Al Nolen/Photo by Rob Engelhardt/ETN

The Erie BayHawks have reduced their roster to 11 after waiving Al Nolen and Marvin Roberts today.

The 6-foot, 1-inch Nolen, a point guard who Erie picked in the fifth round of the 2011 D-League Draft, didn’t participate in any of the scrimmages as he’s recovering from having a pin removed from the foot that he broke in his senior year at Minnesota last season.

Roberts, a 6-5 guard out of Florida International, had issues with a groin injury, but did play in the three-team scrimmage Saturday at Penn State Behrend.  He was invited to training camp after a free-agent tryout.

Now the BayHawks have one more player to cut by 5 p.m. on Nov. 23.

The interesting part about this last cut is forward D.J. Kennedy is just getting back to doing more in camp. Out of St. John’s the 6-5 Kennedy is coming off a season-ending knee injury he had in March.

Erie could make him an injury waiver and retain his rights. If Erie keeps him, that means a small forward/big guard will most likely go.

The guys that fall into the smll forward/big guard category are Chaz McCrommon, who joined the BayHawks at the end of last season, Kyle Spain, who played for Erie last season, Mychel Thompson, who was a third-round pick out of Pepperdine or Tirrell Baines, who was a fourth-round pick out of Marshall.

However, Erie may go a completely different direction to make its final cut. The BayHawks will likely make their final cut either after tonight’s practice or tomorrow morning because they’re headed to Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday for Friday’s season opener against the Vipers.

Mychel Thompson/Photo by Rob Englehardt/ETN

After starting training camp Nov. 9, the Erie BayHawks had their media day Thursday and an evening practice at the LECOM Health and Wellness Center.

Here are a few notables:

1. General manager of basketball operations, Allan Houston, hasn’t been in Erie for camp, but is expected to arrive this weekend on Sunday. Erie coach Jay Larranaga said he doesn’t plan to cut a player until Houston has seen the group.

Houston is the assistant general manager with the New York Knicks, who are in a hybrid partnership with the BayHawks.

2. Two players – D.J. Kennedy (knee) of St. John’s and Al Nolen (foot) out of Minnesota – haven’t practiced due to injury. Both had surgeries in their final college seasons.

3. Larranaga hoped to use practice players in camp and had one in 7-footer Jeff Foote, but received a notice from the D-League that teams can’t use practice players in training camp. Larranaga knew Foote from when he was an assistant at Cornell.

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Kyle Spain averaged 8.1 points for Erie in 44 games last season./Photo by Jack Hanrahan/Erie Times-News

Shooters. Rebounders.

That’s how Erie BayHawks general manager of basketball operations, Allan Houston, summarized what Erie will look for in the 2011 D-League Draft, which starts Thursday at 7 p.m.

The BayHawks have the seventh and ninth pick in the first round and have two more picks in the second round. Before figuring out what they need, you got know what they got coming back.

Returning players:

PG – Blake Ahearn (27 years old, 6-2, 190, Missouri State) – Shooter. Scorer (Avg. 16.9 points in 31 games for  Erie last season, 96.2 FT%). Not a great defender, but is scrappy.

PF – Kyle Goldcamp (25 years old, 6-10, 230, Gannon) – Tough. Plays hard. Has a lefty hook, but gets garbage points. Aggressive.

SF – Kyle Spain (6-5, 210, San Diego State) – Plays on the perimeter. Has unlimited range on the jump shot. Struggles defending on perimeter.

SF Chaz McCrommon (6-6, 200, Robert Morris) – Joined Erie late last season. Only played one game for the BayHawks. Considered a solid defender and capable scorer.

Here are the free-agent invites:

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