Former Duke basketball players finish up outstanding Summer League

The NBA Summer League is winding down and three former Duke Basketball players put on a show in their final games in Las Vegas.

The always fun and exciting NBA Summer League is coming to an end and with one game remaining there is still a former Duke Blue Devil playing in the Championship Game as Grayson Allen and the Memphis Grizzlies will face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

However, while Allen was the only former Blue Devil to make the Summer League tournament, many Dukies thrived in their consolation games, starting on Friday night with Antonio Vrankovic who led Croatia with its 16 points and 10 rebounds for Team Croatia.

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Vrankovic finished his five games in Las Vegas, averaging 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 52% from the field.

Later on Friday evening in Nevada, Gary Trent Jr. and the Portland Trail Blazers took the floor in its consolation game and Trent found his shot once again and showed out for 28 points and eight rebounds.

With high hopes heading into the Summer League with an experienced rosters, Portland was not able to make the tournament, but Trent Jr. averaged 20.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 41% from the floor in five games.

One more game on Friday had a Blue Devil with Marques Bolden and the Cleveland Cavaliers taking the floor and Bolden had extra games this summer with the Cavs taking part in the Salt Lake City Summer League as well.

Bolden was unable to get on the scoresheet on Friday, but in Las Vegas the undrafted big man would contribute 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while not getting a lot of shots he still managed a 48.0% field goal percentage.

In Utah, Bolden averaged 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in two games and didn’t miss any of his five attempts from the field.

Saturday afternoon and evening had a slew of Blue Devils in action, starting with the No. 3 overall pick in June’s Draft, R.J. Barrett who was coming off back to back double-doubles and the consensus All-American made it three in a row against the Washington Wizards.

Barrett scored 21 points in addition to 10 assists and eight rebounds in the consolation game. After getting off to a rocky start in Vegas, Barrett averaged 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while improving to a 34% field goal percentage.

Speaking of double-double’ the Orlando Magic and the double-double machine Amile Jefferson was back in action with 19 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday adding to his Summer League averages of 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while shooting a scorching 54% from the floor.

The Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans also took the floor on Saturday.

Many know the story of the former Duke stars Zion Williamson and Frank Jackson only playing in one game with summer with Jackson going for 30 points in three quarters in the earthquake shortened opening game while Williamson scored 11 points in nine minutes and has not seen game action since due to a knee bruise.

Trevon Duval has not seen the floor much with the Rockets but for another reason. Duval was not able to crack Houston’s rotation with its plethora of guards and averaged just 4.0 points and 1.5 assist per game in two games while shooting 57% from the field.

Again, one Blue Devil still remains as Grayson Allen will look to bring a Summer League Championship to Memphis at 9:00pm EST on ESPN2 Monday night.

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