Von Wafer

Von Wafer

Wafer (right) with the Celtics
No. 13 – Jiangsu Monkey King
Position Shooting guard
League Chinese Basketball Association
Personal information
Born (1985-07-21) July 21, 1985
Homer, Louisiana
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Pineview (Lisbon, Louisiana)
Heritage Christian Academy
(Cleveland, Texas)
College Florida State (2003–2005)
NBA draft 2005 / Round: 2 / Pick: 39th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career 2005–present
Career history
2005–2006 Los Angeles Lakers
2006–2007 Colorado 14ers
2007 Los Angeles Clippers
2007–2008 Denver Nuggets
2008 Portland Trail Blazers
2008–2009 Houston Rockets
2009 Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece)
2010–2011 Boston Celtics
2011 Vanoli Cremona (Italy)
2011–2012 Orlando Magic
2012–2013 Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China)
2013 Shanghai Sharks (China)
2014 Bakersfield Jam (D-League)
2014 Krasny Oktyabr (Russia)
2014 Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rico)
2014–2015 Shanxi Zhongyu (China)
2015–present Jiangsu Monkey King (China)

Vakeaton Quamar "Von" Wafer (born July 21, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association.

He has previously played in the NBA with the L.A. Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic. He was the 39th overall selection (ninth pick of the second round) in the 2005 NBA draft by the Lakers. His nickname is "The Dutch Cookie".[1]

High school

Wafer attended Pineview High School in Lisbon, Louisiana during his freshman, sophomore and junior years of high school. He averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists during his junior season. Up to that point, Wafer was a virtual unknown on the national recruiting scene. Tim Loring, the coach of the Arkansas Wings AAU team, invited Wafer to play for them the summer before his senior year. This allowed Wafer to display his skills on a wider stage, and by the end of the summer, he was considered to be one of the top ten seniors on many recruiting lists. He was also briefly at R.L. Paschal High School and Laurinburg Institute his senior year before deciding to attend and play at Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas, where he averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks per game.

Wafer was the seventh McDonald's High School All-American to play at Florida State University. During the game, he scored 8 points and finished second to LeBron James in the McDonald's All-American slam-dunk contest.[2]

College

During his freshman year at Florida State University in the 2003–04 season, Wafer averaged 7.9 points in 17.5 minutes a game with the Seminoles. He ranked third among all ACC freshmen with 43 three-point field goals made and scored in double figures 12 times. As a sophomore during the 2004-05 season, he led the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and three-point field goals made (65). He made more than one three-point field goal in 14 games and surpassed the 20-point mark on six occasions. Despite some success that year, he was suspended for two games early in the season and benched frequently later. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that his family explained the suspensions were because of missed classes and study sessions.[3][4]

Professional career

Wafer declared himself as an early-entry candidate for the 2005 NBA draft after his sophomore year at FSU despite many draft experts predicting he would not be drafted. There were several hurdles he had to overcome to become a viable option for an NBA team to select him. Wafer was not invited to the annual Chicago pre-draft camp, which provides players who are not viewed as first-round prospects a chance to display their abilities in front of NBA team personnel. During a workout with the Phoenix Suns, Wafer reportedly was frustrated by the physical play from Jan Jagla, and responded by laying an intentional elbow to Jagla's nose, then walked off the court and ended the workout at that point.[5][6] Los Angeles Lakers scout Irving Thomas, who played two seasons at FSU, saw three Seminoles games during the 2004–05 season and helped arrange a workout for Wafer with the Lakers.[7] Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak saw enough of Wafer's ability that they used the second of their two second-round picks to select Wafer in the draft.

Wafer was placed on waivers by the Lakers on October 26, 2006. He played in only one pre-season game due to a bruised left heel.[8] Wafer then played for the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League during 2006-07, and was named Player of the Month in January 2007.[9] He was signed to a ten-day contract by the Los Angeles Clippers on February 21.[10] He played one minute[11] without scoring before being waived a week later.[12] On April 12, 2007, the Denver Nuggets signed Wafer for the remainder of the 2006-07 season.[11]

On February 21, 2008, the Denver Nuggets traded Wafer to the Portland Trail Blazers for Taurean Green. Wafer changed his number from 22 (which he wore with the Nuggets) to 24, as number 22 had been retired by the Trail Blazers to honor Clyde Drexler.[13]

Houston Rockets

Wafer was signed by the Houston Rockets and managed to keep a spot on the team due to his hot shooting in the preseason. On January 13, 2009, Wafer scored a career-high 23 points on 10-14 shooting in 39 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. He found a regular place in the Rockets' starting lineup due to good performance as well as an injury to regular starter Tracy McGrady. He continued to impress by scoring 21 points versus the Jazz and hitting the game-winning three at a game in Boston that the Rockets won 89–85. In that month he averaged 14.3 points per game. After Wafer moved to a team in Greece, the Rockets offered him a contract midway through the next season. He signed the contract, but failed his physical, so he could not join the Rockets.

Olympiacos Piraeus

Wafer joined the Greek Euroleague club Olympiacos Piraeus in August 2009, signing a two-year $10 million gross income contract.[14][15] He was then waived by Olympiacos in December 2009.[16] Wafer shot 36.4% from the field and averaged 3.0 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game in the Greek A1 League with Olympiacos.[17] In Euroleague play, he shot 50% from the field and averaged 7.7 points per game, 1.3 rebounds per game, and 1.0 assists per game.[18]

Dallas Mavericks

On February 24, 2010, Wafer signed a ten-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks.[19] He was not expected to crack the rotation during his tenure and although he was eligible to play six games,[20] Wafer finished his contract with Dallas without playing a single minute.[21]

Boston Celtics

On July 3, 2010, Wafer signed a free agent deal with the Boston Celtics.[22] On October 29, 2010, he was involved in a locker-room altercation with new teammate Delonte West.[23]

Vanoli Cremona

In August 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, he signed a one-year contract with Vanoli Cremona in Italy.[24]

Orlando Magic

Wafer was traded to the Magic on December 12, 2011, along with Glen Davis for Brandon Bass.[25] He was waived by the Magic at the end of the 2011-12 season.[26]

Move to CBA

Wafer moved to China in 2012, signed a one-year contract with Xinjiang Flying Tigers worth $2 million. He played 34 games for Xinjiang, averaged 26.4 points with a shooting percentage of 55.4%. He also got 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.[27]

In October 2013, he signed with the Shanghai Sharks, the team owned by his former teammate Yao Ming at the Rockets.[28] In December 2013, he left the Sharks.

D-League

On January 10, 2014, he was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League.[29] On January 28, 2014, he was waived by the Jam.

Russia

On February 3, 2014, he signed with BC Krasny Oktyabr for the rest of the 2013–2014 season.[30]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005–06 L.A. Lakers 16 0 4.6 .158 .118 .750 .5 .3 .2 .0 1.3
2006–07 L.A. Clippers 1 0 1.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
2007–08 Denver 21 0 4.3 .263 .067 .750 .5 .2 .1 .0 1.3
2007–08 Portland 8 0 8.0 .304 .273 .500 1.1 .3 .0 .3 2.4
2008–09 Houston 63 11 19.4 .447 .390 .752 1.8 1.1 .6 .1 9.7
2010–11 Boston 58 2 9.5 .421 .269 .842 .8 .6 .3 .1 3.2
2011–12 Orlando 33 1 14.2 .452 .359 .704 1.4 .9 .3 .1 5.9
Career 200 14 12.4 .420 .325 .751 1.2 .7 .4 .1 5.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009 Houston 13 0 13.9 .424 .409 .864 .9 .7 .2 .1 8.2
2011 Boston 3 0 1.7 .000 .000 .000 .3 .0 .0 .0 .0
2012 Orlando 1 0 6.0 .600 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 6.0
Career 17 0 11.2 .424 .391 .864 .8 .5 .1 .1 6.6

References

  1. ↑ "Cookie Rojas among Page 2's All-Dessert team". ESPN. 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  2. ↑ Landman, Brian (2003-11-19). "Buzz grows over renewed 'Noles". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  3. ↑ Archived April 2, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Block of the Night - NBA Videos and Highlights". NBA.com. 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  5. ↑ "Von Wafer Draft Bio". ESPN.com Insider. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  6. ↑ "Articles - The final recap". HoopsHype. 2005-06-13. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  7. ↑ Archived April 2, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "LAKERS: 2006-07 Waivers". NBA.com. 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  9. ↑ Colorado Guard Von Wafer D-League Player of Month, February 2, 2007
  10. ↑ Clippers sign Von Wafer
  11. 1 2 Nuggets add two guards
  12. ↑ Clippers Sign Will Conroy to 10-Day Contract
  13. ↑ "Trail Blazers acquire Von Wafer from Denver in exchange for Taurean Green". nba.com. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  14. ↑ ESPN.com Wafer says he's signed with Olympiakos.
  15. ↑ Chron.com Wafer takes game overseas Ex-Rockets G gets big pay raise from Olympiakos; former team seals deal with Andersen.
  16. ↑ Talkbasket.net Von Wafer history for Olympiacos, officially.
  17. ↑ Galanissportsdata.com OLYMPIACOS (Total Stats Regular Season After day 6).
  18. ↑ Euroleague.net WAFER, VON.
  19. ↑ Wafer's officially a Maverick - Dallas Mavericks Blog - ESPN Dallas
  20. ↑ Dallas Mavericks sign Von Wafer to 10-day contract - ESPN Dallas
  21. ↑ Report: C's sign Von Wafer - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston
  22. ↑ Celtics sign Wafer
  23. ↑ "Wafer, West brawl after Celtics practice". NBA.com. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  24. ↑ Vanoli Cremona agreed to terms with Von Wafer
  25. ↑ "Magic Acquire Glen Davis and Von Wafer". NBA.com. 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  26. ↑ Orlando Magic waive Von Wafer
  27. ↑ HoopChina.com. "CBA Statistics (In Chinese)". Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  28. ↑ Von Wafer signs with Shanghai Sharks
  29. ↑ Bakersfield Acquires Von Wafer
  30. ↑ "Von Wafer signs in Russia with Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd". Sportando.net. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.

External links

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