Austin Toros 118, Springfield Armor 89

by

Curtis Jerrells

AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER - The Austin Toros sat in second place in the D-League’s West Conference going into Wednesday night’s game against the Springfield Armor, the second of a back-to-back with Springfield. The Armor were positioned in last place in the West conference, a full 12 games behind the Toros in the standings.

In the end, not much changed.

Despite going to overtime with the Armor just a night before, the Toros went out on Wednesday night and shot 15 of 27 (56%) from 3-point range en route to a laughable 118-89 win over Springfield. Austin saw uncontested shots throughout the game ran away with the win in the second half.

Recently reacquired Marcus Williams was perfect on the night in attaining his 29 points. Williams shot 8 of 8 from the field, 4 of 4 from behind the arc, and 9 of 9 from the free throw line. Dwayne Jones added 20 points and 18 rebounds and Lewis Clinch scored 23 points on 9 of 16 from the field.

The story before the game, though, was Curtis Jerrells. On Wednesday afternoon, Jerrells was signed by the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season, and immediately reassigned to the Toros.

After the game, I asked Jerrells, who had 12 points and seven assists on Wednesday night, about his signing. I was curious if another team was planning to call up the rookie point guard, which would have forced the Spurs hand if they wanted to keep him.

“I’m not sure. I know my agent, he had been talking to a few teams for the last couple of weeks,” Jerrells said. “I’m happy they got it settled.”

Despite not sharing the specifics, Jerrells did confirm that he will be on the Spurs playoff roster. Although chances are, he’ll spend most of his time in his finest business casual attire.

  • Big Whit

    I see Marcus Williams is back. What position did he play? I remember a post last year about the possibility of him at point. Any progress there?

  • http://48minutesofhell.com Andrew A. McNeill

    Williams played mainly at the 2 and 3, but he handled the ball quite a bit, which allowed Jerrells time off the ball to spot up on the perimeter. That’s a big reason the Toros got so many open 3’s last night, they spread the floor really well and had plenty of shooters in the game at all times.

  • Big Whit

    Thanks - Between Williams, Jerrells, Temple, de Colo, Jackson, and others I can’t think of, the Spurs have many guards to work into the system over the next few years.

  • Blofeld

    I guess Pop eventually wants to play 5 guards. Will someone please tell me why Dwayne Jones continues to rot? Doesn’t anyone think the Spurs need some help up front? Hello??????

  • http://48minutesofhell.com Andrew A. McNeill

    @Blofeld

    I think a big reason the Spurs haven’t called up Jones is his age. He’s 27, he played on those great St. Joseph’s teams with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, and usually when a player is at 27 or 28, they’ve reached their peak. The Spurs, looking for players who can help them down the road, probably don’t see him having much of a long term impact on the team.