Drive
and Determination
A couple of NBDL
rookies continue to make strides while testing their resolve in the
D-league.
Chris Kelly
MLNSportszone.com
In
the dark of the arena, you could swear that you were at an NBA game.
The lights are
dimmed, and spotlights scan the court. A healthy dose of pyrotechnics
is blasted as the players are introduced. There are even dancers and
the requisite zany mascot.
However, as soon
as the lights come back on, you would realize that the grand scale
of the NBA is absent, and this is Germain Arena, the home of the NBDL's
Florida Flame.
D-league play
is a mix of the fast pace of the NBA with flashes of the technical
skills that some college programs still emphasize.
The players themselves
come from various backgrounds. The NBDL rosters are peppered with
developing draft pick "projects," veterans of independent
leagues, international players, and college stars that are still unprepared
for the NBA game.
Darius Rice and
Ron Slay are two examples of players that despite their different
paths, share the common goal of trying to find their places in the
world of the NBA.
Rice, a four-year
starter at the University of Miami, has played guard for the Flame
in 2004-05, his first year of professional ball.
In college, he
played the position for three years before being moved inside to help
the Hurricane frontcourt. At 6-foot-11 and 222-pounds, Rice has the
size of a forward, but many questioned his strength to play the position
in the pros.
Considered a
possible lottery selection after his freshman year, he decided to
stay at UM and ended up undrafted after graduating in 2004.
After participating
in training camp with the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Rice was allocated
to the Flame.
"If things
were different, maybe I would have still been there. I think I had
a pretty good time up there and I impressed a lot. Hopefully I'll
get another chance after the season," says Rice.
Rice, who averaged
16.1 points and 5.7 rebounds a game while shooting .407 over his collegiate
career, has seen his averages drop to 10 points and 4 rebounds in
the pros.
His .867 free-throw
percentage ranks third in the NBDL, but his 3-point percentage has
fallen from .344 at UM to a miniscule .171.
He blames the
drop-off on the experimental and controversial D-league rule where
shots from beyond the arc only count for 3-points in the final 3 minutes
of each quarter.
"It looks
bad because my 3-point percentage is down, but they don't know,"
Rice contends. "I hit a lot of them, but they don't count."
As the name states,
the development league is where players work on certain skills and
parts of their game. Rice feels comfortable at the forward position,
but knows he still has work to do.
"I'm
just trying to get bigger and stronger so I can play inside more and
still play outside. I'm trying to make my game more versatile
so that I'm more appealing to the NBA. I know that's what
they want."
Even in the relative
obscurity of Ft. Myers and the D-league, Rice and his teammates were
able to get some national TV coverage.
NBA Inside Stuff
on ESPN followed the Flame for two episodes and gave them a taste
reality TV. Rice liked the experience. "It's good to get back
on TV and people can see you again, [to] get your name back out there."
Continued
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