"Moneyball" has changed the way sports stats are talked about at the bar and around the water cooler. It’s no longer enough to talk about the pedestrian stats and figures such as points per game. Now we need to know Ricky Rubio’s field goal percentage when attacking the rim (52.2%) or that LeBron James is sixth in the league in post-up field goal percentage.

The bottom line is that we want – no, need -- to know more about the game of basketball and numbers behind it (thanks to the Twitter feed of Sebastian Pruiti for the above statistics).

So what about those of us who are die-hard fans of the NBA D-League? Where do we go for our stat fixes? This year Sam Farber has published a number of articles on the NBA D-League website. He’s doing some great analytical work and has touched on topics that include: advanced basketball statistics, rebounding, free-throw shooting, pacing, ball control and 3-point shooting. As a Fort Wayne Mad Ant fan, I especially enjoyed his article about the recent call-up of Walker Russell Jr. to the Detroit Pistons.

The math he used in the article demonstrated Russell’s contribution to the Mad Ants and his impact on the players around him. It was intriguing not only for Mad Ant fans, but to those who enjoy D-League basketball and digging into the muddy world of statistics.

Aside from the NBA D-League website’s basic stat page, however, there isn’t a source online where fans can go to get the raw data needed to analyze player and team performance. It’s possible to go to Hoopdata.com and see that Walker Russell Jr. is now 15th in the NBA in terms of assist rate, but if you want to know where he ranked in the D-League before his call-up, it simply isn’t possible to find it online.

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L.D. Williams dunked the game-winning shot for the Springfield Armor in spectacular fashion against the Maine Red Claws on Thursday night so I figured I'd take a closer look at exactly how it happened.

This is an interesting play that is designed to get Lance Hurdle an open look in the corner. However, it’s drawn up to allow for 2nd chance points if the initial shot is missed. Let’s break it down, after the jump, to see how exactly the Armor pulled off their 93-91 win.

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Sadiel Rojas raised some eyebrows at the 2012 NBA D-League Showcase when he filled in for an injured Ron Howard during the Fort Wayne Mad Ants game against the Bakersfield Jam. Rojas took advantage of his playing opportunity by clocking 40 quality minutes with 16 points and 8 rebounds. His energetic play and a key 3-point shot late in the game helped the Mad Ants secure their first win in a showcase game.

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It's still quite early to be putting out a mock draft, but I am anyways. Just the lottery, put by current standings by winning percentage. Enjoy.

1. Washington- Harrison Barnes SF North Carolina

Washington already got a long, athletic combo forward project in Jan Vesely, so getting another one in Anthony Davis wouldn't make much sense. The Wiz are the worst shooting team in the league so far, and badly need some offense. Barnes has the size, athleticism, and shooting touch to be a 20+ point scorer in the NBA.

2. Charlotte- Anthony Davis F Kentucky

The Bobcats are currently running one of the more up-tempo offenses in the NBA, a perfect fit for a pure athlete like Davis. Augustin and Walker often play together, running the fastbreaks. Davis could run with them and finish on the break. He has a long way to go offensively in the halfcourt, but the Bobcats will be patient with him, because the potential is there for the 6'10" forward.

3. Detroit- Andre' Drummond C Connecticut

Drummond is probably the top center in this years draft, and he's probably also the best player on the board here. This pick would put an absolute monster in there to protect the paint, and Drummond's offensive skills are surpisingly advanced (although they still need work and refinement). Greg Monroe might be better suited play PF too.

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(Another post from Ryan Ripley. Enjoy! -- Scott)

As kids we learn that ants do not enjoy being under a magnifying glass, but with only one win in the past eight games including a three-game losing streak, that’s exactly where the Fort Wayne Mad Ants found themselves on January 7 -- with a home game against a talented Canton Charge team coming up to boot.

Frequent roster changes and the replacement of head coach Joey Meyer with 26-year-old assistant coach Steve Gansey only intensified the scrutiny. Another thing learned as kids, though, is that while ants might scatter under a magnifying glass, they come back stronger and more determined than ever to get the job done.

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With the shortened NBA season, teams are opting to assign players to the D-League with increased regularity. Hamady Ndiaye (Wizards), Hassan Whiteside (Kings), Tyler Honeycutt (Kings), Gary Neal (Spurs), and Darington Hobson (Bucks) are the current assignees playing D-League ball.

From a fan perspective it is great to see such great talent come to a court near you. Though some D-League fans do complain that these assignments take minutes from players already on the roster -- and even cause team chemistry problems in some cases -- the assignment is well worth the investment of minutes for the D-League team that gains the talent refresh.

Take, for example, Milwaukee Bucks assignee Darington Hobson (@ParkaySmooth). He joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in late December and, after one game and a handful of practices, he provided the spark that the Mad Ants needed to snap their four game losing-streak against the Canton Charge on New Year’s Day with a 104-103 victory.

Hobson finished the game with 22 points (6-of-10 from the field, 9-of-10 from the free-throw line) to go with fiverebounds, five assists and three steals in 37 minutes of play. Not to mention he also hit the game winning shot with 21.5 seconds left!

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Come add your name to the sign up list and start doing your research!

https://sites.google.com/site/wetalkfantasysports/d-league-home-page

Draft date TBD!

Scoring

• This can be changed to whatever scoring system your league would like.
   
  Points - 1
  Defensive Rebound - 1
  Offensive Rebound - 2
  Assist - 1
  Steal - 1
  Block - 1
  Turnover - (.5)
  

Trades

• Contact the owner of another team and work out a trade. 
• You must trade position for position:
  C for C, 
  PG for PG,
  SF for SF
• Then leave the details in the comment box.
• There will be a trade deadline but no max # of trades, unless otherwise agreed upon by the league

Free Agents work the same way trades do. 

• You must drop a PG for a PG and a PF for a PF.
• Leave a comment to request a move and it will be done ASAP.
• There will be a deadline to make a move and a max # of moves allowed(does not include trades), but once again as per league agreement.
  

With the NBA season looking as it’s dissolving right before our eyes, the minor league of the NBA, the D-League, is soon to tip off its season soon with no holdout restricting their season.

The Iowa Energy officially start their season Nov. 25 at new franchise Canton (affiliated with Cleveland), but fans were invited to Wells Fargo Arena last night to an Open House to get fans thinking about the upcoming season. It will be hard to forget last season for fans after coming off the franchise’s first championship in their short time here in Des Moines.

"Last year was such a blessing," said Moses Ehambe, who is only one of three returning players for Iowa this season. "After having a losing season over in Spain, then being traded from Tulsa to Austin to here, then winning a championship was just amazing."

Flip the switch from last season, because this one will be entirely different. New coach. Nine newcomers are the majority of the Energy roster, one of them being Jarrid Famous, a 6-11, 240 center from South Florida.

His goal is to make a stand on defense.

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Thursday night was the NBA D League draft, and two of the 'unknowns'  stood out for me because I've been privy to a little sliver of their respective basketball journey's. First, PG Marcus Hill, taken #1 in the sixth round by the Springfield Armor, and second was Franklin Session who was picked up #16 in the sixth round by the LA Defenders. Both played  at the ....

In my last post I spoke about a kid from Houston who will be looking to pursue his dreams in the NBDL, or as i like to call it, the NBA "Dream" League. Craig Blackmon has inspired me to do more research on players and coaches who are truly under the radar. There are many routes to the NBA, the most common would be big time recruiting, big time college, NBA Draft and the rest is history. Although that is the most common, it is also the hardest to obtain, many great players have been passed over years.That is a different road, this post is about those players that may have been late bloomers or just have been misguided in their careers. Just imagine, many guys grow up in the parks and courts around the world, never heard of until one or two years prior to the draft. Many international players play professionally in their respective countries from a young age and grow to become great athletes in the country, however when you may have melting pot like Brooklyn, New York, basketball is just as religous but the opportunity is not available. Now your thinking college right? Well that may be correct, but some basketball players may be better on the court than the classroom. What happens now? Thats when we hear about playground legends or European stars, and when a kid has always been misguided money is the easiest way to keep them astray. I have been to many Pro-Am summer leagues and charity games all across the country and seen first hand what a player that has never played professional could do, pretty amazing. 

So I have came up with the a category system for players:

• The "Star"
• The " Next Generation"
• The "Pupil"
• The "Prototype"
• The "Hungry One"

Let me explain each category.

The "Star", everyone loves the star and everyone knows him. He is the AAU champion, the high school phenom, the NCAA all-tournament candidate he is a great player, but the road has always been paved for him.

The "Next Generation" is father-son tandem, this is usually a star player but not necessarily, he just has always had the right things, at the right time, and in the right places. Been giving the benefit of having a legendary last name, with this you get room for error and a key to somethings other players may never get.

The "Pupil", he is similar to the NG but no actual family ties. He has been look out for his entire life either from a veteran NBA player or famous scout. This player has always know the ins and outs to making it successful in the business.

The "Prototype", he is built in perfect basketball form. He is the 7 footer or the 6'8 guard with extreme athleticism, his basketball skills may not be very polished but the kid wins every dunk contest and has tremendous "Wow" factor.

now my personal favorite is the "Hungry Player" he is the gym rat, the one who wants to be all those others wrapped in one. He is has always had to fight for his opportunities, but when the lights come on he puts on a show, maybe a small time division I player or maybe a juco role player, or possibly never had the shot at collegiate play.

So my question is what can you teach? We all are taught in different stages of our lives but there comes an age and time where we are not really receptive to these things.  Basketball is a tough game to learn later in life, it is filled with skills and knowledge that takes years to develop, hence why kids begin basketball camps at early ages. Now its a bit easier to show someone how to interact and become a professional player. The skills you would learn in a college setting from a coach. So I would like to say, any coaches or scouts looking for talent during a time like the NBA lockout, go to your local gyms around 2 A.M. on a Saturday night, if you happen to catch a guy running suicides an shooting free throws give him a quick interview, might just surprise you what you find!