men are being asked to run the wings to keep the middle open.
The Knicks and BayHawks are in a hybrid partnership.
3. Goldcamp and Graves, out of Kansas, went at each other again today. At age 30, Graves is more seasoned and has more talent, but what Goldcamp does is make you work. One one play, Goldcamp took Graves baseline, missed the shot, but got the rebound and put it back up. Later in practice, Graves made a beautiful drop-step baseline move, took two power dribbles and scored on a reverse.
