Monday, July 28, 2008

Playing like you belong

I see where the Warriors' Anthony Morrow out of Georgia Tech earned MVP honors at the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Every year there are undrafted players who end up having solid NBA careers. Morrow (at left in red Heat jersey) could be one of them.

At the same time, there are guys who were selected in the draft who never make it. That's because drafting is an inexact science. As I've posted about here before, playing in the right system and for the right coach is a key.

But even more important is a player's mental toughness and his ability to "play like he belongs." It's one of those intangibles that can't be scouted unless the person doing the scouting goes really deep.

For those who didn't earn a contract through Summer League play, the next step is to win a spot during training camp and the exhibition season. And if that doesn't work out, the D-League is a good option for earning a call-up during the season.

[Here's a good recap of the Orlando Summer League from ESPN.com.]