Locals ready for Summer League
After four years of proving himself as a Idaho Vandal, and another few months of training in front of NBA coaches and personnel, guard Victor Sanders got the call he’s been working for last week.
“I was ecstatic,” Sanders said. “My agent called me, like 10:30 in the morning and he asked me, ‘do you want to play Summer League?’ I almost answered with an attitude, like ‘yeah, what are you talking about?’ But I said yeah, and he said ‘well guess what? You got it, you’re playing with the Nuggets.’
“It gave me goosebumps. You work so hard to wear that NBA logo and now you get a chance to actually make that dream come true. It’s crazy.”
Sanders finished up his playing career with Idaho back in March, leaving the team as its second-leading scorer in program history. The last three months have been filled with more basketball, from NBA combines to individual workouts with teams, and even included a trip to Denver and the Nuggets.
“They have a great staff, great people,” Sanders said. “Of course they made me feel like I was at home for the time that I was there. I did my workout, I thought I did pretty well. It was crazy, no words can explain the feeling.”
Now he sets his sights on Las Vegas, and the annual Summer League. Sanders will be competing with and against some of the best young talent in the country, including some familiar faces.
“There’s a player from Wyoming that played for my AAU team back home a couple years ago. We had the same coaches, we know the same people, it will be cool to catch up with him, I’ve never met him before. And I talked to (Andre) Spight a little bit too. It’s going to be fun.”
Sanders hit the road for Denver on Sunday, before the squad makes the trip to Las Vegas ahead of its opening game against Minnesota on Friday. He’s ready, as he always has been, and is fully aware of what is going to set him apart from the rest.
“Just do what I’ve been doing,” he said. “Just play my game, stay true to what I do and don’t try to do anything out of the ordinary. They see me for what I am and what I’ve done, so just show them that.”
Ex-NIC, Idaho standout Blake joins Cavs for Summer League: Another former Vandal has joined the ranks of the NBA Summer League, with Brayon Blake signing on to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers in Las Vegas.
Blake played one season at North Idaho College and played the last two seasons at Idaho.
Play gets started for Blake and the Cavaliers on Friday at 6 p.m. against the Washington Wizards on NBATV. Game two comes the following day at 6:30 p.m. against the Chicago Bulls and will be televised live on ESPN2. The third and final game of the opening round comes on Monday, July 9, at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 against the Indiana Pacers.
Blake led the Vandals and the Big Sky Conference at 9.6 rebounds per contest, to go along with 17 points a night. He recorded 12 double-doubles on the year, and topped 20 points 11 times. Blake picked up First Team All-Big Sky honors, to go with NABC All-District 6 Second Team recognition.
A vastly improved 3-point shooter, Blake finished last season at 44.8 percent, the fifth best average in program history. He had 298 rebounds, also the fifth best mark for a Vandal ever.
Another ex-Cardinal in Summer League: Braian Angola, who played two seasons at NIC, will play for the Orlando Magic in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Orlando opens Friday at 11 a.m. vs. Brooklyn on NBATV.
Angola played the last two seasons at Florida State:
Others: Johnathan Williams III of Gonzaga will play with the Los Angeles Lakers in the inaugural Sacramento Summer League, which begins today. The Lakers are scheduled to play Sacramento tonight at 8 on NBATV.
Two former Eastern Washington Eagles, Bogdan Bliznyuk, will play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas beginning Friday.
Bliznyuk will join the Los Angeles Clippers, who open Friday at 8:30 p.m. against Golden State on ESPN.
Wiley will play for the Dallas Mavericks, who face Phoenix on Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.