By Ben Standig
No matter where you looked during the NBA's Summer League action, Atlantic 10 alumni were making an impact.
Anyone who has ever watched Briante Weber defend knows turning away from the former VCU guard, even for a second, epitomizes the term unwise. Third in NCAA Division I history in steals, Weber was among several former A-10 standouts in the Las Vegas version of the NBA Summer Leagues trying to swipe a precious NBA roster spot.
DeAndre’ Bembry, the reigning Conference Player of the Year and new member of the Atlanta Hawks, faced the pressure that comes with being a 2016 first round pick. Bembry's Saint Joseph's teammate, Isaiah Miles, showed off his game with the Dallas Mavericks. Ex-Richmond forward Terry Allen played for the Utah Jazz and former Massachusetts center Cady Lalanne took a spin with the San Antonio Spurs.
Whether someday in the NBA or overseas, this marked the beginning of their professional careers. For several days in Las Vegas, the former conference rivals were in the same spot.
"It's a lot of guys here. This is pretty much where everybody is right now," Weber said of the Atlantic 10 alumni. "I've seen someone every day. There is probably somebody playing right now. It's like a big reunion."
Weber, who received a taste of the professional life last season, arrived in Las Vegas with the Miami Heat -- and promptly stole the show.
That the 6-foot-2 guard led the league with 4.0 steals per game shocked nobody. Yet following one game, a reporter apparently unfamiliar with Weber's style and NCAA career asked aloud if he arrived in Las Vegas with a defensive demeanor.
Juwan Howard, the Heat's Summer League coach, set the questioner straight and played the role of surrogate for VCU and Atlantic 10 fans who witnessed one of college basketball's greatest thieves.
"That's Bre's identity," Howard said. "That's what he has been recognized for, on the defensive end. He has a great knack for being around the basketball, being disruptive. If he's not taking it away out of your hands, he's deflecting it. What that does it just brings the energy level up for the rest of our group. They feed off his energy. He's our leader in that category."
Some outsiders might not have known about Weber's style, but the opponents did.
"They're aware I'm trying to take it from them," Weber said. "They're definitely more cautious with what they do. You can see it in their facial expressions and how they run their plays."
Weber did more than just pick pockets. Showing no signs of the season-ending knee injury suffered at VCU in January of 2015, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds to go with the four steals per game
"I'm better than I was," Weber said of his post-injury form. "The game slowed down for me and I feel like I got stronger, got better."
Miles, at least in his own estimation, wasn't performing at his best by the midway point of his Summer League experience. One of the top A-10 scorers last season, the forward had back-to-back games without a point for the Mavericks.
"Not going too well, man. Not playing the way I should be," the straight shooter admitted. "I don't think I've gone a game without scoring since probably middle school."
There was some truth to those statements -- Miles averaged 3.2 points in five games with the Mavericks -- but that wasn’t the entire story. Soon after Summer League, Miles signed a deal with Dijon, a professional team in France. Several days before the next chapter in his life was revealed, Miles counted his basketball blessings.
"It's definitely a great opportunity to get to come here against the top guys in the world, see where you level up to them," Miles said.
Playing in the Atlantic 10 for four seasons helped him get ready for this moment.
"I think it prepared me because a lot of guys from the A-10 are in the NBA now," he said. "If not the NBA, they're in high leagues overseas."
Miles and Bembry were no longer preparing for game day as teammates, but they remain close.
"We're in the same hotel, hanging out a lot," Miles said. "I'm really proud of him."
Playing with the Spurs in Las Vegas and Utah, Lalanne averaged 3.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in six games. The 6-foot-9 forward dominated the offensive glass, averaging one per minute. Lalanne was drafted in 2015 by the Spurs following a standout career with the Minutemen.
Raphiel Putney, a former teammate of Lalanne's at UMass, scored at least 10 points in four of seven games with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Putney, who spent last season Rio Grande Valley in the D-League, fueled Cleveland's 99-68 romp over Minnesota on July 11 with 19 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes.
Xavier Mumford, a standout for Rhode Island in coach Dan Hurley's first year, averaged 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Lakers. He started Los Angeles' final game and had 11 points against the Jazz.
Allen, Richmond's second-leading scorer last season, received limited minutes with the Jazz in the Summer League.
Vegas was the second NBA Summer League venue where A-10 alums had success. Early in July, the Orlando Summer League was a hotbed of success for former Dayton, GW and VCU players.
For all of them, in Vegas, Orlando and in the Utah Summer League, it was certainly a big opportunity, one that playing in the Atlantic 10 helped prepare them for.
Ben Standig is a freeland writer from Washington, D.C. who covers sports for a number of media outlets including CSN Mid -Atlantic. He is on Twitter at @BenStandig