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NBA’s Phoenix Suns Sign former Hokie Dowdell to another 10-day Contract

Posted on28 January 2011. Tags: , , ,

Former Virginia Tech standout Zabian Dowdell signed another 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns.

Former Virginia Tech standout Zabian Dowdell signed another 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Phoenix Suns signed former Virginia Tech standout guard Zabian Dowdell to another 10-day contract on Thursday, Jan. 27, according to the NBA team’s official website.

Dowdell has spent the last three seasons playing in Europe and most recently for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA’s Development League, where he played in 18 games and averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 29.3 minutes. He played in 10 games for the 66ers during the 2009-10 season.

The 6-3, 191-pound Dowdell was part of the Suns’ training camp last fall, but was cut about a week before the start of the season. His first stint in the NBA began on Jan. 9, 2011, when he signed his first 10-day contract. The former Hokie appeared in two games in his initial tenure with Phoenix.

Dowdell is one of the most beloved Tech basketball players in recent memory. He was a standout for four seasons at Virginia Tech (2003-07) and was a 2006-07 All-ACC first team selection and a two-time All-ACC defensive team selection.

Congratulations to Zabe and good luck!

This post was written by:

- who has written 220 posts on Tech Hoops.

Gary is a Virginia Tech graduate and veteran sports journalist with a career spanning on-air work in television and radio, and as a writer, editor and columnist in newspapers. He has covered the Hokies since 1993.

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  • http://stores.ebay.com/hip-hop-heads-vinyl-crates HipHop_Hokie

    The Suns are 4 games below .500… TWELVE games behind the Lakers… Nash is still really good but not great anymore, and can’t play D like Zabe can. Come on Phoenix… get him in there a bit and let the aging Canadian get a little rest…

  • http://www.heyhokie.com Goodraisin

    Phoenix needs to give Dowdell a chance to actually play some minutes. There’s a reason why Phoenix has the worst defensive efficiency in the NBA… the 4 guys they run at guard can’t actually guard anyone. Steve Nash, Goran Dragic, Vince Carter, and Jared Dudley are all poor defenders. Dowdell is an excellent defender. Think about it, Alvin Gentry.

  • RK in Roanoke

    I would like to see him stick with the suns, but goodraisin makes some good points about their D. Just saying, but wouldn’t Z make a really good backup to Tony Parker in SA?

  • chuck

    The aging Canadian is likely to be dealt. Sarver has resisted so far because he’s such a big part of the draw, but with the expiring contract of Vince Carter and trading Nash, they’ll have $30MM to rebuild with post-lockout. Potentially $35MM if Grant Hill opts not to return (and why would he?)

    They would be in much better position had they not signed Warrick, Childress, and Frye to those mid-level deals…they’ll have Goran Dragic, Dudley, the other Lopez and those 3 albatrosses to build around, but nobody to bind them all into a unit like Nash.

    Anyway, Dowdell will probably get some decent minutes later on after they decide what to do with Nash. At the end of this 10 day deal, if they decide to keep him, he is paid the rest of the year…prorated $483K…not a bad deal at all.

  • chuck

    George Hill is already the backup to Parker in SA…he also plays alongside him in a 3-Guard rotation with Ginobili….and for their 4th guard they’ve opted to run James Anderson (their own draft choice in 2010) back and forth between the D League and the Spurs…he’s a big shooting guard…

  • hokiegrad

    Goran Dragic will be out the next several games after stepping on glass and slicing up his foot. Here’s Zabe’s chance…

  • http://www.heyhokie.com Goodraisin

    Dowdell got some good minutes last night and seemed to do well. The Suns got the win and Dowdell had 4 assists versus 1 turnover. I didn’t see the game, but New Orleans’ backup point guard, Jarett Jack, went 0-5 so it seems reasonable to say Dowdell played solid defense on Jack. Glad to see that he’s finally getting a chance, even though it is at the expense of an injured player. Also, chuck makes some good points… Phoenix will likely look to move Nash for future assets & draft picks, and that should be a positive thing for Dowdell’s future with the team.


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