From Mid-Majors to the G-League: Who's Impressing?
These non-power conference players are proving they belong with strong G-League seasons and NBA potential.
When the college basketball season comes to an end, one of my favorite things to research is players from the non-power conference schools that are doing well in the G-League. Many times in college basketball, we see our favorite players finally run out of eligibility and little is heard of them again. However, many of those players end up in the G-League, looking to bust their way onto an NBA roster or earn a two-way contract.
Let’s look at some players who left the college basketball ranks over the last year or two and how they are fairing in the G-League!
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Kyle Rode - Liberty
Kyle Rode wrapped up a five year career with Liberty last season where he emerged as a lights out three point shooter. His senior season, he averaged 14.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while attempted 8.1 three pointers per game and finishing 38.8%.
After going undrafted last season, he signed with EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Germany. He appeared in seven games, draining 8-20 threes. He then signed with the Austin Spurs to finish out the season.
Once joining the Spurs, he picked up right where he left off in college while averaging 14.8 points in his first five games. He finished the season averaging 11.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while appearing in 32 games and shooting an incredible 40% from deep.
The 6’7 forward showed up strong this season and will most likely be heading to the G-League once again next year and maybe even fight for a two-way contract somewhere.
Tristan Enaruna - Cleveland State
There’s some players that need to follow the story of Tristan Enaruna. Enaruna started his collegiate career at Kansas for two years, then transferred to Iowa State, and ended his final two seasons at Cleveland State. While at Kansas, he appeared in 55 games, but averaged just 10.9 minutes and 9.4 minutes both seasons. At Iowa State, he saw a bit more playing time, averaging 14.4 minutes and starting 26 games while averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds. Once he got to Cleveland State, he took off. In his final season, he averaging 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
After he went undrafted last season, he hopped on with the Boston Celtics for the 2024 summer league. He finished averaging 3.7 points and one rebound per game.
Once the summer league ended, he signed with the Celtics G-League team, Maine. On the season, he appeared in 32 games, starting in 15 and averaged 11.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 46.8%.
He was never a three point shooter in college, but his senior year he shot 32.2% while attempting 2.5 per game. In the G-League, he mustered just 28.7% on 3.4 attempts per game. He did shoot an impressive 53.8% overall. If he can spend the offseason working on improving his outside shot, he could work his way towards a two-way contract.
Malevy Leons - Bradley
Malevy Leons had quite the career at Bradley. He played three years, while consistently improving as each year went on. In his final season, the 6’9 forward averaged 13.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.
Following the end of the season, Leons went undrafted, but joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the summer league. During the summer, he averaged 4.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. Following the summer league he signed with the Thunders’ G-League team, the Oklahoma City Blue.
Leons ended up signing with the Thunder for a few games, making his debut against Portland. Over six games, he averaged 0.3 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 3.5 minutes.
Following his brief NBA stint, he spent the rest of the year with the Oklahoma City Blue where he averaged 10.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and one block per game. I was impressed by his 35% three point shooting to accompany his 49.6% shooting overall.
Leons had an impressive year overall and he should have a shot at taking another step forward next year and potentially earn a two-way contract.
Emoni Bates - Eastern Michigan
Emoni Bates was a special talent for Eastern Michigan. Bates started his career at Memphis where he averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists as a freshman. He then transferred to Eastern Michigan where he finished with 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists while shooting 40.5% overall and 33% from 3pt. I still don’t understand how that team finished 8-23 overall and 5-13 in the MAC with Bates, Tyson Acuff, and Noah Farrakhan…well I think actually that was the problem considering no other player averaged more that 5.6 points per game.
Bates ended up getting selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft with the 49th pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He ended up appearing in 15 games for the Cavs, averaging 2.7 points over 8.9 minutes.
This season, he didn’t appear in the NBA, but he had a monster year in the G-League. He missed some time due to injuries, but he averaged 18.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists across 20 games.
Bates has NBA talent, so I’m curious what next season will look like for him.
John Ukomadu - Eastern Kentucky
John Ukomadu out of Eastern Kentucky has one of the more interesting backgrounds out of this group. He spent two years at Vincennes University, another year at Macomb Community College where he earned a spot on the second team JUCO All-American list, then he transferred to Eastern Kentucky.
Over two years at EKU, he averaged just 13 minutes per game while appearing in 67 and starting just three. He averaged five points per game in year one and 5.3 in year to while averaging 3.5 rebounds and 4.4 rebounds in each year respectfully. Needless to say, it’s not like Ukomadu was tearing it up at the college level.
However, he earned a spot to try out for the Motor City Cruise (G-League for the Detroit Pistons). Out of 80 players, he managed to carve out a spot and he took full advantage. He appeared in 32 games, starting eight and averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, while knocking down 46.2% of his shots beyond the arc on 3.7 attempts per game. For comparison, at EKU he shot just 22.2% from three point on just 0.9 attempts per game.
What Ukomadu has done with his opportunity is outstanding. It’s a true testament to his work ethic and why players should always continue to push themselves. We’ll he earn a two-way contract next year? Probably not, but he’s proven he can play in the G-League, so he should have his eyes set on continue to work hard and earn a spot in the near future.
Jalen Slawson - Furman
Jalen Slawson was one of the rare players this day and age that played all five seasons at Furman. He appeared in 153 games, starting 119 during that span. His last two seasons were truly impressive. In his last year, he averaged 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 55.6% overall and 39.4% from deep. The 6’7 forward emerged as one of the top four’s outside of the power conferences.
His collegiate performance did enough to get him drafted in the 2023 NBA Draft with the 54th pick in the second round by the Sacramento Kings. He ended up signing a two-way contract with the Kings, appearing in 12 games where he averaged 3.1 minutes and 0.7 points with 0.6 rebounds.
Following the 2023-2024 season, he signed with the Osceloa Magic. He’s taken a bit of a step back, but he’s still putting up solid numbers. He finished the season averaging 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, one steal, and 1.4 blocks while shooting 46.2% overall. His three point shooting has diminished to just 25.4% this past season and 26.4% the year prior.
The Osceloa Magic are in the G-League finals right now and Slawson is putting up some numbers. They are headed to game three against the Stockton Kings, but in game one he finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. In game two, he finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and three blocks.
Slawson still has the potential to earn himself another two-way contract and improving on more consistency from deep will help him get there.
Myron Gardner - Little Rock
Myron Gardner is the perfect example of transferring down to a low tier in college basketball and taking full advantage. Gardner started out his career at Georgetown as a freshman in the 2019-2020 season where he played in eight games and averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds. He then transferred to South Plains College, then to Little Rock for his final two seasons. At Little Rock, he finished out strong averaging 13.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in his final season. He shot 42.3% overall and 35.6% from deep on 3.5 attempts on average.
After going undrafted, he signed with the Osceloa Magic and has to fight for his playing time. He finished the 2023-2024 season averaging 15.1 minutes per game across 31 games. He averaged 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 40% overall and 32.9% from deep. Now in year two, he’s become a fixture. Across 34 games, he’s started 16 times and he’s averaging 23.4 minutes per game. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting 52.5% overall an 38.2% from deep.
As mentioned with Slawson, the Magic are fighting in the G-League Finals and he’s been pouring it in. In game one of the finals, Gardner finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a ridiculous six steals. In game two, he finished with 22 points, three rebounds, one assist, and two blocked shots.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Gardner find his way on a two-way contract within the next season or two if he keeps this up.