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Friday, June 26, 2009
Reaching Out To Christmas

Ed Stefanski, ever mindful of the value he places on his local ties, reached out late Thursday night to Temple's Dionte Christmas, inviting him to join the Orlando summer league team the 76ers will be sharing with the New Jersey Nets.

Christmas, who had been projected as a second-round selection during Thursday night's NBA draft, went unclaimed. He is likely to have multiple summer league and European offers. The Sixers leave July 2 for Orlando; Stefanski is awaiting a decision whether Christmas will join first-round draft choice Jrue Holiday and second-year big man Marreese Speights on the summer roster.

''He's a great kid, he's local,'' said Stefanski, the Sixers' president/general manager. ''Now, he has to prove it all over again.''

The 6-5 Christmas is the first player in Atlantic 10 history to lead the conference in scoring in three successive seasons; he finished his career with 2,043 points, the fourth Owl to surpass 2,000. He set school records for career three-pointers with 319 and for one season, with 107 as a senior.

If there was anything that kept him from being drafted, it might be his reputation as a volume shooter as opposed to a guy who could come off an NBA bench and provide instant offense. On the other hand, he is known for having a quick release and an ability to catch and shoot off screens.

 

Posted by Phil Jasner @ 3:29 PM  Permalink | 34 comments
34
Comments   
Posted 03:55 PM, 06/26/2009
Israel is my home
Hope he attends.
Comment removed.
Posted 04:02 PM, 06/26/2009
Horlet
I definitely hope he accepts and is signed. He is a wonderful player who could help the Sixers. Donte, welcome aboard!
Comment removed.
Posted 04:10 PM, 06/26/2009
Philly Ray
They already have a Holiday, so why not add Christmas???
Posted 04:11 PM, 06/26/2009
Cant Climb
Hope it makes it with 76ers. Either way he'll be playing somewhere in the world making a good living....
Posted 04:13 PM, 06/26/2009
Grill
Hell he's better than Willie Green. Sign him.
Posted 04:19 PM, 06/26/2009
LCVET
There is a spot since Ivey, Rush, maybe Miller are all gone. Give him a shot.
Posted 04:19 PM, 06/26/2009
disulfide
Can't be any worse than Willie Green.
Posted 04:27 PM, 06/26/2009
maximus
volume shooter? we dont need another one of those.
Posted 04:29 PM, 06/26/2009
cusoraider
Everyone please refrain from the stupid holiday christmas comments.
Posted 04:36 PM, 06/26/2009
AHash
i don't think he's athletic enough for the NBA but he definitely deserves a shot.
Posted 04:39 PM, 06/26/2009
disulfide
He was a volume shooter because there really wasn't anyone else that could nail the shot like him.
Posted 04:41 PM, 06/26/2009
duuuuude
I was hoping we could pick up baby new year as well! PS Phil Jasner, you still have the best fro in Philly my friend!
Posted 04:41 PM, 06/26/2009
amblereagles
How about a Christmas Holiday comment? I agree that the Willie Green experiment needs to be over.
Posted 04:44 PM, 06/26/2009
nephilly78
Willie Green could be a potential MVP...in the NBDL
Posted 04:46 PM, 06/26/2009
gallen024
Can we all refrain from mentioning Willie Green? We all know that he is the worst player in the league. Wait a second....That might be Dalembert..
Posted 04:59 PM, 06/26/2009
dasher
Holiday, Christmas, whatever...we're still looking at April Fools.
Posted 05:00 PM, 06/26/2009
cuch
Volume shooter? sounds like a nice way to say he's a pump.
Posted 05:02 PM, 06/26/2009
Digifant
i hope he chooses to go with the 6ers. then again, he should weight different offers before making a quick decision. Keep in mind, the sixers stink and if you play with do-do, you will smell like it too.
Posted 05:10 PM, 06/26/2009
cote32
He is your chance Christmas to provider everyone wrong that passed on you, make them pay!!!!
Posted 05:11 PM, 06/26/2009
cote32
He is your chance Christmas to prove everyone wrong that passed on you, make them pay!!!!
Posted 05:23 PM, 06/26/2009
FreakinPhlly35
yes... Local player will play harder in this wonderful city
Posted 05:48 PM, 06/26/2009
HandNik
I'd rather have him play the 2 than Iggy.
Posted 06:14 PM, 06/26/2009
Drew777
Christmas isn't making team. He will be playing in Europe for $50K a year and all gelato that he can eat.
Posted 06:33 PM, 06/26/2009
ConservativePatriot22
i can shoot better than willie green. they might as well sign christmas, its not like they have an abundance of good players. whats one more mediocre player on a mediocre team?
Posted 09:29 PM, 06/26/2009
Vituperator
They drafted Holiday and are about to sign Christmas. My hope is that they also sign Joe New Year, a little known guard from upstate New York. Good player.
Posted 10:13 PM, 06/26/2009
TodaysPeople
Hang in there Dionte, keep working, it will pay off.
Posted 11:47 PM, 06/26/2009
riprepulski
Better than Willie Green? Able to nail the shot? Hmm, let's see: Christmas 41.4% FG% in A10, Green 41.2 in NBA. Christmas 35.2 college 3P% vs. Green's pro 36.4% Wow. Only in Philadelphis.
Posted 01:16 AM, 06/27/2009
BOOjrueholiday
hes the shooter we need in philly
Posted 01:20 AM, 06/27/2009
wu wu whaaaat?
iverson, just not as quick and terribly lazy.....never hear his name again. Gunner...
Comment removed.
Posted 10:14 AM, 06/27/2009
teenwolf
dionte is a nice addition...we need to see some shooting guards and this kid has it...now he must show us...way to go to ed...sixers with their draft pick now have 10 on their roster...the two eds said they would probably go with 13...who are the next three??
Posted 10:14 AM, 06/28/2009
feets
He deserves to be invited to training camp so he can compete for a spot,he's a shooter, and we need a shooter and I bet he'll play a lot better defense than Kapono If Ivey, Rush are already gone, bring Christmas to camp
About Sixerville Blog
Phil Jasner joined the staff of the Daily News in 1972. He has covered the 76ers and the NBA on a full-time basis since 1981. He won the 2004 Curt Gowdy Media Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the sport during his career; he was a finalist for the award in 2001, when he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association during the NBA Finals. He is a past president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and the Philadelphia College Basketball Writers Association. Along the way, he has covered high school sports, the Big 5, the Eagles and the NFL, the World Football League, the North American Soccer League and what was then the Major Indoor Soccer League. He is a proud graduate of Temple University, and spent his early professional days at the Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury, Montgomery Newspapers (Fort Washington, Pa.), the Norristown (Pa.) Times-Herald and the Trentonian.

Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for almost 20 years, working in the sports department the past 12 years. This is his first season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he has been the La Salle beat writer for the past six seasons.

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