Bakersfield Jam Roundup: Year In Review

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When the Bakersfield Jam started the year, it was a heavy dose of Elijah Millsap and Earl Barron that got them early wins. The tandem attacked opponents on the glass and in the paint, scoring a combined 40.2 points per game, while racking up 19.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per outing. However, neither player finished the year on the Jam, as they were called up following their obvious displays of success.

For the Jazz, Millsap had no problem fitting in. He scored seven or more points in three of his first five games, and in 10 of his first 20. Additionally, he managed to play 15+ minutes in 14 of his first 15 games, and he really took off in the month of February, where he recorded at least seven rebounds in seven of 11 games.

Barron, on the other hand, earned his call up after a series of nice games throughout the year. For the Suns, he didn’t have quite the impact of Millsap, but he ultimately did enough to earn a contract for the rest of the season. Barron was able to go to work inside against D-League competition, but he also added a bit to his outside game…

Okay, so on a serious note, he did work on his three-point jumper quite a bit. While it didn’t necessarily show a whole lot in games, it was very apparent during pre-game shootarounds how much of an effort he had put in.

One more player that found his way from the Jam to the Suns was Jerel McNeal. McNeal averaged close to 20 points, five assists and four rebounds per game in Bakersfield, despite playing only 33 minutes per game.

McNeal got better as the season went on, peaking at 26.5 points per game in March, while shooting close to 40 percent from three and 85 percent from the line. Those numbers not only led to his call-up, but led to him winning another big-time award:

Next: The Future