Kansas State basketball represented by five former players on NBA Summer League rosters
Xavier Sneed, one of five former Kansas State basketball players represented this month on NBA Summer League rosters, became the first ex-Wildcat to see action on Wednesday when he played 17 minutes for the Charlotte Hornets in Sacramento, California.
Sneed, who played for the Wildcats from 2016-20, scored four points and grabbed two rebounds with one assist in the Hornets' 98-83 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He did not play in the team's first game on Monday against San Antonio.
Forward Keyontae Johnson, a second-round pick by Oklahoma City in last month's NBA Draft, missed the Thunder's two games in Salt Lake City on Monday and Wednesday with a right hamstring strain.
Toronto Raptors rookie free agent Markquis Nowell, guard Barry Brown with the Phoenix Suns and guard Mark Smith with the Denver Nuggets, were scheduled to make their summer debuts this week in the 2K24 Summer League, which runs Friday through July 17 in Las Vegas. Oklahoma City and Charlotte also will take part in that league.
More: Kansas State basketball point guard Markquis Nowell signs NBA two-way free agent deal.
Sneed, who has spent most of his professional career in the NBA G-League, did play the last four games of the 2022-23 season with the Hornets on a two-way contract, averaging 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He also appeared in seven games with the Utah Jazz and two with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021-22.
Brown, a leader on K-State's 2019 Big 12 championship team, spent his first professional season in the G-League, followed by stints in Germany, China, and then last year in New Zealand.
Smith, who transferred to K-State from Missouri for the 2021-22 season, played last year in the German Bundesliga.
Nowell and Johnson were first-team All-Big 12 picks and third-team All-Americans this past season while leading K-State to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
Smith's Nuggets will play their first game at 4 p.m. CT Friday against Milwaukee, while Nowell sees his first action with the Raptors against Chicago at 5:30 p.m., and Sneed's Hornets take on San Antonio at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, Johnson and Oklahoma City face Dallas at 2:30 p.m., while Brown's Suns go against Milwaukee at 4.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Five former Kansas State men's basketball players in NBA Summer League
