So who the hell are all these other guys?

Houston Sports Page has the complete roster listed, so we decided to give you a little rundown of some of the lesser known, and in some cases, unknown, players that are hoping to make the Rockets roster.

	Tyrone Washington Many wondered what has been going on with Big T since he was taken by the Rockets out of Mississippi State in the second round of the '99 Draft -- then resurfaced at a Rocket workout last month along with center Nate Huffman out of Israel. Well, Tyrone played last season with Virtus Ragusa of the Italian leagues, averaging 13.5 points and 8.7 boards per contest, hitting a shade over 50% of his shots. Washington is a big boy, and will bang down low, but it is believed he needs more seasoning to reach the NBA level just yet (and certainly more to reach that "I'm the next Zo Mourning" status).
	Venson Hamilton Venson, also taken in the second round of '99 by the Rockets out of Nebraska, started last season with the hoops leagues in Poland, but moved on to play for Nuovo Basket Napoli in the Italian leagues and proved his reputation as a tenacious rebounder was no fluke: He averaged 15.5 points and 12.5 boards per game. However, according to TeleBasket has earned a reputation also as someone with a poor attitude for the game. Can Venson crack the Rockets' roster as ex-Nebraska teammate Tyrone Lue had predicted? That remains to be seen.
	Reed Rawlings Reed averaged 14.6 points, 4.6 boards and nearly 2 steals per contest at Samford. He made a lot of NBA noise by scoring 28 points (5-9 from three-point range) in the first round game of the NCAA Tournament, a 65-79 loss to Syracuse. He scored nearly 18 points per game at the Portsmouth NBA tryout camp. Rawlings' athleticism is considered by most experts to be underrated -- he can leap, bang down low if needed, take it to the rack and definitely shoot the rock. Many were surprised he did not go in the second round.
	Alex Jensen Jensen is considered by many to be the type of player whose impact on the game isn't always reflected in the box score -- a terrific team player, averaging just under 14 points and 7.5 boards per game. He was named the Mountain West Conference Most Valuable Player, and many consider him as good of a player as Utah teammate and co-captain with Jensen Hanno Möttölä (17.5 points per game -- drafted #40 overall by Atlanta). Said Utah coach Rick Majerus on Jensen, "Alex is a terrific player. I always have felt that way. I'll always feel a sense of indebtedness to him for the fun he's allowed me to have as a coach and the loyalties he's extended to me and his teammates."
	Axel Dench This 6'11", 240+ pound Australian, nicknamed "The Axe", played extremely well at Portsmouth, the first of the NBA tryout camps before the draft, by averaging over 12 boards per contest. At Gonzaga he averaged 9.6 points and 5 boards per (quite a step down from his All-Tournament board numbers at Portsmouth), though he was a major factor in getting Gonzaga to the Sweet 16 last season. Amazingly accurate three-point shooter for how big he is (or for that matter no matter how big he is) -- 46% (26-56) from long range and 54% from the field in his senior season. Former teammate at Gonzaga, Matt Santangelo, is playing for the Grizzlies in the Revue.
	Stais Boseman This 6'4" guard averaged 16 points per game at USC his senior season in 1997 and formed a tough duo with, ironically enough, ex-Rocket Rodrick Rhodes. Was considered underrated at Pac-10 and can play both guard positions. Never projected to be drafted by NBA scouts, Boseman was drafted out of college in the fourth round of the CBA by the Rockford Lightning and presumably has been there since.
	James Collins Collins put up over 17 points and 5 boards per game his junior and senior seasons at Florida State and ranks third all time in scoring at FSU with 1,793 points. Philly took him in the second round of the '97 Draft, but traded his draft rights to the Clippers. He played in just 23 games for the Clippers that season (1998). He signed a 10-day contract with the Suns in early '99 but didn't last after that.
	Rayford Young Explosive scorer -- his junior season once scored 32 points on Kansas... in the final 9 minutes of the game (41 total). Also dropped a 36-point bomb last year on Iowa State in Tech's season finale. Unfortunately, with Steve Francis and Moochie Norris locks to be Rockets and Bryce Drew sure to be dealt as a result of that, it's unlikely there's a spot on the roster for a 5'11" point guard.
	Kevin Simmons Simmons started his college career at UC-Irvine before moving on to UNLV, where he finished up in 1999. Simmons averaged 12.7 points and 7.2 boards per game as a senior. A decent college player, Simmons is very gifted athletically and quick and energetic on the floor, but a poor defender and is probably not NBA material just yet.
	Mark Pope Pope was a member of the NCAA Title-winning Kentucky team of 1996 where he was a decent rebounder and shotblocker, and was drafted in the second round in 1996 by the Indiana Pacers. He playerd for Efes Pilsen in Turkey (Mirsad Turkcan's old team) in 1996-97 and came back to the Pacers where he played sparingly in 97-98 and was out with tendinitis most of 98-99.
	Aundre Branch Branch no doubt has NBA range on his shot. He put up big numbers at Baylor in his senior season of 1995, averaging nearly 22 points and 5 boards per contest and is the fourth leading scorer in Baylor history. He was selected by San Diego in the 6th round of the 1995 CBA Draft (forever known as the "Matt Maloney Draft" in CBA lores). He went foreign, averaging 22 points per game in France in 1998 and played for the Des Moines Dragons of the IBL in 98-99 before heading back to France to play for the PSG Racing team in early '99.
	Mark Young Averaged 13 points and 6.5 boards per game his junior season, after the which he left Kansas State in '97. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 1997 CBA Draft by Grand Rapids.

Random Notes
Though now it's down to the Rockets and Raptors, some of you may have noticed that both ESPN and MSNBC, in their free agent reports, listed the Rockets as the primary contenders for Mobley's services but ranked the Blazers second.

Any questions on who one of the "outside forces" clutchcity.net reported pushing Cat to leave Houston is? .....

Dan Langhi was rumored to be highly considering joining the Italian leagues this season, but that all changed when he inked a 2-year pact with the Rocks (team option on second season) .....

If Mobley does leave for the Raptors -- and one very good source says the feeling is that may be the case -- you get the feeling the Rockets are going to come away with Rashard Lewis or Austin Croshere. Due to restricted free agency (for Lewis) and the Rockets' cap limitations it looks impossible on paper for the Rockets to get one of the versatile forwards, but they've looked hard at both players and what it would take to get them here. A sign and trade deal would have to be the means. As for Croshere, look out for Boston -- Pitino is drooling over him and could use Antoine Walker as the bait.

Somehow I can't hear the excuse of the Pacers not being able to afford Croshere with Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller to fork out cash for, but yet they can take on "How to Blow a Million Dollars 72 times" Walker.

Either way the Rockets could be players on the trading market with the $4.4 million exception to dangle in front of some teams .....

As we reported in the season ending 'Notes, Bryce Drew will be traded sometime after August 1st -- that much is certain. Not just because he can't help much as a third string behind Franchise and the Moochster, but just as much as a personal favor to him. Drew needs playing time to develop. He can't get it in Houston.