Diminutive South Carolina point guard Devan Downey has signed in Turkey with Antalya according to Turkbasket.com.
The reigning SEC scoring champ averaged 4.8 points, 3.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds while shooting an abysmal 34% from the field in five games for the Sacramento Kings' Summer League team in Vegas.
As a 5-foot-9 scorer, Downey probably didn't have a legitimate shot at making an NBA roster this season - but his lack of any touch on his jumper in Summer League certainly made it an easy decision to head overseas for money now instead of fighting through an NBA training camp and then seeing what options were left in Europe.
Interestingly enough, Downey looked a lot more like a point guard in Vegas than he had anywhere else - specifically at the Portsmouth Invitational when DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony tweeted that he has "no PG skills." While Downey began the week using his speed and expert ball handling to get to the rim with ease, he wasn't able to finish once he got there and as the week went on figured out that kicking it to the open man was probably in his best interest.
In the end, much like Edgar Sosa Friday, heading to Europe is probably in Downey's best interest at this point of his career. If nothing else, he can come back to the States next year and hope that his shot doesn't fail him in Summer League again.
The report also mentions that Pistons' Summer League invite, and Cal alum, Patrick Christopher will play for Antalya next season as well.
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