{"id":2963,"date":"2026-06-28T04:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T04:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2963"},"modified":"2026-06-28T04:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T04:08:26","slug":"richie-saunders-to-the-memphis-grizzlies-is-the-feel-good-story-of-the-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2963","title":{"rendered":"Richie Saunders to the Memphis Grizzlies is the feel-good story of the summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>The sight of Richie Saunders limping off the court with a college career-ending ACL tear in February is quickly fading away.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2962\">Darryn Peterson \u2018happy to be home\u2019 with the Utah Jazz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s replaced by one of the best feel-good stories of the summer: The Memphis Grizzlies selected him with the 32nd pick in the NBA draft this week.<\/p>\n<p>Saunders is an icon in Utah, especially amongst BYU fans, and he\u2019ll fast become a favorite in Memphis because of one glaring trait: He will work harder and hustle more intensely than anyone on his team. He\u2019s done it all his life.<\/p>\n<p>I remember watching Utah State play last year, making the NCAA Tournament after handling its league. I kept thinking, \u201cWhy is this team so good?\u201d Then it hit me: The entire team played like Saunders.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s the lead in any documentary that shows how hustle gets you somewhere. With him, BYU was a different team than the one that flamed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, riding the back of the draft\u2019s No. 1 pick, AJ Dybantsa.<\/p>\n<p>When Saunders went down, a lifeline was thrown to two underclassmen, and it was a hard pull for Dybantsa and point guard Robert Wright III. <\/p>\n<p>Saunders was the secret sauce. From getting almost half a dozen rebounds per game to hitting huge 3-point shots and finishing remarkable drives to the rim, Cougars coach Kevin Young missed this Tater Tot King.<\/p>\n<p>The Grizzlies took the 6-foot-5 Saunders as the second pick in the second round of the draft. It was a steal. Saunders averaged exactly 18 points per game last season before tearing his ACL and likely would have pressed himself into a first-round pick if not for the injury. <\/p>\n<p>As it stands, just being two picks away from that threshold isn\u2019t bad.<\/p>\n<p>Wrote The Athletic\u2019s Sam Vecenie of Saunders, \u201cHe\u2019s a good shooter who is extremely reliable off the catch and can do just enough beyond to be a role player in an era when you can\u2019t just be a specialist anymore. The issue is that he\u2019s nearly 25 and not overly athletic for what he\u2019ll be asked to do.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Vecenie had previously given Saunders a first-round grade and described him as a \u201cterrific shooter and mover who is a tailor-made rotation wing if his knee is healthy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>CBS Sports analyst Adam Finkelstein graded the Grizzlies\u2019 selection an A-minus.<\/p>\n<p>Noted Finkelstein: \u201cWe saw a lot of proven high-floor veterans get picked late in the first round yesterday. If Richie Saunders hadn\u2019t torn his ACL, I think he would have been in that category. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2942\">Here\u2019s everyone the Utah Mammoth selected in the 2026 NHL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Memphis Grizzlies are the best second-round drafting team in the NBA, and they prove it every single time.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Richie Saunders is going to be an NBA player for a long time.&#8221;@AdamFinkelstein loves this pick from the Grizzlies. \ud83d\udc40 pic.twitter.com\/R5a8Q0x1Oq<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 25, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Said Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman on his new draftees, including Saunders: \u201cWhen we\u2019re thinking about the type of individuals that embody this team, this organization, you\u2019re looking at them&#8230; These are guys that are going to go out and fight every day&#8230; we couldn\u2019t be more excited organizationally because this is the Grizzlies\u2019 DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saunders has been compared to former Aggie Sam Merrill, with a build similar to that of Max Strus, Merrill\u2019s veteran wing teammate on the Cleveland Cavaliers. <\/p>\n<p>Saunders thrives off the ball. He has a reputation for solid athleticism, a quick release and outstanding movement. He is energetic with an excellent motor. He\u2019s not as athletic as Strus, say some, but he makes up for it with smarts and hustle.<\/p>\n<p>While Strus has an NBA career average of 10.4 points per game, 42.7% from the floor and 37% on 3s (6.3 attempts per game) in the NBA, Saunders \u2019 collegiate line last season was 18 points per game on 48.9% shooting from the floor and 37.6% from beyond the arc on 6.8 attempts per game.<\/p>\n<p>He made 81.7% of his free throws.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, NBA and college numbers are apples and oranges, but Saunders\u2019 stat line was impressive. So was his film. He\u2019ll be a contributor for Memphis.<\/p>\n<p>So, as June fades into Utah\u2019s smoky skies, this Saunders story climbs up the scale of my all-time favorite headlines.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to his parents, mother Lisa and father Rich. You have to respect the dad, a man who took an eager and hungry son and fed him what he needed to keep the fire burning inside to this point in his basketball career.<\/p>\n<p>All those hours, all those early mornings, the shooting sessions, the pushing, the encouraging and coaching.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2940\">Recruiting boost: A top 5 prep receiver in California just picked BYU over the likes of Utah, Ohio State, UCLA and Oregon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It all paid off, Pops. You did it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Memphis Grizzlies selected Richie Saunders out of BYU in the 2026 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Richie Saunders to the Memphis Grizzlies is the feel-good story of the summer - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2963\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Richie Saunders to the Memphis Grizzlies is the feel-good story of the summer - 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