We've talked about former William & Mary star Jimmy Moran here a handful of times over the years. Almost always, it's in the context of the ill-fated 1997-98 Tribe team that went 20-6 and tied for the CAA regular season title before losing in the first round of the conference tournament with Moran and all-league guard Randy Bracy (who, incidentally, is now a member of the Florida State Senate) hobbled by injuries. What might have been, friends. What might have been.Moran went on to play for Gran Canaria in Spain for 10 seasons, becoming the first and still only player from that little island's team to have his number retired. In 2014, he became the Portland Trailblazers' assistant video coordinator, before being named a full-time assistant for the Blazers before the 2015-16 season. For the past two summers, Moran has coached Portland's NBA Summer League team.
And this summer, in what is certainly an omen - and I will brook no opposition to this point - Moran led the Summer Blazers to a championship.
Portland went undefeated in seven games in Las Vegas, capping their run with a 91-73 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship game. KJ McDaniels scored 17 points and grabbed 7 boards, Wade Baldwin added 14 and 4, with 6 assists, and Caleb Swanigan filled the stat sheet with 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Obviously, Moran was the key. Here are his pre-summer-season thoughts about the team's priorities. Keep it simple, stupid always plays.
Moran leads the Blazers to a title. Marcus Thornton scored 14 today to help Armored Athlete advance to the second round of The Basketball Tournament.
It's all happening, Gheorghies.
Posts
