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Summer Wolves vs. Summer Nuggets
7:30 CDT
ESPN/ESPN3
The Wolves get underway in the Las Vegas Summer League tonight at 7:30 pm against the Denver Nuggets summer entry. This is the first chance to see Kris Dunn in action in something resembling a Wolves jersey, as well as a chance to get a look at returnees Adreian Payne and Tyus Jones.
Here's the full roster:
| 13 | Keith Benson | C | 6-11 | 238 | 08/13/88 | Oakland University (MI)/USA | 1 |
| 44 | Coty Clarke | F | 6-7 | 235 | 07/04/92 | Arkansas/USA | 1 |
| 31 | Majok Deng | F | 6-10 | 185 | 03/01/93 | Louisiana-Monroe/South Sudan | R |
| 3 | Kris Dunn | G | 6-4 | 210 | 03/18/94 | Providence/USA | R |
| 24 | Jarrid Famous | F/C | 6-11 | 239 | 07/16/88 | South Florida/USA | R |
| 1 | Tyus Jones | G | 6-2 | 195 | 05/10/96 | Duke/USA | 1 |
| 43 | Kris Joseph | F | 6-7 | 210 | 12/17/88 | Syracuse/Canada | 1 |
| 23 | Toure’ Murry | G | 6-5 | 200 | 11/08/89 | Wichita State/USA | 2 |
| 33 | Adreian Payne | F | 6-10 | 237 | 02/19/91 | Michigan State/USA | 2 |
| 0 | Kevin Punter | G | 6-2 | 190 | 06/25/93 | Tennessee/USA | R |
| 25 | Xavier Silas | G | 6-5 | 198 | 01/22/88 | Northern Illinois/USA | 1 |
| 51 | Scott Suggs | G | 6-7 | 199 | 11/10/89 | Washington/USA | R |
| 11 | Devin Thomas | F | 6-9 | 248 | 05/17/94 | Wake Forest/USA | R |
Ryan Saunders will serve as the head coach for the Summer Wolves.
Summer league is not the highest caliber of basketball, as most of the participants are not NBA quality, and these teams are pretty thrown together. It will be nice to get a look at some guys in a vaguely competitive setting, thought the yearly warning still applies: Don't read to much into what we see here, good or bad.
David Naylor will be on hand for the first few games to send in reports, and John Meyer will handle the 2nd half; both are going to be in Vegas staying in the SB Nation Summer League house, which I understand might serve as the basis for a reality TV show. (NerdTV in negotiations). Pray for them.
One serious note:
I think about Tim Allen often, but never so much as when Summer League comes around. I remember him for a lot of things from this website, but none more than his trip to Vegas for Summer League shortly before his death. The article he wrote about his experiences, which I know I have linked multiple times before, remains quintessential Tim: Smart, readable, and enthusiastic. The same day that article was published, he also wrote about the Wayne Ellington trade and his personal connection to Ellington.
Two weeks later he passed.
It's the nature of online relationships to be transient, but Canis Hoopus bucks that trend. So many of you reading this remember Tim, even though it's been nearly four years since his death. Those of you who don't have no doubt heard about him. Tim was, truly, the best of us. He was optimistic when most of us were not. He was enthusiastic when we were cynical. He was smart, but more than that he was open to learning, and in that way he represented what's best about Canis, but more importantly about humanity.
I know I write something similar to the above paragraphs every year. There's a reason for it, and it's for me more than it is for you: I never want to forget someone who helped shape my experience at this website that is such an important part of my life, someone I argued with almost daily for the better part of two years, and someone whose qualities of empathy, intelligence, and enthusiasm we should all aspire to.
R.I.P.
82-0.