Over the past two seasons Maurice Ager has been through a lot trying to land a solid role in the world's premier basketball league, the NBA. After being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 following a successful collegiate career at Michigan State, Ager was traded to the Nets as part of the deal that sent Jason Kidd to Dallas.
Ager played in 34 games for the Nets from 2007-2009 but struggled to find himself a solid NBA role. Like many players, following the 08'-09' season Ager headed overseas in hopes of developing his game and continuing the career he loves.
During this time Ager continued one of the careers he loved but he also started up another. In April of 2010 Ager launched a production company, "Ager Music". Ager's beat "Forever I'm A Spartan" quickly became a hit and is now played at school events and on the Michigan State athletics website. What was once a hobby for Ager has now turned into a second career for him outside of the basketball court.
Back on the court, Mo played for the Cajasol' Sevilla in Andalusia, a community in Spain, during the '09'-'10 season before agreeing to enter the NBA D-League and joining the Maine Red Claws. By joining the D-League, Ager was able to show his talents to NBA scouts and ultimately ended up signing on with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2010-2011 season.
In a recent interview on the Celtics Late Night Show, Ager stated how he believed he developed more as a player during his time overseas and with the Red Claws than he did during his time in the NBA. Hard work, dedication,and the right opportunity (the keys to getting back in the NBA) allowed Ager to get back in the league for the upcoming season.
Things didn't seem to be looking to good for Ager to start the year, as he had to deal with a quad contusion that sidelined him for most of the preseason. Ager finally recovered from the injury just in time for the T'Wolves final preseason game on Friday.
Ager took advantage of his opportunity to impress the Minnesota organization by paying 17 minutes in a back-up point guard role. During those 17 minutes Ager dropped in 8 points on 1-5 shooting from the field and 6-8 shooting from the line.
With Minnesota's starting point guard Johnny Flynn out of the lineup due to hip surgery, Ager seems to have a place to call home in Minnesota. After a rough post season in which we didn't see much of Mo it's good to see that he still holds a spot in the NBA.
Ager is currently the only former Red Claws in the NBA. Josh Davis was recently cut from the Memphis Grizzlies and Mario West was waived from the Boston Celtics.
We congratulate Mo and wish him the best in the future. Represent Crustacean Nation well!
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