Ron Howard gets NBA camp invite

[Pakuni]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/26/ron-howard-to-attend-training-camp-with-indiana-pacers/

The Indiana Pacers have already handed out 13 guaranteed contracts for next season, leaving two spots available for potential role players ready to contribute. One of the players vying for that opportunity will be Ron Howard, a longtime standout for the Pacers' NBA Development League affiliate Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Howard will attend vet camp with the Pacers, a league source told Pro Basketball Talk, after averaging 19.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists this past season in the D-League. The man known as Mr. Mad Ant will turn 31 in November, but he's continued to improve since entering the D-League through an open tryout prior to the 2007 season.

Howard put up a career-best 18.2 PER for the Mad Ants last season while helping lead the team to its first playoff berth in six seasons. He showed that an old dog can learn new tricks in the process, too, as the 6-foot-5 swingman played more point guard than he had at any other point in his career.

The former Valparaiso standout has participated in three previous vet camps — two with the Milwaukee Bucks and one with the Knicks — but has never appeared on an NBA team's regular season roster. He's hoping that changes this year, however, considering another only five other players have played more career minutes in the D-League's history ... and that's a list nobody wants to move up on at this stage of their career.

[77ncaachamps]

He's a lesser Jerel McNeal since McSteal has been on an active NBA roster.

But similarly they've never hit the hardwood officially.