Former Grand Valley players working on professional opportunities
July 24, 2012 in Division II, Professional
Although the NBA Summer League has been the highest profile showcase for players looking for professional opportunities, there are plenty of other chances for players recently finished with college. Former Grand Valley State standouts James Thomas and Nick Waddell recently participated in the Chris Coates Pro Exposure Camp in Derry, N.H., and Brady Frederickson of the Grand Valley Lanthorn wrote about the experience:
With scouts and coaches from Spain, Hungary, Italy, Germany, China, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Norway, South America and U.S. pro leagues, the camp gave the two a chance to make an impression in front of talent evaluators from leagues all across the globe.
“I don’t get nervous playing or doing drills in front of anybody because I feel like if you’re going to like me you’re going to like me, and if you don’t, you don’t,” Waddell said. “I wasn’t there to prove somebody a point, I just was hoping that I could impress one person.”
The camp featured around 75 players, many of which were guards, and served as less of a showcase for player’s ability to perform in drills and more of an opportunity for coaches and scouts to see players in game-like situations with scrimmages.
Thomas and Waddell were first and second on GVSU in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds and 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game respectively.
[...] Last week, I wrote about former Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State standout James Thomas and his attempts to catch the eye of professional scouts of overseas teams. Turns out, he’s also working on domestic opportunities — he recently tried out for the Grand Rapids Cyclones ABA franchise. From Steve Ungrey of the Grand Rapids Press: Thomas, a 6-foot-2 standout, played guard for the Eagles and Grand Rapids Community College and finished his college career with a two-year stint at Grand Valley State. He was among 12 who tried out Saturday at LifeQuest Ministries for the upcoming season of the ABA. Players from as far away as Detroit, New York and Wisconsin were among those in attendance. [...]