Former Arizona Basketball players to watch in NBA Summer League

It’s that time! Time for the NBA Summer League! So what teams should you watch to catch your favorite former Arizona Basketball players? Let’s explore.

Rawle Alkins and Matt Brase – Houston Rockets

Former Arizona Basketball stars come together for the Houston Rockets. Lute Olson’s grandson and former Wildcat Matt Brase was named the head coach for the Houston Rockets  Vegas Summer League team.

Brase will get to coach and develop his fellow Wildcat Rawle Alkins who earned a spot on Houston Rockets Summer League team. After the season as a two-way player for the Chicago and Windy City Bulls, Alkins flew Southwest to Houston Texas to connect with his new head coach for the summer.

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• Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s FIBA World Cup performance is reminiscent of Kobe Bryant’s
• Rawle Alkins a star in the Drew League this summer
• Former Wildcat Scooby Wright wins Second USFL Title
• The Edmonton Elks have re-signed former Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate

Alkins started out the season with the Bulls with high hopes and was performing at a high level catching the eyes and hearts of Bulls fans. But as luck would have it, the Bulls fired their head coach Fred Hoiberg. Hoiberg is the new Nebraska NCAA head coach and we are happy he found a good place to use his skills to the fullest. The Windy City Bulls head coach Charles Henry was just hired as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama where David Miller landed after he graduated from Arizona..

With the fall out from the Hoiberg firing, the train went in a different direction for Windy City, and Under Henry, he relied more heavily on his Veterans instead of his rookies and younger players. The Veterans tended to miss seeing that Rawle had already transitioned several times after rebounding the ball and was setting up a fast break. Way too frequently the veteran guards would opt to drive in for a lay up against three to four opponents. When Alkins did see the floor and was able to handle the ball by design or by sheer will, he showed he was a major ball distributor as well as play-maker.

Severely underutilized on the Bulls when called up, you had to wonder what the new Head Coach Jim Boylen, who was shockingly hired after the season, was thinking. The Bulls organization is good for Lauri Markkenan and Zach LaVine, it isn’t for many other players, just ask Jabari Parker. Boylen never played former teammates Lauri and Rawle together, can you imagine?

While tanking mode was most evident, and injuries abound, he too decided to play older G-League veterans. Unlike the New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale, who gave Allonzo Trier a huge chance to prove himself, Henry and Boylen hid Alkins on the bench.

Even with reduced minutes (26.1 average), Alkins was able to average 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, .9 steals, and .7 blocks. Rawle was also able to provide the most exciting dunks from the team. His best game came against the Maine Red Claws where he scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds (see video highlights above).

The Houston Rockets summer league team includes Justin Simon’s former St. Johns teammate rookie Shamorie Ponds and former UCLA center Moses Brown (also a rookie) as well as second-year with Trevon Duval out of Duke. Alkins is one of the tallest guards on the team and we know he is versatile. Should be very fun to watch.

But those days are hopefully over, and knowing Coach Brase, and knowing he follows the Wildcats, he is well aware of what type of player he is going to be coaching and we think he will bring out the best in King Rawle. We wish the two of them a great run in Vegas and much success in the future.