Louis King became the first NBA Call Up from the RGV Vipers, signing a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. He is the 51st overall call up from the Vipers to the NBA in team history.
King appeared in 18 games for the Vipers, starting in 17, all during the first portion of the season, known as the G League Showcase Cup. He averaged 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Following that call up, the Vipers acquired Shawn Occeus. Occeus was part of the Vipers training cam roster at the beginning of the season. He played 33 games with the Vipers during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns. He started in 16 of those games, averaging 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
He graduated from Northeastern in 2019 and was named the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.
NOW IT’S FOR REAL
For the second straight year, the G League has divided its season into two parts. The first part is a 16-game schedule in which the top eight teams advance to Showcase Cup tournament in Las Vegas. RGV tallied a 12-4 record during that portion of the season but lost in the first round for the second straight year, 102-96, to the Windy City Bulls.
It won its second game, however, scoring 41 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 125-119 victory over the Iowa Wolves. Houston Rockets assignee Josh Christopher hit the game-winning 3-pointer and finished with 23 points, tied with Jalen Lecque for the team lead in scoring. The Vipers outscored the Wolves 41-19 in the final period.
EXPLOSIVE OPENER
The Vipers scored 51 points in the second quarter, led 76-50 at the half and cruised past the Delaware Blue Coats 138-99 in both teams’ regular-season opener at the Chase Fieldhouse.
Trevor Hudgins and Darius Days led the offensive barrage with 35 and 28 points, respectively. They both had more than 25 points midway through the third quarter. They were a combined 14-of-25 (56%) from beyond the arc. As a team, the Vipers converted on 21-of- 51 3-pointers. Days also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds as the Vipers held a 50-39 advantage on the boards. Hudgins led the team with eight assists.
Cassius Stanley scored 14 points, Jalen Lecque and Mustapha Heron added 13, while Josh Reaves added 11 and Ray Spalding scored 10 to go with eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.
Michael Foster Jr. and Jaden Springer scored 18 and 17, respectively, for Delaware.
The Vipers return to action at 4 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday against the Maine Celtics at the Portland Expo Building in Portland, Maine.
