The other boys of summer

By Mayar Zokaei
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]

  EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Former Bruin Billy Knight (1997-2001) scored 29 points on July
13 to lead JBDL of the Summer Pro League over The Beat.

The Dada Summer Pro League is a virtual rite of summer for many
NBA basketball players, an opportunity to hone their skills and
refine their game for the upcoming season.

It’s also a chance at stardom for many who can only dream
of being affiliated with the NBA. It is a forum where they can
compete against NBA-caliber players and show scouts, coaches and
general managers Lil Bow Wow isn’t the only player trying to
be “Like Mike” this summer.

While former UCLA stars Earl Watson and Jelani McCoy fit the
mold of the former description, ex-Bruins Billy Knight and Toby
Bailey are better suited for the latter.

In all, the rosters of the 24 teams in the SPL are proliferated
with former Bruins, including Darrick Martin and Tracy Murray of
the Young Guns and Ike Nwankwo of the Houston Rockets.

But just being on a roster for an NBA team doesn’t
necessarily constitute a spot in the NBA or any basketball
team.

“We like that we give players a chance to play against a
high level of competition and sometimes play guys who have played
in the (NBA),” SPL scout and advisor Jerry Clark said.
“We also hope that some of these players realize this is
something limited, that maybe they should consider going out into
the real world and getting a job.”

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kareem Rush’s sentiments about
being in the SPL sound more like those of a player on the other,
less greener side of the grass.

“I’m just happy to be playing for Los Angeles and
being here in the SPL,” Rush said. “I’d rather be
here than anywhere else, even if I was the first player to go in
the draft.”

While Rush’s gratitude may be attributed more to the fact
that he’s playing for the three-time defending NBA champions
than anything else, playing in the SPL has given his coaches a
chance to see his rapid improvement. After scoring nine points in
his SPL debut, Rush has churned out back-to-back 20-plus point
games but sat out the last game.

“Originally, I wanted to go to UCLA,” Rush said.
“But now, I’m here in L.A. and playing and scoring for
the Lakers. It’s funny how things turned out.”

Current Laker Mark Madsen joins Rush and McCoy as the only bona
fide Lakers on the team’s SPL squad. Madsen, a crowd
favorite, has grasped the opportunity to play in the SPL to prove
his talent to critics and coaches and to express his malcontent
with some of the Lakers practice regimens.

“Tell your dad to take it easy on us a little, man,”
Madsen said to the son of Lakers SPL head coach Kurt Rambis after
L.A.’s 91-83 victory over the Rockets. “Come on man,
just tell him less running.”

Though many of these players are going in different directions,
they all share one thing: the penchant for basketball that has
driven them to this point and beyond.

SPL President John Younesi agrees.

“For two weeks, these guys are all doing something they
love,” he said. “That in itself makes it something
special for all the fans and families to come out and see what
we’re about.”

The SPL runs through Sunday.