Finally! The South Bay Lakers kicked off the 2017-18 season with Media Day in the brand new UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.
The South Bay Lakers 2017 Media Day wasfun! On Media day 2017, writers and broadcasters were treated to ask Lakers head coach Colby Karl, Vander Blue, Alex Caruso and Metta World Peace questions in the scrum style interviews.
As soon as we walked into the gym, we were handed the final opening night South Bay Lakers final roster. As I scanned the list my heart fell into my stomach, Frank Session was not listed.
Wah!!!! A lot of hopeful Los Angeles based professional basketball players were living vicariously through Nitty, the MVP of the Drew League. Let’s hope there’s a team out there who will pick him up because he is darn fun to watch.
I asked Coach Karl how hard it was to make the cuts, and he basically said it was the hardest thing he has to do but it is his job. Along with Session, Karl and his staff also released forward Jason McManamen.
Here is the final roster (Note: The Roster includes Laker Thomas Bryant and two players from tryouts):
| NO | NAME | POS | HT | WT | SCHOOL | STATUS |
| 5 | Ian Baker | G | 6-1 | 186 | New Mexico State | Draft |
| 14 | V.J. Beachem | F | 6-8 | 186 | Notre Dame | Affiliate |
| 17 | Vander Blue | G | 6-4 | 196 | Marquette | Two-Way |
| 13 | Stephaun Branch | F | 6-5 | 208 | West Georgia | Tryout |
| 31 | Thomas Bryant | C | 6-10 | 241 | Indiana | Assignment |
| 4 | Alex Caruso | G | 6-5 | 186 | Texas A&M | Two-Way |
| 25 | Robert Heyer | F | 6-5 | 205 | Boise State | Draft |
| 7 | Demarcus Holland | G | 6-4 | 179 | Texas | Tryout |
| 55 | Michael Holyfield | C | 6-11 | 263 | Sam Houston State | Returning |
| 10 | Andre Ingram | G | 6-3 | 184 | American | Returning |
| 8 | Scott Machado | G | 6-3 | 201 | Iona | Draft |
| 21 | Travis Wear | F | 6-9 | 219 | UCLA | Returning |
| 22 | Stephen Zimmerman | C | 6-11 | 259 | UNLV | Affiliate |
NBA Las Vegas Summer League was a fun subject in our interviews today. We spoke to the SB Lakers two two-way players Blue and Caruso who were both an integral part of the NBA Summer League Championship. Coach Karl was also on the bench in Vegas. I asked Alex if there was anything fun he could tell us and he gave us a good one.
Los Angeles Lakers
Apparently, the Lakers were treated to a waffle bar before games throughout league play. The team had fun with it, and the players told us what their waffle bar experiences.
We were treated to some time with Metta, a personal request which was granted. I asked Metta if he was bringing “I love basketball” to the SB Lakers, and his response is classic. Coaching is much different than playing, and he explains what it means to him. He also lists all the coaches he has learned from, and folks, it is a long list. I just enjoyed that he gave so much credit to so many people who mentored him through the years.
If you follow Peace on social media, you know that he has a lot of fun and loves his children. He also coaches his team, The Pandas, which includes his son Ron Artest III. He is really embracing this new role, trying not to bug Luke Walton too much, but he is aware this is how Walton started his coaching career.
Vander did learn from Josh Magette, the point guard who is playing for Atlanta this season on a two-way contract and is becoming a leader on the SB Lakers.
We hope you enjoy the interviews, let’s just say I did well with the questions, but the videotaping was a challenge, to say the least.
Next: South Bay Lakers Preseason: Two Players Impress
Game one of the SB Lakers 2017-18 season begins on the road against the Santa Cruz Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 4 (Kaiser Permanente Arena). Then the Lakers follow up with their first home game at the UCLA Health Training Center against the Warriors on Wednesday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. The Warriors have a new exciting 6-foot-6 guard in Najeal Young and more.