THE FLATS – Derrick Favors has rejoined a Utah Jazz team rising to top level of the NBA … Thaddeus Young proving quite favorable in the analytics world … Josh Okogie back in the Timberwolves’ starting lineup … Iman Shumpert worked hard to return to the NBA.
This week’s #ProJackets Report compiles more of the latest news, stories and social media posts on former Jackets and their activities of the past week.
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FAVORS REJOINS A JAZZ TEAM RISING TO NBA ELITE
From ESPN.com: After their latest victory Tuesday night, a 122-108 decision over the visiting Boston Celtics, the Jazz are now an NBA-best 20-5 this season and have won 16 of their past 17 games … The one prominent player Utah added during the offseason — big man Derrick Favors — had spent the vast majority of his first nine seasons in Utah before being dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans last offseason, leaving him extremely familiar with what it was the Jazz would want him to do. Read more
From Salt City Hoops: Having Derrick Favors back in a Jazz uniform is fun for the fan base. It’s also great for Utah’s offense because it means they have two capable diving bigs. Favors’ repertoire includes this soft touch floater. Read more
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THE ADVANCED ANALYTICS LOVE THADDEUS YOUNG
Thaddeus Young is playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, and that’s not usually the case for a 32-year-old role-playing veteran who recently had his long-time career as a starter moved to the bench. Aside from the scoring improvements, Young’s biggest improvement has come from facilitating the basketball. Donovan’s new motion offense puts all of his players’ basketball IQ to the test, and Young is passing with flying colors. More from Bleacher Nation
Young finished with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. No other Chicago player scored more than 11 points in the Bulls’ 105-101 loss Monday to the Wizards. The Bulls are 9-14.
From the Chicago Sun-Times: “According to an NBA source, teams hoping to acquire talent by the tentative March 25 trade deadline are increasingly looking to the Bulls as a potential trade partner, with veteran forward Thad Young suddenly drawing the most interest.” Read more
VIDEO: Young with the buzzer-beater vs. the Magic
Chicago is +6.9 points per 100 possessions when Thaddeus Young is on the floor and -9.0 when he isn’t.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) February 9, 2021
“Thadgic with the fake!” 😂@NBCSChicago | @yungsmoove21 pic.twitter.com/Pd9jMsQn9G
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 6, 2021
OKAY THAD @yungsmoove21 👀 pic.twitter.com/x8RW0H8zgC
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 6, 2021
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OKOGIE BACK IN WOLVES’ STARTING LINEUP
Josh Okogie contributed 11 points (3-3 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 4-4 FT), two rebounds, one assist and one block in 26 minutes during Monday’s 127-122 loss to Dallas. Okogie moved back into the starting lineup for that game and did not miss a shot. He had seen less than ten minutes in the Timberwolves previous two games.
josh found the baseline and 😲
//@CallMe_NonStop // pic.twitter.com/4hGGijBHsm
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) February 9, 2021
📸 @CallMe_NonStop 📸 pic.twitter.com/GcOAUDj6zx
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 9, 2021
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SHUMPERT HAD DRIVE TO RETURN TO NETS
Staying ready turned Iman Shumpert into a non-stop commuter.
One gym for workouts, another for weights. Over to the Georgia Tech facilities for treatment. Colleges, high schools, brand-name fitness franchises. Wherever Shumpert could find the time and the space to do what needed to get done, off he went.
“It was kind of like the most blue-collar thing that I have done in a long time,” said Shumpert. “With the time I’ve spent in the league, I think at some point you just sort of get comfy with knowing you’ve got somebody standing over you telling you what time you’ve got to be somewhere. It was kind of cool to go back to that high school feel, that high school hunger of, ‘I just want to play basketball, I don’t really care.”
The veteran swingman is once again a Brooklyn Net, having signed with the team on Jan. 30, though he has yet to appear in a game after waiting several days to clear health and safety protocols.
More from BrooklynNets.com | More from NetsDaily.com
However, his return to the court with the Nets will have to wait, as Shumpert has injured his hamstring, according to the New York Post.
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LAMMERS IN GERMANY: “ENGINEERING IS ALWAYS AN OPTION”
ALBA Berlin center Ben Lammers is in his second campaign as a professional basketball player – and first in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, but there was a time that he thought he would spend his mid-20s doing much different things with his life. Lammers studied engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a school he decided to attend more for its excellence in the sciences than for its famed basketball program.
“I was a mechanical engineering major at Georgia Tech. So I kind of, I guess, had both worlds go in there with some pretty tough classes and also with all the athletics,” Lammers said.
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JARRETT JACK IN ORLANDO HELPING G LEAGUE PROSPECTS
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Jarrett Jack’s principal job with the NBA’s G League Ignite is to make sure his young, impressionable teammates are not blown off course by hubris or anxiety. He was hired, so to speak, in part to be the on-court, wise counsel to Ignite’s 5-star high school talents who shunned major college basketball to get started on their professional careers.
Jack, 36, has been given many nicknames by his young teammates, including “OG” for original gangster. But the 14-year NBA vet and glue of Georgia Tech’s 2004 Final Four team isn’t ruling out a return to the show — and this current opportunity could jump-start that comeback.
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#ProJackets on Social Media
What does @dfavors14 like to eat in the morning?
Join Chef Anthony in the kitchen as he makes Favors’ famous everything bagel breakfast sandwich 🍳
#JazzEats | @iFit pic.twitter.com/FBBCCBu7Aj— utahjazz (@utahjazz) February 9, 2021
Shumpert is back! #BrooklynTogether pic.twitter.com/8WoIv6whOF
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 31, 2021
@CallMe_NonStop has excellent golf attire! @MarneyGellner @MinnesotaMunn @pxg @nikegolf pic.twitter.com/m0BWtE2Op7
— Jim Petersen (@JimPeteHoops) February 9, 2021
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#PROJACKETS IN THE NBA/G LEAGUE IN 2023-24
| PLAYER | DATA | NUMBERS | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|
 | JOSE ALVARADO Team: New Orleans Pelicans Number: 15 NBA Experience: 3rd year Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21 Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y. Status: Active | 6-0, 179 lbs 2023-24 Stats 7.1 ppg 2.3 rpg 2.1 apg 41.2% FG | Record: 49-33 Standing: 7th place, -8.0 GB Streak: L1 Last 10: 5-5 |
 | JAMES BANKS III Team: Maine Celtics Number: 5 G League Experience: 3rd year Years at Georgia Tech: 2018-20 Hometown: Atlanta, Ga. Status: Active | 6-10, 250 lbs 2023-24 Stats 5.3 ppg 4.7 rpg 1.5 bpg 54.2% FG | Record: 21-13 Standing: 2nd place, -1.0 GB Streak: W1 Last 10: 8-2 |
 | MICHAEL DEVOE Team: Memphis Hustle Number: 10 G League Experience: 2nd year Years at Georgia Tech: 2017-21 Hometown: Orlando, Fla. Status: Active | 6-4, 183 lbs 2023-24 Stats 13.9 ppg 3.9 rpg 3.1 apg 47.4% FG | Record: 15-19 Standing: 12th, -9.0 GB Streak: W1 Last 10: 3-7 |
 | DERRICK FAVORS Team: Windy City Bulls (G League) Number: 14 NBA Experience: 12 seasons Years at Georgia Tech: 2009-10 Hometown: Atlanta, Ga. Status: Active | 6-9, 265 lbs 2023-24 Stats 6.2 ppg 4.7 rpg 0.7 bpg 66.7% FG | Record: 15-19 Standing: 13th place, -7.0 GB Streak: L1 Last 10: 4-6 |
 | JOSH OKOGIE Team: Phoenix Suns Number: 2 NBA Experience: 5 seasons Years at Georgia Tech: 2016-18 Hometown: Snellville, Ga. Status: Active | 6-4, 213 lbs 2023-24 Stats 4.6 ppg 2.6 rpg 1.1 apg 41.7% FG | Record: 49-33 Standing: 6th place, -8.0 GB Streak: W3 Last 10: 7-3 |
 | THADDEUS YOUNG Team: free agent Number: 30 NBA Experience: 16 seasons Years at Georgia Tech: 2006-07 Hometown: Memphis, Tenn. Status: Active | 6-8, 235 lbs 2023-24 Stats 4.2 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.7 apg 60.2% FG | Record: 49-33 Standing: 6th place, -8.0 GB Streak: W3 Last 10: 7-3 |
YELLOW JACKETS OVERSEAS UPDATE
Updates on selected former Yellow Jackets taken from the website ProBallers.com
James Banks averaged 4.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game, playing 10 games with Hapoel Beer Sheva, during the 2020-21 Israel – Winner League regular-season. He set his season-high with 13 points in 18 minutes against Hapoel B-Cure Laser Haifa on December 30, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 8 rebounds in 15 minutes against Hapoel SP Tel Aviv on December 06, 2020. He dished a season-high 1 assists in 34 minutes against Hapoel UNET Credit Holon on December 12, 2020. He scored in double figures 2 times in 10 games.
Marcus Georges-Hunt has established himself as perhaps the best player on his Sichuan Blue Whales team and one of the best in the league as the Chinese Basketball Association is into the second phase of its 2020-21 season (the league is in week 26 of a 38-week season). Georges-Hunt scored a game-best 33 points with seven rebounds and five assists for Sichuan in a loss to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers Wednesday, following up his double-double of 25 points and 10 assists in the Blue Whales close 112-110 loss to Zhejiang the day after Christmas. Sichuan is currently in 10th place in the 19-team league with an 11-12 record.
Trae Golden averaged 30.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game, playing 12 games with Fujian SBS Xunxing Sturgeons, during the 2020-21 China – CBA regular-season. He set his season-high with 54 points in 46 minutes against Shenzhen Aviators on December 12, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 6 rebounds in 32 minutes against Jilin Northeast Tigers on December 19, 2020. He dished a season-high 19 assists in 46 minutes against Shenzhen Aviators on December 12, 2020. He scored in double figures 12 times in 12 games. He had 20 points or more 12 times. He had 30 points or more 5 times. He had 40 points or more 2 times. He had 50 points or more 1 time. He recorded 5 double-doubles.
Ben Lammers averaged 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game, playing 3 games with Alba Berlin, during the 2020-21 Germany – easyCredit BB regular-season. He set his season-high with 12 points in 17 minutes against Fraport Skyliners on November 08, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 7 rebounds in 17 minutes against Fraport Skyliners on November 08, 2020. He dished a season-high 2 assists in 11 minutes against EWE Baskets Oldenburg on November 15, 2020. He scored in double figures 1 time in 3 games.
Anthony McHenry averaged 10.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, playing 21 games with Shinshu Brave Warriors, during the 2020-2021 Japan – B1 League regular-season. He set his season-high with 22 points in 39 minutes against San-en NeoPhoenix on October 21, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in 38 minutes against Ryukyu Golden Kings on November 15, 2020. He dished a season-high 10 assists in 36 minutes against Hitachi Sun Rockers on October 17, 2020. He scored in double figures 9 times in 21 games. He had 20 points or more 1 time. He recorded 4 double-doubles.
Daniel Miller averaged 12.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, playing 26 games with Sendai 89ers, during the 2020-21 Japan – B2 League regular-season. He set his season-high with 22 points in 33 minutes against Saga Ballooners on December 27, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds in 36 minutes against Bambitious Nara on November 14, 2020. He dished a season-high 9 assists in 27 minutes against Pass lab Yamagata Wyverns on October 03, 2020. He scored in double figures 18 times in 26 games. He had 20 points or more 1 time. He recorded 10 double-doubles.
Zachery Peacock averaged 13.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, playing 7 games with Bourg-en-Bresse, during the 2020-21 Jeep Elite regular-season. He set his season-high with 22 points in 37 minutes against LDLC ASVEL on October 04, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 6 rebounds in 25 minutes against Nanterre 92 on September 23, 2020. He dished a season-high 5 assists in 25 minutes against Nanterre 92 on September 23, 2020. He scored in double figures 4 times in 7 games. He had 20 points or more 1 time.
Adam Smith averaged 16.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, playing 9 games with AO Ionikos Nikaias, during the 2020-21 Greece – Heba A1 regular-season. He set his season-high with 21 points in 31 minutes against PAOK on December 27, 2020. He grabbed a season-high 4 rebounds in 38 minutes against Iraklis on November 14, 2020. He dished a season-high 7 assists in 38 minutes against Iraklis on November 14, 2020. He scored in double figures 9 times in 9 games. He had 20 points or more 2 times.
