Tag: Cassius Stanley

Houston’s G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, announces 2022-23 roster

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, NBA G League affiliate of the #Rockets, have announced their official roster for the 2022-23 season. Here’s a rundown of the squad.

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, official NBA G League affiliate organization of the Houston Rockets, have finalized their roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season. The full schedule for the Vipers, defending G League champions, is available here and begins with a road opener at Mexico City on Sunday, Nov. 6.

Excluding players who are sent down from the parent NBA club, players at RGV do not have NBA contracts and are thus eligible to be signed by any NBA team. However, because the Vipers are led by coaches and systems affiliated with the Rockets, Houston will have a much closer look and more intimate knowledge regarding whether a given prospect is potentially a good fit with the parent club.

The Vipers’ roster includes returning players Trhae Mitchell, Kahlil Whitney, and Ray Spalding. RGV’s roster now stands at 12 players, including two-way players Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins. Unlike most players, Days and Hudgins are under contract with the Rockets, which prevents them from being signed by another team.

Scroll on for an biographical look (in alphabetical order) at the initial Vipers roster, which features multiple players with NBA experience and also includes rookie guard Eron Gordon — yes, the younger brother of veteran Rockets guard Eric Gordon.

Houston’s G League affiliate acquires rights to Cassius Stanley

Cassius Stanley isn’t under contract with the Rockets, but he will play for Houston’s G League affiliate. That should provide the NBA parent club with a closer look.

Cassius Stanley isn’t under contract with the Rockets, but the 23-year-old guard will play for Houston’s G League affiliate after the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers traded to acquire his rights. That could provide the parent NBA club with a closer look, since RGV utilizes coaches, systems and development staff chosen by the Rockets.

Stanley played one season (2019-20) in college at Duke, where he made the ACC’s All-Freshman team, before being chosen in the second round of the 2020 NBA draft by Indiana. From RGV’s press release, here’s a look at what the 6-foot-5 guard has done since:

During the 2021-22 season, Stanley appeared and started in 24 games for the Motor City Cruise, in which he averaged 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 28.5 minutes of action. He also appeared in nine games for the Detroit Pistons, averaging 5.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 17.2 minutes.

The California native made his debut in the G League during the 2020-21 season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, where he played 12 games, seven of which he started, averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 27.9 minutes of playing time.

In the summer of 2021 Stanley participated in the NBA summer league with the Indiana Pacers. He led the team with 1.2 steals per game and averaged 11.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in five games.

Stanley has a connection to the Rockets. He played in high school with young forward KJ Martin at Sierra Canyon.

Stanley will not report to training camp with the Rockets, since this isn’t an NBA contract. Thus, any team can attempt to sign him, if desired. However, the Rockets should have an advantage in terms of evaluating Stanley as a potential system fit, since he will be playing under similar principles with their G League affiliate.

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2020 ACC Tournament Completion: Notre Dame barely falls to Duke in title game

The Irish lose a heartbreaker with the ACC’s automatic bid on the line.

This is the conclusion of a series in which we are simulating the remainder of the canceled 2020 ACC Tournament using the sports simulation tool WhatIfSports.com. For more information about the simulation, check out the introduction here. For the complete tournament results, refer to the bracket at the bottom of the post.

Notre Dame refused to back down to Duke in the 2020 ACC Tournament championship game, even when things looked bleak. In fact, it looked like the Irish might pull off an epic comeback and earn the ACC’s automatic bid to March Madness. Alas, it wasn’t to be, and the Blue Devils won their third ACC Tournament title in four years with an 83-81 victory.

The Irish initially staged a competitive first half before tailing off and falling behind by 16 at halftime. They trailed by 13 with seven minutes to go but went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to one after Cassius Stanley fouled out for Duke. Soon after, Rex Pflueger, no stranger to Notre Dame heroics, hit a jump shot to tie the game at 81 with 1:26 left. It appeared the Irish were poised to knock off their third straight higher seed.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, it was at that moment when the offense ran out of gas. After Vernon Carey hit two free throws to give Duke a two-point lead, T.J. Gibbs missed a go-ahead 3, and Juwan Durham was way off-target on a shot that would have tied the game. John Mooney came up with a key block on Carey, giving the Irish one last chance with 14 seconds remaining. Dane Goodwin found an open shot on the right wing, but he missed as the buzzer sounded, breaking the Irish’s hearts and leaving them to hope the selection committee would be impressed enough by their resume and 21-13 record to grant them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

All five Blue Devils starters reached double figures. Carey achieved a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Tre Jones’ 16 points and third straight nine-assist showing gave him Tournament MVP honors as those numbers aligned perfectly with his tournament averages over the three games he played. Stanley recorded 14 points and seven boards before his disqualification. Matthew Hurt scored 13, and Jordan Goldwire had 11.

Gibbs was the game’s top scorer with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Pflueger scored 17 and led the Irish with five assists. Mooney had a trademark game of 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Goodwin scored 12 off the bench but undoubtedly cared more about his failure to send the game to overtime at the horn.

2020 ACC Tournament Completion: Notre Dame barely falls to Duke in title game

The Irish lose a heartbreaker with the ACC’s automatic bid on the line.

This is the conclusion of a series in which we are simulating the remainder of the canceled 2020 ACC Tournament using the sports simulation tool WhatIfSports.com. For more information about the simulation, check out the introduction here. For the complete tournament results, refer to the bracket at the bottom of the post.

Notre Dame refused to back down to Duke in the 2020 ACC Tournament championship game, even when things looked bleak. In fact, it looked like the Irish might pull off an epic comeback and earn the ACC’s automatic bid to March Madness. Alas, it wasn’t to be, and the Blue Devils won their third ACC Tournament title in four years with an 83-81 victory.

The Irish initially staged a competitive first half before tailing off and falling behind by 16 at halftime. They trailed by 13 with seven minutes to go but went on a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to one after Cassius Stanley fouled out for Duke. Soon after, Rex Pflueger, no stranger to Notre Dame heroics, hit a jump shot to tie the game at 81 with 1:26 left. It appeared the Irish were poised to knock off their third straight higher seed.

Unfortunately for Notre Dame, it was at that moment when the offense ran out of gas. After Vernon Carey hit two free throws to give Duke a two-point lead, T.J. Gibbs missed a go-ahead 3, and Juwan Durham was way off-target on a shot that would have tied the game. John Mooney came up with a key block on Carey, giving the Irish one last chance with 14 seconds remaining. Dane Goodwin found an open shot on the right wing, but he missed as the buzzer sounded, breaking the Irish’s hearts and leaving them to hope the selection committee would be impressed enough by their resume and 21-13 record to grant them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

All five Blue Devils starters reached double figures. Carey achieved a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Tre Jones’ 16 points and third straight nine-assist showing gave him Tournament MVP honors as those numbers aligned perfectly with his tournament averages over the three games he played. Stanley recorded 14 points and seven boards before his disqualification. Matthew Hurt scored 13, and Jordan Goldwire had 11.

Gibbs was the game’s top scorer with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Pflueger scored 17 and led the Irish with five assists. Mooney had a trademark game of 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Goodwin scored 12 off the bench but undoubtedly cared more about his failure to send the game to overtime at the horn.

Pacers’ Cassius Stanley had a hilarious response to his rookie hazing

After getting his car popcorned by the vets, Stanley went outside the box to find his next method of transportation.

Indiana Pacers guard Cassius Stanley was the recent victim of some playful rookie hazing after the Slam Dunk Contest participant found his car full of popcorn.

After picking up a win on the road Sunday over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Pacers returned to Indianapolis early on Monday morning. As the players entered the team garage to head home, Stanley found his car completely full of popcorn.

According to Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, Stanley was being punished a bit for not providing towels after games and not coming in to work out on off days. Several of the veterans on the team captured his reaction and the second-round pick was not particularly happy with his discovery.

With the Pacers back at the team facility on Monday, Stanley needed to find a new form of transportation. The rookie went a bit outside of the box and pulled up to practice on an electronic Bird scooter, and even hilariously left it in his designated parking spot.

Stanley appeared to be not nearly as upset with the prank as Brogdon thought after riding a scooter into work. Maybe Stanley can parlay it into a sponsorship opportunity with Bird now that he lost his regular set of wheels for the time being…

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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2020 ACC Tournament Completion: Duke topples top-seeded Florida State

The Blue Devils will have a chance to defend their ACC Tournament championship.

This is part of a series in which we are simulating the remainder of the canceled 2020 ACC Tournament using the sports simulation tool WhatIfSports.com. For more information about the simulation, check out the introduction here. For tournament progress to this point, refer to the bracket at the bottom of the post.

In a rematch of the 2019 ACC Tournament championship game, Duke and Florida State sought a chance to play for the 2020 title. Since these teams had the best overall records in the ACC during the season, this semifinal could have been the de facto title game. Regardless, the Blue Devils were not about to let an insignificant thing like seeds dictate their fate. As such, they knocked off the top-seeded Seminoles, 79-67.

Duke didn’t trail until there were four minutes left in the first half. Florida State expanded its lead to eight before the Blue Devils scored seven unanswered points to cut it to one at halftime. The teams traded leads for much of the second half and got the game to a 61-all tie before the Seminoles went on a scoring drought that lasted five-and-a-half minutes. That allowed the Blue Devils to go on a 12-0 run and not look back.

Tre Jones did a lot for the Blue Devils with 15 points and game highs of nine assists and three steals. Cassius Stanley also scored 15, doing so on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Matthew Hurt added 13, and Vernon Carey achieved a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Devin Vassell and Trent Forrest scored 13 apiece to lead the Seminoles. Patrick Williams scored 11 off the bench, and M.J. Walker added 10. Shooting 39.4 percent from the floor as a team played a key role in the loss.

2020 ACC Tournament Completion: Duke victorious over NC State

The Blue Devils are moving on.

We are halfway through the quarterfinals of the 2020 ACC Tournament, and things continue to hold to form. Duke led for almost the entirety of the closest-seeded game of the round. The Blue Devils will face top-seeded Florida State after disposing of in-state rival NC State, 74-60.

Duke led by as much as eight during the first half, but NC State rallied to tie it late before settling for a three-point deficit at halftime. The Wolfpack continued to keep pace early in the second half, even briefly holding a pair of one-point leads. It was after that latter lead that the Blue Devils went on a 12-2 run to go up nine and not fall behind again. Although the Wolfpack were able to cut it to a six-point game with less than three minutes to go, the Blue Devils finished it with a 9-1 run.

Tre Jones came agonizingly close to a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, all of which were game highs or tied for them. Vernon Carey was almost as impressive for the Blue Devils, scoring 15 and pulling down seven boards. Despite shooting 4 of 13, Cassius Stanley finished with 10 points.

Markell Johnson was the key player for the Wolfpack with 13 points and seven rebounds. DJ Funderburk scored 12 on a 4-of-7 performance from the field. Devon Daniels had 10, a mark equaled by Pat Andree off the bench.

See every dunk from the 2021 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

See what Anfernee Simons, Obi Toppin and Cassius Stanley did.

Anfernee Simons is your 2021 NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, with the Portland Trail Blazers guard blowing a kiss to the rim on his way to the title.

In case you missed Sunday’s competition — which took place at halftime of the 2021 All-Star Game instead of the night before — we’ve put together all of the slams we got to see from Simons, New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin and fellow first-year pro Cassius Stanley.

You’ll see some other pretty awesome dunks, including one from Stanley that has everyone wondering why it only got a 44 out of a possible 50 points from the judges.

[jwplayer bAjHibBt-q2aasYxh]

2021 NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Full highlights of each participant

With the Slam Dunk Contest now over, Rookie Wire took a look at each of the dunks thrown down by the players involved.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons on Sunday was crowned the NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, narrowly beating New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin in the process.

Simons and Toppin each moved onto the final round after Indiana Pacers rookie Cassius Stanley was eliminated following his first two dunks of the contest. Stanley entered the evening as the favorite to win but recorded the lowest score of the three contestants in the first round.

With Simons and Toppin in the final round, the two players each had the opportunity to throw down one last dunk. The judges, which included Dee Brown, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith, Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins, then voted Simons the winner over Toppin by a final count of 3-2.

The abbreviated Slam Dunk Contest took place during halftime of the All-Star Game and featured some impressive high-flying acts by the three participants. With the event now over, Rookie Wire took a look at each of the dunks thrown down by the players involved.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Anfernee Simons narrowly beats Obi Toppin

Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons was crowned the NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, narrowly beating out Knicks rookie Obi Toppin.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons on Sunday was crowned the NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, narrowly beating out New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin in the process.

Simons and Toppin each moved onto the final round after Indiana Pacers rookie Cassius Stanley was eliminated after his first two dunks. Stanley, who entered the event favored to win, recorded the lowest score through the first two rounds by the five judges onhand.

From there, Simons and Toppin dueled with one final dunk attempt.

The scoring system was altered this year with the judges each selecting a winner, rather than scoring the dunks like past seasons. After the last two slams were finished, the judges named Simons as the winner by a final vote of 3-2.

Simons would go on to record the highest score of the evening in the second round. He paid homage to Tracy McGrady and pulled out his throwback Toronto Raptors jersey and then threw down what the judges deemed the best dunk of the first two rounds.

While Simons won, it wasn’t without some controversy, however.

The prevailing thought on Twitter was Stanely was robbed on his first dunk by the judges, which included Dee Brown, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith, Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins.

Stanley only earned a 44 from the group, while many thought he deserved a higher score.

Though Toppin ultimately lost to Simons in the final round, the Knicks rookie was the only contestant to use real-life props. In the second round, Toppin called upon his father and Knicks teammate Julius Randle, and then jumped right over them.

While the Dunk Contest this year lacked overall star power, the three participants put on an entertaining show during halftime of the All-Star Game. For an event that was put together rather last minute, the product still proved to be fun to watch.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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