Koko tries for Suns regular season roster

With only two games remaining in the Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue, the time has come for former Quaker Koko Archibong to step onto the court and unleash his considerable talent. Unfortunately, he may not get a chance.

After a hesitant pair of outings last week, Archibong -- who graduated from Penn in May -- has warmed the Summer Suns bench for the last two outings. In fact, he's the only player on the roster to completely sit out both of those games.

In his opening game on July 18, Archibong went 1 for 1 on field goal attempts in seven minutes. Unfortunately, he only scored 2 points. But he did get playing time -- something that was denied to the six players who did not leave the bench during Pheonix's 89-84 victory over Utah.

Given 11 minutes to showcase his genius the following night, the two-time All-Ivy player seemed to come down with a case of nerves. Archibong barely held the ball -- managing to make only 2 points for the second straight night. However, optimistic fans were quick to point out that he shot 2 for 2 on free throws.

The lack of contribution Archibong made to the game might have been overlooked more easily if the Trailblazers hadn't topped the Suns 95-90.

In an interview posted to the Sun's website on Monday, Archibong admitted that the summer league was something of a learning experience.

"I've learned a great deal about what it takes to play at this level and what types of things I need to work on personally," he said.

But things could be worse. The Suns have dropped five players from the roster since the Revue games started last week. The fact that Archibong remains is at the very least a muted vote of confidence.

Another reminder of his luck so far -- even as he sat on the bench -- came when the Suns faced the Knicks. A few weeks ago this game looked like it would be a reunion of sorts -- former teammate Ugonna Onyekwe had comitted to play for the Knicks summer team. By Tuesday night, however, Onyekwe's NBA dream had all but evaporated after he was cut early in the month -- before seeing any playing time.

If Archibong does get back on the court, he'll no doubt be hoping to exhibit the same form he did during his junior year at Penn, when he averaged 14.2 points and 5.7 rebouds while shooting .510 from the field, if he hopes to continue his quest to make the actual roster.

Fortunately, Archibong seems relaxed about the gauntlet he is running.

"There are a lot of things you can't control about your destiny and about this whole situation," he said. "I try not to think about the things I have no control over."

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