Where is? Roundball Coach finds those players who were once in the sports news, but now they are  out in the perifery of the roundball world   Where is Gerry McNamara Its nearly time for the Big East Tournament. Remember who was the star of last years tourney in Madison Square Garden? It was Gerry McNamara. Playing on one good leg, he led Syracuse to the championship by hitting a number of big shots. McNamara hit a 3-pointer with less than a second left to send Syracuse past Cincinnati I the opening round and then the next day he nailed another 3-ball in the closing seconds to tie number one ranked Connecticut. The Orangemen won the game in overtime. In a semi-final win over Georgetown, McNamara hit a three-pointer to cut the Hoyas' lead to one, handed out the game-winning assist to freshman guard Eric Devendorf and forced a game-clinching turnover in the closing seconds. Finally in the championship game, McNamara played a key role in Syracuse's 65-61 over Pittsburgh with 14 points and 6 assists. He played just one more game, for Syracuse, and that was a NCAA opening round lost to Texas A&M in Jacksonville. McNamara began his pro career playing with the Orlando Magic’s summer league team but he wasn’t offered a contract. In September he signed with Olympiacos BC, but he played only one minute in five games and when he left the team he received a $90,000 contract settlement, not bad for a minutes worth of your time. In December McNamara signed on with the Bakersfield Jam in the NBDL. McNamara is Bakersfield starting point guard. He is averaging 13.5 points and 6.4 assists. His 3-point shooting numbers are down from his college days. He is shooting just 39% from the field and 28% on 3-pointers. In his last game he scored nine points with eight assists, but unfortunately it was another Jam loss. Bakersfield has the worst record in the NBDL with a 7-22 mark. McNamara has gone from first to worst.         Where is Lonnie Baxter? Back in August Baxter was in the news after he celebrated his new contract with Montepaschi Siena, in the Italian League, by firing a gun within blocks of the White House. Baxter was charged in the incident and served some jail time which ended in October. Baxter made it to Italy in time to play in Montepaschi Siena’s first game, which was a 79-63 win over Alba Berlin. Baxter played 12 minutes and hit all four of his shots, grabbed six rebounds and scored 11 points. The former Maryland Terrapin was pleased with his debut, “It was my opening game of the season and I'm satisfied because we really played as a team." Baxter’s most productive game was his fourth, he scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds and hit 8-of-13 shots. In his last regular season game he had 16 points and nine rebounds. During the regular season Baxter averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds and his team won Group C with an 8-2 record. In Montepaschi’s first playoff game, Baxter didn’t make much of an offensive contribution in a 79-62 win over Paok on January 30th. He had three points and four rebounds in 13 minutes. Montepaschi’s leading scorer in the game was Joseph Forte, another American import. Forte, who played at North Carolina, scored 25, almost double his regular season average of 13.3. Forte has scored in double-digits in 10 of the 11 games he has played in this season. Montepaschi and Paok will play game two of the best of three first round series on February 13th. This is Baxter’s third season overseas and his second playing in Italy. He was drafted and signed by the Chicago Bulls and then he bounced around to the Toronto Raptors, the Washington Wizards, the New Orleans Hornets, the Houston Rockets and the Charlotte Bobcats. The undersized 6-foot-8 post player averaged 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 162 NBA games.   Where is Trajan Langdon? Trajan Langdon has certainly been around the world in his basketball career. He played his high school games in Anchorage, Alaska, his college ball at Duke and now he is playing professional basketball for CSKA Moscow in Russia. In between Duke and Moscow, Langdon played three seasons in the NBA for the Cavaliers and then the odyssey began. He played in Italy in 2002-03, moved to Turkey for the 2003-04 season and then on to Russia for the 2004-05 season. He first played for MBC Dynamo Moscow for one season and then he signed with CSKA Moscow. This season Langdon is averaging 12.6 points and 4.7 rebounds. His high game is 22 and he is shooting 56.2% on 2-pointers, 37.9% on 3-balls and 88% at the free throw line. In his last game Trajan scored 15 points in 23 minutes in CSKA’s 88-72 win over Zalgiris. Langdon said this about the victory, “Good win and the important one in terms of the rivalry between our teams. After a good start, we missed some important shots in the third quarter, but later came back playing focused." CSKA is 11-1 and leading Group C with two more regular season games to play.     Where is Harold Arceneaux?   In the 1999 NCAA Tourney, Harold Arceneaux burst upon the scene with two memorable performances against two big name schools. In the opening round against North Carolina, Arceneaux scored 36 points, including 20 in the second half, in Weber State’s improbable 76-74 win over the Tar Heels. Arceneaux made a pair of free throws with 13.3 seconds left, and he intercepted a North Carolina pass as time expired. In the next round against Florida, Arceneaux scored 32, but the Gators ended Weber’s dream in overtime 82-74. They called Arceneaux “The Show” and he wanted to play in the show so he bolted from Weber State after his junior season. Unfortunately Arceneaux wasn’t drafted by a NBA team and he was forced to make his roundball living playing overseas in Australia, France, Portugal, the Phillipines, and Venzeuala. Check out the uniform to the left. Is there any room left for one more advertisement? Arceneaux returned to the states in 2004-05 to play in the ABA. His Utah Snowbears went 27-1 and he scored 42 in his last game before the franchise folded. This season he is playing with another Utah based team. The Eagles, who play in the CBA. Arceneaux is the team’s second leading scorer averaging 17 points with five rebounds. Soon he will be 30 years old and “The Show” is still along way from playing in the show.       Sean Dockery's buzzer-beating, game-winning shot    Where is Sean Dockery? Sean Dockery is best known for his near half-court heave, at the buzzer, that gave Duke an ACC win over Virginia Tech on December 4, 2005. In fact prior to Virginia Tech edging the Blue Devils in overtime on January 6, 2006, the Hokies seemed to be haunted by the miracle shot.  Story During the television broadcast of this seasons Duke/Virginia Tech game it was mentioned that Dockery was playing in Germany. Not true, now. Sean has just joined the Fort Worth Flyers, one of the top teams in the NBDL. Dockery made his NBDL debut just hours after the Hokies nipped Duke. What a coincidence. In his first game Dockery played 14 minutes and scored two points. He was 1-of-2 from the field and had an assist, a steal and a turnover. Sean’s new coach is Sidney Moncrief and his teammates include-Pops Mensah-Bonsu from George Washington and Luke Schenscher, who played at Georgia Tech. Dockery did start this season playing in Germany for the Artland Dragons. He participated in 14 games and averaged 7.6 points. In Sean’s last game, with the Dragons, 3,000 fans showed up to give him a proper sendoff which included a standing ovation.  Ellenberger coaching the Bulls  Norm Ellenberger is a head coach once again At New Mexico in the 1970’s Norm Ellenberger had the Lobos clicking. They won two WAC championships in 1974 and 1978 and compiled an overall record of 134-62. His teams were frequently ranked among the Top 25 in the nation. Michael Cooper played for Stormin Norman at this time. However, a recruiting scandal of major proportions ended Ellenberger’s run in Albuquerque. After the scandal, Ellenberger found work as an assistant at UTEP, Indiana, and with the Chicago Bulls. So where is he now? He is coaching girl’s high school basketball in Wisconsin.  story       Joey Meyer followed a legend at DePaul. His father, Hall of Famer, Ray Meyer. Dad coached for 42 seasons and had a 724-354 record. Son lasted 13 seasons and had a 231-158 record, including six 20-win seasons, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and three NIT bids. He was even named CBS Chevrolet Coach of the Year in 1987. But it all ended for Meyer at DePaul in 1997. Since then he has continued to coach. He has worked with USA Basketball and he has coached in basketball’s minor leagues: Meyer coached the Chicago Skyliners, of the ABA, to a league-best 29-11 record en route to a Western Conference Championship. He led the NBDL Asheville Altitude to their first playoff appearance and guided them to a league-best 28-18 (.609) finish on the way to the organization’s first regular and postseason championship. In 2005, Meyer led the Tulsa 66ers, also of the NBDL, to a .500 record, winning seven of the last eight games of the regular season. This season Meyer has some recognizable names on his roster in Tulsa. Denham Brown (Connecticut), Jean Felix (Alabama) and Marcus Taylor (Michigan State).     Where is Ronnie Fields? They say he had a 48-inch vertical leap.  They say he once rebounded his own free throw miss and took a step in the lane and then threw down a vicious dunk. They all thought he would be a star.  But the 6-foot-3 Chicago high school prep phenom never even played in college.  What happened?  A series of events that changed his roundball life forever.  He got busted for sexual assault, broke his neck in a car accident and failed to qualify academically at DePaul.  So, instead of winding up in the NBA he was playing for former DePaul coach Joey Meyer, in Chicago, in the ABA. Fields, when healthy, now makes his home in the CBA.  In 2005-2006, with the Rockford Lightening, he averaged 22.2 points per game and led the league with 2.3 steals per game.  Fields is the only player in the history of the CBA to lead the league in both scoring and steals in two straight seasons.  Fields was suppose to join his old coach, Chris Daleo from the Lightening, in Minot, North Dakota.  But his days with the Skyrockets were short.  A couple of weeks ago he was injured and according to Daleo he won’t be playing for Minot this season.  Daleo told the Minot Daily News, “The plan was in order and things were going as planned-until that happened.  Ronnie is a good veteran player and a solid defender.” Fields was recently mentioned in a Sports Illustrated article on Derrick Rose. However, they didn’t mention that he is currently in roundball limbo.  You Tube Video of Ronnie Fields flying Where is Tim Hardaway? The former member of Run DMC at Golden State, with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, is in basketball limbo.  Hardaway was the player coach of the ABA’s Florida Pit Bulls.  But the Pit Bulls decided not to play in the ABA playoffs and they have left that league.  Or did the Pit Bulls fail to show up for games in Long Island and Montreal at the end of last season because of a dispute over unpaid bills that were incurred when the Bulls hosted the league’s All-Star game and hence were ousted from the ABA?  Yea, there are two stories as to why the Pit Bulls are no longer mentioned on the ABA’s web site.  The Pit Bulls sought entry into the NBDL, but they were denied. So now the plan is to join the CBA for the 2007-08 season.  In the meantime Hardaway, who is now 40, deals with his kids and his car wash business.  He still thinks he can play in the NBA.   Marcus Liberty  Where is Marcus Liberty? I have always placed Marcus Liberty in the same player category as Felipe Lopez and Darius Miles.  Guys who are suppose to be great, but it never quite worked out.  Liberty led Martin Luther King High School to the Illinois Class AA title in 1986.  In 1987 he was the number one ranked high school player in the country.  Every college wanted Liberty, but only Illinois got him. In 1989 the Illini made it to the Final Four.  Inn 1990 Liberty was drafted by the Denver Nuggets. In the NBA, Marcus never averaged more than nine points a game and he never played more than an average of 20 minutes a night.  By the age of 25 Liberty was out of the NBA and traveling the world to play roundball.  He played in Puerto Rico, Japan, Turkey, Sweden, Chile, France and Greece.  In 2000, he began his coaching career at Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas. Now, at the age of 38, Liberty is playing for the Chicago Rockstars of the ABA.  In the Rockstars’ first game of the season on November 10, Liberty was second in scoring with 14 points and led the team in rebounds (9), steals (4) and assists (4).  The Rockstars beat Minnesota 94-88. Liberty told the Chicago Tribune, "Nobody got the chance to see the real Marcus Liberty in the NBA," Liberty said. "Some say I was a flop, but I didn't work hard enough to stay in the NBA. I blame myself. My thing is to show these younger kids what it takes to get to the NBA."  Kevin Pittsnogle Mike Gansey  Where is Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey? Kevin Pittsnogle is the sixth-leading scorer in West Virginia history.  A 6-foot-11 tattooed daddy, who can step out and shoot a three.  In fact he made a school record 253 and averaged 19.3 points his senior season, but he wasn’t drafted by the NBA.  Pittsnogle played for the Miami Heats’ summer league team and then in late July he signed a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics.  After being cut by the Celtics, Pittsnogle began negotiations with the Pittsburgh Xplosion of the shrinking CBA.  This week Pittsnogle signed with the team and he will play in the eight-team league and on the same team with former NBA player Armon Gilliam. Mike Gansey teamed up with Pittsnogle for two seasons following a transfer from St. Bonaventure.  The 6-foot-4 shooting guard averaged 14 points in 68 games with the Mountaineers.  In July he signed with the Heat and played on their summer league team.  In early October the Heat let him go.  So where is he?  He isn’t in the CBA or the NBDL and I couldn't find him in that ever expanding ABA.  Has anybody seen Mike Gansey? Kennedy Winston at Alabama Winston as a pro  Where is Kennedy Winston? 6-foot-6 Kennedy Winston averaged 16 points per game over his three year career at the University of Alabama.  He was an All-SEC player in his sophomore and junior season.  But after the 2004-05 season he wanted to go pro.  At the objection of his coach, Mark Gottfried, he signed with an agent instead of leaving the door open for to return to college if the NBA draft didn‘t work out for him.  In a draft in which the top names at small forward were Marvin Williams, Danny Granger and Hakim Warrick- Winston went undrafted.  In July of this year he told Ray Melick of the Birmingham News, “Knowing what I know now, I'd rather have stayed and played my last year," Kennedy said.  ``When you're out here, you're done with school.  You can't go back. And then you realize, college is your best time.  I just didn't realize it." In the summer of 2005 Winston played for the Grizzlies’ 2005 Summer Pro League team where he averaged 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in seven games. In September the Grizzlies signed him to a free agent contract but he didn’t stick. Kennedy spent last year making $130,000 and playing in Spain.  He came off the bench and averaged 10.5 points.  This season Winston is playing for Panionios Forthnet Athens of Greek's A1.  In a game this weekend his play was described on a Euro Basketball site as being very “bad”.  Kennedy hit just 2-of-11 of his shots from the field.   El-Amin playing overseas  Where is Khalid El-Amin? Khalid El-Amin was known as the “doughboy” on the 1999 University of Connecticut team that beat Duke 77-74 for the NCAA National Championship.  El-Amin played 50 games in the NBA and since 2000 has been on a tour of the Globe, playing Israel, France, Turkey and now the Ukraine.  Last season he played for Azovmash Mariupol in Ukriane.  El-Amin was fifth in EuroCup scoring averaging 19.8.  He had back-to-back 27-point games and has also tossed in 25 and 24 points in two other games.  He made 42% of his three-point shots and averaged 3.6 assists. El-Amin told the Norwich Bulletin that he would like to return to the NBA but he needs a guaranteed deal.  "Right now, I'm making great money over there and I don't want to pass it up for chances and something that's not guaranteed," said El-Amin.  Where is? archive    Josh  Pace Where is Josh Pace? Josh played his high school basketball in Griffin, Georgia. I had the pleasure of calling the play-by-play of all the games in his freshman season.  Josh, from the start, was a consummate team player who could score.  Check out these audio highlights from his freshman season.  Josh left Griffin and went to Syracuse and played on the 2003 national championship team.  He averaged seven points per game in his four-year career at Syracuse including 10.8 his senior season. Pace is now playing pro ball in New Zealand in the NBL.  In his first season with the Nelson Giants, Pace was the team’s leading scorer.  He averaged 19.1 points per game and had game high scoring honors in five of the Giants’ 18 games.  Pace also led the Giants in assists and steals and he averaged 6.5 rebounds.   Will Bynum  Where is Will Bynum?   The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket, who averaged 9.6 points and 12.5 points in his two seasons at the Atlanta school and 3.6 points in 15 games for Golden State in 2005-06, is now playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel’s top pro team.  Bynum made his debut with Maccabi on October 26 and scored 29 points in a 106-101 overtime win over Unicaja Malaga.  Maccabi led 34-16 in the first half.  Bynum told Haaretz,   "We need to be in focus the whole time and not just for 10 or 20 minutes. Then everything will look much better. We are still a new team. It was a great game. We played well, but we all need to focus more on defense and improve it."