Nine former IU basketball players have or will play the game at the highest level during the 2020-21 NBA season. We will be monitoring their seasons with weekly updates.
Below we summarize their year to date performance with NBA stats and notes through 18 weeks of the season and provide a brief update on each player.
Victor Oladipo – Miami
Victor Oladipo played in four games for the Miami Heat before getting injured. While the first two games were a struggle at times, he was just starting to get his feet under him before exiting the April 8 matchup against the Lakers due to a right knee injury.
He has not returned since and there have been limited updates on his status as of now. According to an April 18 report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Oladipo is expected to come back this season. However, it is unclear when that would be.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 33/33
MPG – 32.7
Points – 19.8
Rebounds – 4.8
Assists – 4.6
Blocks – 0.4
Steals – 1.4
FG% – .408
3FG% – .326
FT% – .754
Eric Gordon – Houston
According to a March 12 report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Gordon will be out 4-6 weeks from that date with a groin strain.
While Gordon is nearing a return, he has remained sidelined for the Rockets, who are currently 15-46 and are last place in the Western Conference standings.
Before going out with an injury, Gordon was averaging 17.8 points per game in just over 29 minutes of action.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 27/13
MPG – 29.2
Points – 17.8
Rebounds – 2.1
Assists – 2.6
Blocks – 0.5 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 0.5
FG% – .433
3FG% – .329
FT% – .825
OG Anunoby – Toronto
Anunoby played in both of the Raptors contests this past week, having his second and third highest scoring games of the season.
In a 114-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Anunoby had 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 35 minutes of action.
Then, in a 120-103 loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday, he had 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 39 minutes.
Anunoby’s 27 points were his second highest total of the season, trailing only a 30 point performance in a 107-102 win over the Indiana Pacers on January 24.
The Raptors have made the playoffs seven consecutive seasons. That streak is in jeopardy this year, as they are tied for the 11 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Needing to string together wins, the schedule this week does not look easy. The Raptors host the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets before a road trip that features the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Lakers to close out the week.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 39/39
MPG – 33.2 (Career High)
Points – 15.4 (Career High)
Rebounds – 5.6 (Career High)
Assists – 2.0 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.7 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 1.6 (Career High)
FG% – .479
3FG% – .402 (Career High)
FT% – .777 (Career High)
Thomas Bryant – Washington
Bryant continues to be sidelined, as he suffered a torn ACL to his left knee during the first quarter of a 128-124 loss to the Miami Heat on January 9 that will keep him out for the remainder of this season.
The injury came at a time when Bryant was starting to play consistent basketball and was averaging career highs in both minutes played and points per game.
However, the focus for Bryant now shifts towards coming back even stronger next year.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 10/10
MPG – 27.1 (Career High)
Points – 14.3 (Career High)
Rebounds – 6.1
Assists – 1.5
Blocks – 0.8
Steals – 0.4
FG% – .648 (Career High)
3FG% – .429 (Career High)
FT% – .667
Cody Zeller – Charlotte
Cody Zeller saw action in two of Charlotte’s four games this past week.
While not playing a ton of minutes, only 12 and 14, respectively, he managed to play well while on the floor.
In 12 minutes played against the New York Knicks, Zeller scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field while also collecting two rebounds.
Thursday against the Chicago Bulls, he finished with eight points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
The Hornets are currently eighth in the East with a record of 30-30 as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 38/20
MPG – 21.0
Points – 8.9
Rebounds – 6.9
Assists – 1.9
Blocks – 0.4
Steals – 0.6
FG% – .542
3FG% – .120
FT% – .741
Romeo Langford – Boston
Romeo Langford played in all four of Boston’s games last week, including starting two of them.
Outside of Sunday’s contest where he played only 3 minutes, Langford played at least 19 minutes in each of the other three games, including once over 30 minutes.
Speaking with the media following his season debut on April 4, while he is not quite back to 100 percent, he feels as though he is almost there.
“I had pretty good workouts the last couple of days, I feel like I’m just about there. Mainly it’s just now just getting my legs back under me. I got the feel for the game I ain’t lost that but just my legs and my conditioning that’s the only main thing,” Langford said as he spoke to the media.
While not putting up huge numbers, Langford is getting experience playing a lot of minutes lately, which is a sign of him being in good condition.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 12/3
MPG – 15.1 (Career High)
Points – 2.3
Rebounds – 2.1 (Career High)
Assists – 0.7 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
FG% – .294
3FG% – .333 (Career High)
FT% – 1.000
Juwan Morgan – Utah
Juwan Morgan briefly saw action in two of Utah’s three games last week. On the season, he has appeared in 23 games for the Jazz, who are an NBA-best 44-16.
Arguably Morgan’s top two performances of the season are against the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a 127-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on April 17, Morgan had perhaps his second best game of the season. In 20 minutes, he had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Still the highlight of this season for Morgan was his January 29 performance against the Dallas Mavericks, which was televised on ESPN. He finished the game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals in 21 minutes of action. Also impressive was his efficiency, shooting 5-8 from the field and 2-4 from three point range.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 23/0
MPG – 5.0
Points – 1.2
Rebounds – 1.0
Assists – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
Blocks – 0.0
Steals – 0.2 (Career High)
FG% – .500
3FG% – .273
FT% – .429
Yogi Ferrell – Los Angeles Clippers
After officially signing a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, Ferrell made his debut for the team on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In 20 minutes of action, Ferrell finished with 8 points, 7 assists, and no turnovers in the Clippers 117-105 win.
He did not see action in the Clippers 109-104 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Ferrell appeared in two games for the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this season. However, his 10-day contract with them ended with him being waived.
Ferrell was in attendance for the NBA G League regular season, running from February 10 to March 6 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
He played in and started 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars. He averaged 15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in 28.3 minutes per contest. The Stars went 4-11.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 3/0
MPG – 20.0
Points – 9.0
Rebounds – 2.3
Assists – 4.0 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.3 (Career High)
Steals – 1.3 (Career High)
FG% – .370
3FG% – .333
FT% – .600
Noah Vonleh – Free Agent
Noah Vonleh appeared in four games for the Brooklyn Nets this season after being signed on February 8. He averaged 2.8 minutes per game.
Vonleh was waived by the Nets on February 23.
In 339 career games played, he has averages of 4.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 4/0
MPG – 2.8
Points – 0.0
Rebounds – 0.3
Assists – 0.3
Blocks – 0.0
Steals – 0.0
FG% – .000
3FG% – .000
FT% – N/A (Has Not Attempted)
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