I linked to an article last week about Courtney Sims’ blossoming D-league career. I was intrigued, I wanted to see if it was a couple fluky performances from Courtney or if he was new and improved. Well Courtney led the Iowa Energy into a battle with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants Friday night and much to my disbelief Courtney had continued his streak with more monster numbers: 34 points on 13-17 shooting with 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 5 turnovers in 47 minutes. Courtney led all scorers and willed the Energy to the overtime victory over the Mad Ants.
Being the curious blogger that I am, I took a look at the box score and noticed another ex-Wolverine going head to head with King Court. Chris Hunter led the Mad Ants with 31 points (13-25) and 13 rebounds. I wondered if both Michigan products mutually agreed not to play defense Friday night (Chris probably wouldn’t have to change his game much) but it appears Chris is having a very good year in the D-league as well.
Sims is averaging 23.8 ppg (5th in the league) and 12.5 rpg (tied for 2nd with Hunter) and 5.2 bpg (1st). Hunter is averaging 20.4 ppg, 12.5 rpg (2nd), and 2.2 bpg (5th).
In all honesty, I’m happy for these guys that they are playing well. I know Courtney got a little time with the Pacers and it’d be great if he gets another chance. Many of these guys’ careers will be remembered as a disappointment and these performances may even vindicate those feelings. However, the bottom line is they both graduated (I believe) and continue to represent this university.
Where Are They?
If you were wondering… Several other guys with some kind of Michigan ties are in the D-league as well: Joe Crawford leads the league in scoring. Malik Hairston probably doesn’t have such a huge Nike contract. Brent Petway’s field goal percentage indicates he is still a fan of the dunk. Dion Harris is playing ball in Poland and averaging 10.8 ppg Cyprus! Daniel Horton is playing in France and averaging 12ppg.
