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The Bakersfield Jam were quick to consolidate their training camp roster following this weekend's D-League Draft, sending out camp invites to 16 players on Monday.
The roster is an eclectic mix of returning players, drafted players, players cut from the Suns training camp roster, and guys who were selected through a local tryout. Compared to other rosters, the Jam seem to have included a strikingly large number of older guys - 7 guys will be 27 or older before the start of the season - but this may be because the players likely to be optioned down this year (Ennis, Goodwin, and potentially TJ Warren) are all young and might benefit from a more hardscrabble group of veterans.
| Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | DOB | College/Country | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricardo Barbosa | G | 6-3 | 202 | 4/19/94 | Brazil | Draft (7th Rd) |
| Earl Barron | C | 7-0 | 250 | 8/14/81 | Memphis | Affiliate |
| Bill Clark | G | 6-5 | 205 | 4/15/88 | Duquesne | Draft (6th Rd) |
| Markeith Cummings | F | 6-6 | 240 | 12/21/88 | Kennesaw State | Returning |
| Kyle Fuller | G | 6-1 | 200 | 1/27/92 | Vanderbilt | Tryout |
| Joe Jackson | G | 6-0 | 167 | 2/8/92 | Memphis | Affiliate |
| Travele Jones | F | 6-8 | 205 | 11/19/88 | Texas Southern | Tryout |
| Mac Koshwal | F | 6-10 | 255 | 10/19/87 | DePaul | Returning |
| Renaldo Major | F | 6-6 | 210 | 5/7/82 | Fresno State | Returning |
| Elijah Millsap | G | 6-6 | 215 | 8/12/87 | UAB | Trade |
| Xavier Munford | G | 6-2 | 180 | 7/1/92 | Rhode Island | Trade |
| Casey Prather | F | 6-6 | 212 | 5/29/91 | Florida | Affiliate |
| Mohamed Tangara | F | 6-8 | 248 | 8/11/84 | Arizona | Draft (6th Rd) |
| Adrian Thomas | F | 6-7 | 224 | 4/30/87 | Miami | Returning |
| Robert Vaden | G | 6-5 | 220 | 3/3/85 | UAB | Draft (1st Rd) |
| Jamil Wilson | F | 6-7 | 230 | 11/20/90 | Marquette | Affiliate |
Credit: Bakersfield Jam Announcement
The guys drafted were covered in a previous article, so here we'll only provide a brief introduction to the players who weren't discussed there and that did not feature on the Suns' training camp roster.
Markeith Cummings
Cummings is a returning player who is a D-League veteran. Cummings was a 5 year player at Kennesaw State, where for his career as a four year starter he averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game. After college, he spent 2012-13 in the Philippines, where over 9 games he averaged 29 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals per game. Cummings played in 24 games for the Jam last season, averaging 12 minutes a game along with 6 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Kyle Fuller
Fuller is one of the few players who managed to turn a tryout invite into a camp invite, and he's hoping to be one of the few to get a roster spot. Fuller is a rookie out of Vanderbilt, where he was a two year starter at PG. Last season for Vandy he averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
Travele Jones
Travele Jones is the other tryout player on the training camp roster, and he comes with more experience than Fuller. Jones transferred to Texas Southern after two years at Los Angeles City College. As a two year starter at PF, Jones averaged 15 points, 6 rebounds 2 assist and 2 steals per game. Despite a particularly impressive 2011 season, where Jones was named the SWAC Player of the Year, Jones went undrafted and was not invited to any Summer League teams. In 2011, Jones played in Switzerland, where he averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals per game. In 2012, Jones appeared briefly in the Belgian league before settling in to play for the Sendai 89ers in Japan for the 2013 season.
Mac Koshwal
Koshwal is a returning member of the Jam, having played in all but 1 game last season and getting 16 starts and averaging 20 minutes per game. Koshwal has lingered around the NBA for a while after coming out of DePaul in 2011. Koshwal, despite playing on a pretty bad DePaul team, was often in the running for All-ACC awards. In his final season in 2010, Koshwal averaged a double-double, putting up 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. After going undrafted, Koshwal spent time in Spain in 2010-2011, but didn't see playing time. He received Summer League invites from Detroit in 2010 and New Orleans in 2012, but these never turned into a roster spot. In 2013 the 76ers invited him to training camp, and he played in three pre-season games before being cut and signed by the Jam. For the season last year Koshwal averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Renaldo Major
Major is one of the veterans of the team, and one of the few with experience in the NBA. In 2006-07, Major appeared in a game for Golden State after receiving a 10 day contract. Since then, Major has been a D-League lifer, playing in each of the last 6 seasons, including the last three in Bakersfield. For his D-League career he has averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and an assist per game. Last season Major was activated for only 11 games. However, in 17 games in Finland he averaged 11 points and 4 rebounds in 26 minutes per game. Major is considered a defensive specialist, having won the 2007 D-League DPOY Award.
Xavier Munford
Munford was drafted by the Maine Red Claws in the 3rd round of the D-League Draft, but the Jam acquired him for the rights of John Petrucelii, their 8th round pick, as well as the rights to returning player Jake O'Brien. Munford was a two year starter for Rhode Island, where he averaged 17 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1 steal per game for his career.
Adrian Thomas
Thomas is a veteran D-League player who's rights are controlled by the Jam. He played big minutes for the Jam in 2011-2012 and 2012-13, but does not seem to have appeared at all in the 2013-14 campaign. He was a sometimes starter for Miami as a college player. In 80 career games for the Jam, Thomas has averaged 6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He has been something of a sharpshooter on previous Jam teams, with the vast majority of his shot attempts coming from behind the arc.
Jamil Wilson (because I don't think we ever really covered him before)
Wilson was a 5 year college player, which explains his somewhat advanced age in this year's draft. After beginning his career with Oregon, where he started 14 games as a freshman, Wilson transferred to Marquette. He played sporadic minutes for Marquette until his senior season, when he started all 32 games for the Golden Eagles. In his senior season, he averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Wilson was a participant in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, where he averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds on 52% shooting, and was a member of the 2014 Wooden Legacy All-Tournament Team. He was a member of Washington's Summer League team, where he appeared in all 6 games. He averaged 7 points, 3 rebounds and an assist. Wilson played only about 9 minutes total for the Suns during the pre-season before being cut.