Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Summer League Update: 7/2/13

Summer league action continued for a few Robert Morris players last night, as David Appolon, Anthony Myers-Pate, Britton Lee, Desjaun Newton, Mike McFadden, and Jeremiah Worthem all had games tonight. Summer league games do not mean much. The pace is usually pretty frantic and unrealistic and there's not a real, what you would call, "team first" attitude. However, there are a few things to keep an eye on as the summer progresses:

 Lijah Thompson is recovering from ACL surgery and playing for the first time in about a year. When we had Velton Jones on our show early of last season, he had some strong and encouraging words for Lijah. 

"Honestly, I thought he was the most improved player over the summer," Jones told us.

 There were times last year that Lijah was sorely missed. His toughness, rebounding, and defense are going to be a huge get for RMU this upcoming season. He went for eleven and five tonight. The real test won't be really measured with stats, though. He is what he is for the most part offensively. It's about how he feels physically i.e. how he is jumping, moving in transition, etc.

 David Appolon is seeing some time at point guard, which is interesting. He went for 22 a few nights ago but went 3-14 last night. App showed flashes of offense last year but his main role at the moment is that of incredibly athletic perimeter defensive stopper. The fate of backup point guard is still in the air. I don't anticipate Anthony Myers-Pate playing 40 minutes a game, so this becomes an actual position battle. Britton Lee (Appolon's summer league teammate) and Kavon Stewart can also play point. I think Stewart is the favorite to get minutes after Myers-Pate, but they are freshman, and there's a chance they tank. The more experience App gets at point the better. You can never have too many ballhandlers.

 Everything was status quo after that. Myers-Pate was the only other colonial in double figures. I continue to remain excited about jeremiah Worthem, who sounds like he's attacking the rim. Worthem is going to stretch the floor with a nice jump shot, as well.

 Nothing else to add, stay tuned for more updates. Thanks to ColonialsCorner.com's Andrew Chiappazzi for stats and other tidbits. Happy Tuesday!

 --Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella

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