Six Canes Alums on NBA Summer Rosters
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Six University of Miami men’s basketball alums are on rosters for the 2018 NBA Summer League, which kicks off Monday and runs through July 17. Lonnie Walker IV and Trey McKinney Jones (San Antonio Spurs), Bruce Brown, Jr. (Detroit Pistons), Rion Brown (Golden State Warriors), Kamari Murphy (Brooklyn Nets) and Davon Reed (Phoenix Suns) each will be competing in the annual summer league. The action starts July 2-5 in Salt Lake City and Sacramento before shifting to Las Vegas from July 6-17. All games in the NBA Summer League will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or NBA TV.
Walker and McKinney Jones first will compete in the Utah Jazz Summer League in Salt Lake City, starting Monday with a 10 p.m. (ET) game against the Utah Jazz. The matchup will be broadcast by NBA TV.
Walker was selected 18th overall by the Spurs in the 2018 NBA Draft, becoming the fifth first-round draft pick in UM history. He had a standout fre earned Honorable Mention All-ACC and All-ACC Freshman Team honors this past season. He was the first rookie to lead Miami in scoring since Darius Rice in 2000-01 and just the fourth in program history. In 32 games, including 19 starts, Walker averaged 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
McKinney Jones made his NBA debut last season with the Indiana Pacers. He played in 36 games last year with the Fort Wayne Fire Ants of the G-League, averaging 12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. McKinney Jones was a captain on Miami’s 2013 ACC Championship team, playing in all 36 games as the Hurricanes reached the Sweet 16. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.3 percent from 3-point range. He was named to the 2013 ACC All-Tournament Second Team as the Hurricanes won their first ACC Tournament championship.
Bruce Brown was selected 42nd overall by the Pistons in the 2018 draft after playing in 19 games for the Hurricanes during the 2017-18 season. He averaged 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game before missing the final 12 games with a left-foot injury. At the time of his injury, Brown led Miami in rebounds, assists and steals. In two seasons at Miami, consisting of 52 games and 48 starts, Brown averaged 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Rion Brown played in France during the 2017-18 season with Dijon and averaged 12.3 points per game during his fourth season of professional basketball overseas. He played at Miami from 2010-14 and totaled 1,124 points during his UM career, which ranked 28th in program history at the time of his graduation. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds during his career but had a big senior year, averaging 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds during the 2013-14 campaign.
Reed played at Miami from 2013-17 and was a second-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns in 2017. He made his NBA debut last season, playing in 21 games with the Suns and averaging 3.0 points per game. He also played in 12 games with the Northern Arizona Suns of the G-League. Reed finished 16th in all-time scoring at Miami with 1,343 points in 131 career games. He was named Third-Team All-ACC in 2017 and also was selected to the ACC’s All-Defensive Team.
After playing at Miami from 2015-17, Murphy signed with the Brooklyn Nets as an undrafted free agent. He played in all 50 games for the Long Island Nets of the G-League last season, including 48 starts. He averaged 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. During his two seasons at Miami, Murphy averaged 6.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game over the course of 65 games (61 starts).
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