Randy Livingston Memorial On The Edge D-League Call-Up Rankings

Before we start, I wanted to clarify something: Don't think we're stupid because we didn't have Cedric Jackson or JamesOn Curry in our last call-up rankings.  Jackson was called-up because he knew the system, they were familiar and filled a need in an emergency. Curry was, by almost all accounts, a mistake.

Now, on to the rankings!

1. Mike Harris, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (27.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 59% FG) - "Most Valuable in the D-League should be good enough for a bench gig, you'd think." -- Matt Moore

2. Carlos Powell, Albuquerque Thunderbirds (22.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.8 apg, 50% FG) - There really isn't much more you could want out of a 6'7" forward, actually.  I'll let Jon L's comments explain the rest: "Powell does many things very well: He's top 10 in the league in scoring; is averaging just under six assists per game - as many or more as some starting point guards; Just under two steals per game, again in the company of point guards. Just five rebounds a game and not much of an outside shot, but now we're just nitpicking."  And if you're looking for than five rebounds out of the small forward spot, you're definitely nitpicking.

3. Reggie Williams, Sioux Falls Skyforce (26.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 58% FG, 38% 3pt) - From the always lovable Jon L: "Scott (here) and Steve (here) have both written about Williams recently, but in a nutshell he's an extremely efficient scorer, he can rebound a bit, and he's focused more on defense recently, probably for the first time in his career. He's carrying the Skyforce and has been for weeks. Some NBA team needs to call Williams up before Tony Fritz runs him into the ground."

4a. Morris Almond, Springfield Armor (28.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 52% FG) -Myself and Weinman Gchatted (Is that what it's called?) about this one for a long time last night.  Almond is an amazing talent, but he really doesn't have any upside.  Eventually, and I'd suggest sooner rather than later, he should go to Europe and make some money.  Still, as Weinman noted, He's "in a tough spot because he won't be a go-to guy at next level, but waaaay too talented not to get another shot."

4b. Dwayne Jones, Austin Toros (17.7 ppg, 15.0 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 62% FG) - I'm just going to kindly point out that Jon didn't rank him and he's still this high on our list.  If you take the three of us that did rank him, he'd be top-3.  As per usual, I'm just going to point out the fact that he sleep walks and gets those numbers, so I kind of hate him, but ball don't lie.  Weinman went pretty in-depth with him the other day.  Maybe I can convince Jon L to do the same by sending him to the Showdown at Cedar Park next week.

6a. Dontell Jefferson, Utah Flash (18.0 ppg, 5.6 apg, 3.6 rpg, 43% FG) - Succinctly, Weinman puts it best: "He's run into all kinds of scoring efficiency issues in January. Possibly related to rumored knee concerns that may have cost him call-up to Jazz earlier in the month?"  I'll also add that he's shot 6-for-29 from the field in his past three games to explain why I ranked him the lowest of the four.

6b. Rob Kurz, Fort Wayne Mad Ants (18.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 54% FG, 46% 3pt, 80% FT) - Kurz gets my mid-season award for using the D-League most effecitively. Last season with Golden State, he was primarily (read: only) a pick-and-pop shooter. After that gig didn't fly in a number of opportunities this offseason (Orlando Summer League with the 76ers/Nets combined team, Vegas Summer League with the TWolves, preseason with the Cavs), he came to the D-League and has worked on becoming more than a shooter. It's actually really working. I'm not sure how much credit to give to his coach (Joey Meyer was also credited for developing Ramon Sessions while in the D-League), but Kurz is now able to score in the post and averaging over 10 boards per game as the lone bright spot for his struggling Mad Ants. Oh, and don't worry - his 47% shooting from beyond the arc proves he's still able to shoot as well.

8. Mustafa Shakur, Tulsa 66ers (19.9 ppg, 6.4 apg, 4.5 rpg, 2.1 spg, 50% FG, 35% 3pt) - While I was quick to write Mustafa (I refuse to refer to anyone but Tupac as ‘Shakur') off earlier this season, every time I watch him, I become more impressed. He's an efficient scorer, an above the rim finisher, and has held together the 66ers very fluid roster. Considering he's shooting over 50% from the field, over 35% from beyond the arc and has greatly improved his free-throw shooting this month, I don't really know what the NBA teams would be looking for that he isn't currently bringing to the table. Defensively, he's big enough and athletic enough that, at worst, he's going to outperform which ever player he's matching up with. I can't say he's great on defense, but there are many worse options in the D-League.

9. Coby Karl, Idaho Stampede (28.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 49% FG, 32% 3pt) - Before you go crazy looking at the numbers, realize he's only played in four games and it was with an Idaho team that was still struggling to find it's new identity.  Then read Jon L's comment: "Seeing as how I'm the guy who ranked Karl the highest, perhaps I should explain. It's probably a stretch to say he can play three positions, but he can handle and pass the ball with some skill, he can shoot threes and he can rebound a little bit. Karl was on Cleveland's roster this season before getting cut just as his contract would've been guaranteed, and at age 26 he'd be a solid bench contributor for someone else."

10. Antonio Anderson, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (16.1 ppg, 6.1 apg, 4. rpg, 1.2 spg, 47% FG) - I didn't rank him, so I'll leave this comment for Weinman: Remember when I said he would be rising on my list every week? That was before he took a nosedive in every major statistical category in January, highlighted (lowlighted?) by swooning from 58 percent true shooting in December to 51.5 in January. Still love his long-term prospects though. -sw

To round it out, Moore's comment for why he ranked Desmon Farmer may as well apply to my ranking of Othyus Jeffers and Jon's ranking of Rod Benson: "Mario West got called up. If he did, Farmer deserves a burn."  I'd throw JamesOn Curry in that mix as well.