The NBA Summer League features a combination of exciting young talent with fringe players trying to work their way onto the end of an NBA bench. While the quality of play tends to leave something to be desired, it can be an intriguing spectacle for college hoops fans to catch up on some of their favorite players. This year’s league featured five ex-Irish stars, four of whom getting their first looks on new teams, showcasing their skills in Las Vegas and Utah.

Jerian Grant

Last year’s 19th overall pick was included in one of the summer’s biggest blockbuster deals, heading to Chicago from New York as part of the return for Derrick Rose. While he initially looked set up for ample minutes, the signings of Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, and Isaiah Canaan have perhaps clouded Grant’s path to consistent minutes with the Bulls.

In the Summer League, Grant was given the reigns as the Bulls’ primary ball handler, although lottery pick Denzel Valentine ran the offense for large stretches. Unfortunately, Jerian struggled to find his stroke for the majority of the summer. Using the league to work on his deep ball, Grant was not shy about putting up threes, launching almost 6 per game. He failed to quell doubts about his shooting prowess, shooting 22% on those 3-point attempts, the exact percentage that he struggled to in his rookie season.

Despite his struggles shooting the ball, Grant still did many of the great things that made him a 1st team All-American two seasons ago. His deft handling of the pick and roll led to many wide-open looks for Bobby Portis, and he used his quickness to get to the rim often. Playing on a fairly stacked (by Summer League standards) Bulls roster that featured essentially their legitimate NBA bench, Jerian was able to lead the Bulls all the way to the vaunted Summer League Championship, where he finally had a great game.

Going up against old rival Tyus Jones and the T’Wolves, Grant went to work early, grabbing 8 points including an emphatic dunk.

 

With the championship on the line, Grant played almost the entire second half, going +22 and helping to spearhead a Bulls comeback that sent the game into overtime. In the 2-minute extra period, Jerian took over, making an easy lay-up and a step-back 3 to give the Bulls a 5-point lead. While Denzel Valentine got most of the postgame publicity for his clutch buzzer beaters, Jerian rightly received the championship game MVP award for his line of 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists on 9-19 shooting.

While his summer league would have to be considered a disappointment overall, Jerian showed flashes that should make him the favorite for the Bulls’ backup point guard minutes this season.

Jack Cooley

The Bulls’ other ex-Irish stud was a very pleasant surprise in limited minutes of the bench. In the Bulls’ first game, Cooley provided a huge boost of the bench, putting up 11 points and 8 rebounds. He downright bullied the Celtics’ bigs down low and managed to rile up the crowd, a rare feat in a Summer League game.

While his minutes waned as the Bulls got deeper into the single-elimination bracket, Cooley continued to produce when given the chance. Overall, he grabbed 4.3 boards in only 9.5 minutes per game, to go along with 53% shooting. Although he suffered from playing behind two legitimate NBA bigs in Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio, he did manage to gain the attention of some in his quest to get back onto an NBA roster.

Pat Connaughton

Perhaps the most impressive Irish alum this summer was the Blazers’ Pat Connaughton. Connaughton was really given the keys to lead the Blazers’ Summer League squad, starting all five games and leading the team in minutes. While he didn’t shoot as well as he could have (only going 27% from deep), he showed off his leaping ability with some nice dunks, as well as having a couple great individual games.

First, he dropped 19 against Utah on 4-10 shooting from downtown, but what made his night truly special was one of the most unique plays in basketball, the elusive walk-off three pointer.

Beyond this Summer League oddity, Connaughton saved his best for last, dropping 23 points on the Celtics in the Blazers’ final game.

Despite showing a lot of potential to be an NBA contributor this summer, Connaughton will have to fight and claw for minutes as the Blazers retained swingman Allen Crabbe and brought in Evan Turner.

Demetrius Jackson

Many Irish fans were surprised to see Demetrius fall all the way to the 45th overall pick, when most draft prognosticators had him pegged with a 1st-round grade. Making matters worse, he got drafted to a team that has a huge amount of young talent at the guard position in Boston. For this reason, Demetrius was somewhat buried even on the Celtics’ Summer League roster, stuck behind 1st rounders from last year Terry Rozier and RJ Hunter.

Demetrius only got 16 minutes per game in the Celtics’ Vegas games, and he did not do much to impress in that time. He was not very aggressive, putting up only 5 shot attempts per game, and he struggled from deep, going 1-10 in the Celts’ Vegas games. This hesitance in Demetrius’s first exposure to the pro game led to subpar numbers across the board, and he was thoroughly outperformed by Rozier. He did have one good game when given the chance to start in the Utah Summer League, putting up 11 points on 4-7 shooting (3-4 from deep).

Given the plethora of guards in Boston, Demetrius might find himself on the very brink of the Celtics’ roster crunch. I would not be surprised to see him in the D-League this season, as he learns to adapt his immense physical gifts to the pro game. With Boston possibly still active in the trade market, a move away could be beneficial for Meech.

Zach Auguste

Auguste went undrafted, as was expected, but was given an invitation to play for the Lakers’ Summer League team. He immediately impressed in the Lakers’ first game, scoring 9 points, hauling 4 rebounds, and, perhaps most importantly, providing a ton of hustle. He was rewarded with 21 minutes in the following game, and he continued to perform with 8 points and 7 boards.

The only area where Auguste showed a lot of weakness in was at the free throw line, where he only shot 3-12 on the summer. It’s obviously a small sample size, but any ability to show offensive prowess from outside 3 feet of the rim would be huge for Auguste’s chances to stick on an NBA roster. As it is, he made a great first impression as an energy guy, and he finds himself in a decent situation on a rebuilding Lakers squad. It’s not out of the question that ZA could land at the end of someone’s bench this year, be it in LA or elsewhere.