Suomen Summer Leaguer

You'll have to excuse us fans of the PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS.
What with Greg Oden healthy and Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez joining the team, we can't help thinking about the upcoming NBA season while the just-concluded campaign remains fresh in most other folks' memory.
That hope for the future, a return to the "Rip City" good times, means we're paying attention to things like PETTERI KOPONEN and his summer league success.
Koponen, 20, is a 6-foot-4 point guard bidding to fill Portland's 15th and final roster spot -- a spot that would make him only the second player from FINLAND to make the NBA (anybody remember Hanno Mottola?).
Koponen opened the summer league Monday, scoring 19 points with four three-pointers and three assists. The next night, the Finn added 18 points and three assists.
Admittedly, two summer league performances do not tell the entire story of Koponen, but rest assured Blazers fans will follow his exploits closely. We really are *THAT* excited for the season to arrive.