Canes Hoops: ProCanes Update

In the last six years, seven Miami Hurricanes basketball players have signed an NBA contract.

Today, only two remain in the league.

Last year’s draftees Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown are with the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons. Both had strong summer league performances but each face new challenges as the season gets set to be underway.

Walker tore his right meniscus in the preseason—the same one gore tore a year-and-a-half ago— and is out indefinitely.

Brown has appeared in five preseason games with the Pistons and is averaging just over two points per game while shooting 30% from the field.

Davon Reed, a shooting guard who averaged double-figures during his four years with the Canes, was recently the most experienced former Cane on an active roster, graduating in 2017.

A meniscus issue suffered in the offseason kept the rookie sidelined until January 2nd, where he made his professional debut the G-League’s Northern Arizona Suns.

After his rehab stint, he made his first NBA appearance with the Phoenix Suns on January 7th but didn’t appear in the game. Reed would bounce between the two teams all season, averaging 10 points per game with Northern Arizona in 12 games while appearing in 21 games with the NBA Suns.

The summer league this past offseason was critical for the young player’s future hopes with team, and he shined, averaging 13.4 points per game along with 4.4 rebounds and three assists.

However, Reed couldn’t avoid the fate of Shane Larkin and Trey McKinney-Jones.

Reed was waived by the Suns in October and replaced on the roster by Jamal Crawford.

Larkin— who was drafted 18th by the Atlanta Hawks before an immediate trade to the Dallas Mavericks, spent three years stateside with the Mavs, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets before signing with Baskonia in Spain for the 2016-17 season. After a respectable season with the Boston Celtics, Larkin is again in Europe, having recently signed a contract with Anadolu Efes in Turkey.

Meanwhile, McKinney-Jones is now with the Chiba Jets Funabashi in Japan. This is after a handful of stints with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the G-League, sandwiched between time in France, Israel and Hungary. The Wisconsin native did get a 10-day contract with the Indiana Pacers this past spring, but couldn’t hold his spot and is abroad again.

DeQuan Jones came out of Miami in the 2012 NBA Draft after having nearly six points per game as a senior in Coral Gables. After spending the 2012-13 year with the Orlando Magic, the wing player received offseason contracts with the Sacramento Kings, Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Hawks. Only his second Pacer contract landed him a G-League appearance with the Mad Ants in 2017-18, and today Jones plays for Hapoel Holon in Israel.

On a positive note, James Jones, formerly a Hurricane guard who was drafted by the Pacers in 2003, was recently hired as interim general manager for the Suns. Jones, well known for his time on the Heat during the ‘big three’ era, is also being considered for the permanent GM job.