WHO HE!?
12/29/20: The Bucks set an NBA record with 29 made three-pointers against the Heat in the fourth game of this 2020-2021 season. Sam Merrill (WHO HE!?) was the record breaker. Merrill is a rookie from Utah State. He was the 60th pick in the draft, the very last pick. A 4-year college guy, Merrill is actually 24 years old as he went on a 2-year mission trip to Nicaragua before his freshman year. Known for this three-point shooting and smooth stroke, Merrill made his first four 3’s to start his NBA career.
01/03/21: There was a Xavier Tillman (WHO HE!?) in for the Grizzlies, getting his first playing time of the season. Tyus Jones was… everywhere. Killing us all night.
01/04/21: The End of this game was a masterclass in WHO HE!?
76ers:
#7 Isaiah Joe — A rookie, 2nd round pick from Arkansas.
#33 Dakota Mathias — An undrafted rookie from Purdue with the nickname “Midwestern Cowboy.”
#44 Paul Reed — A rookie, 2nd round pick from DePaul.
Hornets:
#14 Nick Richards — A rookie, 2nd round pick who is from Jamaica and went to Kentucky.
It’s now time for a Sacramento garbage time edition of WHO HE!?:
#3 Jahmi’Us Ramsey — A rookie, 2nd round pick out of Texas Tech.
#13 Robert Woodard II — A rookie, 2nd round pick out of Mississippi St.
#25 Chimezie Metu — A rookie, 2nd round pick out of USC.
You might be able to discern that we do not know the 2nd round draft pick rookies too well.
01/08/21: Fournier didn’t play for the already shorthanded Magic who are now giving 20+ minutes of work to Jordan Bone and Karim Mane. Uh… yeah, that’s going to bring us into your favorite segment. That’s right, another episode of WHO HE!?
Karim Mane — a rookie from Senegal. That’s pretty cool.
Jordan Bone — another rookie, from Tennessee. 2nd round pick. We have trouble with those.
No disrespect to these gentlemen that we just met, but watching the Magic without Fultz just bums us out now — kinda like watching the Grizz without Ja.
01/11/21: We have a short Hawks episode of WHO HE!?
#4 Skylar Mays, a 6-4 shooting guard from LSU. A rookie and 2nd round pick in last year’s draft.
[[Edmond Sumner (the original WHO HE!?) had a very solid game, scoring 8 points in 11 minutes off the bench. McDermott’s 3-ball came alive in the 4th, Oladipo attacked the basket with ferocity and Sabonis, as he usual is, was the rock. The two-man game with Sabonis is so nice, the Pacers send in nifty, tight passes, especially Brogdon.]]
01/12/21: Kelly Olynyk celebrates a 3 by Gabe Vincent. If you’re wondering WHO HE!? then we guess you missed Heat-Clippers back on February 5th of last year when Vincent started for the Heat on ESPN.
01/20/21: In the latest Heat episode of WHO HE?! We have #31 Max Strus, a second year player from Depaul. Strus played in two games last year for the Bulls and tonight was his fifth game for the continuously shorthanded Heat.
01/22/21: It’s time for another episode of WHO HE!? — Raptors edition:
#1 Paul Watson, a 6-7… what a second… this is the same Paul Watson who made a brief appearance on the Hawks last season, featured in WHO HE!? on 01/08/20! We have our first ever double occurrence on WHO HE?! Watson went to Fresno State and tonight was his fifth game of action for the Raps this season.
#2 Jalen Harris, a 6-5 rookie second round draft pick from Nevada. Tonight was his second ever game and he has still yet to score his first NBA points.
[[Woj has reported that the Nets are planning to sign Norvel Pelle once he clears health and safety protocols. Being familiar with Pelle’s game (he was featured in WHO HE!? last year for the Sixers), we can attest that he will help the Nets frontcourt. Just about anybody would help the Nets frontcourt, but Pelle is a solid rim protector known for his electric blocks. Just what the doctor ordered.]]
Back to the WHO HE!? — #10 Daniel Oturu for the Clippers is a 6-8 2nd round draft pick rookie from Minnesota who the Clippers acquired in a post-draft trade with… Minnesota. So Oturu thought he was staying in Minny before getting shipped to La La land. He has got to be enjoying the weather, though.
01/27/21: It’s time for a Nuggets garbage time episode of WHO HE!?
Vlatko Cancar #31 — pronounced “CHAN-char," he’s from Slovenia and was drafted back in 2017, making his NBA debut on Halloween of last year. We thought he looked familiar, we hit a miraculous come-from-behind Over on Nuggets-Pelicans while out at the bar that night thanks to a late flurry of 3’s!
Zeke Nnaji #22 — a rookie and second round pick from Arizona.
Markus Howard #00 — an undrafted rookie from Marquette on a two-way contract. Howard was a 4-year college guy.
This Junder would have come down to a garbage time shot at the very end. Nate Hinton (WHO HE!?) had a good look at another 3 (he made a 3 on the previous possession), but she did not fall and the Junder prevailed! #14 Nate Hinton for the Mavs is a rookie from Houston, but he was born and grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina. Shoutout NC!
02/05/21: Your nightly fun nugget from Eric Collins on #81 for the Jazz, Miye Oni — if you are thinking WHO HE!? upon seeing that name then we guess you missed our episode of WHO HE!? on March 2nd, 2020. Oni wears #81 to honor Kobe, 81 being the amount of points Kobe scored in one game on the Raptors back in 2006. EC also let us know that there is only one other player in NBA history to wear the number 81… Jose Calderon, the pig farmer!
[[Something you don’t see in the box score every day: Jaden McDaniels did not score, 0 points in 29 minutes but still finished with a +20 net rating! How? That was made possible by Jaylen Nowell scoring 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench which were mostly lined up with McDaniels. If you just read Jaylen Nowell’s name and you’re thinking WHO HE?! then we guess you also missed our episode of WHO HE!? on March 6th, 2020. (Yeah, bruh, we been out here.)]]
02/10/21: Lamar Stevens! Wait… WHO HE!? #8 for the Cavs, Lamar Stevens is a rookie from Penn State who was born and raised in PA.
02/17/21: We have a Jazz garbage time edition of WHO HE!? #3 Trent Forrest, a 6-4 rookie on a two-way contract. Forrest was a 4-year college guy at Florida State. Man’s has his own website! LOVE THAT. Tonight was just his fourth game of action.
[[A previous WHO HE!? was back tonight! Chasson Randle, #25 for the Magic, played his first game of the season, signed to a two-way contract on Monday. What team did Chasson play for last year when he was featured in our WHO HE!? segment on March 10th? The Warriors! That was our last Blog Train post before Coronavirus derailment.]]
02/22/21: It’s time for another Rockets edition of WHO HE!? It’s a special episode, because we actually have a player in his fourth season! #12 Justin Patton, signed to a two-way contract on Friday. Tonight was his first game of the season. Patton is a former first round draft pick! #16 overall by the Bulls in 2017 and included in the Jimmy Butler trade to Minnesota. Patton played just one game with the T-Wolves in his rookie season, three games with the Sixers the next year and five games with OKC last year. His nickname is apparently Big Muddy!
We have another episode of WHO HE!? #21 Keljin Blevins for the Blazers… WHO HE!? Blevins is an undrafted rookie, a 4-year college guy who attended two years at Southern Miss and two years at Montana State. Tonight was his ninth game of garbage time work. Oh, and here is a golden nugget for you: Keljin Blevins is Dame’s cousin!
02/23/21: Believe it or not Saben Lee is not a WHO HE!? for this here blog. Why?
Because we recently pulled a Saben Lee rookie card when rippin’ packs of Panini NBA Hoops! Tonight, Saben scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 3-of-3 from downtown in just his 10th NBA game. Welcome aboard, rook!
03/02/21: It’s time for your favorite segment with a Grizzlies episode of WHO HE!? #35 Killian Tillie… WHO HE!? Tillie is a rookie on a two-way contract originally from France, but a 4-year college guy at Gonzaga. Tonight was his second ever NBA game with his debut on Sunday in the Grizzlies 49-point obliteration of the Rockets, the largest win in franchise history, a helluva way to make your debut. Tonight, however, Tillie went 0-for-2 in 12 minutes and posted a -14 net rating.
It’s time yet again for another episode of WHO HE!? #3 for the Nuggets, Greg Whittington… WHO HE!? Whittington is a 28-year-old rookie who attended two years at Georgetown back in the day, and according to his Wikipedia page, he’s played in Australia, Japan, Israel and Turkey. Just like fellow WHO HE!? Killian Tillie earlier, tonight was Whittington’s second ever NBA game. His NBA debut was on Saturday night, playing six minutes in Denver’s 30-point win over OKC. Welcome aboard!
[03/15/21:
Deividas Sirvydis - Pistons #91
[Brian Bowen again!]
Jontay Porter - Grizz #4
Devontae Cacok - Lakers (!!) #12]