The NBA’s G-League will hold an Elite Tryout camp next week in Chicago, and among the 50 players invited, the MEAC and SWAC will have players in attendance.
Two-time MEAC Player of the Year Joe Bryant Jr. of Norfolk State and Arkansas Pine-Bluff guard Shaun Doss Jr. are among several notable NBA draft-eligible players heading to Chicago.
Bryant, a 6-foot-1 fifth-year guard, won his second straight conference Player of the Year award with averages of 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists a game for the Spartans.
Bryant has been a constant presence on the all-star game and postseason awards circuit this spring, playing in the NABC Classic, the HBCU All-Star Game, and Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an environment where NBA scouts and evaluators flock to observe young talent.
Doss, a 6-foot-5 graduate student from Marion, Arkansas, joined the Golden Lions after playing at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville previously. Doss led the Golden Lions in scoring (17.7 ppg) and steals (44), tied for the team lead in blocks (17), was second in rebounding (4.6 per game), and was third in assists (64).
He scored 30 points in a single game two weeks apart, with an even 30 against regular-season champion Grambling State on Jan. 23, then a sizzling 32 points on 10-13 from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line in a wild 88-84 double OT loss at Jackson State on Feb. 6. His consistent performance throughout the season earned him first-team honors in the SWAC.