Former Wildcats complete their NBA and G League rookie seasons

Four former Wildcats completed their rookie season in the NBA and G League. Time to recap how it went for each of them.

Back in June of 2017 two Wildcats got their name called during the NBA Draft and two earned their way into the NBA and G League.  Lauri Markkanen, Kadeem Allen, Kobi Simmons and Chance Comanche each put in that hard work and got rewarded for it.

Records, highlights, jaw-dropping

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moves, each of these former Wildcats did not disappoint in their rookie seasons as professional basketball players.

With the addition of Markkanen, Allen, and Simmons, the Wildcats had 13 active players playing in the NBA this season. Not just playing, but performing at a high level. Hopefully next year Comanche will get his shot to play in the NBA and show how to throw it down as well.

This next years class of Wildcat players entering the NBA Draft, headlined by The Man, The Legend Deandre Ayton, will surely make its mark in the 2018-19 NBA season. Let us not forget though this past year class and what they did at the next level.

Time to recap each, starting with The Finnisher aka Markkanen.

Lauri Markkanen – Chicago Bulls

Drafted at No.7 in the 2017-18 NBA Draft, expectations were high for the 7-footer from Finland, Lauri Markkanen. He didn’t disappoint and even set numerous three-point records in his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls. One of those being the fastest in NBA history to make 100 three-pointers. It took Markkanen only 41 games, surpassing the previous record holder Stephen Curry who did it in 58 games.

The final game of the regular season, Markkanen set three more records. He became the latest Bull since Elton Brand during the 1999-2000 season to score 1000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a rookie season. He also surpassed Kirk Hinrich three-pointers made in a single season with 145,  becoming only the third 7-footer to make more than 129 in one season. He’s going to have to change his nickname to the “Record Breaker.”

For the season, he finished 5th in scoring among all NBA rookies. He averaged 15.2 points per game, led his team in rebounds with 7.5 rebounds per game and had 1.2 assists per game. Markkanen shot 43.4% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range.

Markkanen also took part in his first NBA All-Star weekend, where he displayed his skills in the TacoBell Skills Challenge and also was a part of the KickStart Rising Star Challenge.

His season high was 33 points against the New York Knicks, which included eight made three-pointers. At Arizona, Markkanen made 69 threes in his only season, so it comes to no surprise to see him knocking them down in the NBA.

Bulls coaching staff realize how special of a player Markkanen is, starting him every game he played this season. As he plays more and more games, he will have the experience and understanding of what it will take to win. Plus, who knows who the Bulls will pick up in the upcoming NBA Draft. One thing is for sure though. The future is looking bright for Chi-town!

Kadeem Allen – Boston Celtics

Kadeem Allen is one of two former Wildcats that took great advantage of the new two-way contract system. After an impressive NBA Combine and Portsmouth Invitational Tournament performance, Allen was drafted in the 2nd round at No.53 by the Boston Celtics. He was signed to the Celtics first-ever two-way contract, where he split his time between the Celtics and G League affiliate Maine Red Claws.

In the 34 games he played for the Red Claws, Allen averaged 17.7 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, five assists per game and averaged 34.5 minutes per game. He even had a 46 point outing against the Long Island and helped him earn NBA G-League Player of the Week honors.  Allen was also named to the G League All-Star team for his consistent, high-level performance for the Red Claws.

Allen played in 18 games for the Celtics and even had the opportunity to start in one game. Even though he did not get a lot of playing time, Allen showed off some spectacular moves, including this crossover to the rim against John Wall of the Washington Wizards:

https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics/status/983894430582112256

Kobi Simmons – Memphis Grizzlies

Everyone counted out Kobi Simmons in making it to the NBA. Boy did he prove all those doubters wrong! After only just one season as a Wildcat, Simmons decided to declare himself eligible for the 2017-18 NBA Season. Even though he took part in the NBA Draft Combine, Simmons went undrafted. Just when you thought it was all over, it wasn’t!

He was given a chance in the NBA Summer League and took advantage of it. Simmons ability to dish the ball and create his own offense at the point guard position earned himself a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Now remember as a Wildcat Simmons didn’t even at play the point guard position, he played more of a shooting guard. That’s even more remarkable to switch positions like that from college to the NBA. Bravo, Simmons, Bravo!

Simmons started in all 26 games he played with the Memphis Grizzlies G League affiliate the Memphis Hustle. He averaged 15.1 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game and 3.9 assists per game. He shot 43.6% from the field and 36.1% from three.

For the Grizzlies, Simmons played in 32 games and started in 12 of them. He averaged 6.1 points per game, 1.1 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game. Towards the end of the season, Simmons had a career-high 20 points and seven assists in a 130-117 win over the Detroit Pistons.

https://twitter.com/JordanKobi/status/984516560923611138

Throughout his NBA rookie season, Simmons had so many highlights that’s it’s only fair you get to enjoy all of them:

https://twitter.com/jmixtapeproduct/status/979121944716029954

Chance Comanche – Memphis Hustle

Throw it down, big man! I will never get tired of saying that to describe the play of Chance “The Chief” Comanche. What a journey he has been on. Similar to Simmons, a lot of people though he was making the wrong decision after leaving Arizona and declaring himself eligible for the NBA. Many people speculated why he might have left, but that’s all that is his speculation. In the end, he made the right choice, and it’s paying off big time!

Comanche was not chosen for the NBA Draft Combine or NBA Summer League, he went undrafted, and then put all his energy into work at the well established Drew League, where he dominated! Then he weighed his choices. He had multiple G-League offers, he chose The Memphis Hustle who he signed with. Yes, the same team former Wildcat teammate Simmons was going to play for. Two guys, similar journey, end up playing together. You can’t make this stuff up!

He played in 45 games and started in 14 of them. Comanche averaged 9.2 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game and shot 58.8% from the field. As he did at Arizona, Comanche had some MONSTEROUS putaway jams:

During the season, he had multiple games where he lit up the stat sheet, helping his team secure wins. The highlight of the season was against the Windy City Bulls, where he took over on both ends of the floor.

The key to Comanche’s success has been his work ethic. If you follow him on Twitter, he likes to climb hills and even stairs. No better way to strengthen your core, legs and mental toughness then by doing this. Just watching this makes me exhausted!

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At Zona Zealots, we would like to congratulate all four of these former Wildcats on their first season playing basketball on the professional level. And for all you naysayers who said some of these Wildcats would be forced to play overseas, they proved you wrong. We miss seeing these Cats playing at Arizona, but even prouder of what you have accomplished so far. We wish you all much success for a long time to come. Bear Down!