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Summer League Roundup: Which former Buckeyes players stood out?

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•07/24/23•

andybackstrom

Malaki Branham by Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
Former Ohio State standout Malaki Branham dribbles up the court against the Charlotte Hornets during 2023 NBA Summer League. (Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports)

COLUMBUS — NBA Summer League is over, and the wait for regular season hoops is back on. But, first, Lettermen Row is taking a look at how former Ohio State players fared out west this month.

That includes a pair of 2022 draftees who both impressed, as well as two former Buckeyes transfers who are still trying to carve out a space for themselves in the league.

Let’s get into it.

Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs

Some second-year NBA players make the Summer League look like high school. This time around, Malaki Branham was one of those players. He appeared in one game in Sacramento and three others in Las Vegas for the San Antonio Spurs, but, boy, did he do damage: Branham averaged 21 points per game while shooting a blistering 48.1% from downtown.

Don’t be fooled by his 40.3% field goal percentage. That was a byproduct of a miserable 1-of-17 outing against the Portland Trail Blazers. His other three games? Chef’s kiss.

Branham was shut down by the Spurs for the rest of Summer League after he went off against the Washington Wizards for 29 points on 12-of-20 shooting, including 5-of-6 from deep. He kicked off his second year of Summer League with 32 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal in a California Classic win over the Los Angeles Lakers — Branham shot 12-of-24 while draining a trio of 3-pointers in that contest.

Branham, the Spurs’ No. 20 overall pick in last year’s draft, started 32 of the 66 games he appeared in for San Antonio as a rookie in 2022-23 and averaged 10.2 points per matchup.

E.J. Liddell, New Orleans Pelicans

E.J. Liddell is back, and he looks like he’s well on his way to making a meaningful contribution to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Liddell tore his ACL last Summer League and missed what would have been his entire rookie season. But the former No. 41 overall pick did enough in his recovery process to show the Pelicans why he’s deserving of a more serious commitment.

Before his return to Summer League action, he signed a three-year, $6.2 million deal with New Orleans, as first reported by NBA Insider Shams Charania. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Liddell was previously on a two-way contract with the Pelicans.

Liddell appeared in four games for New Orleans in this year’s Summer League. In the process, he averaged 12.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per outing. And that was in just 21.3 minutes per game. He shot an efficient 55.2% from the floor and finished his run +5 in plus-minus.

Liddell’s best game was a 23-point outburst, during which he shot 7-of-10 from the field and knocked down a 3-pointer as well as all eight of his free throws, against the Philadelphia 76ers. He added two rebounds, two assists and one steal to his team-high scoring performance.

Brice Sensabaugh, Utah Jazz

Brice Sensabaugh sat out Summer League while continuing his recovery from offseason surgery. Remember, Sensabaugh missed the final two games of his standout freshman campaign after suffering a knee injury against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament.

That injury prevented him from participating in NBA Combine 5-on-5 workouts and drills. He wasn’t able to take part in team workouts until later in the pre-draft process.

Although Sensabaugh said that his knee was “feeling good” after he was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 28th overall pick in this year’s draft, the organization didn’t jeopardize his health in Summer League.

After all, Sensabaugh does have a history with knee injuries. He missed his entire season at Lake Highland Prep because of COVID-19 cancellations as well as a meniscus injury that called for a pair of surgeries.

Sensabaugh was one of the Jazz’s three first-round picks. He led the Buckeyes with 16.3 points per game and went down as the fourth-leading freshman scorer in Ohio State single-season history.

Justice Sueing, Oklahoma City Thunder

Following an up-and-down, six-year college career — which started at Cal and ended at Ohio State — Justice Sueing declared for the NBA Draft.

He went undrafted but signed a Summer League contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The problem was, because the Thunder have a wealth of young talent, Summer League opportunities were hard to come by for the 24-year-old Sueing.

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Honolulu native appeared in only two games for the Thunder. In those games, Sueing averaged 15.3 minutes, 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. He shot 55.6% from the field but didn’t make a 3-pointer.

Sueing finished +6 in plus-minus. Despite a somewhat trying final season in Columbus, Sueing was still the Buckeyes’ second-leading scorer in 2022-23, and he found a groove toward the end of the year, like when he shot a combined 10-of-19 from distance during Ohio State’s four-game, Big Ten Tournament run.

Micah Potter, Utah Jazz

Micah Potter had himself a nice Summer League. Potter, who played at Ohio State from 2016-18 and Wisconsin from 2019-21, averaged 13.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for the Utah Jazz in Vegas. That was over the course of five games. He also played three more in the Salt Lake City league, where he averaged only 7.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

Potter signed a two-way deal with the Jazz last October and appeared in seven games during the 2022-23 season. Originally undrafted, the 6-foot-8, 248-pound power forward made his case for more NBA playing time this month.

Potter has bounced around. He spent his first Summer League with the Miami Heat and then proceeded to play for their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. That year, 2021-22, he also signed a 10-day contract with the Detroit Pistons.

Then, last summer, he joined the New York Knicks for Summer League. Potter is now showing what he can do in Utah, and that was evident during his eight total Summer League games this year.

D.J. Carton, Minnesota Timberwolves

Like Potter, D.J. Carton started his college career at Ohio State (2019-20) but finished elsewhere. Elsewhere for Carton was Marquette (2020-21).

Following his lone season at Marquette, the point guard declared for the NBA Draft. He went undrafted, however, and has been trying to find a place in the league since.

He spent last season with the Iowa Wolves, a G League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves. So Carton played for the Timberwolves during this year’s Summer League and averaged 9.0 points, 6.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game in five outings.

He shot 45.5% from the floor and 30.0% from long range. Carton even threw down a posterizing dunk that could have reminded Ohio State fans of his bunnies when he was wearing scarlet and gray.

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