Aug. 24, 2017
THE FLATS – Former Georgia Tech star Marcus Georges-Hunt, an all-star in the NBA’s G-League last year who signed NBA contracts with two teams, is getting a training camp opportunity with a third team … Quinton Stephens, who had a pre-draft tryout with the Charlotte Hornets and another opportunity with a team in China, will officially begin his professional career in Italy … this and more in this off-season edition of the Nissan #ProJackets Report.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, looking for wing depth, agreed to a non-guaranteed deal with Georges-Hunt. The 23-year-old guard out of Georgia Tech played sparingly with Orlando as a rookie last season, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in five appearances. But he had plenty of success in the D-League with the Maine Red Claws, where he averaged 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 45 games, while shooting 39 percent from three.
Minnesota, which has just 11 players inked to guaranteed NBA deals, is still expected to add three veterans to the fold, but coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau has said he wants to leave the Timberwolves’ 15th, and final, roster spot open to maintain flexibility.
Georges-Hunt graduated from Tech in 2016 following a four-year career in which he finished ranked No. 11 on the Yellow Jackets’ all-time scoring list and earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors. Georgia Tech‘s latest addition to the world of professional basketball was a big part of last season’s successful run. Former Jacket Quinton Stephens nabbed a spot with the FIAT Turin team as a league rookie. He was the final player added to complete the team’s roster, signing a one-year deal.
EuroCup Basketball, previously known as the ULEB Cup, is a yearly professional league competition comprised of 24 teams. FIAT Turin has a 13-man roster coached by Luca Banchi. The team has six total players from the United States, six from Italy and one from Jamaica.
Last season, during Georgia Tech’s NIT finals run, Stephens started 37 games as a senior forward under first-year Jackets head coach Josh Pastner. An Atlanta native, Stephens averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds for Tech in his final campaign, and graduated from Georgia Tech this year with a business administration degree.
The Turin were originally founded in 1974 Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino and re-founded in 2015 as the current FIAT sponsored incarnation.
Former Tech guard Dion Glover is participating in the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league created and announced in January by rapper/actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. His team, Trilogy, finished the regular season undefeated at 9-0 and has advanced to the semifinals of the league playoffs.
Trilogy is coached by former Detroit Piston star Rick Mahorn and includes former NBA stars Al Harrington, Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants.
Glover, who was Tech’s leading scorer as a freshman in 1997-98 and later played five seasons in the NBA, He also has been an assistant coach with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA G League since 2014.
