T-Rock Fires Away Rocket rookie Terence Morris turns and puts up a shot over a Dallas defender pic snapped by Achebe of the Clutch BBS

The first thing we brought up was his ejection, and man, did he feel bad about it. He just kind of shook his head in wonder, and in this little softspoken voice, said, "Man, I don't think I've had 2 technicals before in my entire career." We told him we had his back on that call, and his reputation was intact.

We also asked him about his role in the coming year. Would he start? He pretty much dismissed that right off. Maybe he was just being modest, but he really doesn't think he's going to start. "Too many veterans in front of me" he said. Veterans? The Wizard? I pressed him on this, and he said that he just wants a chance to get into game situations, and get more minutes, and that's all he'll ask for. Typical cautious talk, but he really doesn't think he'll start. (I even mentioned the bet going on in the BBS... told him a lot of people wanted him to start...) :)

Next we asked him if he saw himself spending time at the 2 or the 4 spot. To this he sounded like he may very well end up logging time as a guard. He said that most of the games in L.A. they had him at the 2, and that he had spent some time at the 2 today. So this is more and more looking like a backup plan perhaps for Dan.

We also had a chance to ask him about the Jason Collier situation. How was his leg, etc? We were trying to get him to say that Collier wasn't fully healthy yet, or to tell us he was fully healthy, one or the other. But he kind of dodged. Not in so many words, but he basically said that Jason has a lot on his mind lately, what with getting married and all,and that no amount of gym workouts will get you ready for an actual game. He emphasized that actually running the floor is much more difficult that rehab. Seems to me all the more reason to get him on the floor, but that was all we got out of Dan.

Also, kind of a funny story. I missed warmup, but Moe said that Dan was in the locker room while the team was having their shootaround. Well it turns out that Dan had gone home between L.A. and the RMR, and that the airlines had lost his luggage! So he was out buying some shoes so he could play! Then his cell phone rang, and he had to go.

Axel Dench stayed around to hang with some Gonzaga buddies, so we tied him down for a couple of minutes. Again, he was a really nice guy, and all I could think of was I better do this right for Smegg.

Moe asked him about Australia, and how he liked playing there, and Axel made the comment that most NBA executives consider the Aussie league to be the second best league in the world now, especially after last season. I don't know about that, but he said it was a good league, and he really enjoys getting to play over here whenever and wherever he can.

We asked him if he felt his game fit the Rockets system, and he said that he really did. We asked him what he thought his biggest strengths were, and he said that mostly, he felt that he could run the pick and roll well, and hit his outside shots, which is something the Rockets were looking for. Then I asked him if he would compare himself at all to Jason Collier, since Collier is also a big man known for his shots, and he said probably not, because Collier has a stronger inside presense, and that he (Axel) was more of a perimeter big man. He said he felt comfortable hitting threes, and lamented at the officials taking away his made 3 during the game.

"Just give me more of those shots," said Dench.

We asked him if he knew about Collier's status, and this is significant. He told us that Jason had actually tweaked his leg in L.A., and that's why they sent him back. He also said that the Rockets are not happy with his progress at all. Interesting that he would have picked that out just from the summer leagues, because he told us that he honestly didn't even know the entire Rockets roster. It must have been a topic of conversation within his hearing.

We asked him if he felt that the Rockets were giving him signs as far as maybe signing him on as a role player, and he said that he felt he was definitely getting more respect and more of a shot this year. He said they've doubled his minutes from last year, and he feels that they're happy with his performance.

When we asked him what he would bring to the table, he said with a smile, "Me? I just foul and shoot"

Player Ratings
Eddie Griffin
The man of the hour. With Moe busy with the play by play, I busied myself watching mainly this man, er, boy. He made a good first impression. For a young guy, he's pretty smart out on the floor. Unlike Cato, who seems raw and out of control (or just lethargic), Griffin seems... I don't know how to say it... focused. He looks like he's concentrating very hard out there, but he doesn't look too nervous or lost, especially on defense. Offensively, however, there's a lot of reason to be concerned. For one, his hands are disturbing. He let several catchable passes slip through his fingers, and that hurt his ability to finish and run the break significantly. That's something he'll need to work on. He airballed twice, and missed a couple easy jumpers, and seemed a lot less confident with the ball in his hands. On the other hand, he had a couple of nice dunks, one a particularly nice alley-oop from T-Mo. Defensively, he looks great. I logged at least 3 blocks for him, one from behind, and he grabbed several rebounds. He has a good presence down low when he sets his feet, and he made a lot of his rebounds look easy. His one on one defense looked good when he was defending in the post, but I he did get burned really bad one time when Harvey faced him up. Finished the game with 12 points. Grade: B

Dan Langhi
Dan continues to show his improvement all over the floor. The question has been raised, can he score against legit NBA players? I don't know, but he can certainly score in the summer leagues... Suprisingly didn't get too many touches in the first half, but came out huge in the third period by hitting four consecutive shots to start the period. He was all over the place, driving, going between the legs, pulling up with a man in his face. They had to start triple-teaming to slow him down. Dan was really the only one creating his own shot on a consistant basis out there. He was carrying the team on his back until 4:12 to go in the 4th. The ball got knocked loose and Dan and a Maverick went after it, until finally it got swatted out of bounds. It was kind of a close call, but Dan and all of us on nearby thought it was Rockets ball. No dice. I can't repeat what he said, but the little kid next to me asked her mom what that word meant. A little more encouragement from Dan is all the ref needed to send him packing. The look on his face will me etched in my memory till the day I die. Classic! :) Dan has really come a long way from last year's Revue. He's assertive on offense, and even had a strong presense on the boards. Finished the game with 13 points, and a sour expression on his face. Grade: A-

Terence Morris
Most of his noticable play came from his rebounds, and most of them were defensive. His only score was a putback dunk, and that was it (but it was a nasty dunk). For those who wonder if he has a shot, he did attempt a 15 ft. jumper from the baseline, but it didn't go in. He also posted up once, but missed that as well. Didn't really see any offensive production at all from him until Dan was ejected, although he did have toss a SWEET alley-oop pass to Griffin falling out of bounds. Finished with a lowly 2 points. Grade: B-

Sean Colson
Started at point, and did well enough. Had a couple of boneheaded turnovers, but was able to hit some outside shots, and has some good moves. He had a really nice alley-oop to Kelly late in the game. Did a fair job at running the pick and roll with Dan. Finished the game with 9 points. Grade: B

Axel Dench
Plays smaller than he is. But good offensive game. Sort of. He seemed untapped. Called for the ball several times and didn't get it, but probably should have. At one point he made a 3, but they took it away over an unrelated foul or something. Great range for a big man, but not much beef inside. Only 2 points for the Aussie. (sorry Smegg) Grade: C-

Darren Kelly - Hit a couple of nice shots, and was able to create on his own a couple of times, without looking like a ball hog. Plays the passing lanes very well, and forced a couple of turnovers with 2 or 3 steals. Had a pretty good game, scoring 6 points in limited time. No chance of making the team though. Grade: B-

Venson Hamilton - Pretty quiet. Grabbed a couple of rebounds, and had a nice followup dunk, but very little else to say about him. 2 points. Grade: C

Omar Sneed - The main thing I noticed about Sneed was his hustle. He was probably the most aggresive player for the Rockets outside of Langhi and Griffin. Had a couple of good garbage rebounds, (is that an oxymoron?) and a good block. Finished the game with 4 points. Grade: C+

Alex Jensen - Hometown favorite here didn't get to play last year because of injury. Didn't see a lot of minutes, and didn't do much with what he got. His only points came from making his free throws after he was fouled driving to the basket. 2 points for Alex. Grade: D+

Roderick Blakeney - Rod was very, very erratic. He and Colson split point duty, but Colson had a lot more success. I counted at least 5 unforced turnovers for him, most of them embarrassing. He was probably real nervous, and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but he's really got a lot of work cut out for him if he wants to make it at this level. On the other hand, he does have a good shot, and he spent some time at 2 guard. Finished with 5. Grade: D

• Rockets are a Reck at the Revue by Jonathan Griffin
• ClutchCity.net: Rockets Summer League Coverage