WINTER SHOWCASE RECAP

Detroit, MI – Coming off a fantastic inaugural season last year, The Motor City Cruise are looking to build off the same momentum coming into the regular season. The season would start off with a lot of excitement on draft day. With the 27^th pick of the first round, General Manager Ben Carloni selected Ryan Turell. Turell is the first ever Orthodox Jewish basketball player to ever reach the NBA G League.

            The Motor City Cruise are built with a lot of young talent. Stanley Umude came from the University of Arkansas as a rookie and finished the Winter Showcase as the third highest leading scorer in the league among all rookies (15.3 PPG). He scored a total of 276 points in the Showcase, which is the second highest in the league among every rookie in the G League. From the University of Houston, Kyler Edwards would finish eighth amongst all the rookies in the league, averaging 10.6 points per game. Lastly, Motor City’s two-way player Buddy Boeheim finished the Showcase with a 36.0 field-goal percentage (seventh highest among all rookies). the Cruise will look to keep building off the young talent they provide in the league as the regular season comes around. 

            Along with the young talent, the Cruise signed a few veterans that are leading the Cruise by great example. 2020 NBA Finals champion, Devontae Cacok finished the Winter Showcase as in the top ten in field goal percentage (64.4 – ranked 10^th in the league). He finished as the Cruise leading scorer (17.2 PPG). His veteran presence continues to show as he looks to lead the team in the regular season. As the regular season comes around, the Motor City Cruise will welcome three new players for the regular season, which will add more veterans to the roster. David Nwaba was acquired from free agency before Showcase week in Vegas. Nwaba has competed in the NBA for six years. He played the final two games in the Winter Showcase and started in one. Jared Rhoden and Jaime Echenique were acquired after the Winter Showcase. Rhoden signed a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons on Monday, December 26^th. During the 2022-23 Winter Showcase, he averaged 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 25.3 minutes per game. Jaime Echenique led Capital City to a 20-8 season last year and scored a career high of 36 points over Fort Wayne. He will look to continue his dominance as heads over to compete with Motor City. 

The Cruise closed out the Showcase with a record of 4-14. The regular season will begin on December 27^th, as Motor City will take on Capital City Go-Go.