Oliver Lafayette returning

Mad Antics

The D-League will hold its annual national tryouts June 15 in New York. The one-day event will see 200 hopefuls in full-court games in front of team executives, coaches and scouts.Thursday

Howard, Smith work at Development League camp

Mad Ants guard Ron Howard and center Tommy Smith accepted invitations to the NBA Development League Elite Mini Camp, which started Monday and runs through Tuesday in Chicago.May 13, 2013

Record year for D-League

It wasn't only the Mad Ants that made 2012-13 their best season; the rest of the NBA Development League had a record-setting year, as well.May 1, 2013

Just when the Mad Ants lose one guard due to injury - that being Huntington North's favorite son, Chris Kramer, who could be out another two weeks with a knee strain - the team got a major boost with the return of Oliver Lafayette.

No one is sure if Lafayette can play Thursday or Friday when the Ants play a two-game series in Tulsa, but he should be able to play when the team returns home Sunday to face Erie.

Lafayette, a 6-foot-2 guard, was called up late last season by the NBA Boston Celtics, and remained with the team throughout the playoffs.

Before he left, Lafayette was leading the Mad Ants in scoring, averaging 17.1 points, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals. He scored in double figures in 40 of his 48 games and posted seven double-doubles.

Including a 34-point game against Maine in mid-March, Lafayette was instrumental in the Ants winning eight of their final 10 games of the season, and their last four.

Kramer, meanwhile, remains sidelined with a knee injury, while 6-11 center Chris Hunter is trying to recover from a sore leg that sidelined him last Sunday against Texas.