As some of you know, I don’t really get out and about much, with the noted exception of Indianapolis every March for the Horizon League Tournament. So, on the momentous and rare occasion when I decided to venture out for a road trip, it seems only right that before I leave, I drop the latest edition of the #HLMBB Starting Five.
Enaruna to Beantown
Before the NBA Draft, I stated that Cleveland State’s Tristan Enaruna should be considered by teams to be selected in the second round, by virtue of how he’s done in the pre-draft workouts. Admittedly, it was a longshot, considering that no pundit had him on their mock draft, so when Round 2 passed, Enaruna was still out there available.
There was obvious interests in his services, though, and the newly-crowned NBA Champion Boston Celtics snapped him up.
At the very least, Enaruna will be in a Celtics uniform for the upcoming summer League contests. The Exhibit 10 contract he signed means that it’s one-year, non-guaranteed deal that could be converted to a two-way contract. That means if converted, Enaruna could potentially split his time between the Celtics and their G League affiliate in Maine. In that case, he’ll join fellow ex-Horizon League players Jamal Cain (Sioux Falls/current free agent), Antoine Davis (Rip City), D’Moi Hodge (Rip City), and Marcus Burk (Santa Cruz) in the G League.
Gohkle Goes Summer League-ing
Enaruna wasn’t the only Horizon League player who’s workouts with NBA teams bore some fruit. Oakland’s Jack Gohlke will, at the very least, be in a Summer League uniform, having signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Golhke, of course, cemented his spot in Golden Grizzlies lore during the NCAA Tournament, scorching Kentucky for 10 three-pointers en route to Oakland’s upset win over the Wildcats in Round of 64. Naturally, NBA teams are always looking for firepower, and Gohlke certainly fits the bill. Whether this springboards him to something else in the NBA, like a G League deal, is too early to tell. But, at the very least, he’s going to get his shot.
As has been the case in years, past, you can also expect Enaruna and Gohlke not to be the only recent Horizon League players making it to the Summer League. It’s just a matter of time before we find out who and where.
The Sunny Sets
This seems like it’s been kind of a long good-bye, even though it really hasn’t been.
Kyle Malzhan, sports reporter at CBS’s Green Bay affiliate WFRV and friend of this site, caught up with Sundance Wicks, the Green Bay-turned-Wyoming head coach, to talk about his success with the Phoenix, his fondness for Green Bay and what he expects from the team now that Doug Gottlieb is head coach.
We’d be lying if we didn’t say we were going to miss Wicks, who came in shot out of a cannon to transform the beleaguered Phoenix into a conference championship contender. He does sound confident he’s left Green Bay in good hands, and we’ll see where that road eventually takes us when the season kicks off in November.
Earl the Twirl Honored
It hasn’t been that long since Earl “The Twirl” Cureton’s passing the day after Detroit Mercy played Robert Morris, in what should forever be known as the Cureton Bowl, given that he played for both schools during his collegiate career. But it’s always a good time to remember his legacy and the good he did while he was alive.
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame agrees, and during its annual induction ceremony on October 17th, he’ll receive the organization’s Michigan Treasure Award, in recognition of his work as a community ambassador for the Detroit Pistons, among some of the countless other projects he was involved with for Detroit Mercy and the city of Detroit.
The Michigan Treasure Award has been given out every year since 2014, and includes, among other honorees, late long distance runner Ryan Shay, the famed Grind Line of the Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Stars Negro League team, and the Hamtramck Little League team, that won the Little League World Series in 1959.
A Eulogy (Sort of) for the Horizon League Fans Forum
Social media hasn’t completely done away with message boards, a long-time staple of sports fandom. But it certainly has veered considerable attention away from them. That’s not to say that within the Horizon League, there aren’t still a handful of active team message boards (Except IU-Indy and Purdue Fort Wayne; guess one never took hold). But it looks like the central message board hub for all Horizon League fans, the one of which we also had a link on our site for, appears to have essentially died.
Now, it’s not dead in the sense that the message board was shuttered its operator, HLFanaticus (and no, to this day, I still have no idea who they are). But, if you peruse it lately, you’ll see a lot of foreign languages and spam for products. While it may strike your fancy if you happen to be seeking cheap Prada bags or Viagra without a prescription, you’re probably not getting a lot out of it as far as Horizon League discussion is concerned.
While it’s sad to see it (sort of) go, there are plenty of places across the message board landscape to chatter about your teams or read what the fans of your rivals think. Brian Dickmann’s compiled the most comprehensive list of forums on his site, Phear the Phoenix. And, of course, we have our Discord channel, which you can find on our Subscribe page.
