Tag: Quincy Pondexter

Another former Washington Husky assistant joins USC basketball, Eric Musselman

Eric Musselman has now hired multiple former Washington Husky assistants at USC. This should be interesting.

Quincy Pondexter is staying on the West Coast but is switching programs in the Big Ten. Pondexter, a nine-year NBA veteran and Fresno native who has experience coaching against USC in the Pac-12 era at Washington, has been hired as a Trojan assistant coach by Eric Musselman.

The University of Washington alum spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach on the Huskies’ bench under Mike Hopkins. The Huskies went 50-46 over the last three seasons while Pondexter was there on the bench. Hopkins was fired and replaced by Danny Sprinkle. Musselman has rounded out his coaching staff after replacing Andy Enfield at USC several weeks ago.

During his senior year at UW, Pondexter averaged 19.3 points per game and was named to the All-Pac-10 first team, leading the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament. He was selected 26th in the 2010 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 36-year old-Pondexter played for the Hornets, Grizzles, Bulls and Spurs in an injury-plagued nine-year pro career. In those years he averaged 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

Pondexter joins a USC staff with another former Washington Husky assistant. Will Conroy also worked at UW before moving to USC. It will be fascinating to see how these former Huskies work with Musselman in Los Angeles.

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Notable NBA veterans who are eligible for 2021 G League Draft

When the upcoming NBA G League season tips off next months, fans can expect to see more familiar faces than they would in a typical year.

When the upcoming NBA G League season tips off next months, fans can expect to see more familiar faces than they would in a typical year.

The NBA G League is hosting a bubble tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex in Florida. Once teams are assembled, they will arrive to the location by January 26 for physicals and onboarding. The first game is set for February 8 and teams are expected to play a “12-to-15 game schedule” before their single-elimination playoffs from March 5-March 9.

This offseason, per ESPN, the league also eliminated restrictions for signing players with at least five years of NBA experience. For example, as reported by Adam Johnson, this is how Jeremy Lin was able to sign outright with the Santa Cruz Warriors rather than enter the draft pool. This is reportedly a one-time exception for the G League.

Similarly, others with NBA experience signed outright as veteran mentors for the inaugural G League Ignite squad. Players like Amir Johnson and Bobby Brown will lend a hand for top prospects like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green as they transition to the pros.

Otherwise, however, players not already on a roster who are looking to get back on the court and play in the upcoming bubble season will have to hear their names called on Monday. Over the last few days, we have learned about several players (e.g. Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson) who recently signed NBA G League Standard Player Contracts.

Even those who have been around the league for years have no guarantee of being selected, though. There are only 17 teams playing in the bubble, as 12 have opted out.

While the draft will have a maximum of 26 players selected, teams are allowed to forfeit their picks, so that number could end up even smaller. But that has not swayed the nearly 200 players who are hopeful about suiting up in Florida.

The 2021 G League Draft is scheduled for Monday, January 11, at 1:15 PM EST. Below are some of the most notable candidates, listed in order of how many minutes they have played in the NBA: