Former Hoosiers compete for NBA roster spots in summer leagues

The NBA summer season is underway and several former IU players are trying to prove they belong on an NBA roster.

First-round draft picks Eric Gordon and D.J. White are getting their first taste of professional basketball while former Hoosiers Earl Calloway, Rod Wilmont and Marco Killingsworth are trying to make their names stick in the NBA.

Gordon, picked seventh by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2008 draft, has put on an impressive scoring display in the Las Vegas Summer League. After two games, Gordon is 10th in the league in scoring, averaging 19 points per game. He has also recorded 5.5 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He is second on the Clippers in scoring behind forward Al Thornton.

White, a first round pick by the Detroit Pistons who was later traded to the Seattle Supersonics, also impressed in the Orlando Summer League. The Orlando League took place July 7-11 and consisted of a five game schedule. White averaged 10.4 points per game and grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game playing for Oklahoma City, which is where the Seattle Supersonics will relocate for this coming season.

Perhaps the most impressive of all the former IU players, however, has been Calloway, who was named All-tournament second team in the Orlando League playing for the Indiana Pacers. Calloway averaged 14.2 points and 4.8 assists per game over five games. This past season Calloway played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, an NBA Developmental League team, but his performance in the Orlando League could make him a good candidate for a roster spot with the Pacers.

Calloway’s Mad Ants teammate Wilmont has played in one game in the Las Vegas League and scored 4 points in seven minutes of action for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Killingsworth saw limited action in the Orlando League, playing for the Miami Heat, but he scored 12 points and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes of action in one of the games.