Nine former IU basketball players have or will play the game at the highest level during the 2020-21 NBA season. We will be monitoring their seasons with weekly updates.
Below we summarize their year to date performance with NBA stats and notes through 20 weeks of the season and provide a brief update on each player.
Victor Oladipo – Miami
Victor Oladipo played in four games for the Miami Heat before getting injured. While the first two games were a struggle at times, he was just starting to get his feet under him before exiting the April 8 matchup against the Lakers due to a right knee injury.
He has not returned since and there have been limited updates on his status. According to an April 18 report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Oladipo is expected to come back this season.
While he is making progress, it is unclear exactly when he will return, although it will not be Tuesday against the Celtics as Oladipo did not travel with the team to Boston.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 33/33
MPG – 32.7
Points – 19.8
Rebounds – 4.8
Assists – 4.6
Blocks – 0.4
Steals – 1.4
FG% – .408
3FG% – .326
FT% – .754
Eric Gordon – Houston
According to a March 12 report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Gordon was expected to be out 4-6 weeks with a groin strain.
There has not been much update on Gordon’s timetable for return since then, as he remains sidelined for the Rockets. It is possible, with only four games left, that he remains sidelined for the rest of the season.
Before going out with an injury, Gordon was averaging 17.8 points per game in just over 29 minutes of action.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 27/13
MPG – 29.2
Points – 17.8
Rebounds – 2.1
Assists – 2.6
Blocks – 0.5 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 0.5
FG% – .433
3FG% – .329
FT% – .825
OG Anunoby – Toronto
Anunoby has not played since May 1 against the Utah Jazz, when he finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 41 minutes.
He has been battling a calf injury lately and it appears as though the Raptors are being cautious as the season winds down.
The Raptors have made the playoffs seven consecutive seasons. That streak looks like it will come to an end this year, as they are 4.5 games back of the 10 seed Indiana Pacers and only have four games left on their schedule.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 43/43
MPG – 33.3 (Career High)
Points – 15.9 (Career High)
Rebounds – 5.5 (Career High)
Assists – 2.2 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.7 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 1.5 (Career High)
FG% – .480
3FG% – .398 (Career High)
FT% – .784 (Career High)
Thomas Bryant – Washington
Bryant continues to be sidelined, as he suffered a torn ACL to his left knee during the first quarter of a 128-124 loss to the Miami Heat on January 9 that will keep him out for the remainder of this season.
The injury came at a time when Bryant was starting to play consistent basketball and was averaging career highs in both minutes played and points per game.
However, the focus for Bryant now shifts towards coming back even stronger next year.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 10/10
MPG – 27.1 (Career High)
Points – 14.3 (Career High)
Rebounds – 6.1
Assists – 1.5
Blocks – 0.8
Steals – 0.4
FG% – .648 (Career High)
3FG% – .429 (Career High)
FT% – .667
Cody Zeller – Charlotte
Cody Zeller saw action in all four of Charlotte’s games this past week, playing at least 16 minutes in each contest.
He recorded double-digit points in three games, barely missing out on 10 points in all four games.
In the one game he did not score at least 10 points, he finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds in the Hornets 122-112 win on Friday over the Orlando Magic.
His best game of the week came against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. In a 112-110 loss, Zeller played 22 minutes and finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds.
The Hornets are currently eighth in the East with a record of 33-35 as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
They are one game ahead of the nine seed Washington Wizards and two games back of the seven seed Boston Celtics.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 44/20
MPG – 20.3
Points – 9.2
Rebounds – 6.8
Assists – 1.8
Blocks – 0.4
Steals – 0.6
FG% – .551
3FG% – .143
FT% – .706
Romeo Langford – Boston
Langford saw action in one of the Celtics three games last week.
He played 3 minutes in a 121-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday and finished with 2 assists.
Boston is 35-33 and currently seventh place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the fifth seed Atlanta Hawks and sixth seed Miami Heat by two games.
The Celtics remaining schedule starts with a home contest against the Miami Heat on Tuesday and then they are on the road for the final three games of the regular season.
Wednesday they play at Cleveland, Saturday at Minnesota, and Sunday at New York.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 15/3
MPG – 14.6 (Career High)
Points – 2.3
Rebounds – 1.9 (Career High)
Assists – 0.7 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
FG% – .310
3FG% – .267 (Career High)
FT% – 1.000 (Career High)
Juwan Morgan – Utah
Juwan Morgan briefly saw action in two games last week. On the season, he has appeared in 27 games for the Jazz, who are a league best 50-18.
Morgan did not play in Saturday’s game against Houston due to a heel injury.
Arguably Morgan’s top two performances of the season are against the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a 127-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on April 17, Morgan had arguably his second best game of the season. In 20 minutes, he had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Still the highlight of this season for Morgan was his January 29 performance against the Dallas Mavericks, which was televised on ESPN. He finished the game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals in 21 minutes of action. Also impressive was his efficiency, shooting 5-8 from the field and 2-4 from three point range.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 27/0
MPG – 5.1
Points – 1.2
Rebounds – 1.0
Assists – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
Blocks – 0.0
Steals – 0.1 (Career High)
FG% – .481
3FG% – .308
FT% – .429
Yogi Ferrell – Los Angeles Clippers
Yogi Ferrell signed with the Los Angeles Clippers for the rest of the season and appeared briefly in a 118-94 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Ferrell also appeared in two games for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. However, his 10-day contract with them ended with him being waived.
He was in attendance for the NBA G League regular season, running from February 10 to March 6 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
In 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars, he averaged 15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in 28.3 minutes per contest. The Stars went 4-11.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 6/0
MPG – 12.2
Points – 5.5
Rebounds – 1.3
Assists – 2.7
Blocks – 0.2 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 0.7
FG% – .364
3FG% – .375
FT% – .600
Noah Vonleh – Free Agent
Noah Vonleh appeared in four games for the Brooklyn Nets this season after being signed on February 8. He averaged 2.8 minutes per game.
However, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Vonleh was waived by the Nets on February 23.
In 339 career games played, he has averages of 4.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 4/0
MPG – 2.8
Points – 0.0
Rebounds – 0.3
Assists – 0.3
Blocks – 0.0
Steals – 0.0
FG% – .000
3FG% – .000
FT% – N/A (Has Not Attempted)
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