Entries Tagged as 'Toros Watch'

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Viewer Guides for the Uninitiated

In his end of the season exit interview, Gregg Popovich said the Spurs’ front office plans to use the unusually long summer to…work. One of the first major scouting assignments he named was the Euroleague Final Four, which begins streaming today on ESPN360. Outside of the Bulls-Celtics series, it’s the most compelling basketball of the [...]

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Nelson Signs With Bulls

Well, I’ve lobbied on behalf of 4 Toros this season: Malik Hairston, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Marcus Williams, and DeMarcus Nelson. In each case, their strong, promising play was rewarded with a contract, unfortunately not always with the Spurs. DeMarcus Nelson was signed by the Chicago Bulls late yesterday afternoon. I’m happy that he got his contract; [...]

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

Toros Watch: Ian Mahinmi

The Toros, despite having the most talented team in the D-League, are a miserable 3-7 in their last 10. Much like their big brother to the south, they’re not cruising into the postseason on a high. But they won against Tulsa last night, and we hope the 131-119 victory portends for greater things to come. [...]

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Toros Watch: Slumping and Scheming

The Toros have the most talented roster in the D-League. This was confirmed again last week when Toros center Dwayne Jones was named Player of the Week. His week-long averages of 28 points and 19 rebounds made him the 3rd Toro this season to receive Player of the Week honors. But talent and strong individual [...]

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Toros Watch: Quick Notes

The Spurs have released Pops Mensah-Bonsu. I’m sad to see him go, but Drew Gooden is Drew Gooden. Mensah-Bonsu played very well in limited minutes with the Spurs, and he is certainly worthy of a roster spot somewhere in the Association. Hopefully he parted on good terms and we might see him again during the [...]

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Playing the Austin Lottery

As Graydon mentioned in today’s Notebook, the Spurs have signed Pops Mensah-Bonsu to a 10-Day contract. What follows is possibly the most ink ever spilled over a D-League call up. But I’m up to the task. If one counts Ian Mahinmi (time served), Pops Mensah-Bonsu will become the 3rd Toro on San Antonio’s current bench. [...]

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

Toros Watch: Pops Throws Up a 39/18

The trade market has morphed into the buyout market. These Toros Watch posts may have seemed superfluous until now, but here’s where paying attention matters. The Spurs have until March 1 to sign a player to fill out their roster. Players waived by March 1 retain their playoff eligibility if signed by another team after [...]

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

The Spurs, the Farm Team, and the Fan

I want to take a few moments to attach a follow up comment to yesterday’s TrueHoop, Malcolm Gladwell, and Malik Hairston post. The Austin Toros are a good basketball team. This will sound controversial to some, but they have more talent on their roster than most, if not all, D1 programs. The Toros are not [...]

Monday, December 29th, 2008

TrueHoop, Malcolm Gladwell, and Malik Hairston

Back on December 11, TrueHoop ran a bullet commenting on a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell. In response to the article, Henry Abbott wrote: …in professions like picking NFL quarterbacks or good teachers, it is nearly impossible to know who will succeed until you see them try. That means that the best way to [...]

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

Toros Watch: Austin 133, Colorado 108

The Toros are starting to round into form after a shaky start. Their roster is an impressive collection of talent, some of which has a future in San Antonio. The Toros will compete for the NBDL title this season, but that is a secondary concern. Our primary interest in Austin is how their big league [...]