Three former Wahoos impressing in the NBA’s Summer League

With three former Virginia Cavaliers taking part in the NBA’s Summer League this year, all three have already impressed. Specifically, Sam Hauser, Trey Murphy, and Jay Huff are all flashing signs of their development after their rookie seasons in the league.

The 17th overall pick in last year’s draft, Murphy is on absolute fire for the New Orleans Pelicans right now. He’s scored 26.5 points per game in two outings despite struggling to hit the three-ball (26.7%). Murphy has gotten to the line at a crazy rate, shooting over eight free throws per contest — and making 88.2% of them. He’s starting to flash potential as a scorer as he highlights his ridiculously high ceiling as much more than the already desired “3 and D” prospect he was coming out of Charlottesville.

For the Los Angeles Lakers, Huff unfortunately has missed a few games as he entered health and safety protocols. Nevertheless, in his two games for LA he played to what makes him such an enticing player. Scoring 9.5 PPG, grabbing 6.5 RPG, and blocking 2.5 shots per game all while shooting 40% from distance, Huff raised eyebrows as his long term potential started to be a bit more realized.

According the Lakersnation.com, Huff has altered his shooting motion which he feels has improved his proficiency from deep. “I made a little tweak to my shot honestly,” he said, noting that “I moved it over, out of my face a little bit,” which he thinks has “made my shot more consistent,” as “it’s something I’ve worked with a lot.

After signing a three-year, $6 million dollar deal with the Boston Celtics, Hauser is providing an already veteran presence for his younger teammates. He’s averaging 9.5 points per contest, although that’s while shooting, for him, and abysmal 25% from beyond the arc. Assuming the law of averages holds, Hauser should be one of Boston’s leading scorers in upcoming games.

It’s good to see these three guys each finding their stride with their respective organizations. None of the three are really close to their ceiling which is exciting for their future in the NBA, yet also highlights just how important opportunities like Summer League are for them as they look to build long, successful careers and further UVA’s now legit line of NBA players.