And finally, once again thanks to RFC, here are Dante’s highlights from his final Summer League clash vs. the D-League Select.
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NBA Summer League
Here’s a quick interview with Dante Cunningham that was conducted during the Summer League where Dante talks about the difference between playing at Villanova and the NBA, and what skills he is working hardest to develop this summer. Enjoy!
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According to The Oregonian, Portland Trailblazers GM Kevin Pritchard has indicated that both Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph will receive contracts and roster spots following their strong Summer League performances.
…Awesome to hear…he worked hard and showed up during the games and earned his spot…keep working hard Dante…we’re all behind you…hat tip to reader Larry Harris for the heads up…
And just for nostalgia’s sake, here’s a clip of Dante’s name getting called this year in the draft. Props to RFC for the clip, as always.
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Dante Cunningham once again played well for the Portland Trailblazers, but his efforts weren’t enough as the Trailblazers fell to the D-League Select Team 74-73. The D-League Select’s Marcus Hubbard hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to sink the Blazers.
Cunningham finished with a game-high 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. He gave Portland the lead with 21 seconds remaining when he sunk 2 free throws, but the lead wouldn’t last.
…There’s no denying Dante had a very impressive run in the Summer League and has put himself in a great position for a roster spot in his rookie year…regular minutes will be hard to come by as the Blazers have a crowded frontcourt but his defensive prowess and an improving offensive game leads me to believe they’ll be some minutes for him…
Last night, Dante Cunningham returned from his groin injury that forced him to sit out Friday night’s game. With his return, the Portland Trailblazers beat the San Antonio Spurs for their first win of the NBA Summer League. Cunningham put up another solid effort, playing a game-high 30+ minutes and scoring 14 points on 7-12 from the field. He also grabbed 2 rebounds, had 1 steal and 1 blocked shot, and committed zero turnovers. Dante’s former Big East counterpart, DeJuan Blair, scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds for the Spurs. The Trailblazers wrap up their Summer League schedule tonight vs. the D-League Select team.
Coming off another stellar performance in the NBA Summer League, Dante Cunningham will miss tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to a groin injury. Apparently, he injured the groin in Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets, although Dante finished the game, scoring 20+ points again. The Trailblazers play tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday night to wrap up their summer league schedule, and as of right now, Dante is listed as day-to-day.
Aside from Cunningham’s recent injury, though, he has been a pleasant surprise for the Trailblazers. Summer league coach Joe Prunty has noticed Dante’s good play:
Dante has been very solid. He’s been aggressive offensively. He’s been getting shots and he’s been confident stepping up and trying to knock those down. And he’s doing a decent job on the boards.
How has he played so well thus far? Usually, rookies come in very nervous with lots of pressure and hype to live up to. Well, it might have all started with the strict household he grew up in. Cunningham, on his parents:
They didn’t take any (nonsense) from me. So I understood what I could do and couldn’t do; what was OK and what wasn’t OK. And I learned that whatever I was doing, I should give all my focus to it. That has carried over to my basketball. I don’t put up with any (nonsense).
Another Trailblazers blog, called Blazersedge, posted in-depth scouting reports for some of the summer league players, including Dante Cunningham. Trailblazers scout Chad Buchanan covered virtually every facet of Dante’s game. Some notable information from the report:
He plays every play until the play is finished. He doesn’t give up on rebounds or loose balls. Playing at Villanova that’s how they are. They build this junkyard dog mentality with all their guys.
The roster as it is today it’s going to be tough for him to come in and get a lot of minutes.
It certainly is going to be tough for Dante to get minutes this year with the Trailblazers, with all of the forwards they have, but that shouldn’t deter Dante. He already has 2 summer league games under his belt to use as hard evidence to show that he can play at the NBA level. Other teams are always watching and you never know when a situation may arise where you are thrust into a prominent role. If he keeps playing like he is, he will get minutes somewhere.
Despite another loss for the Portland Trailblazers, rookie Dante Cunningham continued to shine for his new team finishing with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Cunningham shot 8-20 from the field and went 6-7 from the charity stripe. He also had 2 steals.
And maybe, just maybe there’s an error or I’m reading this wrong, but the box score says he and fellow rookie Jeff Pendergraph had 8 fouls. Have to laugh at that one.
…Through two games he has proved that he can score and that he is willing to look for his shot…I’m really liking Dante’s chances of making the team…
So, Dwayne Anderson’s debut didn’t go as planned, and now I almost feel as though I jinxed him with my preGame post. But I’m pushing forward with this anyways. After a stellar debut, Dante and the Trailblazers take on the Houston Rockets tonight at 10 p.m. EDT in the NBA Summer League.
CLICK HERE to go to the online video player index, and scroll down to find Portland vs. Houston.
In case you missed Dante’s first outing, check out Brian’s reports HERE and HERE to read about how he’s turning heads already.
…As meaningless as the Summer League is in the grand scheme of the real NBA season, this is the time where fringe players and rookies make a name for themselves and make the roster…hopefully Dante continues to shine…
Before we talk about Dwayne Anderson, I wanted to wrap-up talking about Dante Cunningham’s first game in the NBA Summer League. Obviously, Dante had a very good game in terms of statistics, but the most important thing is what the Portland Trailblazers coaching staff thinks. The Portland Trailblazers game recap relayed some important quotes about their game last night. Head coach of the Trailblazers summer team, Joe Prunty, discussed Dante’s play:
He looked very comfortable. I thought he did a really nice job setting screens, slipping screens, separating after he set screens. I thought he did a really nice job of going after boards. He got a few of what I like to refer to as ‘dirty rebounds,’ where they’re out of your area, you hustle after them. They’re not the ones that sort of fall into your lap. So I really appreciated the effort he gave.
Additionally, the Portland Trailblazers official blog, called Center Court, written by Casey Holdahl, provided some discussion about the game and postgame audio from the players, including Cunningham.
One more thing before we get to Dwyane. Just a quick update on former Villanova coach Patrick Chambers. It seems like he is doing well at Boston University. Little did I know that he named former Villanova walk-on, Ross Condon, as one of his assistant coaches awhile back. I found this out in his blog, seeing a picture from one of his older posts.
Chambers also has a Twitter account, which he regularly updates, keeping fans in the loop regarding the BU basketball team.
Finally, on to Dwayne Anderson. Undoubtedly, many wondered how Anderson would perform in live NBA game action, as he was supposed to take the court tonight for the Washington Wizards summer team. After checking the box score, Dwayne’s name was not to be found, which left some questions to be answered. I checked around a little bit, and it looks like Dwayne was cut from the Washington Wizards yesterday, along with a slew of other players. I did not see any reasoning behind the decision, but my guess is only a certain number of players can attend the Summer League, meaning the Wizards had to cut down their roster, and unfortunately, Dwayne was one of many to lose a spot.
