Training Camp

Well we are less than a week out from the NBA D-League draft on Nov. 1st. With that said, it looks like we already have a pretty strong training camp roster. The players I am about to list are all "probable" and are based on my sleuth-like abilities to spy on the basketball side of the office, as well as some other sources.

Here are who it looks like will be returning:

Walker Russell Jr - PG -D-League Season Assist Leader

Rod Wilmont - SG/SF - has worked on his game all summer working out with Asst Coach Gansey. People that know about basketball say he has brought his game to another level

Anthony Kent - PF/C - Our big man from Ball State. He was playing hurt most of last year, plus he has came to town early to get into game shape ahead of training camp. Always a plus!

Carlos English PG - Carlos was our backup point guard who really provided a spark off the bench at the end of last season. He has arrived in town early to get ready for the season as well.


Allocated Players:

This is via Twitter from both players personal accounts but it looks like Billy Rush and Chris Kramer will both be attending Mad Ants training camp. Both would be allocated to us by getting waived from the Milwaukee Bucks pre-season camp. If the news on Kramer becomes official I am sure you will be hearing about it, as it would be huge news here in Fort Wayne and especially Huntington!

The rest of the training camp will be made up of draft picks and any other returning players that trickle in. Stay tuned for anymore news.

Two IU Players tryout for Mad Ants

(Tijan Jobe)

Two IU players were at the Mad Ants open tryouts today at the Concordia Seminary.

Big man Tijan Jobe was there along with DeAndre Thomas. Both advanced to day two of the tryout which will finish up on Sunday. It is open to he public and will start up at 12pm tomorrow. Day 2 is almost entirely made up of 5 on 5 scrimmages , with the
20 remaining players (starting from 86) will vie for a spot on the Mad Ants training camp roster.

The Mad Ants have a history of finding some great players at open tryouts (ex: Ron Howard) so come check out who the next potential Mad Ants star will be!

Potential Mad Ants Training Camp Players

The NBA D-League has a new player allocation rule this season. It allows each D-League team the right to allocate three players who were waived from their NBA affiliates training camp/preseason rosters. It is not three players per NBA affiliate but three players TOTAL. The players waived by the NBA team must also of course sign a contract with the NBA D-League.

In the Mad Ants case, it means we can pick three players from the pool of guys waived by the Pacers, Bucks, and Pistons.

The Milwaukee Bucks made their first three preseason cuts with the following players:


Tory Jackson - Tory is probably the most well known of the three to Fort Wayne as he was the starting point guard for Notre Dame last season. Last year Jackson averaged 9.6 pts, 5.3 asst, and shot 35% from 3-point range for the Fighting Irish. From what I hear around the water cooler, there is a good chance we will see him in training camp for the Mad Ants. (Keep in mind that a lot can change in the month of October as guys may get offers to go overseas)

Billy Rush - Rush is a 6'7 shooting guard/small forward out of Robert Morris. I don't know much about Mr. Rush (hey I am a sales guy who got cut from his 7th grade basketball team!) but apparently he can dunk!



Keith "Tiny" Gallon - Gallon was the Bucks 2nd Round Draft pick this year so this is a little bit of a suprise to see him cut so early. He played one season for Okalahoma before declaring for the draft. He is a 6'9 power forward This article has a quote from Bucks GM John Hammond:

“We wanted to do what’s right for the organization and for the player,” said general manager John Hammond, who wanted to give Gallon a chance to join another NBA team instead of waiting until the end of camp.

So I am not sure if we will see Gallon in Fort Wayne this year, but I would say with his size if he is available you have to at least give him a shot!

Well there is my first stab of the 2010-11 season at giving you some actual basketball analysis as opposed to my typical volleyball/pro wrestling stories. I will update as the Bucks/Pacers/Pistons make their cuts. Have a great week/weekend!

Mad Ants Win!

Okay, my subject line may be a little misleading, the Mad Ants basketball team did not win (the season has not even started yet people!) but the office volleyball team did beat the Fort Wayne TinCaps volleyball team last night in a friendly game.

We played over at the courts by River City Bar & Grill, and it was a great time. Jeff Potter was even there to video some of this momentous event and hopefully he will be posting it sometime soon. A big thank you to Abby Naas for helping us set this up and all the TinCaps staff for coming out and playing. We are talking about making this a bi-monthly tradition and rotating sports. The Mad Ants would like to thank Jeff Potter, Asst Coach Steve Gansey, Volunteer Assistant Coach Dave Fox, and Intern Audrey (I am not even going to try to speell your last name) for coming out and showing their support. Not to mention for providing their witty commentary for the video.

For all you Chris Kramer fans, he suited up last night for the Milwaukee Bucks in their first preseason game. He managed to score 2 points, pull in 2 boards, and block a shot.

There is still a very good chance we could see Chris Kramer in a Mad Ants uniform this season, we will most likely know for sure by the end of this month.

There should be much more news coming soon as far as the Mad Ants roster is concerned. Open tryouts is on October 16th & 17th and we have a history of finding some quality players out of that (ex: Ron Howard, DeWitt Scott).

Until next time Mad Ants fans!