2013 Recruiting Continues: Jamal Aytes

BYU went full staff for Jamal Aytes. July statement
— Dave Telep (@DaveTelep) July 27, 2013

Jamal Aytes said he's likely to visit Gonzaga and West Virginia next week. Officials.
— Dave Telep (@DaveTelep) July 27, 2013

Jamal Aytes has blown up on the summer hoops circuit. The 6'7" forward out of J Serra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California is rated as a three star recruit by ESPN and comes in at 28th in California and 66th in the nation at the power forward position. Largely unheralded before this summer, only three schools were showing interest in Aytes.

Summer League 2013 Final Statistics

Part two of the 2013 NBA Summer League wrapped up in Las Vegas tonight with the Golden State Warriors winning the offseason league's inaugural championship game. In Summer League games the West Coast Conference was represented by eleven former players. Ten played in Las Vegas and one, Kelly Olynyk, played in the smaller Orlando Summer League. 

The 13th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Kelly Olynyk, had the best showing of not just the WCC products but of possibly every player at this year's Summer League. Elias Harris, Brandon Davies and Matthew Dellavedova also played well enough for a shot at a spot on a roster in the NBA in their first year out of college. Robert Sacre, who was taken by the Lakers with the last pick of the 2012 draft, performed well his second Summer League. Last week the Lakers signed Sacre to a guaranteed, multi-year contract. 

A number of other former WCC players took part in the Summer League. The following is a list, sorted by school, of all WCC players to log minutes in this year's NBA Summer League. Click on the player's statistics for a larger view.

BYU

Gonzaga

Loyola Marymount

Pepperdine

Portland

Saint Mary's

WCC Representation in Las Vegas' Summer League

Starting today, and continuing through the 22nd, Las Vegas will be a basketball oasis in the otherwise barren offseason landscape. UNLV's COX Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center are set to play host to the NBA's second summer league of the year. The smaller of the two, in Orlando, wraps up today. Las Vegas' version features the 20 NBA teams that did not play in Orlando plus one team that did, the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat, and a select group of players from the NBA D-League known as the NBA D-League Select team.

Once again, many former WCC student-athletes have been invited to play for teams in Las Vegas. This year six of the WCC's ten schools are represented by 11 players. Click "read more" to see a full list of the former WCC student-athletes playing for NBA teams in the 2013 Summer League.

Summer League Roster Updates

Only a few days have passed since I first wrote about the WCC products heading to the NBA Summer League and already a couple things have changed. Here's a brief update, sorted by school, of who's going where as of now. There are also a few guys from the WCC already in the NBA that may return for another stint in the Summer League, they are listed in parentheses.

BYU:

Brandon Davies, undrafted in 2013, will be playing for the L.A. Clippers in Las Vegas from July 12th to the 22nd.

(Jimmer Fredette, selected 10th in 2011 and currently with the Sacramento Kings, could play for the Kings in Las Vegas)

Gonzaga:

Kelly Olynyk, drafted 13th in 2013, will be playing for the Boston Celtics in Orlando from July 7th to the 12th.

Elias Harris, undrafted in 2013, will be playing for the L.A. Lakers in Las Vegas from July 12th to the 22nd.

Steven Gray, undrafted in 2011, will be playing for the Indiana Pacers in Orlando from July 7th to the 12th.

(Robert Sacre, drafted 60th in 2012 by the Lakers, could play for the Lakers in Las Vegas. Austin Daye, drafted 15th in 2009 by the Detroit Pistons, is currently an unrestricted free agent and, if signed, could end up on a Summer League roster.)

Saint Mary's:

Matthew Dellavedova, undrafted in 2013, will be playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Las Vegas from July 12th to the 22nd. Dellavedova was rumored to be headed to Orlando to play with the Magic but he was not listed on the Magic's official roster, released today. Now that he is headed to Cleveland, he will face off against familiar foe when the Cavs play their first game of the summer against Elias Harris and the Lakers on July 12th at 5pm PDT. The game will be televised in California on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.

Welcome Home, Pacific!

Today the University of the Pacific returns to the conference it helped found after a 40+ year absence. Take a look at the WCC Standings section on the left hand side of the site and you'll see ten teams listed. I wrote in detail about the move for Mid-Major Madness; the table shown above is taken from that article, which you can read in full here.

WCC Products Heading to Summer League

The NBA Draft has come and gone but there are still ways for players who went undrafted (along with those who were) to find their way onto an NBA roster. The most likely avenue for these now free agents is the NBA Summer League. There are two separate leagues, one in Orlando and one in Las Vegas. Last year the WCC was well represented in both locales. This year, though most teams have yet to release full rosters, the conference is looking to have a similar showing.

Kelly Olynyk Drafted

The Dallas Mavericks drafted Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk with the 13th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. The Boston Celtics traded with Dallas for the pick so Olynyk will be heading to Boston.

WCC Prospects in the 2013 NBA Draft

Four WCC products have a legitimate shot at hearing their name called by David Stern tonight in the NBA Draft. I've written draft profiles on all four of them for Mid-Major Madness. Since it is now draft night it's time I post them here.

Brandon Davies

Matthew Dellavedova

Elias Harris

Kelly Olynyk

Offseason Personnel Movement Around the WCC

The landscape of college basketball is ever-changing. Some of that change, conference realignment or selfish reasons for transferring, can be negative. Some though, like natural roster turnover due to graduation, is a necessary part of the college game. Regardless of whether the change is good or bad, we have to deal with it. Unfortunately, that can be really difficult. How are you supposed to keep track of players when so many are graduating, transferring in/out, coming off redshirts/redshirting or arriving for their first year at college?

Well, this is how. I've amassed all the information on the personnel movement happening at WCC basketball programs this offseason. It's all here, listed school-by-school. Take a look at who won't be back on your least favorite team next season (because you should already know who won't be back on your favorite team). You'll also find all the new recruits, the players who will be returning from a redshirt season or two year mission, the transfers, the dismissals as well as any coaching/staff changes. Plus, there are some charts to help you understand just how much each team is losing in terms of production.

Players listed under the "going" section are shown with the year they were listed as during the 2012-'13 season. Players listed under the "coming" section are shown with the year they will be for the 2013-'14 season.

Senior Series: Kevin Foster

Santa Clara and Kevin Foster between the 2008-09 season and the 2012-13 season were a match made in heaven. The two were at times good and at times bad. In 2012-13 the Broncos won 26 games and the CBI title. In 2010-11 they won 24 and the CIT title. In 2009-10 just 11. 2011-12 saw a mere eight wins and 0-17 record against WCC competition.

Kevin Foster finished his career as Santa Clara's all-time leading scorer, good enough for second place all-time in the West Coast Conference (67 points behind Hank Gathers). Standing in second place all-time is great, but Foster missed 771 shots that could have vaulted him well into first place. His 39.0% career field goal percentage made him one of the most inconsistent great players in recent memory.

There is the Kevin Foster that won the 2011 CIT MVP and 2013 CBI MVP as he led the Broncos to postseason glory. Then there is the Kevin Foster who missed the last 12 games of the 2012 season due to suspension. Despite the problems, losses, inefficiency and inconsistency these two were made for each other.