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sports
Summer
Pro League returns to The Pyramid
By Adrienne Figueroa
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
The 33rd annual Southern California Summer Pro League is set
to begin July 7 at the Cal State Long Beach Pyramid, with
the Memphis Grizzlies playing the Los Angeles Lakers.
Six other teams from the National Basketball Association will
participate in the summer event, including the Los Angeles
Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, the Phoenix
Suns, the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat.
Although coaches and staff from each team will be present,
not all players from the regular season will be there. The
league is designed for less experienced players, providing
them with the opportunity to showcase their skills, said Erik
Hamasaki, director of operations at the Summer Pro League.
"Its to help develop new talent,” he said.
Scouts from 60 different countries as well as scouts from
the NBA will be in attendance and searching for potential
recruits, said Summer Pro League President and CEO John D.
Younesi.
There are currently three cities in the country that play
host to other Summer Pro Leagues - Boston, Utah and Orlando.
They are operated by the Celtics, the Jazz and the Magic,
successively. The southern California league is the only one
not run by an NBA franchise, Hamasaki said.
This particular league is the only one in which NBA scouts
are able to view the styles of players in the free agent division,
Younesi said.
“We’re that ticket to younger players who otherwise wouldn’t
gain exposure,” Younesi said. “It’s a big deal.”
Now entering its seventh year as host to the Summer Pro League,
the Pyramid is an ideal location because it is central to
Los Angeles and Orange County, Hamasaki said.
In the past, the event was held at Loyola Marymount and Cal
State Los Angeles, where there was a tendency to draw larger
crowds, he added.
“[The Pyramid] is an intimate setting,” he said. “It’s more
fan friendly.”
However, four years ago, league affiliates were forced to
turn away close to three thousands fans who showed up to catch
a glimpse of then-rookie Kobe Bryant, Younesi said.
This year, the Summer Pro League hopes to acquire Magic Johnson
as a player, but the booking has not been confirmed, Hamasaki
said.
The event runs through July 21 and features five games each
day. Tickets are still available through the Pyramid box office.
Prices start at $10.
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