WHAT A TIME TO BRI ALIVE

 

The soon-to-be Disney story that is Briante Weber’s basketball career continues to gain momentum. The former VCU Minister of Defense is busy blowing up ball handlers in the NBA Summer League with the Miami Heat.

It was always understood that Weber’s offense would need time to develop, and his 40-percent shooting in eight summer league contests doesn’t dispel that notion, but he’s looking more comfortable all the time. On Wednesday, Weber dropped in 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Weber also appears to be getting a handle on his role as a facilitator at the point.

On the defensive side of the ball, he’s Briante “Bleeping” Weber, G.O.A.T, esq. He’s averaging 4.3 steals per game combined in the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, including two 6-steal contests and one 5-swipe game. In one game, Weber scored nine points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and ripped six steals.

In all, Weber is averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game.

Weber is one of four VCU alums playing in NBA Summer Leagues. Treveon Graham shredded the Orlando Summer League with the Magic’s White squad. The second-leading scorer in VCU history averaged 16.0 points, while shooting .558 from the floor in five games. Graham is a member of Utah’s Las Vegas Summer League team, but hasn’t received much in the way of minutes. We’ll conduct a full investigation on behalf of Ram Nation shortly.

Melvin Johnson is playing with Houston in Las Vegas. He’s appeared in one game so far for eight minutes. He knocked down one 3-pointer in that contest.

Juvonte Reddic, meanwhile, has appeared in three games for the NBA D-League Select squad. He’s averaging 2.7 points and scored six Wednesday in a loss to Philadelphia.

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TALE OF THREE CITIES; DANIELS ON THE MOVE IN 2ND NBA SEASON

VCU alum Troy Daniels is averaging 2.7 points and shooting .317 from 3-point range this season.

Troy Daniels is technically a Houston resident – he has a town home there – but he’s officially been living out of a suitcase the past couple of months.

It’s been a whirlwind second NBA season for the former VCU sharpshooter. Daniels, briefly a playoff hero for the Houston Rockets last season, has been traded twice since December. Despite the shuffling of zip codes, Daniels is still happy to be wearing in NBA uniform, regardless of where the team is located.

“It’s fun to even be considered by an NBA team, and I just appreciate the opportunities I’ve been given,” he says.

For now, and presumably for the near future, he’s a Charlotte Hornet, but he also thought he’d be a Houston Rocket for a while, until the team dealt him to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 19. Before he’d even had time to pick out a favorite grocery store, he and teammate Mo Williams were traded to Charlotte on Feb 10.

It’s actually Daniels’ second tour of duty with the Hornets. Daniels played for the organization’s summer league team and earned a training camp invite as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

The irony is that Charlotte, then known as the Bobcats, cut Daniels, which actually may have helped launch his NBA career. He was quickly signed by Houston, which stashed him with its Rio Grande D-League team. Daniels flourished in Rio Grande’s revolutionary, 3-point-heavy system, as the Roanoke, Virginia native set a D-League single-season record for threes.

TROY DANIELS, HOTTER THAN THE SUN(S)

This year, Troy Daniels is in the Houston Rockets’ training camp not as an unknown free agent clinging to hope – as he was last year at this time – but as a guy who has already won his roster spot and is now looking to carve out a more prominent role. Daniels appears on the right track in the early going. Although coaches love to run out all kinds of lineup combinations in NBA preseason games, the former VCU sharpshooter has managed to impress. Monday night, he scored 12 points for the Rockets in a win over the Phoenix Suns – including a floater, which somebody should tell him is only worth two points. We all know Troy Daniels has no time for baskets worth less than three points. Have no fear, he made three 3-pointers as well and is 5-of-11 from long range in three preseason games. Thankfully, the Internet is here to provide us with highlights of Daniels’ effort tonight. Thanks Interwebs!

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TROY DANIELS IS RIDICULOUS

Here’s Troy Daniels, you know, the former Ram, undrafted free agent rookie, scoring 17 points in the second NBA Playoff game of his life. I’m not going to say much more because I’m running out of superlatives for Daniels, other than to add, rather obviously, that he’s perhaps the best story of the first round of the playoffs. Houston’s down 3-1 in the series to Portland, so hopefully Daniels has a few heroics left in the holster so we can KEEP WATCHING TROY DANIELS BURY THREES FOR DAYS.

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TROY DANIELS IS A ROCKET, MAN

Troy Daniels was recalled from the NBA D-League Wednesday. So the former VCU 3-point gunner hopped on a plane and met the Houston Rockets in Denver and started bombing threes from the airport terminal. Well, almost.

The Rockets trailed by 17 heading into the fourth quarter, so they unloaded their bench of D-League All-Stars, including Daniels. It took Daniels about .7 seconds to start firing away. In all, the former Ram hit 4-of-6 triples to help the Rockets rally to within six. Prior to Wednesday, Daniels had played a grand total of eight NBA minutes. After this 12-point, 11-minute performance, you’ve got to think Rockets’ Coach Kevin McHale (responsible for one of the greatest episodes of “Cheers” in history) will consider getting his rookie shooting guard a little more burn the last four games of the regular season.

And look, we have highlights! Thanks Internets!

VIDEO: TROY DANIELS SCORES HIS FIRST NBA POINTS

Awesome moment for Troy Daniels. Here are his first two buckets as a Houston Rocket. Naturally, his first NBA bucket was a three. The first of many, we hope.

PROLIFIC DANIELS TAKES AIM AT NBA

Former Ram Troy Daniels set a D-League record for 3-pointers on Jan. 29. He has 159 treys this season.

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Feb. 3, Troy Daniels was selected for the D-League All-Star Game on Feb. 15.

Early in training camp, Nevada Smith laid out one of the more unconventional elements of his coaching philosophy: he wanted his team, the NBA D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, to shoot more than 40 three-pointers a game.

While it’s a strategy that was sure to rankle a few traditionalists, Troy Daniels felt like he’d hit the lottery.

“Oh yeah. I was like a kid in a candy store,” said Daniels, a 2013 VCU graduate and D-League rookie.

Daniels’ basketball career is nothing if not prolific. Last season, he hit a VCU-record 124 three-pointers, 32 more than the previous mark. In a game against East Tennessee State last year, Daniels bombed 11 triples – many from NBA range. In his four-year career, 85 percent of his field goal attempts came from beyond the 3-point arc.

In other words, he was born to play in this offense.

The results have been historic. In 29 games with the Vipers, an affiliate of the Houston Rockets, Daniels has been one of the D-League’s breakout stars, averaging 23.4 points and a league-high 5.5 three-pointers per game. On Jan. 29, Daniels hit his 153^rd three-pointer to break the D-League mark of 152, set by Andy Rautins, and did so in 21 fewer games. He is now 159-of-392 from three in 29 games.

TROY DANIELS: MAN ON FIRE

Troy Daniels, no longer a Bobcat, but for their sake, they should continue to keep tabs on him.

The word “Hidalgo” in Spanish is a term of nobility, although in later years it has been adopted somewhat informally. The Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League play in Hidalgo, Texas, which is, almost quite literally, a 3-pointer away from the Mexican border.

Former Ram Troy Daniels’ career with the Vipers, the D-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, is just five games old, but he’s already playing in a way that should merit some type of designation of nobility, or at least a gift certificate to El Torito over on Jackson St. If we elect for the former, we’d have something like, Hidalgo de la Canasta de Tres Puntos (forgive my butchered Spanish).

In five games, Daniels, a walking NBA Jam trope during his final two seasons at VCU, is averaging 25.0 points and shooting 53 percent (33-of-62) from 3-point range. Yes, in five games, Daniels – who once hit 11 triples in a game at East Tennessee State in college – has hit 33 treys. Last night, in a 153(yes, 153)-109 win over Delaware, Daniels hit 6-of-10 threes in 21 minutes. The night before, he bombed 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in just 24 minutes. Daniels hit six of those threes in one nine-minute stretch.

TROY DANIELS SIGNS WITH ROCKETS

Troy Daniels is still shooting for the NBA. The former VCU 3-point gunner signed with the Houston Rockets today, the team announced.

Rockets GM @dmorey announced that the team has signed rookie free agent guard Troy Daniels (6-4, 200, VCU). Follow him: @MrSuPeRsTar_30

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 18, 2013

It’ll be interesting to see if Troy sticks with Houston. With the Daniels signing, the Rockets are now carrying 18 players on their roster, and according to HoopRumors’ Luke Adams, 13 are inked to guaranteed deals. Several Houston writers and bloggers have already speculated this move was made with the D-League in mind, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Daniels would have the opportunity to get playing time and develop with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

D-League rules limit “training camp cut” exclusive rights to 3 players. So far, Vipers have rights to B.J. Young & Jordan Henriquez…

— David Weiner (@BimaThug) October 18, 2013

…Presumably, Covington would be third “training camp cut” player (and still could be). But signs point to Daniels taking that spot now.

— David Weiner (@BimaThug) October 18, 2013

Weiner has more insight on his Twitter timeline, if you’re so inclined. Hopefully, Daniels will get some preseason burn with Houston. The Rockets’ next two preseason games – Oct. 21 vs. Dallas and Oct. 24 vs. San Antonio, will be televised by NBATV and TNT, respectively. In the meantime, here’s a gif of Daniels’ NBA meal ticket.

GIFSoup

ADDITIONAL NBA WORKOUTS, SUMMER LEAGUE ON TAP FOR DANIELS

Troy Daniels says he has workouts scheduled with three NBA teams.

RICHMOND, Va. – Troy Daniels’ NBA workout at Barclays Center May 22-23 has come and gone, but the VCU graduate’s time in Brooklyn will have ripple effects in the coming weeks.

Daniels, the second-leading 3-point shooter in VCU history, says he has additional upcoming workouts scheduled with three NBA teams, Boston, Houston and Indiana, in the coming weeks. He did not disclose dates. The Roanoke, Va. native says he’s received interested from other teams as well, and hopes to set up more workouts over the next few weeks.

In addition, Daniels says he has agreements to play in both the Orlando (July 7-12) and Las Vegas (July 12-22) Summer Leagues, but is not at liberty to reveal which teams at this time. It is not uncommon for prospects to play for different franchises at each summer league site.

Daniels is currently not expected to be selected in the June 27 NBA Draft, but could draw interest as an undrafted free agent if he impresses in workouts. A number of notable NBA players have started their careers via free agency, including guards John Starks, Gary Neal, Jose Juan Barea and Jeremy Lin.

And that’s really all the 6-foot-4 sharpshooter could’ve asked for. Daniels’ Barclays Center workout among a group of 40-plus NBA hopefuls for representatives of all 30 of the league’s teams wasn’t about scoring an immediate job, it was about starting the process. It was about getting his name out there, catching the attention of a few NBA executives. Daniels has exceptional shooting ability, and now he’ll be able to continue to showcase that talent in hopes that some team decides his from-the-bleachers range is worthy of a roster spot.

In 125 career games, Daniels shot .386 (251-of-650) from 3-point range for the Rams. He trails only B.A. Walker’s 269 treys on VCU’s career list. Daniels set a school single-season records for 3-pointers with 94 and 124 threes during his junior and senior seasons, respectively. The shooting guard averaged 7.3 points per game during his career, including 12.3 as a senior.