In a city that bleeds burnt orange and not black or silver, tonight’s Austin Toros-Rio Grande Valley Vipers matchup is sure to bring Texas Longhorn fans out to the Cedar Park Center. Former Longhorn, now Viper, Connor Atchley will be making his first appearance in Austin tonight.
The D-League sophomore was recently traded to the Vipers from the Iowa Energy in exchange for Stanley Robinson. He’s appeared in seven games since late January where he’s averaged 8.7 ppg and 4.3 boards. Why is this important?
Two reasons: First, Atchley is the only name on the Vipers’ roster that will be anywhere near relevant to Toros fans and second, tonight’s matchup will be a rematch of last season’s D-League championship and it will be interesting to see if faithful Longhorn, now Toros, fans will jeer at Atchley.
Another Big 12 alum will be present in tonight’s contest (pending the San Antonio Spurs don’t recall him in the next few hours) and that’s former Oklahoma State Cowboy James Anderson. A name that is familiar to both NCAA and NBA fans.
Anderson rejoined the Toros earlier this week to continue rehabilitation on his right foot. In his previous two games he averaged 14.5 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes of action. Fans can expect to see Anderson playing extended minutes to get him back in playing shape for the Spurs.
This will be the fifth meeting of the in-state rivals with the home team winning the previous games. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm. If you are unable to make it out to the game to catch this match-up in person the game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.
