Seven former Tennessee basketball players played in this August’s NBA Summer League.
From first round picks Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer making their professional basketball debuts to former undrafted players Kyle Alexander and Yves Pons trying to prove their worth, Tennessee was well represented in the summer league.
Here’s how the Vols performed.
Kyle Alexander
The former Tennessee center Kyle Alexander had one of the most impressive summer league showings of any former Vol. In fact, the 6-foot-11 center was about as good as anyone entering the league without a firm NBA roster spot.
Alexander started all six games for the Phoenix Suns, tallying 11.4 points, nine rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
The class of 2019 big man led the Suns in blocks and finished second on the team in scoring.
Jordan Bone
Point guard Jordan Bone played in Las Vegas with the Indiana Pacers, starting in two games and playing in five.
The former Tennessee point guard tallied 6.2 points per game in 14.7 minutes per contest.
Bone was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft and has spent the last two seasons on two-way contracts, first with the Detroit Pistons and then with the Orlando Magic.
Jordan Bowden
The class of 2020 guard played in three games this summer for the Brooklyn Nets. In 23 minutes per game, Bowden averaged nine points per game.
Bowden tallied double-digits in two of three games, including a 14 point performance.
The Knoxville native played for Brooklyn’s G-League, the Long Island Nets, a season ago. Bowden averaged 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Bowden shot 43.6% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range.
Keon Johnson
The 22nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft played and started in all five of the L.A. Clippers’ summer league games.
Johnson totaled 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in nearly 25 minutes per game. The Shelbyville, Tennessee native’s athleticism was on display in Las Vegas like it was in Knoxville last winter.
The shooting guard signed his rookie contract with the Clippers earlier this month and will make $2.55 million in his first professional season.
Yves Pons
Speaking of athleticism, Yves Pons showed his freakish defensive ability in seven games with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Pons averaged four points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The performance was good enough to get the undrafted free agent a deal with Memphis.
Admiral Schofield
The former All-SEC forward Admiral Schofield played in all five of the Atlanta Hawks’ summer league games, scoring 4.6 points per game. Schofield also tallied four rebounds and two assists in 18.3 minutes per game.
The Washington Wizards drafted Scofield in the second round of the 2019 draft and Schofield spent his rookie season on a two-way contract playing for both Washington and their G-League team.
In 2021, Schofield played for the Greensboro Swarm, the Charlotte Hornets G-League team. In two seasons in the G-League, Schofield has averaged 16 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and 10.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Jaden Springer
The 28th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft started for the Philadelphia 76ers in five games this August. Springer was the second highest scoring former Vol, tallying 11.2 points per game.
Springer hit another gear in his summer league finale, scoring a team high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
The shooting guard added 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Springer signed his rookie deal on Aug. 4 and will make $2.03 million this season.
