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March 28, 2024

pro basketball:

Slew of former Rebels and top draft picks highlight Vegas Summer League

Rashad Vaughn Bucks

Associated Press

Milwaukee Bucks’ Rashad Vaughn speaks during an NBA basketball news conference Friday, June 26, 2015, in Milwaukee. Vaughn, from UNLV, was selected 17th overall in the NBA draft the night before.

One of the things UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice wanted to do four years ago was increase the Rebels’ overall talent level. He’s done that, and while the on-court results haven’t come in lockstep, you need only look around UNLV’s campus July 10-20 to see that more players with pro potential are making UNLV a destination.

When the 24-team NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is played at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion starting today, six former Rebels will be in action looking to impress.

That doesn’t even include former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who will miss Summer League with the Minnesota Timberwolves to play with Canada in the Pan American Games. One of the six, the Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Moser, committed to Lon Kruger but Moser’s two seasons on the court for the Rebels were both under Rice.

With some loaded — at least by Summer League standards — rosters and top-10 picks throughout, there’s plenty to follow for college and pro basketball fans. But, for local supporters, this is one of the most loaded fields in recent memory.

Here’s a look at the players with local ties and the schedules for their first three games of pool play before the Summer League’s bracket format takes over:

    • Rashad Vaughn, G, Milwaukee Bucks

      Drafted: First round, 17th overall in 2015

      Schedule

      • 3 p.m. Friday vs. New Orleans Pelicans, Cox Pavilion

      • 3:30 p.m. Sunday vs. San Antonio Spurs, Thomas & Mack Center

      • 1 p.m. Monday vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, Cox Pavilion

      Analysis

      A knee injury ended Vaughn’s UNLV career early in, but his recovery from that torn meniscus is a big reason he steadily moved up draft boards since his freshman season ended Feb. 9 against Fresno State.

      The reports out of closed workouts Vaughn had with various NBA teams said he was a better shooter than scouts anticipated and really healthy for the first time in a long time. UNLV fans can look to see if there’s a difference between what scouts saw recently and what they saw in Vaughn’s brief career.

      One of Vaughn’s teammates is Findlay Prep product Jorge Gutierrez, who recently signed a multiyear contract with the Bucks. Since going undrafted in 2012, the 2012 Pac-12 Player of the Year at Cal has bounced around a bit, but Milwaukee seems it would prefer to keep him around.

    • Christian Wood, F, Houston Rockets

      Undrafted in 2015

      Schedule

      • 7 p.m. Friday vs. NBA D-League Select, Cox Pavilion

      • 1:30 p.m. Sunday vs. Phoenix Suns, Thomas & Mack Center

      • 7 p.m. Monday vs. Toronto Raptors, Cox Pavilion

      Analysis

      After holding a draft party on the Strip and then going undrafted, Wood’s redemption tour and path to the NBA starts here.

      The Rockets reportedly gave Wood a little guaranteed money with his free agent contract, so things could have been worse. And Wood still has every chance to prove his worth (to the Rockets and every other team in attendance) and make a roster.

      This isn’t true of everyone on a roster, but these games feel really important for Wood’s NBA future. The same probably can’t be said for Summer League teammate J.J. Avila, a Colorado State alum who doesn’t have Wood’s work ethic issues but also doesn’t have his physical gifts and will struggle to find a career playing basketball in America.

    • UNLV's Khem Birch and Bryce Dejean-Jones celebrate a play in the Rebels' 91-90 overtime loss to Boise State at Taco Bell Arena in Boise on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014.

      Khem Birch and Bryce Dejean-Jones, New Orleans Pelicans

      Both undrafted

      Schedule

      • 3 p.m. Friday vs. Milwaukee Bucks, Cox Pavilion

      • 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Dallas Mavericks, Cox Pavilion

      • 1:30 p.m. Monday vs. Brooklyn Nets, Thomas & Mack Center

      Analysis

      Two seasons ago, UNLV teammates Dejean-Jones and Birch ranked first and second on the team scoring. Now Birch is one year into his pro career and already affiliated with his fourth NBA franchise, while Dejean-Jones is beginning a journey that will likely also include several different stops.

      Last year Birch played for the Washington Wizards’ Summer League team before signing a free agent deal with the Miami Heat. Birch spent the season with the team’s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he averaged 11.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. And prior to Vegas this summer, Birch played for the Brooklyn Nets in the Orlando Summer League.

      Meanwhile, Dejean-Jones was finishing his college career at Iowa State, where he was briefly suspended following an arrest and saw his role diminish as the season ended.

      Birch and Dejean-Jones’ last game together was a 59-51 loss to San Diego State in the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament. A fight among teammates broke out on the way to UNLV’s locker room, and in March, Dejean-Jones told the Ames Tribune that during that scuffle an unnamed teammate told him, “I should have shot you when I had the chance.”

    • Roscoe Smith, F, Denver Nuggets

      Undrafted in 2014

      Schedule

      • 5 p.m. Friday vs. Atlanta Hawks, Cox Pavilion

      • 5 p.m. Sunday vs. Sacramento Kings, Cox Pavilion

      • 5 p.m. Monday vs. Miami Heat, Cox Pavilion

      Analysis

      Following a productive season in the D-League, Smith is pulling double duty this summer.

      Before Las Vegas there are two smaller Summer Leagues: 10 teams in Orlando and four teams in Utah. Smith is playing for the San Antonio Spurs in Utah, but even though the Spurs also play in Vegas he’s not on that roster.

      Instead Smith caught on with the Denver Nuggets, where one of his teammates will be San Diego State’s Jamaal Franklin, the 2012 Mountain West Player of the Year. Smith and Franklin, who was a second round pick by Memphis in 2013, never played in the Mountain West at the same time but for a few months last season they were teammates on the Los Angeles D-Fenders.

      For the season, Smith averaged 18.1 points and 11 rebounds while Franklin averaged 19.2 points and 8.9 rebounds after joining the team in January. Franklin signed a deal to join Nuggets while Smith is auditioning for any type of contract he can get.

    • Mike Moser and Brandon Ashley, Atlanta Hawks

      Both undrafted

      Schedule

      • 5 p.m. Friday vs. Denver Nuggets, Cox Pavilion

      • 5:30 p.m. Sunday vs. Golden State Warriors, Thomas & Mack Center

      • 3 p.m. Monday vs. NBA D-League Select, Cox Pavilion

      Analysis

      Their situations aren’t exactly the same, but three years ago Moser was in a similar position as Wood. Coming off a sophomore season averaging a double-double, Moser decided to stay instead of putting his name in the draft.

      In the three seasons since then Moser played at UNLV, Oregon and Lietuvos Ryta in Lithuania, the team Moser chose instead of trying his luck with the NBA D-League. He could face a similar decision at the end of the month.

      Findlay Prep product Brandon Ashley is getting his first chance to prove himself after falling down draft boards and out of the draft altogether. Their teammates include Fresno State’s Greg Smith and San Diego State’s Josh Davis.

    • Kelly Oubre Jr., right, is greeted by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 15th overall by the Atlanta Hawks during the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in New York.

      Kelly Oubre Jr., G, Washington Wizards

      Drafted: First round, 15th overall in 2015

      Schedule

      • 3 p.m. Saturday vs. Phoenix Suns, Cox Pavilion

      • 1 p.m. Sunday vs. NBA D-League Select, Cox Pavilion

      • 12:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. Dallas Mavericks, Thomas & Mack Center

      Analysis

      The perception of Oubre changed wildly early in the season when the McDonald’s All-American was struggling to get out of Kansas coach Bill Self’s dog house and off the bench. But by draft night he was right back where he started, on the fringe of the lottery.

      Oubre ended up with a solid season at KU — 9.3 points, 5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 21 minutes per game — and his 7-foot 2.25 inch wingspan is a weapon coaches can’t teach. On draft night Oubre was selected by the Atlanta Hawks and traded to the Wizards for the No. 19 pick and two future second rounders.

    • Baylor's Pierre Jackson, center, poses for photographs with teammates after the NIT championship basketball game against Iowa on Thursday, April 4, 2013, in New York. Baylor won 74-54.

      Pierre Jackson, G, Philadelphia 76ers

      Drafted: Second round, 42nd overall in 2013

      Schedule

      • 5:30 p.m. Saturday vs. Los Angeles Lakers, Thomas & Mack Center

      • 7:30 p.m. Sunday vs. Boston Celtics, Thomas & Mack Center

      • 2:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. New York Knicks, Thomas & Mack Center

      Analysis

      Philadelphia’s debut in Vegas is going to be a hot ticket by Summer League standards.

      The Lakers, who already have the biggest local fanbase, will get plenty of attention with top-10 picks D’Angelo Russell (No. 2, 2015) and Julius Randle (No. 7, 2014) plus intriguing guys like Wyoming’s Larry Nance Jr. And their schedule is built to draw fans, too, with the first game coming Friday night against Minnesota and No. 1 overall pick Karl Anthony-Towns followed up by Saturday’s tilt against Philadelphia and No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor.

      The funny thing about that Saturday game is that it’s entirely possible the guy people walk away most impressed with will be Desert Pines High grad Pierre Jackson, who’s back with the 76ers after a knee injury last summer ended his chances of making it to the NBA for the first time.

      Jackson was traded back to the team that originally drafted him, Philadelphia, last offseason but before he could try to make the roster he suffered a torn Achilles tendon. Now he’s back, seemingly healthy and if Jackson displays the same type of jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism that’s gotten him this far he just might steal the show.

    • Detroit Pistons' DeAndre Liggins (20) goes after a rebound between Miami Heat's Danilo Barthel, left, and James Ennis (32) during an NBA summer league game Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.

      DeAndre Liggins, G, Sacramento Kings

      Drafted: Second round, 53rd overall in 2011

      Schedule

      • 3:30 p.m. Friday vs. Toronto Raptors, Thomas & Mack Center

      • 5 p.m. Sunday vs. Denver Nuggets, Cox Pavilion

      • 3:30 p.m. Monday vs. Golden State Warriors, Thomas & Mack Center

      Analysis

      Drafted in 2011, Liggins was probably hoping to be out of the Summer League by now. Last year he played in both Orlando and Vegas before signing deals to play in Russia and Germany.

      Since coming out of Kentucky after his junior season, the Findlay Prep product has spent parts of three seasons for three different teams in the NBA, with multiple D-League stops in between. The former D-League Defensive Player of the Year has an uphill battle in front of him to make it back into the NBA.

    Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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