Tuesday, March 15, 2016 5:31 pm
Mad Ants add 5 to roster
Justin A. Cohn | The Journal Gazette
The Mad Ants’ roster is starting to take shape after the team re-signed C.J. Fair, Xavier Thames and Marcus Simmons today. They also added Kadeem Jack and Terran Petteway after they were released by the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers, who also had Fair in training camp, purchased the Mad Ants last month.
Fair, 6-foot-8, had an outstanding rookie season out of Syracuse with the Mad Ants, who reached the D-League finals for the second straight season.
In 50 games, he averaged 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds over 27.6 minutes with the Mad Ants, and he parlayed that into stints with the Boston Celtics’ Summer League team.
In five preseason games with the Pacers, he totaled eight points and 13 rebounds in 47 minutes.
"Being up at the NBA level, it’s been a great experience," Fair said last week. "After spending all of last season in the Development League, I think over the course of the season and over the summer, I developed a lot of experience. I now know what to expect and how to play my position the best possible way."
Thames, 6-3, who was a second-round draft pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2014 out of San Diego State, played 18 games with the Mad Ants last season and averaged 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 19.3 minutes. He appeared in Summer League action with Brooklyn.
Simmons, 6-6, who is entering his fifth professional season, played 41 games last season with the Mad Ants and averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Jack, a 6-9 rookie out of Rutgers, averaged 13 points and 6.4 rebounds as a senior with Rutgers. He played in one preseason game with the Pacers.
Petteway, 6-6, is a rookie out of Nebraska – he averaged 18.2 points last season – and he also played in college for Texas Tech. He had been in training camp with the Atlanta Hawks and the Pacers. He scored five points in three preseason games with the Hawks, who also used him in Summer League play.
The Mad Ants, who will participate in the D-League draft on Saturday, and who open training camp Tuesday, also have on their roster Ramon Harris and Greg Foster.