Headed to Las Vegas today for 50th birthday weekend.
On the agenda: Beverages. Pools. Blackjacks. Basketball?
Who knows, maybe I’ll find some time to squeeze in a little NBA Summer League at the nearby Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus. Because turns out the Mavs open play Friday afternoon against the Knicks.
For New York, there’ll be a familiar face in the form of Shane Larkin. And for the Mavs, Bernard James, Ricky Ledo, Gal Mekel and recently signed Australian guard Chris Goulding. Also on the team are former college standouts Chris Smith (Louisville) and C.J. Fair (Syracuse).
The league runs through July 21 and most games will be televised on NBATV. The Mavs’ squad, which practices at American Airlines Center through Thursday, will be coached by assistant Kaleb Canales.
The Mavs’ Summer League roster:
3 Dee Bost G 6-2 176 Mississippi St.
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4 Chris Smith G 6-2 200 Louisville
5 Bernard James C 6-10 230 Florida State
7 Ricky Ledo G 6-7 200 Providence
8 Axel Toupane G/F 6-6 194 France
10 C.J. Fair F 6-8 215 Syracuse
12 Eric Griffin F 6-8 194 Campbell
21 James Nunnally F 6-7 205 UC-Santa Barbara
24 Javon McCrea F 6-7 250 Buffalo
26 Sean Evans F 6-8 260 St. John’s
32 Jackie Carmichael F 6-9 240 Ilinois State
33 Gal Mekel G 6-3 202 Israel
43 Chris Goulding G 6-4 203 Australia
44 Ivan Johnson C 6-10 230 CS-San Bernardino
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.