Former CU Hoopsters Eye Benefits Of NBA Summer Play

BOULDER - Each summer offers new hope and opportunities for both NBA franchises and players. Such is the case for three former University of Colorado athletes – Carlon Brown, Spencer Dinwiddie and Andre Roberson.

The former Buffs have been added to teams playing in 2014 NBA summer league competition taking place in Orlando and Las Vegas. Brown, Dinwiddie, and Roberson were each members of CU’s 2012 Pac-12 Championship team and experienced more than a fair share of success during their respective CU careers. Now each is looking to continue that success at the next level.

Of the three, Roberson has the most NBA experience as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder last season after being drafted with the No. 26 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Roberson has already started two games for the Thunder in the Orlando league, averaging 29 minutes per game with 8.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Roberson has also recorded a +10.50 PIE (Player Impact Estimate) rating in his two games played.

According to NBA.com, PIE shows what percentage of game events the player was a part of; a player that achieves more than a 10 percent PIE rating is thought to be better than the average player.

Roberson highlighted his summer league play thus far with a ferocious two-handed slam in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Watch it here: http://www.nba.com/video/games/thunder/2014/07/06/1421400007-phi-okc-play3.nba/index.html

In his rookie campaign, Roberson played in 40 games, making 16 starts. He averaged 10 minutes a game with a .485 shooting percentage and a career high of eight points and seven rebounds.

Oklahoma City concludes its summer league play on Wednesday, July 9 vs. Indiana (1 p.m. MDT, NBATV).

Dinwiddie is on the roster of the Detroit Pistons summer league team, but is sidelined while still rehabbing his injured knee. The Pistons drafted the 6-6 point guard with the 38th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Dinwiddie passed up his senior season despite missing the final 18 games of his CU career because of the ACL injury suffered in mid-January.

Nonetheless, being a part of the Pistons summer roster provides Dinwiddie the opportunity to learn a new system and pace of the NBA while bonding and developing chemistry with teammates. 

As for Brown, who was not drafted but has played both internationally (Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel) and in the NBA D-League (Santa Cruz Warriors and Idaho Stampede), news just came that the Denver Nuggets added the 6-5 guard to their summer league roster.

Last season playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Brown averaged 19.6 points per game and will now look to demonstrate his scoring ability and overall athleticism against current NBA players.

Brown was named the most outstanding player of the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament when he led the Buffs to their first conference tournament title in program history.

The Nuggets will play in the Las Vegas summer league which begins July 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus.

Denver tips off its summer league action on Saturday, July 12 against the Toronto Raptors (4 p.m. MDT, NBATV). The Nuggets will then play Chicago on July 13 (6 p.m. MDT, NBATV), and conclude vs. Utah on July 15 (6:30 p.m. MDT, NBATV).