Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced Saturday that the team has assigned second-year guard Morris Almond and second-year center Kyrylo Fesenko to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League). The two are expected to be in uniform as the Flash host the Idaho Stampede on Monday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m.
In 25 games this season (one start) the 6-6, 215 pound Almond has averages of 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists. Almond has been inactive 19 times this season and DNP-CD 18 games. The guard notched a career-high 12 points and six rebounds in a 99-94 win on December 2 at Sacramento.
Selected by the Jazz out of Rice in the first round (25th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Almond secured his place in the D-League record books last season when he broke the league single-game scoring record with a 53-point performance on Jan. 30 at Bakersfield. Almond also earned the inaugural NBA Development League Impact Player of the Year Award which is given to a player who joins a D-League team following the start of the season. The award honors an athlete who made the greatest contribution following his in-season acquisition.
In 18 games this season (one start) the 7-1, 278 pound Fesenko has averages of 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists. Fesenko has been inactive 30 times this season and DNP-CD 14 games. His best outing of the season came at Houston on December 12 when he picked up his first career double-double, scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of action. Fesenko, who makes his second trip to the D-League this season, was last assigned to the Flash on January 6 and appeared in eight games (all starts), averaging 12.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest.
Originally selected by Philadelphia in the second round (38th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Jazz acquired Fesenko’s rights in a draft night deal that sent the draft rights to Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) and trade considerations to the 76ers.
