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Tyler Hansbrough plays first game in nine months

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Tyler Hansbrough plays for first time in nine months

Tyler Hansbrough’s final stat line doesn’t mean anything. It was his presence going up and down the court during a game that had people excited Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Hansbrough appeared in his first game of any kind in nine months, coming off the bench for 19 minutes in the Indiana Pacers’ 93-86 preseason loss to the Orlando Magic.

“It felt good,” Hansbrough said. “It felt like it’s going to take me awhile to get in a rhythm. You can practice, but there’s nothing like getting back in a game.

“It feels good to be back on the court and as part of the team. It’s going to take me a minute to get back in the groove of things.”

DeJuan Blair, Spurs in great shape

Mike Monroe of the  San Antonio Express-News reports:

DeJuan Blair, Spurs in great shape

The dramatic reduction in DeJuan Blair’s body fat — the Spurs’ big man went from 14 percent to 8 percent over the summer — has made him Exhibit A in strength and conditioning coach Mike Brungardt’s “thin is in” summer workout program.

Blair, though, is but one of the summer-success stories for Brungardt and assistant strength coach Chris White.

Brungardt declared the Spurs, as a team, reported to training camp in better shape than at any time in the past seven seasons. His annual body-fat measurement revealed lower percentages for most players, with Blair making the most dramatic drop.

Brungardt and White continue to put the Spurs through a daily regimen of conditioning drills that look like a cross between schoolyard recess and NFL draft combine workouts.

Carl Landry is rusty

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports:

carl landry

When it was relayed to Carl Landry that his coach said he wasn’t the “real” Landry at this point of training camp, the fourth-year forward agreed.

“It’s not,” Landry said. “I’m still struggling, still don’t have my bounce. And that’s why there’s preseason.”

After being effective after joining the Kings in the Kevin Martin trade in February, Landry hasn’t been the same player after almost two weeks of camp. He hasn’t looked as quick or explosive around the basket.

Landry spends a lot of time after every practice working on his footwork and offense. Kings coach Paul Westphal described Landry as “rusty” a week ago.

Rockets hire David Patrick as scout

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has hired David Patrick as a Personnel Scout.

Patrick, who was serving as associate head coach at Saint Mary’s College, joins the Rockets after spending a total of four seasons with the Gaels. He spent his previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s after working one season as the Director of Basketball Operations. Patrick came to Saint Mary’s from Nicholls State University, where he was an assistant coach for the 2005-06 campaign.

Bermuda born, Patrick joined the coaching ranks in 2005 after playing four years of professional basketball overseas. Following his collegiate career, Patrick went on to be the first Bermudian to play professionally. Patrick went to Australia to play for the Camberra Cannons of the National Basketball League from 1999-2001. In 2000, following his first season with the Cannons, he was named the National Basketball League Rookie of the Year. He then joined the Chester Jets of England’s British Basketball League for the 2001-02 season where he garnered Second-Team All-League honors. His final professional season was spent in Spain as a member of Alcora of the LEB1 League in 2002-03.

Patrick spent one season at Syracuse University where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA Final Four team that finished as the national runner-up. He then transferred to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette where he was the point guard from 1997-2000. Patrick graduated from Louisiana-Lafayette in 2000 with a degree in criminal justice.

In high school, Patrick joined the Chapel Trafton Tigers from Australia as a senior. He led the team to the 1995 Class A State Quarterfinals and was named the Louisiana Player of the Year. He was selected as District Most Valuable Player and First-Team All-Parish League. Patrick was also chosen to participate in the Louisiana State High School All-Star Game. In addition, he was a member of Junior National Teams in Australia and was named as an All-Australian player from 1992-94.

Pistons players Jonas Jerebko and Terrico White have surgery

The Detroit Pistons announced today that forward Jonas Jerebko and guard Terrico White underwent successful surgical procedures performed by Dr. Art Manoli and team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stephen Lemos.  The procedures were performed at Detroit Medical Center Surgical Center in Madison Heights, MI.

Jerebko underwent a successful procedure to repair a partially ruptured Achilles tendon on his right leg.  He is expected to miss the next five-to-six months.

White underwent a successful procedure to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot.  The foot will be immobile during a recovery process lasting approximately six weeks and rehabilitation will begin immediately following that period.  White’s playing status will be updated once the rehabilitation process begins.

Jeff Pendergraph to have surgery for torn ACL in right knee

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jeff Pendergraph will undergo surgery in the coming days after an MRI today revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, it was announced by General Manager Rich Cho.

A timetable for his return to the court will be determined upon completion of the procedure.

“Jeff has been playing well and has been a big part of the team, so this is an unfortunate setback,” said Cho. “With his work ethic and determination, we know he’ll work hard in his rehabilitation to return to the court.”

The injury occurred at the 10:48 mark of the second quarter in Thursday’s preseason game at Utah.

Pendergraph, 23, averaged 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 39 games (four starts) as a rookie in 2009-10 with the Trail Blazers after being acquired from Sacramento in a draft day trade on June 25, 2009. The Arizona State product was the 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft.

Steve Francis arrested for drunkenness at Los Angeles airport

The AP reports:

Los Angeles International Airport police say three-time NBA all-star Steve Francis has been arrested for public drunkenness.

Airport spokesman Albert Rodriguez says Francis was arrested at 11:30 p.m. Thursday because he was intoxicated, unable to care for himself and combative toward staff. Sgt. Belinda Nettles says the arrest took place in the Terminal 7 lobby near the United Airlines ticketing counter.

Future Brooklyn Nets arena gets vodka sponsor

Today Stolichnaya, a pioneer in the flavored vodka category, and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the sales and marketing arm of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, announced that Stolichnaya is embarking as a Founding Partner in a five-year alliance with the Barclays Center, the planned state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, and with NETS Basketball. The opening of the Barclays Center in late spring/early summer of 2012 will mark the return of major professional sports to Brooklyn for the first time since 1957, and Stoli will become the official vodka partner of the Barclays Center.

“This partnership represents Stoli’s first long-term foray into professional sports and we look forward to an exciting and successful partnership with the Barclays Center and NETS Basketball,” said Andrey Skurikhin, Partner at SPI Group, the Stolichnaya brand owner. “Stoli is a pioneering brand in the spirits industry and celebrates the same spirit of innovation that characterizes the development of the Barclays Center and the revitalization of the NETS. We look forward to engaging with our consumers in this much anticipated, exciting new venue.”

“We are thrilled to become partners with the most innovative and historic brand in the spirits industry,” said Brett Yormark, president and CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. “The Barclays Center continues to align with renowned companies which seek to build their brands in the heart of world commerce. Stoli has made a major commitment to the Barclays Center and we look forward to building its brand with a year-round marketing platform.”

As part of the agreement with the Barclays Center, Stoli will receive numerous entitlements, including category exclusive branding throughout the new arena and the branding of six bars.