News, notes and a few random thoughts from the Orlando Pro Summer League, which tipped off Monday, July 6:

* Well, guess this Tyler Hansbrough kid is pretty good, after all. In his summer debut, Hansbrough came off the bench and provided exactly what Indiana hoped for when it made him the No. 13 overall pick -- hustling his way to 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbing five rebounds. The Pacers won 75-67 in overtime against a team consisting of guys from New Jersey and Philadelphia.

* Another thing you really have to like about Hansbrough is the fact he is willing to sacrifice his body on defense and often dives to the floor in chase of loose balls. Hansbrough is not a great one-on-one defender, but he does a nice job of helping out and getting physical. In that sense, he's a lot like Pacers president and Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird. Hansbrough finished with three steals in 25 minutes.

* Meanwhile, second-year 76ers center Marreese Speights was an absolute beast, finishing with 28 points, 11 boards, a couple of blocked shots and a technical in OT. Speights also finished 6-of-6 from the foul line. In other words, the Sixers may have found a replacement for Samuel Dalembert.

* Imagine if Speights continues his improvement, Elton Brand is healthy for a full season, and free agent point guard Andre Miller re-signs with the team. Throw in Thaddeus Young, Andre Iguodala and new coach Eddie Jordan, and the Sixers may really have something to cheer about next season.

* Nets lottery pick Terrence Williams (Louisville) struggled in his first outing, making just 1 of 8 field goals. But he did pull down eight rebounds. Also, second-year Nets swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts gave a nice showing with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

* First-round pick Jrue Holiday (UCLA) started at the point and scored 9 points in his debut for the Nets/Sixers team. Holiday could turn out to be a real steal for the Sixers, especially when it comes to on-the-ball defense. Spending a season or two learning how to run a team behind Miller would really help Holiday.

* For the Pacers, another player whom I really like is A.J. Price, a second-round pick out of Connecticut. Price suffered a brain hemorrhage during his freshman seasonvand it nearly cost him his life. A couple years later, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. So Price has overcome a lot and it's hard not to root for this kid.

* Former lottery pick Shaun Livingston continued his own comeback, playing 31 minutes and scoring seven points in Oklahoma City's 88-77 win over Orlando.

* First-round pick James Harden (Arizona State) was especially impressive for the up-and-coming Thunder -- making 6 of 9 field goals (including 2-of-3 on 3-pointers) for 17 points. Former NBA coach and PBN contributor Eric Musselman thinks Harden will be better in the pros than he was in college.

* Second-year Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook practically toyed with the competition, scoring 22 points and passing for a whopping nine assists.

* Another guy to keep an eye on: Thunder forward D.J. White. He's entering his second year but actually will be more like a rookie, as White missed last season after surgery to remove a growth on his jaw. At any rate, White had a nice outing in his summer debut, making 6 of 10 shots for 13 points and pulling down nine rebounds.

* For the Magic, newcomer Ryan Anderson (the throw-in in the Vince Carter deal) gave a strong showing with a team-high 21 points. Anderson also pulled down seven rebounds and passed for three assists. The second-year forward should get some quality minutes, as his dead-eye perimeter shooting fits well in Stan Van Gundy's offense.

* Jeremy Richardson added 18 points and 11 boards for the Magic. Former Cleveland big man Lance Allred is also a member of the Magic's summer squad.

* In the day's final game, second-year swingman Bill Walker compiled 14 points and a couple of steals to lead Boston to an 87-56 walloping of Utah. One-time Clippers big man Nick Fazekas added 13 points for the C's.

* Former Georgetown forward and New York lottery pick Michael Sweetney is also playing for the Celtics' summer entry. Sweetney was drafted ninth overall by the Knicks in 2003. He started and made his lone shot in his summer debut.

* Also, Gabe Pruitt and J.R. Giddens did a nice job in Boston's backcourt, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Each also passed for three assists.

* Meanwhile, the Jazz liked considerably less of what they saw -- but in their defense, 14 guys played. Hard to develop any type of rhythm or consistency with that type of rotation. But rhythm and consistency aren't priorities during the summer. It's for evaluation purposes only.

* Either way, the Jazz had to be pleased with the debut performance of first-round pick Eric Maynor, who started at point guard and scored nine points. He also passed for four assists and committed zero turnovers.

* Jazz summer coach Tyrone Corbin told the Deseret News that Maynor "did a pretty good job of being patient, seeing where the gaps were, getting in the lane and being able to get a shot or make a good pass within the interior."

OTHER NAMES YOU MAY KNOW IN ORLANDO

Boston: Robert Swift; Lester Hudson; Chris Lofton; Coby Karl.

Indiana: Brandon Rush; Roy Hibbert; Josh McRoberts; Trey Johnson; Will Blalock; Leo Lyons.

New Jersey/Philadelphia: Rob Kurz; Blake Ahearn; Gary Forbes; Dionte Christmas; Jeff Adrian.

Oklahoma City: Kyle Weaver; B.J. Mullens; Robert Vaden; Serge Ibaka.

Orlando: Maurice Ager; Jeremy Pargo; Richard Hendrix; Courtney Fells; Kasib Powell.

Utah: Wes Matthews; James Augustine; Goran Suton; Derrick Brown; Kevin Lyde; Kevin Kruger; Kosta Koufos (injured, will not play).

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.