Several former Duke stars made their NBA Summer League debuts on Friday night in Las Vegas as part of the league's second night of competition with mixed results.
The highest drafted player from last months draft in action on Friday was Charlotte's Kon Knueppel who struggled making his first NBA appearance for the Hornets. The 6-foot-6 guard shot only 1-of-8 from the field and 0-of-5 from the perimeter. Knueppel didn't register his first field goal until midway through the fourth quarter despite playing a team high 30 minutes. He finished with five points as the Hornets downed Utah 111-105.
Knueppel's college teammate and fellow Hornets draftee Sion James also started and played 19 minutes on the night. James missed all of his three pointers, but was a perfect 4-of-4 on two pointers to finish with eight points, three rebounds, and three assists in the win. Taking time to adjust is nothing new for one and done players making the step up to the NBA level, but what was surprising was to see Knueppel miss three of six free throw attempts.
"Probably one of the worst games I've played in a while," Knueppel said after the game. "I just couldn't get one to go. Didn't feel great, especially missing free throws. But I thought I did a good job defensively, held my own. I've got to be a little smarter with the ball. A couple of bad turnovers but it's good to get my feet underneath me a little bit and get ready for the next game."
On the Jazz's side, Kyle Filipowski was the best player on the floor all night, registering a game high 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting including 3-of-7 from the outside to go along with six rebounds and five assists. "Flip" did, however, benefit from Summer League rules by not fouling despite being whistled for eight fouls in 30 minutes of play.
Earlier in the night, former Duke one and done guard Trevor Keels continued his push to return to the league - this time with the Detroit Pistons. Keels was the first player off the bench for Detroit against the New York Knicks and played 10 minutes in which he hit 2-of-4 from the outside to finish with six points and an assist as the Pistons won comfortably, 104-86.
While Keels and Knueppel struggled, Phoenix big man Khaman Maluach looked ready to compete at the professional level, helping the Suns to a 103-84 victory over the Washington Wizards. The 7-foot-2 rookie shot 4-of-7 from two point range and 1-of-6 from three point territory to finish with 14 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Malauch also added a pair of blocks.
The first game of the day saw a "DNP" registered by Jack White, the former Duke reserve who earned time as a regular rotation player for Denver a few seasons back.
In the nightcap another former Duke center was in action for Golden State in the form of Marques Bolden who started for the Warriors and played nine minute, contributing two points and a rebound.