WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA — The Golden State Warriors called up center Hilton Armstrong from their D-League affiliate, Santa Cruz, this morning. Dewayne Dedmon had been waived last week, leaving a roster spot open.
Backup center Jermaine O’Neal has been nursing his left wrist and did not participate in shootaround today. He is listed as questionable. In addition, power forward Draymond Green is listed as probable for tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks with a sprained ankle.
In six games played and starts for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the 6’11”, 235-pound Armstrong averaged 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game. Per Wikipedia, he has had a well-traveled career, with the following stops:
| 2006–2010 | New Orleans Hornets |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2010 | Houston Rockets |
| 2010–2011 | Washington Wizards |
| 2011 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2011–2012 | ASVEL Basket (France) |
| 2012 | Panathinaikos (Greece) |
| 2013 | Santa Cruz Warriors (D-League) |
| 2013-present | Golden State Warriors |
Armstrong told LetsGoWarriors that he had passed up an opportunity to play for big money in China. He talked with his wife about re-joining Santa Cruz after being cut by the Indiana Pacers in training camp, and decided to stay close to home. He chose the uniform number 57 because May 7th is his daughter’s birthday.
“I was prayin about it,” said Armstrong of the chance he took by returning to the D-League, “and it worked out, man. I was really looking forward to it. I was hoping the opportunity would come up and it did. Just wanna make it last and turn it into something special.”
On the transition from Santa Cruz to Golden State, Hilton isn’t concerned, as the close ties between affiliate and parent have been designed for seamless callups.
“The stuff we run in Santa Cruz is pretty similar to here,” Armstrong said, “Felt good down there (in Santa Cruz). Got my confidence up. Definitely have to thank Coach Casey (Hill) and all my teammates, they pushed me a lot and they helped me get to this point and I’m very, very grateful for it.”
Here’s a highlight reel the Santa Cruz Warriors put together:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoUdaoGnhCg&w=560&h=315]
His draft profile shows promise:
An athletic forward-center who is a legitimate backup at this point. Not very tall for a center, but compensates with a 7-4 wingspan. Extremely well built, and has added some bulk since his college days. Could stand to continue adding weight. Not a late bloomer physically, but is the definition of the tag from a basketball perspective. Averaged roughly 10 minutes per game in his first three seasons at UConn. Blew up as a senior, primarily on the defensive end. Named Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. Showed enough promise offensive to propel himself into the lottery. Hasn’t been a major impact player in the NBA, and needs to have a similar spike in production to avoid being labeled an underachiever. Turnovers, an aversion to rebounding and his inability to stay out of foul trouble have all been major issues for him thus far.
He’s a physical player who spent a lot of time guarding Roy Hibbert during training camp with the Pacers.
“Playing against him everyday was a great challenge and I looked forward to it everyday,” Armstrong said, “I loved the competition. Big body, he’s very skilled. It’s not like he’s just overpowering people, but he actually has skills. That definitely helped me.”
Compared to the lean and finesse-style players such as Dedmon and Ognjen Kuzmic, Armstrong has the potential to become a fan-favorite if he ever reaches his potential.
“I like play physical, try and bump down there and just try to fight, make people uncomfortable. It’s fun like that. The more you fight, the more exciting the game is.”
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