Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com AUGUST 2018 59 IRISH IN THE PROS BY COREY BODDEN I t has been a rocky three years for former Irish guard Jerian Grant since getting selected by the New York Knicks with the 19th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. This past season saw Grant take a small step forward in production with the Chicago Bulls. He upped his numbers to 8.4 points, 4.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds in a career-high 22.8 minutes per contest while making 26 starts in 74 games played. During his first two seasons in the NBA, he averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 assists per outing. However, Grant made only 32.4 percent of his three-point attempts. The Bulls also seemed to favor point guards Kris Dunn and Cameron Payne when healthy, thus making Grant expendable. On July 7, Grant was involved in a three-team deal that sent him and veteran center Timofey Mozgov to the Orlando Magic, center Bismack Biyombo from the Magic to the Char- lotte Hornets and guard Julyan Stone from the Hornets to the Bulls. Upon his acquisition, Grant entered an organization with just veteran D.J. Augustin at point guard, which will allow Grant an opportunity to receive a decent amount of playing time re- gardless of whether or not he wins the starting job. Orlando will be his third stop in four years. "It's an opportunity to go play with some talented young players and with a few talented vets, some guys to learn from, some guys to teach," Grant told The Orlando Sen- tinel. "So I'm excited about this new opportunity. For myself, it's just be- ing able to prove myself and really take advantage of this opportunity." Magic head coach Steve Clifford is looking forward to seeing what Grant brings to the franchise. "He has the size, athleticism and, I think, natural intensity level to play against the better players," Clifford told The Orlando Sentinel. "Now it's just going to be a question of evalu- ating, getting to know him, working with him. "Hopefully, he's at an age where he could take a step and that's what plays out in the next few months or year or so." NBA NOTES • Four former Irish stars partici- pated in the NBA Summer League at Las Vegas in July: forward Zach Au- guste (Sacramento Kings), center Jack Cooley (Phoenix Suns), guard Matt Farrell (Miami Heat) and guard De- metrius Jackson (Philadelphia 76ers). Auguste led the way among the four players by averaging 11.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while shooting 66.7 percent in five con- tests. Cooley put together a line of 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per outing over five games. Farrell participated in four games for the Heat after going undrafted, and averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 assists per game. Jackson put up 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per con- test in six games with the Sixers. • After inking a deal to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League, former Irish star forward Bonzie Colson, who went undrafted, was forced to miss action as he continues to work his way back from the foot injury he suffered in Notre Dame's NIT loss to Penn State. His NBA future remains up in the air. • Pat Connaughton has spent the past three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, posting an average of 3.7 points in 155 games played. He saw action in all 82 contests this past sea- son and scored 5.4 points per game. However, the Blazers did not have a qualifying offer for Connaughton before July 1, thus making him a free agent. He had yet to ink a new deal with a new team as of July 24. IRISH WELL REPRESENTED IN WNBA ALL-STAR GAME The rosters for the 2018 WNBA All- Star Game were announced July 17, and three former Irish players were selected. Guard Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Dallas Wings will make her fourth appearance after averaging 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists during her first 22 games of the year. Las Vegas Aces guard Kayla Mc- Bride — who put up 19.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in her first 21 contests — will play in her second All-Star Game. Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd will get her first taste of All-Star ac- tion following a first-half stat line of 15.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 as- sists per outing. MLB PLAYER UPDATES Through July 23 • John Axford (Played at Notre Dame from 2002‑05), RHP, Toronto Blue Jays: Appeared in 43 games as a reliever for the 46-53 Blue Jays … Com- piled a 4-1 record, six holds and a 4.24 ERA … Has struck out 46 and walked 19 over 46 2 ⁄3 innings. • Trey Mancini (2011‑13), 1B/OF, Baltimore Ori‑ oles: Played in 95 games for the 28-73 Orioles, serving as starting left fielder … Hit .221 with 12 home runs and 27 RBI. • David Phelps (2006‑08), RHP, Seattle Mariners: Had season-ending Tommy John surgery before the start of the regular season and will miss all of 2018 … Was expected to be the set-up man for the 60-40 Mariners. • A.J. Pollock (2007‑09), OF, Arizona Diamond‑ backs: Saw action in 56 games for the 55-46 Dia- mondbacks, missing more than six weeks due to a broken left thumb … Hit .300 with 12 home runs, 40 RBI and 10 stolen bases. • Jeff Samardzija (2003‑06), RHP, San Francisco Giants: Started the season on the disabled list with a pectoral strain, then missed all of June with shoulder inflammation before returning in July … Was placed on the 10-day disabled list for the third time July 15 … In 10 starts for the 51-50 Giants, had a 1-5 record with a 6.25 ERA … Had 30 strikeouts and 26 walks in 44 2 ⁄3 innings of work. ✦ Jerian Grant Gets Fresh Start In Orlando Grant, who is joining his third organization in four years in the NBA, averaged 8.4 points, 4.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game for the Bulls in 2017-18. PHOTO BY BILL SMITH/COURTESY CHICAGO BULLS