Supporting Cast

Andrew Bogut was back in the states this week, getting his cast removed and partying with his supporting cast known as "Squad 6." Bogut, who earned third team all-NBA honors this season, has been spending the off-season in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia. He's healing, but not in time to lead the Boomers at the FIBA World Championship in August.

Luke Nevill is also in Melbourne, playing for the Melbourne Tigers of the NBL. Nevill was a member of the Boomers squad in 2009 but does not appear to be on the roster for the World Championship.

NBA Playoffs

Andre Miller tied his playoff career high of 31 points to lead Portland to a 105-100 upset win over Phoenix. Portland, a 6 seed, pulled off the only win by a visiting team in game 1 thanks to Andre's 31 points and 8 assists.

The Blazers managed to win without star Brandon Roy, but the Bucks didn't fare so well minus Andrew Bogut. They fell behind by a wide margin and lost to the Hawks 102-92.

In the D League Luke Nevill and the Utah Flash had their season come to an end in the first round of the playoffs. They took the first game against the Iowa Energy but lost the best-of-three series. Nevill averaged 11.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his first year in the developmental league.

Head-to-Head

Bogut's Bucks beat Miller's Blazers 108-101 in double overtime on Saturday. In this photo Andre could only watch as Andrew scored two of his season-high 27 points. Bogut had a fine all-around game, shooting 12-of-19 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to go with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Perhaps the most significant stat was his 44 minutes played before he fouled out. That's a lot of minutes for a guy coming back from an injury, and it could take a lot out of the big Aussie.

Miller had an off-shooting night, finishing 2-of-12 for a meager 7 points. He also had 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

In other basketball news, Luke Nevill was waived by the Utah Flash of the D-League. Apparently the Australia native is having visa issues and will be re-signed by the team after he gets his visa cleared. Nevill spent the summer playing with the Boomers in Australia before returning to Utah as a member of the Flash. He averaged 11.5 points and 6 rebounds in the first two games of the season.

Luke Nevill update

The New Orleans Hornets entry in the Las Vegas Summer League lost to the Denver Nuggets 107-105 in overtime yesterday, the last day of league play. Luke Nevill did not play in that game, one day after posting his best game with the Hornets. In 22 minutes against the T-Wolves Nevill scored 12 points on 6-9 FGs with 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists. In four games he averaged 10 minutes and 4 points per game on 57% shooting. Expect Nevill to play in the developmental league or overseas this year.

Summer Camp

Luke Nevill did not hear his name called during the NBA Draft, but he is working out with the New Orleans Hornets as a free agent this summer. On July 2nd the USA Today reported that Nevill will play for New Orleans in the Las Vegas Summer League, alongside former Utah State Aggie star Jaycee Carroll. The 14 player team will play five games between July 10-19 at UNLV, a familiar venue for Nevill, one of three centers on the roster.

NBA Draft

In 2005 Andrew Bogut led the Utes to the Sweet Sixteen on his way to being drafted #1 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Four years later fellow Aussie big man Luke Nevill led Utah back to the NCAA tournament, and now he is looking to be drafted in tomorrow's NBA Draft. Nevill isn't the caliber of player that Bogut is, but under coach Jim Boylen's tutelage (a coach with an NBA resume of developing big men) he has developed into a reliable post presence. While Nevill won't go #1 and may not go in the first round, he could be a good value pick in the second round. TNT analyst David Aldridge has Nevill listed as the third best center in the draft on his board, behind UConn's Hasheem Thabeet and Ohio State's B.J. Mullens.

Perhaps the better comparison is not between Bogut and Nevill, as natural as that may seem, but between Nevill and Morgan Warburton, a former Ute selected in the second round of this year's WNBA Draft. Warburton was taken by the Sacramento Monarchs with the 33rd pick, but did not make the team's final roster.

There hasn't been much support for the WNBA in Utah - the Starzz franchise relocated from Salt Lake City to San Antonio and was renamed the Silver Stars - but, to her credit, coach Elaine Elliott has seen four of her players drafted by the league in recent years.

2009 - Morgan Warburton, #33, Sacramento Monarchs
2008 - Leilani Mitchell, #25, Phoenix Mercury
2006 - Shona Thorburn, #7, Minnesota Lynx
2006 - Kim Smith, #13, Sacramento Monarchs

Of the four only Leilani Mitchell is presently playing in the league with the New York Liberty (Smith and Warburton were both waived before the 2009 season began). The WNBA has fewer teams and fewer roster spots than the NBA does, however, so the 7' 2" Nevill should face better prospects of being drafted and making a team roster.