Vipers look at road trip in positive light

McALLEN - On their just completed four-game road trip, the Vipers were in a position to win all four games but managed just one victory. Despite not achieving the desired results in the win/loss column, the Vipers' coaches are encouraged they proved that they can play with some of the D-League's better teams in Colorado, Iowa and Austin; now it's just a matter of finishing games.

"We have to learn how to close it," Vipers coach Clay Moser said. "We were up by 14 (Sunday) at Austin and we were up by eight late in Colorado. And we had a 10-point lead in the third against Iowa. We never trailed at Tulsa.

There's a lot of positives, but at the end of the day you have to learn how to close games."

Assistant coach Robert Pack echoes Moser's sentiments.

"It's hard for people who didn't see it to understand we got better as a team," he said. "A lot of people just see the losses. But we have to take the next step for us to be able to close things out. Those are two very good teams (Colorado and Austin) we played on the road.

"When you're on the road you want to be in position to win a game. We did that. Now we have to take the next step and realize teams are going to make a run. I think we're on the right track."

The newest Viper

While on their road trip last week the Vipers signed backup point guard Jared Jordan and waived reserve Keoni Watson.

Jordan (6-foot-2, 182 pounds) was in the New Orleans Hornets' training camp in the fall. The Marist product spent part of the 2007-08 season playing in Lithuania. Upon joining the Vipers for last Thursday's game in Tulsa, he's averaged a little over 17 minutes per game.

"I think to come in and play in two games without practice he did a good job understanding what we're doing," Pack said. "He's a true point guard. A true point guard can come in and do things like that. Once he learns his teammates and they learn if they make themselves available he will get them the ball and make things a lot easier. After a few practices I think it'll really start to show."

Rockets on the radio

The Houston Rockets, one of the Vipers' NBA parent clubs, will have their games heard on ESPN Radio 1240 AM, where every Vipers game since the franchise's inception has been heard. The first Rockets broadcast was Monday's game at New Jersey.

"We are very excited that games of our NBA affiliate, the Houston Rockets, will be broadcast alongside Vipers games on ESPN 1240," Vipers President and General Manager Brian Michael Cooper said in a statement. "This further demonstrates the growing relationship between the Rockets and the Vipers as well as the NBA's commitment to the Rio Grande Valley."

D-League's finest

Austin's Malik Hairston was named the NBA Development League's Performer of the Week on Monday. Hairston averaged 24.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists last week. He scored 22 points against the Vipers on Sunday. Then on Monday the San Antonio Spurs signed Hairston, whom they had originally acquired during last June's NBA draft from Phoenix after the Suns selected him in the second round.

Todd Mavreles covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4451.