JAYLEN WELLS DISPLAYED no visible rust Saturday when the NBA Summer League tipped off. The former Washington State star missed the end of the season and playoffs for the Grizzlies after suffering a broken wrist and concussion on a scary fall under the basket, but he was back in action Saturday and led the Grizzlies to a 92-80 win, pouring in 20 points and adding four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
It was in the NBA Summer League last year where Wells turned heads as a second-round draft selection, and it catapulted him into a major role with Memphis in 2024-25: he made the NBA All-Rookie team and was a season-long contender for the NBA's rookie of the year award.
Right now is the preliminary part of the summer league, taking place over four days in Salt Lake with a separate session in Los Angeles. The full NBA Summer League in Las Vegas begins on July 10 and runs until July 20.
While Wells got off to a hot start, Cedric Coward's debut was delayed. It's not clear why exactly the Grizzlies' first-round selection didn't play, but it's highly possible Memphis is being cautious with Coward after he missed almost all of last season with a shoulder injury that he said was 90 percent healed just before the draft last month.
The Grizzlies play again on Monday against Utah on ESPN+ and NBA TV. Once the rest of NBA Summer League gets fully underway, Isaac Jones, Mouhamed Gueye, and possibly Justin Powell will be participating.
EA SPORTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL 26 was released on Monday, and Cougfan.com had a detailed report on the player ratings earlier on Monday. Related: More Cougs eclipse 80 score in EA Sports College Football game than last year
But by playing as WSU in the game, fans can help support Cougar football players.
A new feature in the game is for schools to receive royalties when they are played as in the game. Cllct.com cited an example as such.
Total royalties reported in university pool = $5,000,000
Total games played = 700,000,000 games
Institution A's games played = 7,000,000 games
Institution A's allocation = 1% (7 million games played using the school out of 700 million total plays)
Royalties = $50,000 (1% of $5,000,000)
For a team like Washington State -- popular amongst the masses around the country -- this new revenue stream could pay dividends.
WHILE THE PAC-12 held an impromptu media day/cocktail party last July in Las Vegas, no such event will be held this year. A WSU spokesperson tells CF.C that there will be no official media day this year, but rather some sort of low-key local event held in Pullman during fall camp.
Oregon State will be doing the same.
The expectation is that the normal media days will resume next year when the Pac-12 officially begins again. Nothing has been officially announced in terms of dates or locations, and likely won't be for a while. But Las Vegas may be the logical destination.
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