Sixers make first cuts
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Sixers make first cuts
The Sixers trimmed their roster down to 16 heading into the preseason opener on Wednesday night against the NBA champion Boston Celtics in Amherst, Mass.
The team waived Strawberry Mansion product Maureece Rice, Andre Emmett and Cory Underwood. That means Temple product Antwyane Robinson has survived the first cuts.
Here is some background on the players who were waived, via a Sixers press release:
Emmett (6-4, 216) was originally selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by Seattle. He appeared in eight games for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2004-05 season. Last season, Emmett averaged a league-high 23.9 points per game for Belgacom Liege Basket of the Belgian League. He played four seasons for Texas Tech, and finished career as the Red Raiders all-time leader in scoring with 2,256 points.
Rice (6-1, 224) is best known for his career at Strawberry Mansion High School, during which he tallied 2,681 points, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s Philadelphia school record of 2,206 points. Rice went on to attend The George Washington University, where he was named Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore and A-10 All-Conference Third Team as a junior. He was not selected in the NBA Draft this past June.
Underwood (6-10, 240) played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League last season. Since finishing his career at Southern University of New Orleans in 2003, he has also played in the ABA (American Basketball Association), the USBL (United States Basketball League), WBA (World Basketball Association), CBA (Continental Basketball Association) as well as leagues in both Brazil and Poland.
it's almost an impossibility but i am truly pulling for robinson. he was severely underrated his senior year for the owls. he is also a nice guy who was going to teach our intramural squad the matchup zone. good luck 'twan.— jlamb- kid can shoot the three! move over kareem rush.— nickj
- Phil Jasner and John Smallwood - the shining stars of the DN staff.— shoeshineboy
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
