Final NBA Summer League stats

By A. Boggs

Summer League play wrapped up Sunday in Las Vegas, with 2007 SEC Player of the Year Derrick Byars leading all former Vanderbilt players. Byars, who played with the Bulls, averaged 6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in five games for the Bulls. A.J. Ogilvy also played for the Bulls this summer and averaged 1.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in three games.

Jermaine Beal averaged 17.8 minutes per game in four games with the Miami Heat, and averaged 5.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

2008 SEC Player of the Year Shan Foster played in five games with the Dallas Mavericks in Las Vegas, and averaged 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per contest.

Beal goes for 11 points in Heat Summer League win

By A. Boggs

Jermaine Beal once again logged big-time minutes for the Miami Heat Wednesday night in NBA Summer League play in Las Vegas, but unlike the game on Tuesday, his team came away with a win - a 92-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Beal played 21 minutes, scored 11 points, dished out three assists, and had two rebounds in the Heat win. Beal was 2-for-6 from the floor, but converted all seven of his free throws. On Tuesday, the former Commodore point guard scored four points in 26 minutes of action in a loss to Golden State.

Derrick Byars logged nine minutes for the Bulls in a 79-50 win over the Clippers, but did not score. A.J. Ogilvy did not play in the game.

Newly minted Vanderbilt Hall of Fame member Shan Foster returns to the floor tonight against the Washington Wizards in Summer League action. The game tips at 8 p.m. Pacific time.

Three Commodores in action Tuesday in Summer League

By A. Boggs

Three former Commodores saw playing time in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas on Tuesday, as Derrick Byars and A.J. Ogilvy suited up for the Bulls, while Jermaine Beal saw his first action of the summer with the Miami Heat.

Byars started for the Bulls in a 99-71 loss to the Denver Nuggets, played nearly 20 minutes and scored six points and grabbed four rebounds. Ogilvy played eight minutes, was 1-of-2 from the floor, and scored two points.

Beal played significant minutes for the Heat Tuesday in a 72-69 loss to Golden State. The DeSoto, Texas, native, who did not play in Miami's first game of the summer, played 26 minutes and scored four points, dished out two assists, and had one steal against the Warriors. He also had a plus/minus of +7 - which means while he was on the floor, the Heat scored seven more points than the Warriors. It was the highest total for any Heat player on the day.

The Bulls are back in action tonight against the Clippers at 8 p.m. pacific, and the Heat take on the Pistons at 10:30 p.m.

NBA Summer League stats of interest

By A. Boggs

Two former Commodores, Shan Foster and Jermaine Beal, each suited up for their first NBA Summer League game over the weekend for their respective teams, the Mavs and the Heat.

Foster, a 2008 2nd round pick of Dallas, scored six points on 2-of-4 shooting in an 88-70 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, and two points on 1-of-4 shooting in 14 minutes of action in the Mavs' 87-78 loss to the Rockets on Saturday. Foster and the Mavs play the Bucks Monday at 5 p.m. pacific time in their next game.

Beal's Heat team defeated the New Orleans Hornets, 77-72, but Beal did not play (Coach's Decision). The Heat take on Golden State on Tuesday night in their next matchup.

Former Commodores Derrick Byars and A.J. Ogilvy begin Summer League play with the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday against the Nuggets.

For a complete rundown of Summer League action, click here.

Four Commodores ready for NBA Summer League in Vegas

By A. Boggs

Four former Commodore players are preparing for NBA Summer League action in Las Vegas, with play beginning on Friday and lasting through Sunday, July 18th.

A.J. Ogilvy and Derrick Byars, who will both play with the Bulls this summer, will tip off their summer season at 1 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, July 13, when Chicago takes on the Denver Nuggets. The game can be seen live on NBA TV. Other games for the summer for Chicago include a game with the Clippers on 5 p.m. on July 14 (NBA TV), a matchup with the Clippers at 5:30 on July 16, and a game against Portland on July 18 at 3 p.m. (NBA TV).

Jermaine Beal, who just latched on with the Miami Heat's Vegas team, will play New Orleans at 7 p.m. on July 11 (NBA TV), against Golden State at 7:30 p.m. on July 13, versus Detroit at 7:30 p.m. on July 14, against Milwaukee on July 16 at 7:30 p.m., and against Cleveland at 3 p.m. on July 17 (NBA TV).

Shan Foster will once again suit up this summer for the Mavericks, who drafted the 2008 SEC Player of the Year in the second round of that year's draft. Foster and the Mavericks will play against Denver on July 9 at 1 p.m. (NBA TV), on July 10 against Houston at 7 p.m. (NBA TV), on July 12 against Milwaukee at 5 p.m. (NBA TV), on July 15 against the Wizards at 5 p.m. (NBA TV) and on July 18 against Sacramento at 5 p.m. (NBA TV).

Stay tuned to the blog for further updates on these former Commodores, and click here for the complete NBA Summer League schedule.

Ogilvy, Beal secure NBA Summer League roster spots

By A. Boggs

Former Commodores will get very familiar with each other this summer in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. A.J. Ogilvy, who went undrafted, will play with former VU great Derrick Byars for the Chicago Bulls this summer, while Jermaine Beal, who was also undrafted, will play with Shan Foster for the Dallas Mavericks in Las Vegas. Beal was invited as a mini-camp invitee.

Play begins in Vegas for Beal and Foster on July 9, while Byars and Ogilvy begin summer play on July 13.

Click here for more info on the NBA Summer Leagues.

Ogilvy works out with Bucks

By A. Boggs (Photo: NBA.com)

The kind folks at the Milwaukee Bucks sent me an email about their website, nba.com/bucks, which has an interview with A.J. Ogilvy after his workout with the team on Tuesday.

Here's the link to read Ogilvy's comments after the workout. We want to wish him luck as he gets ready for the draft, which takes place June 24 in New York City.

Video: Ogilvy declares for NBA Draft

by Barca Blog

Vanderbilt junior center A.J. Ogilvy met with the media a few hours ago to officially announce that he will forgo his senior season to declare for the NBA Draft.

A couple of notes from the press conference:

- Ogilvy opened with the following statement: "I talked with my family and coaches here, and I think (going pro) is what's best for me. I really enjoyed all my time at Vanderbilt. I really want to thank the coaches and fans for everything they've done for me. I'm just excited to try to get my game to the next level."

- Ogilvy mentioned that it wasn't an easy decision, and that he a spent long time thinking about it to make the right decision. His said his parents played a big role in the process.

- When asked why he didn't wait to hire an agent to keep his options open, Ogilvy said, "This is what I wanted to do. Once I put my name in, I wanted to put all my effort and time into it." He added that he might pull out of classes this semester to spend time at home before workouts. He didn't know if he would finish his degree at Vanderbilt, but suggested in the "long run" he might finish school in Australia.

-Based on what his agent said, he feels that he could move up the board during pre-draft workouts, which helped him make his final decision. He's been told he needs to improve on his explosiveness and conditioning. If he doesn't get drafted, he plans to play in Europe, but wants to pursue his dream to play in the NBA.

- The high number of underclassmen entering the draft didn't play a role in his decision.

- According to Ogilvy, Coach Stallings thought he should wait to sign with an agent.

- When asked if he had any regrets at Vanderbilt, Ogilvy said, "The two tournament losses will haunt me, but we've had a lot of fun and won a lot of big games and I'll take those memories with me."

- On if he felt appreciated by the fans: "I think the fans did a great job of acknowledging me and cheering me on during games."

Watch the entire press conference below:

Sail on, A.J.

by Barca Blog

Our favorite Aussie has decided to skip his senior year and move on to the professional ranks.

A.J.'s announcement will spark a wide range of emotions from Vanderbilt fans. Some will express their anger, while others will offer encouragement.

At the end of the day, though, I believe it comes down to being a personal decision between A.J., his family and the coaching staff (I sound like Tiger Woods, don't I?)... and I can respect that.

Instead, I will offer a video of the day from another group of Commodores.

Best of luck with whatever the future holds.

Ogilvy continues hot play

by Barca Blog

A.J. Ogilvy has been sensational in SEC play so far and has been a big reason why the Commodores are off to their best conference start (3-0) since the 1989-90 season.

The junior center from Australia leads the team with 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and has reached the foul line 10+ times in victories over Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.

Ogilvy got off to a slow start against the Gamecocks Saturday, but shined with 18 of his 22 points and seven of his nine rebounds coming in the second half to help the 'Dores cruise to a 10-point win. His size and strength eventually wore down South Carolina as he converted on several easy second-chance opportunities to keep the game out of reach.

"He dominated the second half around the goal," head coach Kevin Stallings said. "He was phenomenal, strong, explosive and authoritative."

Ogilvy showed no signs of being slowed down after he was temporarily sidelined with an injured ankle early in the second half.

"It's a little sore," Ogilvy said. "It's not anything that I can't play through. I'll think I'm going to get some treatment on it tomorrow to make sure it doesn't turn into anything more than it needs to be."

Update on A.J. Ogilvy

by Barca Blog

Head coach Kevin Stallings said Tuesday that junior center A.J. Ogilvy is still battling plantar fasciitis, the same injury to his right heel that bothered him last season.

Ogilvy was limited to a reserve role in the Commodores' 76-69 loss to Western Kentucky last Friday, making it just the fourth time in his career (72 games) that he did not start.

"I know that his foot has been bothering him," Stallings told the 104.5 Wake Up Zone. "In the two days before the Western Kentucky game, he practiced maybe 15 minutes and it looked like that in the game. We've shut him down and are going to try and bring him back on Thursday.

"It's just kind of an ongoing thing. Obviously when he's healthy and his mind's right like Arizona, Missouri and DePaul in the 2nd half, A.J.'s a very good player. It's become difficult, though, because we don't know whether he's going to be there or not, and that part has kept our team a little bit out of balance because we don't know if he's going to be healthy enough to play. That's a little debilitating because everyone's waiting around to see if he's okay.

"One of my staff members said the other day that we just need to get Festus (Ezeli) ready to help us win big games. So that's what we have to try to do in the event that A.J. isn't available."

The Commodores have two other health problems at the moment. According to Jeff Lockridge of The Tennessean, Andre Walker has been out with flu-like symptoms and Lance Goulbourne is sidelined with a concussion.

Vanderbilt will next play Tennessee State on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT inside Memorial Gym.

Ogilvy named SEC Player of the Week

By A. Boggs

Commodore junior center A.J. Ogilvy has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for his performances against Missouri and DePaul last week. Ogilvy averaged 22.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in wins over the Tigers and Blue Demons.

The weekly honor is the first for Ogilvy. He won three Freshman of the Week honors in 2007-08, but this is his first POTW honor.

Video: A.J. Ogilvy reel

by Barca Blog - Next up in our preseason men's basketball highlight series... junior A.J. Ogilvy.

The 6'11 Australian center has accomplished quite a bit in his two seasons at Vanderbilt....

*In 2008-09, Ogilvy earned All-SEC second team honors after leading the Commodores with 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

*Ogilvy became the first sophomore in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier for his career.

*He set a new VU freshman scoring record in 2007-08 with 578 points.

*He's scored in double-figures in 57 out of 63 games and has 17 career 20+ point outings and and eight double-doubles.

We could go on all day with this list. For now, just watch the big guy in action (below) and don't forget to purchase season tickets.

Ogilvy named to preseason All-SEC first team

By A. Boggs - Vanderbilt junior center A.J. Ogilvy was named to the preseason All-SEC first team by the league’s coaches in a poll released today by the SEC Office in Birmingham.

Ogilvy, who led the team in scoring and rebounding a year ago with 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, respectively, was one of eight players named to the first team.

Click here to read the rest of the article from SECsports.com.

Ogilvy sidelined with concussion

by Barca Blog - According to The Tennessean and The City Paper, junior A.J. Ogilvy has missed the last couple of practices after sustaining a concussion from a collision with teammate Steve Tcheingang.

That hasn't been the only preseason problem for Ogilvy. The 6-11 center has also had issues with his heel, an injury that bothered him throughout his sophomore season.

“It's bothering me a little bit, but it’s nowhere near where it was last year,” Ogilvy told Jeff Lockridge. “I’d say I’m about 90 percent.”

Stallings told the press that Ogilvy has been sidelined because of his concussion, rather than his foot injury, and could return to practice in the next few days.

For more on Ogilvy, visit the following links:
The Tennessean: Ogilvy missing practice
The City Paper: Injury forces Ogilvy out of workouts