The D-League ain’t big enough to hold Gelly

Whither Mickael Gelabale? Why, Boise, of course–with the Sonics’ D-League affiliate, the Stampede. Sent down to make room for the Supes’ current crop of overwhelming guards and swingmen, he’s been having his way with the lesser competition, most recently going 10-12 from the floor and hitting the game winning jumper in a defeat of the Anaheim Arsenal.

That he was unable to crack the Sonics’ anemic rotation at the age of 24 does not bode well for his career prospects, but Gelabale’s showed signs, in his short time with the Stampede, of turning a corner. Particularly encouraging are his numbers from long range (45.5% from three in the small sampling thus far). Last year, Gelabale ranked as the NBA’s best finisher around the basket, believe it or not. (Perhaps his success was a result of his remarkable physical fitness.) This year with the Supes the slight Frenchman was less dominant in the paint and also struggled with his jumper–the latter most likely the reason he was sent down. Thus, it’s good to see him knocking them down in Boise. Here’s hoping we’ll see him and Sene back in Seattle before long.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Stampede lineup is stacked with players of interest to hoop historians and local fans–Randy Livingston, who was robbed of stardom by multiple knee injuries that erased his trademark vertical jump; Cory Violette, formerly of Gonzaga; and Roberto Bergersen, the Decatur High Alum who, if I recall correctly that their schools were in the same classification at the time, battled Federal Way star and future lottery pick Michael Dickerson in what had to be considered a heyday for South Sound basketball.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Supersonics, Roundball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.