Five Huskers to Play in NBA Summer Leagues

Five former Husker basketball standouts are currently scheduled to be in action in the Las Vegas Summer League beginning Friday. 

Bryce McGowens (Charlotte Hornets), Trey McGowens (Brooklyn Nets), Sam Griesel (Boston Celtics), Dalano Banton (Boston Celtics) and Isaiah Roby (New York Knicks) will be in action in the the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas. Action runs from July 7-17 and all of the games are televised nationally. A full list of games are below. 

Bryce McGowens, a second-round pick by Charlotte in the 2022 NBA Draft, played in 46 games, including seven starts in 2022-23. He averaged 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He played his best basketball in the final weeks of the season, averaging 17.3 ppg on 50 percent shooting and 4.3 rebounds per game in his final four contests. At Nebraska, he was a third-team All-Big Ten performer as a freshman in 2021-22, averaging a team-high 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He had 11 games with 20-or-more points, including a season-high 29 points against both Sam Houston and Rutgers. An eight-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, he averaged 19.8 ppg in his final 12 games, including seven 20-point outbursts.

 Trey McGowens begins his second professional season, as he averaged 3.7 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 23 contests with the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League. A two-year starter for the Huskers, he averaged 9.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his two years in Lincoln. In 2020-21, McGowens started all 27 games and averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He finished fifth in the Big Ten in steals per game and ranked second on the squad in both scoring and assists. For his college career, he totaled nearly 1,200 points, 200 steals and 400 rebounds as he also played two seasons at Pittsburgh.

 Griesel begins his professional career after starting for the Huskers in 2022-23. The 6-foot-7 guard averaged 12.0 points, 3.8 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, ranking ninth in the Big Ten in assists and in the top 20 of the conference in rebounds, steals, minutes and assist-to-turnover margin. Griesel totaled 19 double-digit performances, including a pair of 20-point games, and led NU with four double-doubles. He closed the season with seven straight double-figure games, as he averaged 14.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest in that span. Griesel, who began his career at North Dakota State, totaled 1,336 points, 732 rebounds and 339 assists in his collegiate career.

The Celtics may also have another former Husker in Las Vegas with Dalano Banton, who was signed recently after spending the last two years with the Toronto Raptors. Banton played in 31 games for Toronto in 2022-23, averaging 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He had a career-high 27 points in a win at Detroit. As a rookie, he appeared in 64 contests for the Raptors, averaging 3.2 points and 1.5 assists per game.  Banton spent two seasons at Nebraska after transferring from Western Kentucky. After sitting out the 2019-20 campaign, Banton played in all 27 games, including 22 starts, for the Huskers in 2020-21, averaging 9.6 points per game while leading the Huskers in both rebounding (5.9) and assists (3.9) per game. 

Roby has played four seasons in the NBA after being selected in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8 forward from Dixon, Ill. Last season, Roby played 42 games for the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game before he was signed by the Knicks on the last day of the regular season. His best year came in 2021-22 with Oklahoma City, as he averaged 10.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 21 minutes per game. As a Husker, he played three seasons (2017-19), totaling 786 points, 530 rebounds and 154 blocked shots before declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft. He enjoyed a breakout 2018-19 campaign, establishing career highs in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg) while adding 1.9 blocks per game, as he finished among the Big Ten leaders in blocked shots (third) and steals (1.3, ninth). Roby tallied three double-doubles in 2018-19 and posted a career-high 28 points in Nebraska’s NIT win over Butler.

 

California Classic (Charlotte Hornets)
Opponent	Date	Time	TV	Husker
San Antonio Spurs	Monday, July 3	7 p.m. (CT)	ESPN	B. McGowens
Golden State Warriors	Wednesday, July 5	5 p.m. (CT)	ESPN	B. McGowens
Las Vegas Summer League (Charlotte Hornets)
Opponent	Date	Time	TV	Husker
San Antonio Spurs	Friday, July 7	8 p.m. (CT)	ESPN	B. McGowens
Los Angeles Lakers	Sunday, July 9	3 p.m. (CT)	ESPN2	B. McGowens
Portland Trail Blazers	Tuesday, July 11	7:30 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	B. McGowens
New Orleans Pelicans	Thursday, July 13	6:30 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	B. McGowens
Las Vegas Summer League (Boston Celtics)
Opponent	Date	Time	TV	Husker
Miami Heat	Saturday July 8	2 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	Griesel, Banton
Washington Wizards	Sunday, July 9	6:30 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	Griesel,, Banton
Los Angeles Lakers	Wednesday, July 12	9 p.m. (CT)	ESPN2	Griesel, Banton
New York Knicks	Friday, July 14	6 p.m. (CT)	ESPN2	Griesel, Banton
Las Vegas Summer League (Brooklyn Nets)
Opponent	Date	Time	TV	Husker
Cleveland Cavaliers	Friday, July 7	7:30 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	T. McGowens
New York Knicks	Sunday, July 9	4:30 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	T. McGowens
Milwaukee Bucks	Tuesday, July 11	5 p.m. (CT)	ESPNU	T. McGowens
Toronto Raptors	Thursday, July 13	4 p.m. (CT)	ESPN2	T. McGowens
Las Vegas Summer League (New York Knicks)
Opponent	Date	Time	TV	Husker
Philadelphia 76ers	Saturday, July 8	4 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	Roby
Brooklyn Nets	Sunday, July 9	4:30 p.m. (CT)	NBA TV	Roby
Orlando Magic	Wednesday, July 12	7 p.m. (CT)	ESPN2	Roby
Boston Celtics	Friday, July 14	6 p.m. (CT)	ESPN2	Roby