Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Founded	2007
Arena	State Farm Arena
City	Hidalgo, Texas
Team colors	Red, Black, Dark Gray, Gray, White
Head coach	Nick Nurse
Owner	RGV Basketball, LLC
Championships	1 (2009–10)
Division / Conference titles	1 (2009–10)
Affiliations	Houston Rockets
Website	www.nba.com/dleague/riograndevalley/

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are a 2007-08 expansion team in the NBA Development League. They play their home games at the State Farm Arena, in Hidalgo, Texas.

The Vipers have a single-partnership affiliation agreement with the Houston Rockets for the 2009–10 season. Previously, they were also affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 2007–08 and the New Orleans Hornets for 2007–09.

History

After the finish of the 2007 season, the D-League expanded to Hidalgo, Texas. They announced the team there would be named the "Vipers". In their debut, they finished with a 21–29 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In 2008–09, they finished with the same record, failing to advance to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

In 2009, the Vipers and the Houston Rockets entered into a single affiliation partnership in which the Rockets controlled the Vipers' basketball operations while the franchise remains under local ownership. The result paid immediate dividends in the 2009–10 season, as the Vipers enjoyed their most successful season. Led by league MVP Mike Harris, and coach of the year Chris Finch, the Vipers went 34–16, tops in the Western Conference, and earned the franchise's first playoff berth. In the playoffs, the Vipers beat both Reno and Austin in 3 games, and swept Tulsa in the Finals to earn the franchise's first championship.

Season By Season

Season	Division	Finish	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Postseason Results
Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2007–08	Southwestern	5th	21	29	.420
2008–09	Southwestern	4th	21	29	.420
2009–10	Western	1st	34	16	.680	Won Round 1 (Reno) 2–1 Won Semifinals (Austin) 2–1 Won D-League Finals (Tulsa) 2–0
2010–11	Western	2nd	33	17	.660	Won Round 1 (Bakersfield) 2–1 Won Semifinals (Reno) 2–0 Lost D-League Finals (Iowa) 1–2
Regular season			109	91	.545
Playoffs			11	5	.688

Current roster

Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y–M–D) From 4.0 !F 23 Asumnu, Stanley 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Tennessee 4.0 !F 21 Brown, Marshall 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Missouri 5.5 !F/C Caracter, Derrick 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 275 lb (125 kg) UTEP & Louisville 1.5 !G 12 Conroy, Will 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Washington 6.0 !C 44 Foster, Will 89 !7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Gonzaga 1.5 !G 15 Humphrey, Lee 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Florida 4.0 !F 18 Johnson, Tyren 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Louisiana-Lafayette 1.5 !G 10 Lewis, Kelvin 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Houston 1.5 !G Taylor, Jermaine 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Central Florida 1.5 !G 11 Uzoh, Ben 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Tulsa 6.0 !C 41 VanderMeer, Scott 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) UIC	Head coach Nick Nurse Assistant coach(es) Mike Taylor Jai Steadman Athletic trainer(s) Craig Skinner Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: February 23, 2012

Past head coaches

• Bob Hoffman (2007–08)
• Clay Moser (2008–09)
• Chris Finch (2009–2011)

Past players

• Aaron Brooks, G, 6'0, University of Oregon (2007)
• Steve Novak, F, 6'10, Marquette University (2007)
• Jarred Merrill, F, 6'9, Oklahoma Christian (2007)
• Gabe Muoneke, F, 6'7, University of Texas (2007)
• Kenny Taylor, G, 6'3, University of Texas (2007–08)
• C.J. Watson, G, 6'2, University of Tennessee (2007–08)
• Kevin Bookout, F, 6'8, University of Oklahoma (2007–08)
• Cedric Simmons, F, 6'9, North Carolina State University (2008)
• Shannon Brown, G, 6'4, Michigan State University (2008)
• Chris Taft, F, 6'10, University of Pittsburgh (2008)
• Luke Anderson, F, 6'6, University of Minnesota (2008)
• Kyle Davis, F, 6'9, Auburn University (2008)

Players assigned from NBA teams

• Steve Novak – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2007
• Aaron Brooks – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2007
• Cedric Simmons – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 2, 2008
• Shannon Brown – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008
• Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 26, 2008
• Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2009
• Jermaine Taylor – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 28, 2010
• Ishmael Smith – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 17, 2011
• Marcus Morris – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 2, 2012

Players recalled to the NBA

• Aaron Brooks – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 14, 2007
• Steve Novak – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 17, 2007
• Cedric Simmons – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008
• Shannon Brown – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17, 2008

Players called up to the NBA

• C.J. Watson – called up by the Golden State Warriors on January 8, 2008
• Jawad Williams – called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 9, 2009
• Mike Harris – called up by the Houston Rockets on December 23, 2009
• Will Conroy – called up by the Houston Rockets from January 28 to February 8, 2010
• Garrett Temple – called up by the Houston Rockets on February 8, 2010

Affiliates

• Cleveland Cavaliers (2007–2008)
• Houston Rockets (2007–present)
• New Orleans Hornets (2007–2009)

External links

• Official Website of the Rio Grande Vipers
• Newspaper article announcing the team