Are you jonesing for news about Gerry McNamara? Do you often find yourself wondering “Whatever happened to Preston Shumpert?” Have you ever tossed and turned in your bed, sleep eluding your tired eyes, because you couldn’t squelch your curiosity about the post-Syracuse exploits of Elvir Ovcina? Well then you’ve come to the right place. On this page, we at Cuse Country will keep current records for all former SU basketball players still making their livings on the hardwood, with whatever relevant links we can track down.

(For regular updates on the current performances of these players, keep checking the main CC page where Pro Updates are posted generally at least once a week. You can also get a listing of all posts tagged with a player’s name by clicking on his name.)

Click in this list to jump directly to a particular player’s information:

All information is current as of 11/6/07

Carmelo Anthony
Team: Denver Nuggets   Location: Denver, CO, USA   League: NBA
Official Player Page (with stats)
Carmelo is one of the top players in the NBA and easily the best of the former Orangemen currently playing professionally. But if you are reading this you probably knew that already.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   coming soon

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Ryan Blackwell
Team: Sendai 89ers   Location: Sendai, Japan   League: BJ-League (sorry, it stands for “Basketball Japan”)
Official Player Page (no stats)
Ryan returns to the 89ers for a second season this year. Last year he was one of their top two players. The other top player has left the team so Ryan is expected to carry the load this season.
The BJ-League website is set up so that you cannot make an external link directly to a player’s stats page. If you want to see Ryan’s stats for the season, go to the league website, mouseover the fourth box on their navigation banner and select the first choice from the dropdown menu as shown here:       This will take you to the 89ers’ team page. Finally, click on Blackwell’s name — the name next to uniform #6. You should be taken to his stats page.
Stories: Blackwell Should Be an All-Star from the Japan Times, Jan 1 2007
Cuse Country interviews Ryan Blackwell about life as a baller in Japan
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)

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Damone Brown
Team: Sioux Falls, SD, USA   League: Official Player Page
Damone played in the 2007 NBA preseason with the Utah Jazz but was waived a few days before the start of the season. He joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBADL in late November.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   coming soon

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Ethan Cole
Team: None Currently   Location:   League:
Official Player Page: none
Cole began the 2006-07 season playing in Bahrain, then later joined the Rastatt club in Germany’s minor league. His 2007-2008 affiliation, if any, is unknown at this time.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   empty at this time

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Kueth Duany
Team: None currently   Location:   League:
Official Player Page
Kueth played in 2006-2007 for the Buffalo Silverbacks of the ABA. His current affiliation is unknown.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)

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Matt Gorman
Team: Neptune Basketball Club   Location: Cork, Ireland   League: Ireland Superleague
Official Player Page (no stats)
Matt is starting for the Neptune club in his first professional season and is perhaps their leading scorer so far (cumulative stats not yet available online).
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   currently empty

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Jason Hart
Team: Utah Jazz   Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA   League: NBA
Official Player Page (with stats)
Jason is in his 7th NBA season. He is currently the backup to point guard Deron Williams in Utah. He earned a free-agent deal with the Jazz for the 07-08 season by nearly getting the Clippers into the playoffs after both of their point guards were injured midway through the 06-07 season.
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Otis Hill
Team: Ironi Iscar Nahariya   Location: Nahariya, Israel   Leagues: Basketball Super League, FIBA EuroCup
Official Player Pages: from FIBA from IBSL
Otis played in Croatia and Poland in 06-07, but decided to return to Israel for the current season (he’d played in Israel before his European stops). He has been a dominant big man wherever he’s played, and this latest stop is no exception.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)

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Gerry McNamara
Team: None   Location:   League:
Gerry played briefly in Greece earlier this year but was released in November, and is currently looking for a team.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   coming soon

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Demetris Nichols
Team: Chicago Bulls   Location: Chicago, IL, USA   League: NBA
Official Player Page (with stats)
The Knicks traded a future draft pick for Nichols, then released him towards the end of training camp. He was picked up by the Cavaliers a couple of days before the season began, played in a couple of games, then was released again and signed a couple of days later by the Bulls. As of this date, his career has featured more NBA teams (3) than points (2).
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Elvir Ovcina
Team: Telindus Oostende   Location: Oostende, Belgium (a.k.a. Ostend)   Leagues: Belgian League of Basketball, ULEB
Player Pages from ULEB from BLB
Elvir is entering his third season with Oostende. They have won the Belgian League Championship in each of the last two years; their quest for a three-peat is off to a good start as they are 6-1 through their first 7 games.
Stories: Player Spotlight from ulebcup.com, Nov 2006
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Josh Pace
Team: East Kentucky Miners   Location: Pikeville, KY, USA   League: CBA
Official Player Page: none yet; stats not available until season starts
Josh played in Finland in the winter of 2006-07, then left his Finnish team to rejoin the Nelson Giants in New Zealand, for whom he had played the year before and whose season began in March. He was named the league MVP as he led the Giants to the league championship. Though he has now come back to the US, the CBA season will end early enough for him to go back to New Zealand again this year if he chooses.
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Terrence Roberts
Team: none yet   Location:   League:
Official Player Page
I fully expect Terrence to land in some league or another this fall, but he has not yet done so. (This assumes his knee is healthy enough to play on.)
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   none yet

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Preston Shumpert
Team: Besiktas Cola Turka   Location: Istanbul, Turkey   Leagues: Turkish Basketball League, ULEB
Official Player Pages from TBL from ULEB
After splitting the 2006-07 season between two Italian League teams (with his playing time fluctuating wildly from week to week), Preston signed up with a Turkish squad this year on which he should play more of a consistently large role.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   none yet

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Etan Thomas
Team: Washington Wizards   Location: Washington, DC, USA   League: NBA
Official Player Page (with stats)
Etan was diagnosed with a dangerous heart condition at the start of 2007 training camp. He underwent surgery in October 2007, and is now recovering. His goal is to play again, though it is still too early to tell when (or if) he will be able to do so. Here is an interview that Etan did for RealGM.com about the experience. ~~ Etan is also a published poet, and an occasional contributor to the Huffington Post political blog.
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Hakim Warrick
Team: Memphis Grizzlies   Location: Memphis, TN, USA   League: NBA
Official Player Page (with stats)
Hakim enters his third season with the Grizzlies looking to become a regular impact player. Last season was a roller-coaster for him. He was a starter during the first portion of the season (filling in for an injured Pau Gasol) and was one of the team’s leading scorers during this period. When Gasol came back his playing time (and production) plummeted, then slowly rose again in the latter stages of the year.
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Darryl “Mookie” Watkins
Team: Los Angeles D-Fenders   Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA   League: NBA Development League
Official Player Page (with stats)
Mookie was invited to the Sacramento Kings’ preseason camp as an undrafted free agent out of college and took full advantage of the opportunity. He earned a spot on the Kings’ roster by the end of camp (a very uncommon feat for players in his situation) and was the primary backup to Brad Miller in the first weeks of the season while Sacramento’s #1 draft pick, center Spencer Hawes, recovered from knee surgery. When Hawes returned, Watkins’ playing time diminished greatly, and he was released in mid-December. He signed with the D-Fenders soon after.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   coming soon

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Dayshawn Wright
Team: Albany Patroons   Location: Albany, NY, USA   League: CBA
Official Player Page: Team Site
Dayshawn has bounced around the pro ranks for the past couple of years since leaving college ball. He began the season with the ABA’s Syracuse Raging Bullz, but when that team folded after about a month, he signed with the more stable Albany Patroons.
Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger images)   none yet

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