Semaj Christon, Matt Stainbrook, and Jordan Crawford all took to the NBA summer hardwood in order to try to find a spot in the league. All three were coming from vastly different situations last year and looking to turn that success into a chance. Jordan Crawford is alone among the three in having some NBA experience already.
Christon was the star of Oklahoma City's NBDL team, putting up the kind of numbers that would have merited a promotion to a different backcourt. Living near Cleveland, it's hard not to think of what Semaj may have done given the chances Matthew Dellevadova got. Instead, Christon was knocked out in the first round of the D league playoffs.
Jordan Crawford was in China last year. No, he didn't venture there in search of a league that would allow him to shoot multiple balls on the same possession, but you can be forgiven for thinking that if you noted he got up 22 attempts per game. Those attempts led to 29.4 points per game and a 45% mark from the floor. A stint in the NBDL followed the time in China.
No self respecting Xavier fan needs a primer on what Matt Stainbrook was up to last season. At first renowned mostly for being large and wearing a bow tie, Stainbrook spent 33 games last year demonstrating that basketball talent can come in different packages than you would think. For 30 minutes against Arizona he put on a clinic of spinning, passing, and working angles and very nearly led Xavier to a shocking upset.
All three wait in limbo right now. Christon led the summer league with 6.8 assists per game to go with 15.6 points. Still, he's on a loaded team that has backcourt options. The latest rumors have Vuelle Pesaro (Italy) of the Euroleague interested in signing the Xavier product. Many other Xavier players have found success in Europe, but it's hard to imagine that Semaj can't play in the NBA right now.
It's equally hard to imagine that Jordan Crawford can't land a spot. He scored a little over 10 per summer league contest on his usual assortment of shooting every time he touched it. His last NBA game came in game seven of the 2014 playoffs for Golden State. In that game he scored 12 points in 12 minutes. Again, Matthew Dellevadova plays in NBA, surely Crawford can.
That leaves us with Matt Stainbrook. The Stain Train went for 5.0/4.2/1.8 in his summer league time. Stats are not really going to give the full Stainbrook experience though. He can be a valuable asset for a team that needs a big man that can rebound and work angles while giving the typical NBA leaper a rest. Is Matt ever going to be a star? No, but there are a lot of guys on a lot of rosters that he would be better than. It's just a matter of finding a chance.