KU’s Melvin Council off to stellar start in Portsmouth Invitational predraft event
Former Kansas basketball guard Melvin Council Jr. earned player of the game honors Wednesday night after scoring 20 points in Portsmouth Sports Club’s 78-75 victory over Sales Systems LTD in a first-round Portsmouth Invitational Tournament game for pro prospects in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Council, a 6-foot-4 native of Rochester, New York, hit 7 of 13 shots and was 6-of-7 from the line. He did not attempt a 3-point shot. Council — he averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds a game this past season for KU (24-11) — dished four assists against five turnovers with three rebounds and a steal while starting and playing 31 minutes.
Former KU, TCU and Miami big man Ernest Udeh scored 10 points with six rebounds while also playing for the winning team. Udeh was 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from the line. He started and played 23 minutes.
Former Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey scored six points with three assists in 26 minutes for the losing Sales Systems squad.
Former KU wing Tre White scored 14 points with eight rebounds, two assists and two turnovers while starting and playing 27 minutes in Jani-King’s 97-92 victory over Rounds Landscaping in another Portsmouth Tourney opener Wednesday.
White, a 6-7 Dallas native who averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds his senior season at KU, hit 4 of 9 shots. He was 0-for-1 from 3 and 6-of-6 from the line. White, who also played at USC, Louisville and Illinois in his four-year college career, had two assists to two turnovers with a block and steal.
Former Kansas State guard Nijel Pack, who finished his career at Oklahoma, scored seven points with two assists and two turnovers while playing 21 minutes for Jani-King. Former Mississippi forward Malik Dia was named player of the game after scoring 20 points with 10 rebounds.
The 72nd-annual Portsmouth Invitational will run through Friday with 64 college seniors (on eight teams) playing four games apiece. Several hundred NBA scouts and front office members are scouting the games.
