Hornets Recall Vinicius From Development League

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The New Orleans Hornets recalled rookie forward Marcus Vinicius from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, the team announced Thursday.<br/><br/>"We assigned Marcus to the D-League

Thursday, April 5th 2007, 10:18 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The New Orleans Hornets recalled rookie forward Marcus Vinicius from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, the team announced Thursday.

"We assigned Marcus to the D-League with the intention of getting him some quality game experience to further his development," Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower said. "He has shown great strides during his time in Tulsa and, with our recent string of injuries, the time was right to bring him back to the Hornets' lineup."

Vinicius was previously assigned to Tulsa on Jan. 9, but was recalled six days later after suffering a strained right Achilles' tendon in his first game with the 66ers. After being recalled and recovering from his injury, Vinicius was reassigned to Tulsa on March 1.

Vinicius started in six games and has played in 13 overall for the 66ers, averaging 16.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33 minutes of play.

Over his last three games in the D-League, he has averaged 29.3 points, 7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 39 minutes of play.

Vinicius was drafted by the Hornets in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft and has averaged 1.4 points in eight games with the team this season.