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Heading into the NBA draft there were eight or nine Big Ten players with a shot to get drafted. At the end of the night we saw seven Big Ten players selected, with LaQuinton Ross being the biggest surprise of the guys not selected. Well with the draft done and over with it's almost time for the summer league, which will be a prime opportunity for most of these undrafted players to try to work their way onto a NBA roster. Ultimately most of them won't play their way from the summer league to a NBA roster, but this is a great opportunity to make a positive impression on teams as a number of these guys could end up in the D-League. While originally somewhat of a dirty word that seemed to be a dumping ground of players either not good enough for the association or guys that flamed out, NBA teams have been using the developmental league more and more to develop talent instead of letting guys eat up DNPs on the active roster.
Anyways, seven former Big Ten players have announced who they'll be playing for in the summer league:
LaQuinton Ross - Los Angeles Lakers
Aaron Craft - Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors
Keith Appling - Portland Trail Blazers
Will Sheehey - New York Knicks
Ben Brust - Milwaukee Bucks
Tim Frazier - Philadelphia 76ers
Jordan Morgan - Minnesota Timberwolves
Of course there are more seniors from the Big Ten that we could see go on to professional careers. While guys like Austin Hollins, Drew Crawford and Terone Johnson haven't been picked up by any NBA teams, all of them could easily head overseas to continue their careers. As a Purdue fan the international leagues have been pretty common for a lot of former Boilermakers, with guys like JaJuan Johnson, D.J. Byrd and Chris Kramer all seeing success overseas. A number of the players picked up by teams could also see time overseas, using the opportunity to gain some valuable experience as they try to develop their game and work towards the NBA.
Out of the seven players currently picked up I think it's safe to say LaQuinton Ross could have the best shot at making a NBA roster. While Ross's decision to enter the draft early was definitely not the wisest move, he did have enough talent to warrant a late draft pick. Of course trying to earn a draft pick while being out of shape probably isn't the easiest thing to do.
Anyway, which guy do you think we're most likely to see on the court for a NBA team next season?