Big Ten Roundup (July 17): Bufkin, Potter Post Big Scoring Nights in Summer League

Three former Big Ten players showed out in 2023 NBA Summer League action on Sunday night in Las Vegas, Nev., as former Wisconsin and Ohio State forward Micah Potter scored 20 points for the Utah Jazz, Michigan's Kobe Bufkin scored 18 points for the Atlanta Hawks and Ohio State's E.J. Liddell scored 23 points for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The three former Big Ten basketball players played under head coaches Thad Matta, Greg Gard, Juwan Howard and Chris Holtmann during their collegiate careers.

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Potter Scores 20 for Jazz

Micah Potter found success at his second stop in the Big Ten, and it looks like he might have found it again in his second stop in the NBA.

The 6-foot-10 forward first appeared on the college scene in 2016-17, playing for Coach Matta's final team at Ohio State, and two years later, he transferred to Wisconsin for his final two seasons. Potter did not play during the 2018-19 college basketball season due to rules that, at the time, made transfers sit out one season.

Potter saw his first NBA action in three games with the Detroit Pistons in the 2021-22 season, and last year he played in seven games for the Utah Jazz. There's a decent chance Potter might finally get more run at the pro level now, as he's strung together multiple impressive scoring performances out in Las Vegas.

He scored 18 points against the Los Angeles Clippers a week ago on July 18, and Sunday he scored a team-high 20 points for the Jazz against the Houston Rockets.

Check out some quick highlights from his performance below:

It wasn't a particularly efficient performance from Potter, as tends to be the case in closing NBA Summer League action when many of the most talented players have already been sent home.

He finished 8-for-22 from the field and 4-for-17 from three, and his 13 misses from beyond the arc were by far the most of any player in the game.

Still, any volume of scoring production can be useful at the NBA level, and Potter showed he's capable of putting up noteworthy numbers during his two weeks in Vegas.

Bufkin Scores 18 For Hawks

The 15th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft had another productive scoring night for the Atlanta Hawks at Summer League.

Kobe Bufkin scored a team-high 18 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field in the Hawks' 101-80 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and he also shot 0-for-6 from three on the night.

Bufkin spent two years in Ann Arbor playing for coach Juwan Howard and burst onto the draft scene with a breakout sophomore year at Michigan after not starting in a single game as a freshman. Increasing his points per game average from 3.0 to 14.0 over one calendar year was enough for the Grand Rapids native to get picked just outside the lottery on draft night.

Highlights from the Hawks-Mavericks game can be seen here in the video below:

E.J. Liddell Scores 23 for Pelicans

One week after agreeing to a three-year deal with the Pelicans, Liddell is making that move look wise on the part of New Orleans, as the second-year forward out of Ohio State scored a team-best 23 points on Sunday night in the Pelicans' 117-114 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Unlike Potter and Bufkin, Liddell produced his 23 points on very efficient shooting, finishing 7-for-10 from the field, 1-for-2 from three and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Liddell spent three years in Columbus playing for coach Chris Holtmann and was twice named to the All-Big Ten first team. Liddell was selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but missed the entire 2022-23 NBA season after tearing his ACL last year in Las Vegas.

Highlights from the game between New Orleans and Philadelphia can be seen here in the video below:

Potter Scores 20 for Jazz

Bufkin Scores 18 For Hawks

E.J. Liddell Scores 23 for Pelicans

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