SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - David Arseneault Jr. thought nothing of the email when it first appeared in his inbox.The message from Dean Oliver, the Sacramento Kings director of player personnel and analytics, just seemed like another inquiry about the quirky system his father ran at tiny Grinnell College. Little did Arseneault know that the Kings had been targeting him as a candidate to coach their NBA Development League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, for a unique basketball experiment.I called him, and he asked if I had interest in the job. I said, The head coaching job? Arseneault said, recalling the story during the D-League Showcase that concludes Monday night in Santa Cruz. He said, Yes. I said, Of course I have interest. I was shocked. I was a 28-year-old, part-time assistant coach at a Division III school in the middle of Iowa.Arseneaults addition is the latest — and perhaps most unconventional — example of how NBA franchises are increasingly using their minor-league team as a testing ground for new ideas.Since it started in 2001, the D-League has been focused on fostering and funneling talent to the NBA. Thats come mostly in the form of personnel, with the leagues most recent count tallying 139 players, 29 assistant coaches and two head coaches — Memphis Dave Joerger, and Utahs Quin Snyder — currently on NBA rosters with D-League experience.With 17 of 30 NBA franchises affiliated with one lower-tier club now, the expanding partnerships are allowing the D-League to become a melting pot for innovation.Arseneault and his father, David Arseneault Sr., got the attention of the Kings in 2012 when Jack Taylor scored an NCAA-record 138 points in Grinnells 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible. Arseneault Jr. was the de facto head coach the past few years, though his dad held the official title.Now he has the Bighorns averaging 140 points per game in what has simply become known as The System. The general principles are to shoot within 12 seconds, apply a full-court pressure defence, substitute all five players every couple of minutes and attempt a ton of 3-pointers.Organized chaos, he calls it.Arseneault said he communicates with Sacramentos front office daily, including Oliver, Kings general manager Pete DAlessandro, assistant general manager Mike Bratz, and scouting co-ordinator and Bighorns assistant general manager Chris Gilbert.The ultimate goal is to provide the Sacramento Kings with something that they can use at the highest level of basketball, Arseneault said.The Kings, through a team spokesman, declined to comment on the system. But theyve hardly been the only franchise taking a trial-and-error attitude with their D-League team.Last year, the Houston Rockets hired Nevada Smith — then just 33 years old — from Division III Keystone College in La Plume, Pennsylvania, to lead their D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.The Rockets, led by general manager Daryl Morey, were interested in Smith because of the way his team relied almost entirely on 3s and layups. Theyve used Rio Grande Valley, which attempted a league-high 45.4 shots per game from beyond the arc last season, to try out different schemes.I think weve had some creative minds, Smith said. We have some other things well do at some point in the season. Kind of saving them right now. Youll have to wait and see. Its kind of crazy, but its fun.The Golden State Warriors are fully invested in their D-League club, the Santa Cruz Warriors, who are owned and operated by the NBA franchise.Santa Cruz coach Casey Hill spent this summer learning the system Steve Kerr implemented with Golden State. The Warriors, like many teams, want players to know the system at both levels so when theyre called up or sent down — as centre Ognjen Kuzmic has been often this season — they know what to do.Its a tool that were going to use, and we have used, to make our NBA team better, Warriors general manager Bob Myers said.With constant call-ups and contract buyouts, the ever-changing rosters in the D-League create the biggest challenges for teams trying to think outside the box.Arseneault, for instance, was rotating more than 15 players at Grinnell. Now he usually has about 10 players with Reno, and theyre all competing for an NBA contract.Arseneault, under the direction of the Kings, said he has made subtle adjustments every game. In a 129-119 win over the Westchester Knicks on Friday night, he had one group run the Grinnell system and another group run a traditional system to fit everyones skills.Arseneault finds it all fascinating, mostly because he never expected the system his father adopted to ever win games — let alone at the professional level. It was just supposed to inject some fun into a small college team.Ive told (the Kings), Please come to me with any experiments you would like to see, Arseneault said. If we can even provide them with one little thing, one little tweak, I would consider it a success.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP Balenciaga Outlet Italia . Sizemore, who turned 29 on Jan. 4, has been limited to six games over the past two seasons because of an injured left knee that twice required surgery. He originally got hurt on Feb. 25, 2012, during a fielding drill in Oaklands first full-squad spring training workout and had surgery that March 21 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Vans Scarpe Scontate . He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2. http://www.scontateoutletairmax.it/air-m...lus-italia.html. The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. Scarpe Air Max 97 Outlet . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind. Nike Air Max Saldi . Erik Cole scored on a breakaway with 4:49 to play, and the Stars rallied to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night.Major League Baseball’s winter GM Meetings have wrapped up, leaving 30 general managers set to start their off-season renovations. TSN.ca looks at the day’s hottest rumours as free agent season gets off the ground. Cueto to Go? The Cincinnati Reds had a disappointing 2014 season and need to improve offensively if they hope to compete in 2015. With a strong starting rotation in hand and some top pitching prospects in the pipeline, the Reds might be in line to trade ace Johnny Cueto. According to ESPNs Mike Petriello, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox may be potential suitors for Cueto due to their need for starting pitching and their outfield depth. Cueto, who is entering the final year of his contract which pays him $10 million per season, would likely command a package north of $150 million, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Fay also states that even though Cueto may be a great trade chip, the chances of dealing him are close to zero as the Reds are still looking to compete next season. Cueto posted a 20-9 record with a 2.25 earned run average and 242 strikeouts with the Reds last season. Calling for Cole The Philadelphia Phillies are fiinally looking to rebuild and the first move might be to deal ace Cole Hamels.dddddddddddd The lefty has four years remaining on his contract which pays him $22.5 million per year. The one caveat is Hamels has a list of 20 teams on his no-trade list, limiting the Phillies overall options. ESPNs Jim Bowden feels there are four teams who match up the best with Philadelphia including the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. Hamels registered a 9-9 record with a 2.46 earned run average and 198 strikeouts with the Phillies this past season. Miller on the Rise After a post-season where relief pitchers were critical to team success, the market for free agent relievers is rising in value. One of the top free agent bullpen arms this off-season is Andrew Miller, who is looking for an average annual value that is astounding, said a source to Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com. The Boston Red Sox would love to re-acquire the lefty who is seeking at least a four-year deal. Miller had a record of 5-5, an earned run average of 2.02 and 103 strikeouts in 62.1 innings last season with the Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. ' ' '