Heat bring back guard Hasbrouck

MIAMI -- Kenny Hasbrouck impressed the Miami Heat last summer. The team didn't forget.

Hasbrouck signed a 10-day contract Tuesday with the Heat, getting called up from the NBA Development League six months after nearly landing a spot on Miami's training-camp roster. A broken rib derailed those plans, but the Heat never lost track of the former Siena guard, either.

"I'm going to work out a lot and hopefully I can just fit in," said the 6-foot-3 Hasbrouck, a shooting guard at Siena and a point guard with the Heat last summer. "I'm really just trying to focus on just being a good teammate, doing whatever they ask me to do and try my hardest to get a spot on the team."

Hasbrouck got the call from the Heat on Sunday night, traveled to South Florida on Monday, and the deal got done shortly after the team's shootaround practice Tuesday morning.

His debut on the roster is Tuesday night when Miami hosts San Antonio.

"He's an intriguing young prospect," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We liked him. We didn't want to cut him. He got hurt with the busted rib right before training camp. I know he was really discouraged by that. But we kept him on our radar. We've been following him."

The broken rib started a downward turn for Hasbrouck, who then broke his left foot in early October and was sidelined for 2½ months.

"I had to get surgery, couldn't put pressure on my foot, didn't think I was going to get back to the level of basketball I was playing at," Hasbrouck said. "It was stressful. Like a state of depression, honestly."

He went back to Siena, trained and worked out there as well as sat on the bench with his former college teammates for a couple of games, before getting to go full-speed again in January.

From there, the D-League beckoned, and the Heat took notice.

So did Siena, which reached the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009 with Hasbrouck.

"It means a lot," said Edwin Ubiles, one of Hasbrouck's Siena teammates. "We all knew he could do it. Fortunately he was playing great in the D-League. After suffering an injury and almost making the Miami Heat to begin with and for him to get that opportunity again and show that he's capable of playing in the NBA is great for us, great for him especially and great for our program."

Hasbrouck grew up in the same neighborhood as Heat forward Michael Beasley, their relationship going back many years. He's also struck up a bond in recent months with Miami forward Quentin Richardson, so he's already got some allies in the Heat locker room.

"I always wanted to be back here," Hasbrouck said. "I felt it would be my calling to be back here."