A Dozen For Tosan

So Tosan Evbuomwan has played two NBA games and already has as many games in the NBA with at least 12 rebounds and three assists as he did during his entire career at Princeton. 

He also has as many NBA games with at least seven offensive rebounds as he did games at Princeton.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Evbuomwan is on a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies after putting up sensational numbers with the Motor City Cruise in the G-League this season. He didn't play in the first game after he signed with Memphis, and since then he's played twice.

First, in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, he had three points, one rebound and one assist. Then, Sunday night in a loss to the Celtics, he had three points, 12 rebounds and three assists. 

Also, his minutes played have gone from zero to 16:27 to 29:28. 

Yes, he's shot only 2 for 9 from the field. Still, in just two games, he's shown that he can 1) shoot three-pointers (he's 2 for 5 in the two games) and 2) bring his all-around game to the highest level. 

The first goal for Evbuomwan is to get a second 10-day contract. The longer-term picture is to show he belongs in the NBA on a regular basis.

The opportunity he has now is an interesting one. It's possible that no team has ever had the injury decimation that Memphis has had this season, which gives plenty of opportunity for minutes to the three players currently on 10-day contracts.

On the other hand, the current Grizzlies are going to struggle every night, which makes it a bit tougher to show what an all-around player like Evbuomwan could do with more established players around him. No matter what, though, he has himself a great opportunity here. So far, he seems to be making the most of it.

Next up for Memphis is a game tonight in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, yet another hot team. 

By the way, who is the last Princeton alum to play in the Garden? 

You know which Princeton alum scored the most NBA points in the Garden. That would be Bill Bradley, who is the answer to most questions that start out "what Princeton basketball player ..."

TigerBlog noticed something about Bradley's NBA career numbers with the Knicks, by the way. In his 10 seasons, Bradley had 2,533 career assists. At Princeton, he had 2,503 career points. 

How many assists did Bradley have at Princeton? Zero. What? Well, assists weren't kept until 1973-74, which was nearly a decade after Bradley left.

Had assists been kept them, who knows how many he would have had. Also, who knows how many triple-doubles he would have had. 

As it is, there's only been one triple-double in Princeton history, and that was by Leslie Robinson of the women's team. Robinson's triple-double came on March 2, 2017, when she had 10 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists against Brown.

Bradley's NBA career high was 38 points, on Jan. 5, 1973. Extra credit goes to those who remember the NBA's Buffalo Braves and know what team it is now.

The Knicks won that game 129-106. Buffalo was led by Bob McAdoo, who scored 26 that night. There exists the very real chance that TigerBlog watched that game on television.

By the way, the Knicks were a few months away from their second NBA title in four seasons; they have not won another since.

Bradley never had an NBA triple-double, though he did come within one rebound twice, both times against the 76ers, when he had 17 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists in a game in 1969 and 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists in a game a year later.

Oh, and the last Princeton alum to play in the Garden is Steve Goodrich, by the way. Devin Cannady played against the Knicks, but it was a home game in Orlando.

And the Buffalo Braves became the San Diego Clippers and are now the Los Angeles Clippers.