Pounding The Rock 28 mins ago
Open Thread: Pop’s coaching tree continues with Ime Udoka
Set Number: SI742 TK1 The former assistant is about to kick off his first season as the head coach of the Boston Celtics. Like Jacque Vaughn, Ime Udoka started out at an NBA player. And on two different occasions, Ime suited up for the Spurs. In fact, he and Vaughn played together. Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via From 2007-2009, Vaughn and Udoka were both players. In 2011, Vaughn had joined the Spurs as an assistant coach, Udoka returned as a player. In 2012, Udoka took the vacancy left when Vaughn accepted the head coaching job in Orlando....
Pounding The Rock 19 hours ago
A pair of Spurs named Top 100 players for the 2021-22 NBA season
Photos by Logan Riely/NBAE via Player rankings are coming out ahead of the 2021-22 season, and Dejounte Murray and Derrick White received some love. Believe it or not, Training Camp for the 2021-22 NBA season is just one week away! As a result, sports sites are starting to release their annual player rankings, and a couple of Spurs received some love, beginning with: ESPN 100-51 No. 83: Dejounte Murray San Antonio Spurs | PG 2020 NBArank: No. 83 One thing to watch for: With DeMar DeRozan gone, will Murray take on a bigger role in the Spurs’ offense? Already a...
Pounding The Rock 22 hours ago
How to make it through the Spurs offseason
I didn’t contribute as I thought I would in the off-season. But I’ve got a new stool. You probably won’t have noticed, or maybe you have, but I’ve kept quiet since my rookie season as a PtR writer concluded in May. The reason for that is simple: I chose to fully focus on developing my skills ahead of my sophomore season — with pen-handling, ballpoint of attack defense and crashing the keyboards my priorities. I’m only joking, of course. I wanted to contribute during the offseason, and I thought I would. But it just didn’t happen. I simply had no idea what to...
Pounding The Rock Sep 21, 2021
Open Thread: Happy birthday to Al-Farouq Aminu
Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via He may not be around for long, so let’s celebrate him while we can. Up until now, Al-Farouq Aminu has been a thorn in many a Spurs fans side. As part of the Los Angeles Clippers, the New Orleans Pelicans (née Hornets), Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, and Chicago Bulls, Aminu has spent a decade playing against the San Antonio Spurs. But it is hard to be upset when a Wake Forest Demon Deacon plays well. This summer the 2010 eighth overall pick, Thaddeus Young, and a pair of future draft picks were acquired in a...
Pounding The Rock Sep 20, 2021
The Spurs’ Big Three became synonymous with Beautiful Basketball
Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Celebrating Big Three Day (9/20/21) by remembering one of the best tributes to Timmy, Many and Tony. In the highly unlikely case that you forgot the only reason to celebrate 9/20/21 or have already started that jaunt down memory lane in remembrance of our beloved Big 3 - Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan - this is a helpful reminder to do so in the last half of this most important day over the next 99 years. You know - until 9/21/(21)20. This is Here’s revisit the gem J.R. Wilco recognized in May 2014 in recognition...
Pounding The Rock Sep 20, 2021
Remembering what the Big Three brought off the court on 9/20/21
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports Spurs fans are well aware of the Big Three’s dominance on the court, but it’s important to celebrate their off-court contributions too. On Big Three Day, many Spurs fans will be reminiscing about Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker’s dominance on the basketball court. After all, they did lead the team to four championships and are still the winningest trio in NBA history to this day. However, what’s arguably more important are their contributions to their respective communities; they’ll always be best known for helping the...
Pounding The Rock Sep 20, 2021
Open Thread: How will you celebrate the Spurs Big 3 on 9/20/21
Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via The final Parker-Ginobili-Duncan Day for 99 years. It has been my life’s work to get Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan to stand in the exact order so that I could post one good picture of the trio and dedicate this day to their greatness. Alas, getting the three of them to stand still has the same success rate as herding cats. Photo by Stephen Dunn/ It almost worked early on, but Manu was busy was playing with his hair. Hopefully, he’ll cut that mop top and we can get down to brass tax. ...
Pounding The Rock Sep 19, 2021
The curious case of Nikola Milutinov: the Spurs pick who never reached the NBA
Photo by Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Nikola Milutinov is the only active draft-and-stash prospect selected in the first round to never make it to the NBA. Was his selection by the Spurs a mistake or just bad timing? Leandro Bolmaro, the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 draft, has signed with the Timberwolves. This development, which seemingly has nothing to do with the Spurs, actually created a situation that is both curious and relevant to the Silver and Black. Now that Bolmaro is in the NBA, the only first rounder draft-and-stash prospect that remains...
Pounding The Rock Sep 19, 2021
Open Thread: Happy birthday to Dejounte Murray
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via No quarter-life crisis in this man’s future. He was drafted in 2016, just completed what should have been his fourth season (he was out in 2018-19 with an ACL injury). He’s taken over as the leader of the Spurs offense, and yet his is just a mere quarter-century old. That’s youth movement for you. Dejounte was handed the starting point guard spot three seasons ago from Tony Parker. When Parker took that spot, Dejounte was five years old. That was the first major change in the position for the franchise in quite some time. In many...
Pounding The Rock Sep 17, 2021
Several Spurs could be candidates for awards this season
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via The Spurs have several candidates for MIP and DPOY. All offseason there has been little talk about the Spurs being contenders this season. This is for good reason, as the team is in the middle of what some would call a rebuilding phase. If you look at the odds, Vegas doesn’t really even give the team a chance to make the playoffs. In years past, this was the type of position the Spurs liked to be in: underdog that’s been counted out. It has always seemed to give the entire roster a boost and a reason to silence the critics. Should they...
Pounding The Rock Sep 17, 2021
Report: The Austin Spurs name Petar Božić head coach
The longtime Austin Spurs assistant becomes the eighth head coach in franchise history. The Austin Spurs have officially announced Petar Božić as their new head coach, per a press release from the organization. OFFICIAL: We’ve named Petar Božić head coach, making him the eighth head coach in franchise history.More ➡️ https://t.co/2FKX7ej1V5 pic.twitter.com/AoGDeCS5mP— Austin Spurs (@austin_spurs) September 17, 2021 Božić has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach for the Austin Spurs, helping them to a G League championship in 2018. The...
Pounding The Rock Sep 17, 2021
Open Thread: Spurs share video of Josh Primo and Joe Wieskamp from Salt Lake City
Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via The two have bonded quickly as the summer comes to and end Did you catch this video of Josh Primo and Joe Wieskamp from Salt Lake City? : Breakfast with @JoshuaPrimo4 & @JWieskamp21 We joined the rooks on a morning grub run during the Salt Lake City Summer League as they talked about their draft night experience and mentality entering year one. @FrostBank | #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/1wzR6WXih7— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) September 13, 2021 The duo made their way around town together on their first venture...
Pounding The Rock Sep 16, 2021
Open Thread: Pop’s coaching tree continue with Jacque Vaughn
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Another former Spurs player joins the Spurs coaching staff As we continue to retrace Gregg Popovich’s long and storied career in anticipation of his 25th season, we acknowledge those who he has worked with along the way. Like George Karl (who is healthy as an ox), Jacque Vaughn also played for the Spurs before serving as an assistant coach. Unlike Karl (alive and well), Vaughn played while Pop was the head coach. Vaughn was drafted 27th overall in 1997 by the Utah Jazz and played with four teams during his first nine seasons. In...
Pounding The Rock Sep 15, 2021
The Spurs still have some tough decisions to make in the offseason
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/ The most hectic stretch of the offseason is over, but San Antonio still has to trim down its roster and start thinking about a rotation that makes sense. With training camp beginning in just under two weeks, the Spurs will finally get a chance to look at the new, young roster, but they aren’t done making moves just yet. With the roster still sitting at 17 guaranteed contracts, they still must make some more moves to get that number down to 15 by October 20, which leads to the question: Who do you think will be the last cuts to get to the...
Pounding The Rock Sep 14, 2021
The Austin Spurs have unveiled their 2021-2022 G-League schedule
Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via San Antonio’s developmental affiliate has an interesting season full of firsts ahead of them. The Austin Spurs have officially announced their schedule for the 2021-2022 season. And while San Antonio’s developmental affiliate will return to the familiar confines of the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, the G League has introduced a brand new structure. Our 2021-22 schedule is here!! This season will feature a new structure that includes two parts, the Showcase Cup and the regular season.More info ➡️ https://t.co/p57vvoPfUW...
