In a rebuilding year for the Utah Jazz, there is still plenty to cheer about as a local basketball fan.  Five players from local colleges are in the NBA right now and some are having a huge impact on the success of their respective teams.  Here is a look at how our local college legends are performing right now.

Andre Miller, Utah, Denver Nuggets: although his minutes have been sporadic as of late, Miller is still a big part of the Nuggets success. He has had two of his best game this season in the last few weeks.  In a 10 point loss to the Jazz on the 13th of December, Miller more than 27 minutes and finished the game with his fourth highest scoring output of the season to that point with 11.   He also added a season-high tying seven assists.

Miller topped those totals just a week ago in an eight point loss to the Golden State Warriors.  On that night, Miller made 6 of 8 shots on his way to 14 points.  He also added four rebounds and a season high eight assists for the now 14-15 Nuggets.

Andrew Bogut, Utah, Golden State Warriors: Bogut isn’t looked to, to be much of an offensive threat for the sweet shooting Warriors, but what he does provide in his role as the starting center is the ability to rebound the ball and play good defense.  As of late, Bogut has been very impressive on both accounts.

Bogut has had some absolutely dominant performances on the glass recently with three games of at least 18 rebounds.  The first of which came in a two-point win over Dallas on the 11th of December.  on that night, Bogut tallied six points, 18 rebounds and two blocked shots.  Eight days later Bogut was at it again in a two-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs.  On the evening in question, Bogut registered eight points, 18 rebounds, two steals and three blocks.

His best performance of the season came just two nights later in a 19-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers when Bogut put up 12 points, a season-high 20 rebounds and two blocks in just under 28 minutes on the floor.

Jimmer Fredette, BYU, Sacramento Kings: after much speculation that Fredette would be traded, it was a trade that has provided an opportunity for him to play on a regular basis.  Since the trade of Greivis Vasquez to the Toronto Raptors, Fredette has appeared in every game as the back-up point guard to Isaiah Thomas.

Although he isn’t getting big minutes, Fredette has been solid.  In that stretch, Fredette has had his three most impressive games of the season.  In a 21-point home loss to the Jazz, Fredette was 4 for 6 from the floor on his way to 13 points in just under 12 minutes of action.

A week later, Fredette had another solid outing with nine points, two rebounds and an assists in a little more than nine minutes in a 17-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks.  In another Kings’ defeat five days later, Fredette  shot 4 for 6 from the floor and finished the game with nine points as well as two rebounds, two assists and a steal in about 13 minutes on the floor.

Brandon Davies, BYU, Philadelphia 76ers: Davies doesn’t see a great deal of time on the floor, but has appeared in 27 of the 30 76ers games so far this season.  When on the floor, Davies plays solid defense, but doesn’t look to score very often.  In fact, Davies had attempted more than five shoots in just one game this season.

The best statistical game of his young career came just a few weeks ago in a blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets.  In that game, Davies played more than 16 minutes and ended up with nine points, six rebounds and three steals.

Damian Lillard, Weber St., Portland Trailblazers: Lillard is the leading assist man and the second leading scorer on an impressive Blazers squad that has a 24-6 record at this point in the season.  The 23-year old point guard had two of his most memorable games of the season on back-to-back nights a few weeks ago.

In a three-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road on the 17th of December, Lillard made 8-of-12 shots from 3-point range on his way to a season-high 36 points.  On that night, Lillard also handed out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds.  One night later, Lillard matched his season-high with 36 points on 7-of-14 shooting from distance to go along with six rebounds, six assists and three steals.

If Lillard continues to play at such a high level he should get serious consideration to be an All-Star this season.

Related articles

• Local flavor in the NBA (jmoneysports.com)