Banks hits 42; Summer Suns fall
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 9, 2007 11:42 PM
LAS VEGAS - The Suns can't simulate the caliber of NBA regular-season play in this week's NBA Summer League.
They could not mimic the atmosphere in the opener Monday, when a few hundred people looked on at Thomas & Mack Center.
What these summer Suns can do is run how the parent club runs. To indoctrinate draft picks Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry, the Suns are trying to play fast and furious and are leaning on familiar Suns guards to make that happen.
Marcus Banks is the team's leader and played like it Monday, with a league-record 42 points in the Suns' 93-89 loss to Cleveland.
It is rare that a four-year veteran like Banks plays in such a venue but he needs the experience and confidence as much as the rookies after a disappointing initial Suns season that saw him fall out of the rotation after signing a five-year, $21 million contract a year ago.
Back in the college arena he left in 2003, Banks outclassed the draftees and hopeful free agents around him.
"It feels good," the Las Vegas native said. "Next year is going to be a big year for me. I know it . . . It's just about getting the opportunity. It felt really good. I had a blast out there. It was really fun. That was the whole idea of playing summer league - get that feeling back."
He still had more turnovers (six) than assists (three) but finished with a fourth-quarter flurry, which started when he hit three three-pointers and a three-point play on successive possessions. Banks scored 23 in the fourth on 5-of-8 shooting and finished the game with 12 free throw points.
He also set the tone for the pressure defense that Suns assistant Phil Weber, the summer head coach, wants to see.
"He's been unbelievable," Weber said. "He's embodied leadership over the young guys and worked incredibly hard."
Banks is also getting a new perspective from a possible future Suns assistant coach. Ex-Suns point guard Jay Humphries is working on Weber's bench this week and is a strong candidate to take the bench vacancy left by Marc Iavaroni, now Memphis' head coach.
Humphries, 44, coached the past five years in South Korea and a year in China. Phoenix drafted him 13th overall in 1984, and he played 3 1/2 seasons with the Suns before a trade to Milwaukee.
"The opportunity is good to show you understand this game and you're capable of helping," Humphries said. "Sometimes, when you're out of sight, you're out of mind but my basketball mind is good. I think have some qualities to be a coach in this league."
The summer league is also a player tryout of sorts.
With the guaranteed addition of Tucker (he scored 13 Monday with two last-minute shots), Phoenix still has a roster spot open. Strawberry's defense makes him a candidate. He had an up-and-down debut Monday with the highlight coming when he stole a wing pass and dunked in the open court on P.J. Tucker.
Summer pickup Pape Sow, an athletic big man formerly with Toronto, was expected to be in the mix but Otis George, a 6-foot-9 forward who is two years out of Louisville, has made more of a case in four practices and a 10-rebound game Monday.
"Otis is very interesting," Weber said. "He's definitely a guy we'll look at a lot. His size, length and skill set gives him a chance to play in this league."
