The experiment in tolerance that was UConn's 2009-10 men's basketball season officially came to a close last Thursday in Madison Square Garden for the 2010 NBA draft. And, because the basketball gods are suckers for conformity, it was nearly as frustrating and soul-crushing as the regular season.
Stanley Robinson, who was at one point in his career considered a lottery pick and, at worst, a late first-rounder, slipped all the way to the second-to-last pick in the entire draft. And Jerome Dyson and Gavin Edwards, UConn's two other seniors who never stood much of a chance heading into Thursday, were, as expected, left on the cutting-room floor.
But while all three are, at this point, long shots to make NBA opening-day rosters come September, they have all made summer league teams in the coming weeks -- as well as an old friend from across the pond.
Although, as a second-rounder, Robinson's deal isn't guaranteed, he is guaranteed a spot on Orlando's summer league team, which will play in the Orlando version of the summer league (the other takes place in Vegas) from July 5-9. Although his slide to the near end of the draft isn't a good sign, there's a lot of optimism out there for Stan in the NBA neck of the blog world.
So things aren't all bad ... As long as you overlook some pretty damning quotes from Coach Cal leading up to the draft:
"He's not the kind of guy who says, 'Someday, I want to be an all-star and win an NBA championship,'" Calhoun said. "That's Stanley."
The best part about that? In some strange way, I'm pretty sure Cal thinks he's being complementary here.
Anyway ...
Joining Sticks will be a familiar face, according to the Orlando Sentinel: Leche Rio Breogan Lugo star Jeff Adrien. Adrien went undrafted last year and made stops at both summer leagues before heading to Europe, where he averaged a Wooyah-esque 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. At first glance, Adrien doesn't appear to be a good fit for the Magic, who usually employ jump-shooters at every spot on the court expect for center. But it's still a good chance -- perhaps his last chance -- to try and coax a team, any team into at least giving him a shot next season.
Dyson, meanwhile, will end up somewhere; where, exactly, is still hard to tell.
SB Nation Washington posted something on the 25th saying Washington would be his team of choice ... but in the writeup, it says Jerome RANDLE. (Tough, these last names are, apparently.) Randle, however, has shown up on the Magic summer league roster released by the Sentinel. And if you stalk his Facebook like I do, it sounds like Cleveland. We'll keep you posted.
Edwards, however, may still be a long shot. The Boneyard would have you believe it's Phoenix, and that would make some sense -- Edwards is from the area and he worked out for the team before the draft. But I haven't found anything on the interweb confirming it. Besides, given his terrible workouts -- in which he looked generally disinterested, according to reports -- I wouldn't be surprised if he just called it a career.
UPDATE: 'Rome is playing for the Cavs, while Edwards will play for Phoenix, according to Kyle Lyddy's seat.