Flying High From New Orleans: Trevon Bluiett Is Soaring High With The Westchester Knicks

A collegiate experience can be truly special for athletes. Not only can players etch their name in a storied program, but they can achieve great and memorable moments that last a lifetime.

In four years at Xavier, Trevon Bluiett was part of a team that complied a 104-40 record and made the NCAA Tournament all four years, including an Elite Eight appearance during the 2016-17 season. He averaged 19.3 points per game and shot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc as a senior and became the fifth Musketeer to score 2,000-plus points.

“Xavier was good to me all four years and I wouldn’t take back any of those years,” Trevon Bluiett said. “Just the accolades I’ve been able to get and the team was able to get as well, it has been pretty miraculous and I just got to thank my teammates and everybody for that.”

Bluiett was ready for the next step in his journey. His name was not among the 60 names announced at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. He joined the New Orleans Pelicans for Summer League and made a lasting impression in the organization. The Pelicans liked what he brought to the court and felt like he could be an asset to the team. The rookie guard inked a two-way deal with the New Orleans and felt the contract was a step in the door into the NBA.

“I feel like it’s a step in the door and in the right direction,” Bluiett said. “Just from going undrafted, your back is against the wall when you go undrafted. It’s not handed to you and you got to make the best out of every situation. Good or bad, so I was fortunate enough to have a good situation and take advantage of that and it put me in a situation where I can be able to get my foot in the door in the NBA.”

New Orleans doesn’t have a G League affiliate this season and will open shop in Erie, Pennsylvania next season with the BayHawks. In the meantime, the Knicks have a good relationship with the Pelicans and Trevon Bluiett went north to the Westchester Knicks via flex assignment. Coming from a different organization, it was an adjustment for the Pelicans’ two-way player.

“It’s definitely a different adjustment,” Bluiett said. “It is a big adjustment just being in a whole new organization with a whole new group of guys and staff. At first, it was just trying to come with the flow. Just try to gel with the guys and get comfortable and kind of play how they want to play. It took awhile, but they were a great group of guys, welcomed me in, and I feel like I adjusted well.”

Westchester has put their players in a great position over the past four-plus seasons in terms of call-ups and advancing their careers. The Knicks have focused on developing their two-way players last season, which helped prepare them for the NBA. While he’s in a different setting, Bluiett is in a great situation where he is apart of an organization that continues to emphasize the development of players.

“If my ultimate goal is to play in the NBA and I’m going down to the G League to develop, it makes for a great situation to be somewhere where they develop their players well,” Bluiett said. “So far I can see that happening just as far as the development and the improvements I made on the defensive end. I can pretty much tell the development of that.”

Despite being about 1,300 miles from New Orleans, Trevon Bluiett stays in constant communication with the team whether it’s daily or every other day. The staff has a clear message on what the team wants their two-way player to work on in Westchester.

“A big thing I need to work on is defense,” Bluiett said. “They said out of everything, defense is the main thing you want to focus on. So that’s been something I’ve been trying to make sure that I’ve improved on from being out here.”

He missed the first five games of the G League season due to a back injury. Since his debut against the Canton Charge, Bluiett has seen quality time on the court where he’s had games where he shot the ball well from the perimeter. The 6’5” guard is coming off the best outing of his Westchester career where he put up 29 points on 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc in 27 minutes. Bluiett will continue to see extended action while he’s in Westchester, which will keep him prepared for when he returns to New Orleans.