The 2018 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League is set to wrap up next Tuesday and there have been a ton of great performances in Las Vegas, Nevada.
From Furkan Korkmaz’s 40-point outing against the Boston Celtics, Josh Hart dominating the competition, and rookies Kevin Knox, Trae Young, Wendell Carter Jr., and Harry Giles showing out it’s been fun seeing the next crop of potential NBA stars.
Speaking of Hart, he is just one of many local players participating in the NBA’s Summer circuit.
The second-year guard out of Villanova has played extremely well in both the California Classic and MGM Resorts NBA Summer League.
At the Las Vegas Summer League, Hart is averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in three games.
While stats don’t mean much in the summer league, Hart has shown varying degrees of improvement from this time last year, which is good news for the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, Hart isn’t the only former Villanova Wildcat playing in the summer league.
Ryan Arcidiacono (Chicago), Mikal Bridges (Phoenix), Jalen Brunson (Dallas), Donte DiVincenzo (Milwaukee), Omari Spellman (Atlanta), and Daniel Ochefu (New York Knicks) are all in Vegas.
In addition to Villanova, there is also contingent of players from Temple, La Salle, and St. Joseph’s University at the Vegas Summer League.
Former Temple forward Obi Enechionyia is playing for the Detroit Pistons, while B.J. Johnson has received some playing with the Charlotte Hornets.
But former St. Joe’s forward Isaiah Miles is playing the best out of Enechionyia and Johnson.
In two games with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miles is averaging 7.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. He’s making high-energy plays on both sides of the floor, which could be his ticket to possibly getting a two-way contract with the Sixers or another team.
Finally, you can’t forget about Tony Carr and Amile Jefferson, who both went to high school in the area.
Carr, the former Roman Catholic High School standout had a great two-year stint with Penn State and was drafted in the second round by the New Orleans Pelicans.
In three summer league games, he is averaging 7.0 points, 3.3. assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game.
Jefferson, on the other hand, was a McDonald’s All-American at Friends Central High School, before taking his talents to Duke University. Even though he went undrafted last year, Jefferson did receive a two-way contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jefferson was a double-double machine last season in the NBA G-League last year with the Iowa Wolves and is doing the same thing in Vegas.
The former Friends Central product is averaging 10.3 points and 13.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.
It is always good to see local players do well in the NBA’s summer circuit. After putting in the hard work over the years, they are all starting to see their professional dreams become a reality.
