SUMMERTIME INFO

Robert Upshaw, the Lakers rookie center by way of

Fresno State & Washington, stood between Okafor

and the hoop, as tall and as wide as one of the

gaudy casinos lining the Las Vegas Strip. So when

Okafor lunged left, Upshaw beat him to the spot. 

Frustrated, Okafor dropped his head & tried bull-

dozing a straight path to the basket. Only Upshaw

held his ground. At that moment every Lakers

fan watching at the Thomas & Mack Center (or)

watching the game on T.V. across the country, went

wild. After spending the last 2 seasons as a virtual

layup line for the opposing teams, allowing them

to win games, the Lakers now have a great big man

that realizes rim-protecting & was so very needed.

When you think about a true five man who can get

in the middle of the paint, who can block a shot &

can get out there to change the completion of the

throw, Robert Upshaw can do just that. The defensive

presence he has provided the Lakers through their

first 2 summer league games has been first-round

quality. The reality of it is, Upshaw is an un-drafted

free agent rookie carrying so much excess baggage

that NBA teams would not even invest a 2nd.round pick

in him last month. So, yes, this is most astonishing for

a 7 footer who averaged a national-best 4.5 blocked

shots last season when in Washington. He seems to 

be earning a spot in the rotation behind starting

center Roy Hibbert. Realizing he is not 100 %, he

says he is getting in shape and working hard. At

least this lad is really off to a promising start.

One fellow we need to watch is rookie D'Angelo Russell.

The long awaited return of Julius Randle makes us

realize our team does certainly now have some good

players to become better as they play more  games.

One main character with our summer league

team, is D'Angelo Russell and with the throng of reporters

watching and taking close notice of all the plays being made,

saw him dig in his feet in professional waters for the first time.

Russell's new running partner, being Jordan Clarkson, whom

we have taken notice of ourselves earlier in games, so that

to realize these rookies and players are teaming up and

manning the courts for us to see some pretty good plays

being made as time goes on , it ought to be a joy to see.

BABS WELLS