THE FLATS – Jose Alvarado and Puerto Rico set to begin Olympics competition Sunday vs. USA … Josh Okogie tests his photography skills at NBA Summer League … Thaddeus Young still looking for a team … Michael Devoe enjoys productive summer league with the Suns … more in this week’s #ProJackets Report.
ALVARADO, PUERTO RICO SET TO BEGIN OLYMPICS COMPETITION SUNDAY
This weekend will provide Georgia Tech basketball fans with an opportunity to watch one of their favorite players perform on an international stage, in a role markedly different from the one he fills during the NBA season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
There’s one catch: To see Puerto Rico guard Jose Alvarado and his team play during their initial games at the 2024 Olympics, they’re probably going to need to set an alarm clock. Due to the six-hour time difference between Paris and Atlanta, Alvarado’s upstart Puerto Rican squad faces South Sudan at 4 a.m. Sunday (broadcast on CNBC).
A three-year New Orleans point guard who went undrafted in 2021, the 6-foot Alvarado added to what’s been an against-all-odds career arc by leading Puerto Rico to its first Olympic berth in men’s basketball since 2004. On July 7, Puerto Rico posted a 79-68 triumph over Lithuania to qualify for the global event. The 26-year-old scored 23 points, including 10 during a momentum-changing third quarter. Alvarado was named MVP of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, also due to his 29-point eruption in a previous victory over Italy. He averaged 16.0 points and shot 50 percent from both the field and three-point range (12 of 24) in four qualifying games.
“I think this group is special, I’ve said it from the beginning,” Alvarado told FIBA.com of Puerto Rico’s collection of players, following the Olympic berth-clinching win vs. Lithuania. “The one thing about this group is that we aren’t scared of anybody. We know we can beat anybody on any given night. Yes, we know that they’re probably more talented, bigger, stronger, but we’re not worried about any of that.”
One date to circle in Olympic men’s basketball Group C pool play is Aug. 3, when Alvarado and Puerto Rico will try to pull off an upset against an opponent that fits all of those descriptions. Puerto Rico faces USA Basketball on the first Saturday of August at 10:15 a.m. on NBC.
Jose Alvarado today 🇪🇸vs🇵🇷
19PTS (8/13FG) (3/7 3PT)
1REB
1STL🇪🇸107-🇵🇷84 https://t.co/AHGwqWA4jG pic.twitter.com/njZ9C2djbl
— Nora (@B_X_I_14) July 23, 2024
WOW JUST WOW pic.twitter.com/PvG4OTYONS
— Jose Alvarado (@AlvaradoJose15) July 8, 2024
SUNS’ JOSH OKOGIE TESTS HIS PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS AT NBA SUMMER LEAGUE
Phoenix Suns guard Josh Okogie found a new hobby this offseason. He’s already putting his skills to the test.
Fresh off a two-year, $16 million extension with the Phoenix Suns, Josh Okogie went back to work at the Las Vegas Summer League — as a photographer.
The 25-year-old guard picked up the hobby this summer after purchasing a Sony Alpha 7 III camera while on vacation in Milan, Italy, during Fashion Week and was urged by a friend to test his skills capturing live basketball.
“I’m still not good,” Okogie admitted to ESPN. “I’ll say 90-95% of my pictures are B.S., but I feel like I’ve gotten better — slightly — each day I’ve taken pictures. I’ve kind of figured out how the camera works, how to do the settings, how to do the white balance and all that. So it’s been pretty cool.”
Okogie tried his hand behind the lens at the NBA Creator Cup celebrity game and followed with the Los Angeles Lakers–Houston Rockets summer league game before shooting his team, the Suns, as they took on the Golden State Warriors in Vegas.
New story: The Suns’ Josh Okogie participated in summer league in his own way as a sports photographer, trying his hand behind the lens. “You want the picture to replicate the feeling of the play for those who weren’t there,” Okogie told ESPN. https://t.co/aTgZIpGpIy
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 21, 2024
Josh Okogie here courtside to watch/photograph the Summer Suns pic.twitter.com/Ob2YtyeurS
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) July 14, 2024
THADDEUS YOUNG IS STILL LOOKING FOR A NEW TAKER
17-year veteran Thaddeus Young, who spent his first seven seasons repping the 76ers, also remains available for plucking in the free agency board. Last season, he split time in Toronto and Phoenix, playing a meager role that resulted in a career-low 13.3 minutes per outing.
Young has not indicated any plans on retiring just yet, though, making him a viable option even at 36. He is undoubtedly going to be a hard sell for most teams, but those in contention could highly value his basketball IQ, ample experience, and malleability on both ends.
He can only realistically play center at this point in his career, so being undersized does him a little favor here, if at all. Having said that, not a lot of big men have the innate passing instincts he has, and he’s still a solid finisher, albeit in limited servings. Still, any team in need of veteran leadership could do much worse than take a flier on Thadgic Johnson.
Thaddeus Young better than Kawhi all time btw pic.twitter.com/KcZkhnKq6G
— MaverickSZN 🇦🇺 (@Maverick_SZN) June 9, 2024
MICHAEL DEVOE STRONG IN NBA SUMMER LEAGUE
Full highlights and every shot made by Michael Devoe in 16-point performance in Suns at Thunder, 07/17/2024.
Doing what he does 😤@mdevoe0 Summer League stats thus far ⤵️
15 PPG | 4.3 RPG | 3.3 APG | 57% FG | 50% 3P | 18-21 FT (86%) pic.twitter.com/AY5WKanC8m
— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) July 18, 2024