Levingston Raiding the CBA, Strick Looking for Front Office Gig and a Reminder to Tryout for to Play at the Metro Centre

Lots to update, thanks for the most part to Mathew Wuest and the Halifax Metro.

First off:  Remember when the team was being announced last year and everyone on this blog was saying “this team needs role players”?  Yeah… well Levingston agrees now. He’s saying that he wants to go find three or four dominant guys and surround them with role players.

After the season, Levingston was talking about bringing back Jimmy Twyman, Eric Crookshank, Michael Anderson and Tony Bennett.  He mentions that he wants to bring back Eric and the Voice – Bennett is a question of money, and I think I would bet a limb on Eric’s return.  Twyman is mentioned as only being viable as a back up, which I think is a good call.  Anderson isn’t even mentioned and it’s implied that the team are looking for a new starting small forward.

I am not convinced you win the PBL championship of Eric Crookshank is your first or second offensive option.  His athleticism isn’t as dominant as it was in the ABA and his post up and mid-range games are just way too inconsistent to lean on down the stretch.  However, I do think you win the PBL championship if Eric is scoring off put backs, deflecting passes and rebounding.  I think he needs to look to re-invent himself as an energy guy who creates total chaos on defense and crashes for offensive boards.  I think Bennett is a fantastic starting shooting guard, but he needs to have a small forward and point guard who can actually shoot the ball to make up for his low percentage from deep.

Levingston drops some names on the new players he’s pursuing and for the most part they are former CBA guys.  With the collapse of the Continental Basketball League there are a lot quality minor league players out there.  Some of them certainly mid-level European talent (i.e. German League type guys) but have chosen to stay in North America for various reasons.  Unfortunately, some of the minor league talent out there choose to stay in the US due to passport issues and those players won’t be heading North to play for the Rainmen.  Some of the names mentioned in the article include:

• PG Jason McLeish, a NYC native who had a strong D1 career at Eastern Kentucky.  Definitely a legit starting PG.
• Trayvon Lathan, a 6′6″ shooting guard who played D3 ball and is currently playing for the Los Angeles Lightening in the IBL (a team that features a crazy assortment of washed up NBA guys).  I have a hard time seeing him as anything other than a back up wing player.
• DeAndre Thomas, a 6″8 big man… who could be a massive coup if it is who I think it is.  The only detail we get on him is that he’s friends with Bennett and is 6′8″, but a 6′8″ DeAndre Thomas played for the Indiana Hoosiers for a year before leaving the team in 2008 as part of absolute clusterfuck that was Hoosiers basketball.  He then suited up for Robert Morris (College, not U) in the NAIA.  The guy is massive – he was 285 -300 lb when he left Indiana.  He didn’t exactly light the NCAA up, but “Big Dre” has the sort of size that the Rainmen were looking for all year, but fitness is obviously a major concern.
• Galen Young, a 6′7″ minor league veteran.  Back in the late 90s he played for UNC-Charlotte and was a 2nd round pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.  He was cut before the season started and has played in various overseas leagues and the CBA ever since.  He was CBA player of the year in 2007 and would bring experience, leadership and versatility to the team.  In his prime he was a triple double machine but he’s exactly ten years older than me and will be 34 by the time training camp starts.

Of course, none of these guys are actually signed and there’s no indication that they’re interested in joining the Rainmen, but it’s nice to know that the team has already started looking seriously at players.

The second article in the Metro is about Strick.  Appearently he’s lost weight and is trying to get into shape for next season.  He’s another guy who age is catching up to him, but he plays a game that exploits his veteran experience and compensates for his lack of athleticism.  If he does return, Levingston says, it will be in a reserve role.  What’s more interesting is that he’s helping the Rainmen out by serving as an informal scout and helping the Rainmen staff find talent in NYC, and it sounds like he’s gunning for a spot in the front office of the Rainmen.  I am not convinced that the Rainmen need a dedicated GM, but I’d like to see them bring Strick in as an assistant coach and player for this season and give him some additional scouting responsibilities.  I think he could learn a lot from Berry and he’s respected by players.  Every Rainman I’ve talked to has said that he is the smartest player they’ve ever played with and if he was willing to accept an assistant/scouting role then I think you’ve got to give him a go on that.
Finally, just a reminder:  The Rainmen are playing host to a streetball tour called 94Inc in early August.  Basically, it’s a team of former And1 guys who figured they can do this themselves without a big company exploiting their labour.  Obviously I back this.  If anyone is interested in playing against them, there will be an open run on August 8th to try out for the local opposition.  Keep an eye on the Rainmen’s website for details.  Hopefully we’ll see Eric somehow be involved in this – I doubt we’ll see him play, but it would be cool to have him coach.

Profile of Eric Crookshank

There’s a pretty good longform interview with Eric on the Haligonia website.  It’s 12 minutes long and while there aren’t tons of new details in it I think it gives you a pretty accurate idea of what Eric is like.

Interview with Jermaine Anderson

The best player to ever suit up for the Rainmen gave an interview a few weeks ago which I just found.  It’s a bit fluffy with not a lot of details but there was one very interesting quote:

You had a tremendous individual season, what were the reasons behind your success?
J – First and foremost any success that I have is through God’s will, and the way I felt in some games it was through his grace I was able to even play. But I worked extremely hard in the offseason with a guy named Daniel Frieberg and playing in the summers with the national team really helped my game develop. Having the opportunity to play against teams such as Greece, Germany, USA, and Argentina has given me valuable game experience against some of the best teams and players in the world. Any time I get a chance to play for my country is definitely a blessing and a way to get better.

AJ Millien Named to All-PBL Second Team

Only one Rainman made an All-PBL team list this year and it was on the strength of his play for another franchise.  AJ Millien was named to the second team. I really thought that Tony Bennett was one of the best all-around guards in the league, but could you really justify putting two Halifax players in the top 11?(Why on earth is it not ten?)  I can certainly justify two Halifax players before I could justify two Detroit players.  They finished 4 games below .500 and were never even in the play-off hunt, and played in an incredibly weak division. In fact, the first team has three players whose teams won a combined 11 games!  You’d need to add Buffalo, Detroit and Quebecs total wins together just to get one game over .500 on the season.  Absurd.

The other major shocker to me is that Manchester, despite winning a tough division and playing high quality ball.  You can’t tell me that Al Stewart or Desmond Ferguson don’t at least deserve to be second team all-stars.

First Team:

Keith Friel Guard Rochester RazorSharks
Rashi Johnson Guard Battle Creek Knights
Randy Gill Guard Detroit Panthers
Cedric McGinnis Forward Wilmington Sea Dawgs
Tyrone Rayson Forward Buffalo Stampede
Jonas Pierre Center Quebec Kebs

2008-09 PBL ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM

Player Position Team
Alex Harper Guard Wilmington Sea Dawgs
Benson Callier Guard Vermont Frost Heaves
James Reaves Forward Rochester RazorSharks
AJ Millien Forward Halifax Rainmen
Walt Waters Center Detroit Panthers

My picks for year end awards after the jump:

Season Wrap Up Part I: On Court Report Card

It’s report card time.  I will also be making an off-court report card as well as a post trying to analyze exactly where things went wrong with the team.  But for now let’s take a look at how the individual parts of this team performed over the last few months.  Some notes before you look at my rankings after the jump:

• I am only counting games played for Halifax so guys like Anderson and Millien only get credit for work done for the Rainmen.  Sorry Slim.
• Players who were not on the team at the end of the season do not count for the final over all mark.
• This looks at individual players, not how things actually fit together as a whole.
• It’s a mark based on how well players fulfilled the role that was asked of them.  If you’re getting 15 minutes off the bench then I don’t expect the same from you as I do if you were a starter.
• Everyone’s mark is added up the same and then averaged at the end.  So Tyrone McNeal’s mark affects the team just as much Tony Bennett’s.

Millien Clinches PBL Scoring Title

Congratulations are in order for AJ “Slim” Millien after he clinched the PBL scoring title tonight.  Tyronne Rayson of the Buffalo Stampede could have caught him in the scoring race and tried his best by putting up 37 points against Battle Creek, but Millien just pulled it out.  His scoring numbers (along with his minutes and shots) plummetted after joining the Rainmen from Augusta but a couple of high scoring affairs against Montreal kept him from losing too much ground.

He also finished 7th in rebounds (9.5 per game) and fourth in blocks (1.4 per game).  Millien is a great power forward and I hope Halifax can bring him back next year.  However, the only way that that will happen is if the new coach commits to getting him more touches and minutes and makes him the centre (or at least second option) in the offense.  And it’s important that the coach, not the owner, makes that commitment.

Best All Time Five? Worst All Time Five?

So after two seasons in the books (Halifax have two games left… but they’ll be terrible games against an undermanned Montreal team) it’s probably a good time to evaluate who the best players the Rainmen’s history as well as to look back at some of the worst.  People should post their own lists, but mine are after the jump.

Halifax Trade Dandridge for Anderson

So Halifax made one good move (getting rid of Glen Dandridge) and one questionable move (adding Michael Anderson).  I was critical of the signing of Dandridge when it happened – he replicated something we already had, he wasn’t a real shooting guard which is what we did need, he was a life long disapointment, etc.  After he put up huge numbers during the pre-season people said I was wrong about him.  His regular season performance, however vindicated me even if it it made the team worse.  He was a turn over machine, was a good on the ball defender but was terrible off the ball and got beaten constantly and despite having the physical abilities to do so he never went to the hoop instead settling for deep, contested jumpers.  Of course, all of this ignores the worst thing about him:  He was incapable of consistently knocking down deep jump shots which was supposed to be the one thing he did well.  Good riddance.

Michael Anderson was listed is listed officially as a powerforward for Quebec but played almost entirely at small forward, even acting as a point forward at times bringing the ball up the floor and setting up the offense.  He’s primarily an offensive player averaging 17.7 ppg, plus 6rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.5 spg and 0.9 blocks.  He’s a decent outside shooter and can break guys down off the dribble and will likely challenge Silverhorn for the starting spot at the three.

So with all that said, why do I think this is a questionable move?  Because the last thing this team needs is another natural powerforward (they have five on the roster before adding Anderson).  And the second last thing they need is another scorer.  Anderson took a team high 12.7 shots per game in Quebec and averaged over three turnovers a game.  The guy needs the ball in his hands.

Halifax get the more talented player but this is part of a bigger set of moves for Quebec.  They sent John Ruffus (a PF who had played for Montreal before The Troubles) to Manchester in exchange for Charles Mason (a SF) and Jamaal Wise (an undersized PF who also played with Montreal) as well as cash.  The Kebs also signed PJ Young, a free agent SF who played most of the season with the Millrats.   So with Mason in Anderson became redundant and it’s likely that Dandridge is making less money which is probably a plus for QC.

Overall I don’t think this move helps all that much.  Halifax’s play-off hopes rest more in the hands of other teams than in their own and SF is a bit thin for Halifax but not entirely.  It’s obvious that Berry is not happy with Silverhorn’s defense and toughness, often electing to start Jeanty.  But at the same time both Jeanty and Millien can do a lot of the things at the 3 that Anderson can and we have to wonder if this is a good move when it comes to chemistry.  Anderson has a bit of a reputation for being a ball hog and a headcase and the team has had a hard enough time adjusting to a new coach without throwing a new player into the mix as well.  I guess we will see how this all plays out.

I almost feel like Halifax would have been better off giving more players to Quebec to try to make them better – the play off hopes of the Rainmen rely on the Kebs taking out Vermont.

Rainmen Release Hammack, Sign Centre

Poor Kevin Hammack.  I really thought he was going to be a star in Halifax – he had a great skill set, good experience and seemed like a nice guy.  But Halifax have lots of small guards and Rick Lewis destroyed his confidence before Les Berry even took over.  I still think he’s a fantastic player and we saw flashes of that, but never on a consistent basis.

To replace him the Rainmen signed Reggie George, another Chicago guy.  He’s a 6′10 product of Iowa State (D1) who played for the Rockford Fury last year.  George left Iowa after two years to go to the NAIA where he was an all American and had a fair amount of tournament experience.  He seems like a good defensive player – he averaged 1.4 blocks and 8 rebounds per game in the PBL last year along with 15 ppg.  He’s long but doesn’t look too strong but should provide Halifax with its first ever legit, non-project centre.

It’s a good signing but it may be too little too late.  Halifax needed a centre who could play at the begining of the season and if, as seems likely, the Rainmen don’t make the play offs I think that the lack of a centre, and the return of Rick Lewis, can be pointed to as the primary causes of an ultimately disapointing season.

Halifax Sign AJ Millien

Fri Feb. 13 - Halifax signs AJ Millien

Discuss.