Another Tiger In The NBA

TigerBlog starts today with a Public Service Announcement. 

The subject is scamming. More than once in the last two weeks, TigerBlog has heard from people who were hit with incredibly well-planned, well-executed scams. 

The message is this: Never give anyone on the phone access to bank records, your computer, your social security number, credit card or anything like that. No legitimate company asks for those over the phone. Also, no real company takes payment in the form of prepaid cards, especially from major retailers.

Be very aware, though. These scams all seem to start with what appears to be a call from a large, well-known company. Also, if you look up a customer service online, be careful that it's really the company's.

And there you go. You can thank TB later.

Next up is a comparison of Player A and Player B.

Player A's stats:
31.4 minutes per game, 15.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game, 51.5 percent shooting from the field, 32.4 percent three-point shooting

Player B's stats
35.4 minutes per game, 15.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game, 56.4 percent shooting, 39.4 percent three-point shooting

They're pretty close, right? 

Keep in mind, they are both the same height and play the same position. In fact, they're actually the same person.

Player A is Tosan Evbuomwan, and the stats are his stats from last year at Princeton, when he helped team to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16. 

Player B is also Tosan Evbuomwan, and the stats are his stats from the Motor City Cruise of the G-League this year.

Evbuonwab has always been the kind of player who could do pretty much everything on the court, and his numbers reflect that. The last Princeton player to average 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for a season? That would be Tosan himself, as a junior, when he was the Ivy League Player of the Year. 

Before that? How about nobody. 

Of course,you have to keep in mind that assists weren't kept as an official stat until 1973-74, and it's likely Bill Bradley or Geoff Petrie reached these numbers more than once. Still, Tosan is the only one since 1973-74 (maybe ever), and he did it twice. 

What's most impressive in his stats from college to the G-League is that his shooting percentages are both up, especially from three. It's a three-point game on the NBA level now, and to be able to shoot around 40 percent and do everything else he could do surely was going to open the door, right? 

As it turns out, yes, it did. 

Evbuomwan signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies yesterday. His first night in an NBA uniform during the regular season will come tomorrow in Memphis, when the Grizzlies host Cleveland.

During the 10 days of his contract, Memphis has six games (including this coming Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks). 

Evbuomwan becomes the second player to play for head coach Mitch Henderson to reach the NBA. The first, of course, was Devin Cannady. 

If TigerBlog has it correct, a player can be signed from the G-League to any NBA team and then can sign two 10-day contracts. After that, he would have to be signed for the remainder of the season. 

The team that Evbuomwan joins has been decimated by injuries. The team's injury report for the game tomorrow lists 11 different players, including eight who are definitely out.

The Grizzlies are currently 18-29, which isn't the kind of year that the team was expecting had it stayed healthy.

For Evbuomwan, this a great opportunity. For any player, it's a huge step just to make it to the big leagues. 

Now he'll see if he can show enough in 10 days to get another and then who knows after that. 

TB isn't sure what the rules are in terms of his rights and the Pistons organization, whose G-League team is the Cruise. He's not going to bother to look it up either.

He's just going to assume that Tosan is there to stay. With the way he plays and with what he brings, why would TB think any differently?