Former UConn Huskies men's basketball forward Gavin Edwards is returning to the New England area as he's signed a contract with the Springfield Armor in the NBA's Developmental League.

Here's the press release from the Springfield Armor:

SPRINGFIELD, MA Dec. 22, 2010 – The Springfield Armor announced the addition of former University of Connecticut forward Gavin Edwards today. To make room on the roster, the Armor waived Jamar Brown due to injury.

The 6’10 Edwards, who is a native of Gilbert, Ariz., played four years at UConn (2006-10), averaging 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 30.4 minutes per game during his senior season. Edwards was a member of the Huskies’ 2009 NCAA Final Four team.

This past summer, Edwards played for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 5 games.

Following his stint in the summer league, Edwards signed with the Anyang KT&G Kites of the Korean Basketball League, averaging 5.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 7 games. Edwards then moved on to Khimik-OPZ Yuzny of the Ukrainian Basketball Super League, averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 3 games.

“Gavin is an athletic and versatile front court player and we’re excited to have him here in Springfield,” Armor head coach Dee Brown said.

Jamar Brown, whom the Armor waived due to injury, averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9 games played.

Edwards will join the Armor for weekend road games in Fort Wayne on Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Maine on Sunday (5:00 p.m.). Both games can be seen live on www.nba.com/futurecast.

Edwards will also prepare to face former UConn  teammate Jeff Adrien and the Erie BayHawks on Fri. Dec. 31^st (7:00 p.m.) and Sun. Jan. 2^nd (5:00 p.m.) at the MassMutual Center.

Whether or not Shaquille O'Neal helps lead the Boston Celtics to Banner 18 remains to be seen but we can definitely say that he's making a nice impact on the city of Boston and surrounding communities.

He's spent a day as a statue in Harvard Square in Cambridge where people were able to pictures with him, he was Shaq-A-Claus recently at a Boys and Girls Club in Dedham and now we can call him "Maestro Shamroq".

That's right folks, the world's biggest conductor took the stage with the world famous Boston Pops on Monday night. He led the Boston Pops through "Sleigh Ride", Michael Jackson's "Can You Feel It" and Queen's "We Are The Champions" which he said he hopes will be playing in Boston at the end of the 2010-11 NBA season.

Here's the video for you to enjoy:

After fulfilling his dream of playing in the NBA, former UConn Huskies power forward Jeff Adrien finds himself looking for a job again.

The Golden State Warriors announced on Thursday that they have waived Adrien. He was waived to make room on the 15-man roster when the Warriors signed Acie Law IV.

He wasn't seeing much time with the Warriors since Lou Amundson returned from injury and probably wouldn't have seen anytime with Ekpe Udoh set to rejoin the Warriors in the coming weeks.

Adrien played in 15 games with the Warriors, he averaged 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds playing about 10.8 minutes a game.

He could catch on with another NBA team but I think he'll probably end up in the D-League where he can showcase his skills some more and hopefully work himself back in the NBA.

The number of former UConn Huskies in the NBA now stands at 10.

Photo credit: AP Photo

The Golden State Warriors roster is out and former UConn Huskies power forward Jeff Adrien has made the team.

"We've taken 15 spots for right now," Warriors GM Larry Riley said after Warriors' practice on Monday. "Jeff is on our roster. We think he's earned an opportunity to stay with us. Having said that, we'll continue to search throughout the year -- whether this week or at the trade deadline -- and continue to try to find ways to improve our basketball team.

Adrien averaged 3.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in eight preseason games for the Warriors. He spent the 2009-10 season playing in Spain for Leche Rio Breogan. He played for the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies during the 2010 NBA Summer League.

Adrien will join ten former Huskies in the NBA. The others are Ray Allen (Celtics), Hilton Armstrong (Wizards), Caron Butler (Mavericks), Rudy Gay (Grizzlies), Ben Gordon (Pistons), Richard Hamiton (Pistons), Emeka Okafor (Hornets), A.J. Price (Pacers), Hasheem Thabeet (Grizzlies) and Charlie Villanueva (Pistons).

Congratulations to Adrien and best of luck. We'll be rooting for you!!!

Photo credit: AP Photo

Yesterday was a bad day to be a former member of the UConn Huskies men's basketball team in the NBA.

First it was Jerome Dyson who was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder. And now it's Stanley Robinson who was waived by the Orlando Magic.

The Magic had drafted "Sticks" in the 2nd round (59th overall) in the 2010 NBA Draft and had signed him to a non-guaranteed contract before training camp began. So if Robinson was to get paid this year in the NBA, he had to make the team.

Robinson averaged two points, 2.4 rebounds in 8.2 minutes in five preseason games for the Magic. He also had a sweet dunk in one of the preseason games.

What's surprising to me is the fact that Robinson didn't have to be cut. In the NBA, you can keep 15 players on your roster all season long. With the Magic cutting Robinson, their roster is now down to 14 players.

Robinson could still be picked up by another NBA club or he could head over to Europe. If he decides to stay in the United States and play in the D-League, his rights are owned by the New Mexico Thunderbirds.

Photo credit: Getty Images

The NBA dreams of former UConn Huskies shooting guard Jerome Dyson took a hit on Wedneday afternoon as he was released by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dyson was cut along with Elijah Millsap as the Thunder pared down their roster to 15.

Dyson only saw action in two of the Thunder's six preseason games as he was apparently bothered by a lingering injury.

He played six minutes in the Thunder's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on October 12th and scored five points and pulled down one rebound. In the Thunder's loss to the Denver Nuggets on October 19th, Dyson played just seven minutes, scoring four points, snagging one rebound and added an assist.

Dyson could end up in the D-League or quite possibly take his talents to Europe now.

Photo credit: AP Photo

Former UConn Huskies small forward Caron Butler had the NBA's dunk of the night for the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night:

Former UConn Huskies basketball player Stanley Robinson is doing his best to impress the Orlando Magic staff and players as he tries to make the club. Robinson doesn't have a guaranteed contract with the Magic, meaning he'll have to make the roster to get paid.

Well last Sunday in the opener of the Amway Center in Orlando, FL, Robinson brought the Magic's bench full of veterans to their collective feet.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Orlando Magic players sprang up from their bench late Sunday night as if a retracting bungee cord had heaved them out of their chairs.

Rookie Stanley Robinson brought them to their feet.

He caught an alley-oop pass high above the rim and slammed the ball through the hoop. The dunk gave Orlando a 132-80 lead over the New Orleans Hornets in a meaningless preseason game, but the Magic reacted as if a teammate had drained a playoff buzzer-beater.

Here is the video of said alley-oop:

Veteran Magic players root for rookie Stanley Robinson [Orlando Sentinel]

It turns out that before former UConn Huskies men's basketball player turned down a chance to go to the Boston Celtics training camp before accepting the same invite from the Golden State Warriors. According to Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston, Adrien also turned down invites from the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here's what Adrien had to say about chosing the Warriors over the other teams:

Well, it's about really making it, you know. I felt like with the Celtics, they're stacked over there, but it wouldn't be the right situation for me. Right now it's a business thing, and you've got to do what's best for you. I thought that was the best decision for me."

Given the depth the Celtics have in the frontcourt, this is not surprising to me at all.

Adrien spent the summer playing for the Orlando Magic in the Orlando Summer League and then played for the Grizzlies in the Las Vegas Summer League. He spent the 2009 season playing in Spain.

In four games with the Magic, Adrien averaged 8.5 points and 7.3 rebounds while in four games with the Grizzlies, he averaged 6.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. He also had a nice fast break slam with the Magic.

Best of luck to Adrien in trying to acheive his dream of playing in the NBA.

Photo credit: Hartford Courant

Former UConn Huskies small forward Stanley Robinson can breathe a little easier today as the Orlando Magic announced they had signed him to a contract.

Official details were not released but the Orlando Sentinel learned from Robinson that he had signed a non-guaranteed deal. The deal is believed to be worth $473,604 and Robinson would only make that if he makes the team.

"It's just a great feeling for me," Robinson told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday. "I'm just excited. I'm just ready to get started."

Ironically enough, incoming UConn men's basketball freshman Roscoe Smith announced the deal on Saturday night on his Twitter page.

Photo credits: Orlando Sentinel, Twitter