There isn’t much of an of-season in the NBA and Wisconsin basketball. Just under a month after the Denver Nuggets won the NBA championship, the NBA Summer League has already began. This mostly consists of first and second year players as well as G-League players and un-drafted free agents who hope to impress enough to get some playing time in the actual league. The Wisconsin Badgers have three former players in the Summer League. That would be Johnny Davis (Washington Wizards), Micah Potter (Utah Jazz), and Aleem Ford (Sacramento Kings). Here is how the three players are performing so far. The UW Athletics page has also done an excellent job following the players as well.
Johnny Davis
It was quite the first year in the NBA for Johnny Davis. After being drafted 10th overall in last year’s draft, he struggled to begin his career. After a stop in the G-League, Davis played great the last part of this past season averaging 14.6 points a game in the final eight games. With the Wizards in full re-build mode now, Davis is likely a player Washington wants to build around. Davis doesn’t necessarily need the Summer League, but it doesn’t hurt for him to get more time on the court.
So far, Davis played in his first Summer League game last night. He scored 17 points and was 8-18 from the field in 30 minutes of action. However, the Wizards fell to Indiana 91-83. Davis will next play tonight against Boston.
Micah Potter
Micah Potter has had some time in the NBA, but has mostly been a G-League player. I do think his game is good enough to play in the NBA. He can be a good rebounder and physical in the paint while also being able to shoot the three ball and inside.
In his first Summer League game in Las Vegas night for Utah, Potter was a starter and scored 18 points on 7-13 shooting. He also added 2-5 from three and nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Utah beat the LA Clippers 105-99. Potter next plays tomorrow against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Potter also played in three games in the Salt Lake City Summer league where he averaged 7.3 points and seven rebounds.
Aleem Ford
It’s been a little tougher for Aleem Ford to find the court in Summer League. While he never was a big standout at Wisconsin, I always thought his game would translate at the next level. It has as he has spent some time in the G-League over the last couple of seasons.
In Sacramento’s last Summer League game in Las Vegas, Ford did not appear in the game as the Kings beat Atlanta 80-76. Ford and the Kings next play tomorrow night against the Clippers. He has also appeared in only one game in the California Classic Summer League. In that game, he did not score and took one shot in six minutes against the Golden State Warriors. Hopefully Aleem gets some more playing time in Vegas.
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