Jump to Comments

The Toros lost last night, falling to the 14ers 121-119. They are now 18-8 on the season.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu continues to make the most of his recent contract, hustling his way to 31 points in 42 minutes. I don’t want to diminish how well Mensah-Bonsu has been playing, but the D-League is the poster child of misleading stats. In other words, one simply can’t conclude that a player is NBA-ready because they are posting a gaudy stat line. It helps to watch the games, which you can do, for free, here. (Don’t worry, there’s an archive.)

So, for example, Marcus Williams puts up great numbers every night, but is likely too undersized and too slow to play his position (SF) in the Association. He’s a fantastic D-League player and will probably carve out a nice career in Europe, but I’m doubtful he’ll ever make a serious splash in the NBA. Or, maybe I’m wrong. The point is that his stats don’t tell the complete tale.

Fortunately, in this case, watching the games is encouraging with regard to Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who has already played a little in the NBA and performed well on European rosters. In 3 games with the Toros, he’s averaging 26 points (62%), 9 boards, and 2 blocks per contest. In doing so, he looks like more than just a tremendous athlete. Increasingly, I see him as a viable 15th man for the Spurs. I hope there is a 10-Day contract in his future. On an optimistic view, he possesses the athleticism and natural shot-blocking ability that the Spurs lack upfront.

In a shiny, happy scenario Pops Mensah-Bonsu will sign with San Antonio for the season, learn the system, and earn a permanent spot on the team after a strong summer league and camp with the team. Thomas and Oberto are both going into contract years and it makes sense for the Spurs to put a young big on deck to replace one of them in 2010 (Bonner is in a contract year, as well, but Mensah-Bonsu is obviously not a replacement for him). If other teams develop an interest in the Toros big man, the Spurs will be forced to decide on him just as with Malik Hairston, whom they signed when a contract from elsewhere became inevitable.

In other news, the Austin Toros have hired Peter Lubell as their chief operating officer. He will oversee their business affairs. This is another clear signal that Spurs Sports and Entertainment are serious about consistently improving the Toros as a serious place for player development-this can only happen if the organization is a viable business. It’s great to know that the Spurs fancy the Toros as something more than a farm team lap dog.

From the press release:

Prior to joining SS&E Lubell was the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Raceway Media. Raceway Media owns and operates a network of niche websites for passionate enthusiast groups focused around online marketplaces and social networking. In his role, Peter developed the national sponsorship sales platform and was responsible for creating the strategic plan for selling the company’s sponsorship assets, building and managing the strategic alliances team and designing a customer service model to ensure the maximization of sponsors’ return on investment.

Peter also served as the Chicago Chapter Director of the National Sports Marketing Network and currently acts as a national advisor for the organization. NSMN is the trade organization for the sports business industry, dedicated to the advancement of the industry through professional development counseling, networking, and the production of thought-provoking, issue-oriented seminars. The Chicago chapter is the largest in the U.S. and saw record attendance at events during Peter’s tenure as Chapter Director.

“SS&E is a world-class organization and I am excited about the opportunity to work with great staffs at the Toros, Spurs and NBA,” said Lubell. “The Toros have a strong brand image, a loyal fan base and a solid foundation of corporate partners. By tapping into new technology and expanding our grassroots efforts, we will continue to build long-term relationships with the Austin community and spotlight the NBA stars of tomorrow.”

From the standpoint of a Spurs fan, this is exciting news. Lost in the post Nuggets chatter was the strong play of Malik Hairston against Denver. Hairston is a better player now than he was this summer. He’s on the cusp of sticking with the Spurs. This would not be possible apart from his time with the Toros. In the paragraphs above I waxed (in)eloquent about Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who has a legitimate chance of coming to the Spurs via Austin. That is, coming to the Spurs after having passed through a D-League screening interview and receiving advanced exposure to the Spurs system. A strong Austin Toros organization allows the Spurs a host of advantages over other teams, especially considering their small market status. We wish Peter Lubell great success in his new position.