Marquette’s Summer League recap

(Credit: USA Today)

No introduction necessary here. Marquette had eight former players participate in the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues. Here’s how they fared and what’s next for each:

Vander Blue (6 games)

— 21.2 minutes
— 11.0 points; 22-for-55 (40%) FG; 6-for-16 (37.5%) 3FG; 16-for-21 (76.2%) FT
— 3.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.8 turnovers

Breakdown: We didn’t track every one of Blue’s 127 minutes in Orlando and Houston, but from everything we saw Blue played exclusively at shooting guard for the Rockets and Grizzlies. His two-month attempt at transitioning to point guard didn’t mean much for either team, as they understood his natural position is on the wing and he proved he has the sight to succeed there. His last two games he scored 37 points on 26 shots (50 percent) — including a whopping six 3-pointers — in 44 minutes, stellar marks for anyone, let alone someone who hadn’t scored in double figures in his first four contests. He’ll now await a call from an NBA team that will or will not offer him a spot in training camp. Based on his last two performances with the Grizzlies, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him wind up in Memphis for yet another tryout. His DNP-CD in his first game with the Rockets is still a little perplexing, but that seems like forever ago after his last two outings.

Dwight Buycks (6 games)

— 24.6 minutes
— 10.8 points; 22-for-43 (51.1%) FG; 5-for-9 (55.5%) 3FG; 16-for-22 (72.7%) FT
— 2.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.8 turnovers

Breakdown: Far-and-away the top Marquette performer in this year’s Summer League, Buycks did enough with the Thunder in Orlando to earn a fully guaranteed, one-year, $700,000 contract from the Toronto Raptors. Buycks was quick on offense, found open shooters with regularity and played phenomenal defense, working extra-hard on that end in true Marquette fashion. Most of his shots came from inside, and his marks from beyond the arc make his two weeks all the more impressive. Now he enters Toronto training camp (with Steve Novak) as the third-string point guard behind Kyle Lowry and D.J. Augustin. His minutes will be limited, but he’s finally reached his goal of making it to the NBA. From the D-League to Germany to France, Buycks has arrived.

Jae Crowder (4 games*)

— 31.8 minutes
— 16.0 points, 24-for-53 (45.3%) FG; 3-for-18 (16.7%) 3FG; 13-for-21 (61.9%) FT
— 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 blocks, 2.3 steals, 3.2 turnovers

Breakdown: Crowder sprained his ankle eight minutes into his fifth game, so we’ll give him a free pass and analyze his play through the first four games he played in Las Vegas. Unfortunately the one area he needed to show improvement was from beyond the arc, and he really struggled there. Crowder is a lock for the Mavericks’ roster in 2013, and he should see an uptick in minutes. If he wants to break into the rotation, however, he must improve from beyond the arc, where he’s most useful as an inside-out small forward. It’s easy to chalk his numbers up as a poor shooting week, but this wasn’t what the 6-foot-6 former Big East Player of the Year wanted when he arrived last week.

Darius Johnson-Odom (9 games)

— 18.4 minutes
— 8.2 points, 26-for-66 (39.4%) FG; 5-for-12 (41.6%) 3FG; 16-for-22 (72.7%) FT
— 1.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals, 3.1 turnovers

Breakdown: Johnson-Odom didn’t have much to show for his time in the Summer League outside of one highly-impressive game with the Celtics, when he poured in 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting and five rebounds in 25 minutes. He got more run than any other Marquette player, and nine games played may have been as many as anyone else, so there’s plenty of tape for teams to look at when training camp nears. Considering DJO had a cup of coffee with the Lakers last year and has collegiate accolades to boot, he could find time with a D-League team if a European team doesn’t have a more lucrative offer for him.

Trent Lockett (5 games)

— 20.0 minutes
— 7.0 points; 13-for-28 (46.4%) FG; 3-for-8 (37.5%) 3FG; 6-for-11 (54.5%) FT
— 1.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.6 turnovers

Breakdown: A tip of the cap is in order for Lockett, who wasn’t expected to do much but managed to play 20 or more minutes in four of five games he appeared in. He actually garnered a start Friday night, but his best performance came on Tuesday when he scored 12 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers and grabbed two rebounds in 25 minutes. His time in the NBA is all but over, but this was still a nice showing from the one-year transfer.

Lazar Hayward (4 games)

— 13.0 minutes
— 5.5 points; 6-for-11 (54.5%) FG; 1-for-2 (50%) 3FG; 9-for-9 (100%) FT
— 1.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.2 turnovers

Breakdown: Not the best showing for a player who once appeared in an NBA Finals game (mop-up time, but time nonetheless). He’s remarkably undersized for the game he’s trying to play and will need to prove his worth defensively and from the outside to have a shot at getting back to the League. The perfect mark from the charity stripe helps.

Jerel McNeal (3 games)

— 22.7 minutes
— 8.0 points, 11-for-25 (44%) FG; 1-for-6 (16.7%) 3FG; 1-for3 (33.3%) FT
— 1.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.3 steals, 2.0 turnovers

Breakdown: A knee injury cost McNeal time in Orlando, and now he’ll have to fight for a training camp spot. His jumper wasn’t on and though he was playing good defense, he didn’t show much in these games. It could be a case of the knee hindering him even when he did return, but it’s an uphill climb for Marquette’s all-time leading scorer.

Junior Cadougan (2 games)

— 6.0 minutes
— 1.0 points; 0-for-4 FG; 0-for-0 3FG; 2-2 FT
— 0.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 turnovers

Breakdown: Good on the Bucks for adding Cadougan to the Summer League roster. He’ll be headed overseas.