MARCH MADNESS: Siena's Kenny Hasbrouck Called-Up To The Miami Heat

Kenny Hasbrouck, a former March Madness hero for Siena, is on his way to the Miami Heat according to sources close to the situation.

Hasbrouck, a 6-foot-3 guard, had been averaging 16.9 points while shooting better than 50% with the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers.  Hasbrouck follows in the footsteps of fellow/former Vipers Mike Harris, Will Conroy, Garrett Temple and Antonio Anderson as players that have earned a call-up from Rio Grande Valley

While this would typically come as a monumental surprise considering he wasn't really on any radars as far as I had heard, it makes perfect sense for Hasbrouck to be called up in this situation: the Heat opened a roster spot when Miami moved Rafer Alston to the suspended list for the remainder of the season,apparently clearing the way for an addition, either from the free agent pool or the D-League.

So why would the Heat call up a guy we've barely talked about on Ridiculous Upside?  Well, essentially because he has ridiculous upside. they're very familiar with him and he's proven to be a serviceable basketball player.

Hasbrouck earned numerous awards at Siena. He was the 2005-2006 MAAC Rookie of the year, 2008-2009 MAAC Player of the Year and MAAC Tournament MVP as well as being named the 2007-2008 Collegeinsider.com mid-major player of the year and was a 2009 AP All-American honorable mention.  Basically, he had one hell of a college career.

After graduating from college, he went through the draft process - first working out with Oklahoma City Thunder.  He then originally planned to go to Summer League with the Memphis Grizzlies, but instead opted for the Miami Heat's Summer mini-camp (If my memory serves me correctly, they skipped Summer League because it wasn't cost effective).  This eventually turned into an all-Summer affair as he earned rave reviews from Heat staffers.

Unfortunately, he was injured right before training camp and wasn't able to participate on their preseason roster.  I'm unsure if he had further injury complications than the orignally 4-6 week prognosis he talks about in the video below, but he didn't surface in the D-League until January 29th.  He then wasn't picked up until February 21st meaning it took three weeks for any team to pick him up (this is ridiculous, as I've pointed out previously).

As a member of the Heat, I'm not sure what his role will be - he's an excellent offensive weapon, but he plays the 2-guard (though he did play some point while Will Conroy was called-up with the Heat) and the Heat already enjoy the services of Dwyane Wade, among others, at that position. Defense has never particularly been a strong point, either, so he won't be used as a stopper.  Regardless, Miami's had luck with other players that weren't necessarily pure point guards (Mario Chalmers, Chris Quinn) and it's great to see Hasbrouck getting another opportunity now that he's healthy.

For more links, there's a great profile CBS did around this time last year that talks about his character and family life and here's a video of creepers saying hi to Hasbrouck.  I wish I could find some highlights or game footage, but there really isn't anything out there focusin on Hasbrouck that I could find.

The video below is Hasbrouck talking the injury he sustained while with Miami, as well as his options regarding the D-League or overseas.  If you really wanted to read into this interview, it seems Miami apparently promised him a call-up awhile ago, prompting his move to the D-League over more money overseas.