source: Waylon Galvez | mb.com.ph

Former Arkansas Razorback player Darian Townes showed what determination and preservation are about as he traveled across the globe in the hope of impressing Serbian head coach Rajko Toroman and be a part of the Smart-Gilas national team.

The 6-foot-11 Townes hopes to secure “import” slot after the Nationals first two American players – CJ Giles and Jamal Sampson – were dropped from the team, one after the other because of poor performance and attitude problem.

With the help of ex-pro Ed Cordero, a try-out was arranged and Townes is set to meet Toroman at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City Thursday night.

Toroman will leave for the United States on Saturday to join Smart-Gilas team manager Frankie Lim to scout the prospect of imports to be included to the national team, which is preparing for the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China this year and the 2011 FIBA-Asia Championship, the qualifying event to the 2012 London Olympics.

Townes, 25, recently played for the Utah Flash in the NBA Developmental League. Though his career averages in the D-League are not as impressive — 5.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 shot blocks — his size can help the national team.

He also played professional basketball with the GasTerra Flames Groningen in Holland.

(click here for Darian Townes Complete Game Stats)

(click here for Darian Townes Draft Express Game Statistics)



Darian Townes (#14 - White Jersey) (20 points, 12 rebounds)


Strengths: Big power forward with good size and strength and a solid offensive game Very smooth shooting the ball from 12 feet and in with a jump hook shot that he uses effectively Has a big frame with long arms and good agility With more time on the floor, he could see his offensive numbers improve considerably His great wingspan makes him an effective rebounder and shot blocker Has a good free throw shot but lacks concentration, capable of shooting in the mid 70s if he works at it His post moves show promise, but he needs to refine them... [via nbadraft.net]

Weaknesses: Doesnt display a great motor. Needs to learn to play with a higher level of intensity to better maximize his talents Does not show a fondness for contact, despite his excellent body and apparent strength Needs to get more physical and use his 255 pound frame to dominate in the post Conditioning also must improve. He averaged just 22 minutes per game as a sophomore Lacks great speed in the open floor, looks a little stiff in transition His numbers actually dipped from his freshman to sophomore season after coming in with high expectations Doesnt get to the free throw line nearly enough for a post player, needs to force the issue under the basket more often Lack of foot speed limits his ability to grab rebounds out of his area.. [via nbadraft.net]

***

notes from the Las Vegas Summer League Day Six (July 2008)

Sacramento Kings

(Darian Townes: 14 Points, 4-7 FG, 6-11 FT, 6 Rebounds, 6 Fouls)

Townes had a breakout game today, using his physical assets to make an impact both offensively and defensively. While he may not have much in the way of skills, Townes has great size and strength. He won’t show much with his back to the basket, or from the midrange, but today he did a good job getting position underneath the basket and finding ways to get layups and trips to the foul line. Defensively, Townes showed good rebounding ability, but is still a work in progress defensively. He doesn’t show very good anticipation, making it hard for him to track down rebounds and block shots. His size makes him productive nonetheless, but he still has a long way to go. Raw big men usually struggle in this setting, getting taken advantage of by more skilled players, but Townes did a great job staying active today despite not getting many touches. He did some good for his stock overseas with this performance.

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2007-08 Preview:
A key part of Arkansas’ front line in helping the Razorbacks win 20-plus games and earn NCAA Tournament bids each of the last two years, Townes will again see extensive playing time down low and compete for a starting spot. Townes enters his final season with 893 points and 451 rebounds. Already fourth on the school’s all-time blocked shot list (156), he needs 107 points to become the 31st member of Arkansas’ 1,000-point club and 158 rebounds to join the top 10 with 609. In the two exhibition games in Cancun over Labor Day weekend, he averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the field.

2006-07:
Townes played in all 35 games with five starts, and was fifth on the team in scoring (8.1) and rebounding (4.3), and second in field goal percentage (.536, 118-220) and blocked shots (1.6), which ranked 10th in the SEC. In conference play, his averages improved to 8.9 points and 4.9 boards.

Against Texas Tech (12/16), he was 5-of-8 shooting for 10 points along with a game-high eight rebounds. At Texas (12/20), he had nine points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. He sprained an ankle in the Texas game and was limited to just four minutes against Oral Roberts (12/22) after not expecting to play at all. He had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots against Louisiana Tech (12/30).
In the win over No. 8 Alabama (1/6), he had eight points and four blocked shots. Townes was tough inside at No. 2 Florida (1/9), going 8-of-13 from the floor, finishing with a double-double and game highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds.
At Ole Miss (1/13), he scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, and had five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. In the win over No. 16 LSU (1/20), he made 5-of-9 shots, and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in 19 minutes.

2005-06:
Townes was fourth on the team in scoring (9.5), led the club and was 20th in the SEC in rebounding (5.1), was second on the team with a .500 field goal percentage (126-252), and second on the team and seventh in the conference with 1.63 blocked shots.

In league play, he averaged 8.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while still shooting 50 percent (61-122) and ranking 10th in the SEC with 1.38 blocked shots. He led the team in scoring twice and in rebounding 12 times, and was in double figures scoring 15 times.

Townes averaged 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots in 16 home games while shooting .539 from the floor. He also averaged 10.5 points, 4.9 boards and 1.1 blocks in 15 games against post-season tournament teams.

He was listed as a pre-season All-SEC selection by CBSSportsline.com and Athlon, and as an SEC player on the rise by The Sporting News. Townes had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots in the opener against Portland State (11/18).

2004-05:
An honorable mention freshman All-American by Rivals.com and a member of the SEC’s all-freshman team, he got better as the season went on. He was second on the team in scoring (10.2), rebounding (4.6), shooting percentage (.519), free throw percentage (.698, players with a minimum of 45 attempts) and blocked shots (48). He tied for fourth in the SEC with 1.6 blocked shots per game. Among the league’s freshmen, he was fifth in scoring, sixth in rebounding, seventh in shooting percentage (second among players with more than 60 attempts), eighth in free throw percentage (among players with more than 50 attempts) and second to teammate Steven Hill in blocked shots. He led the team in scoring seven times, second-most on the team, led in rebounding five times and scored in double figures 17 times, which was also second on the club. His 17 double-figure scoring games tie for the fourth-most by a UA post player since 1995 and are the most for a Razorback since Derek Hood reached double-digits 26 times in 1999.

In High School:
He averaged 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.0 blocked shots a game at Hargrave. As a senior at Archbishop Carroll High in Washington, D.C., he averaged 13.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.0 blocked shots. Following his senior season, he was rated the No. 59 overall prospect in the country by Hoop Scoop, No. 62 by TheInsidersHoops.com and No. 64 by FutureStars. As a sophomore, he set the Virginia state record of 187 blocked shots, breaking the previous mark held by Alonzo Mourning.

Personal:
Born July 31, 1984, he is the son of Youlanda Townes and John Deere. He is majoring in sociology.

*******

UPDATE (related news):
SBP wants Asian test for Smart Gilas five (click here)
SBP needs to touch base with PBA (click here)
Pro league execs: Smart Gilas doesn’t need PBA reinforcement (click here)
Sta. Lucia protests pressure from SBP (click here)
Toroman wants Williams to beef up Smart Gilas (click here)
Lim to US to find big man for Smart Gilas (click here)
Signing pros could be the solution (click here)
PBA teams still mum on lending players to Gilas (click here)
Gilas part ways with naturalized prospect Samspon (click here)
Smart Gilas 5 to go all-Filipino in Asiad? (click here)
Smart Gilas-RP five ready for Asiad, says Toroman (click here)
Smart Gilas has 80-game sked for Asian Games (click here)
Smart Gilas to play all-Filipino in Asiad (click here)


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