SPORTS

Noel thrives, other Cats aim to survive in Summer League

Kyle Tucker
@KyleTucker_CJ
Former University of Kentucky player Nerlens Noel talks with Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown, right, during practice this week.

Nerlens Noel is quickly making up for lost time. After 17 months of rehab and waiting, which included a lost 2013-14 season, he has roared out of the gate in his first three NBA Summer League games.

The former University of Kentucky star has averaged 13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, three blocks, 2.3 steals and 1.7 assists in 25 minutes a game so far for the Philadelphia 76ers. Not known for his offense in college, Noel scored six points in the final 2:17 of a previously tied game Wednesday to lead the Sixers to a win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Noel finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in that game, just his latest emphatic announcement that he is, at last, 100 percent healthy. Several of his early highlights – a sweet move and dunk for his first points in an NBA uniform, a steal-and-slam and soaring swat in his second game – have made ESPN's SportsCenter.

It is surely an encouraging debut for Philadelphia, which made a draft-night trade for the No. 6 overall pick last year. Noel slipped in the draft and sat out a full season because of a knee injury late in his lone year at Kentucky.

But the 6-foot-11 center looks like his old self again. He leads the NBA's Orlando Summer League in steals and is second in blocked shots. Noel averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.4 blocks and 2.1 steals in 2012-13 with the Wildcats. In just 24 games at UK, he blocked 106 shots – tied with Willie Cauley-Stein (who needed 37 games) for second-most in school history.

If he stays healthy and keeps playing this way, Noel could be in the conversation with all the high-profile 2014 draft picks for NBA Rookie of the Year. One betting website gives him the fourth-best odds to win the award, behind No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins, No. 2 pick Jabari Parker and another UK alum, No. 7 pick Julius Randle.

Randle, drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, is working out with his new team but can't participate in Summer League until he has signed his contract. Fellow former Wildcat James Young, the 17th overall pick by the Boston Celtics, won't participate in Summer League games because of whiplash and concussion-like symptoms related to a minor car accident just before the draft.

Two other Cats, point guard Marquis Teague and swingman DeAndre Liggins, are in action. Teague, a deep reserve for the Chicago Bulls most of his first two seasons in the league, is averaging 10.5 points in just 19.3 minutes through four games with his new team, the Brooklyn Nets. He's shooting 50 percent and averaging 5.5 assists and 3.5 turnovers.

Teague's best game of the summer came Thursday against Noel's Sixers: 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with nine assists and zero turnovers in 21 minutes.

Liggins, desperately trying to prolong his NBA career, is averaging 29 minutes, 9.7 points (63.6 percent shooting), 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.3 turnovers through three games with the Detroit Pistons. He has reportedly been a lockdown defender so far, which could keep him in the league a bit longer.

Doron Lamb, a member of the 2012 UK national championship team with Teague, is also trying to prove he still belongs. After a rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks and last season with the Orlando Magic, he was recently waived by the former. The Toronto Raptors picked him up for the Las Vegas Summer League, which begins Friday, where he'll need to impress to earn a roster spot.

Other Southeastern Conference notables from Summer League so far: Former Georgia star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is lighting it up, averaging a league-best 27.3 points (on 44.1 percent shooting) to go with 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals through three games with the Detroit Pistons. Former Tennessee star Jarnell Stokes is also thriving, averaging 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in just 24.3 minutes through three games with the Memphis Grizzlies.

* For instant updates on the Wildcats, follow me on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ. Email me at ktucker@courier-journal.com.