Jon Scheyer, Former Duke Standout, Signs With NBA D-League's RGV Vipers

Filed under: Clippers, NBA Transactions, NBA D-League

Jon Scheyer hasn't played much competitive basketball since his Duke Blue Devils held off Gordon Hayward and the Butler Bulldogs in last April's NCAA National Championship game.

Scheyer appeared in a game and a half with the Miami Heat in the Vegas Summer League in July before suffering an injury that resulted in optic nerve damage and a torn retina that required him to wear an eye patch and keep his head still for two months.

Once Scheyer resumed basketball activities, the guard was offered a training camp contract from the Los Angeles Clippers in October, but he played just 19 minutes in the preseason before being released. He's spent the last four months trying to get fully healthy after showing up in Los Angeles in less than ideal shape due to his inactivity while recuperating from the eye injury.

Now fully recovered, Scheyer has signed a contract with the NBA D-League and will be assigned to a team Thursday once he completes the waiver process. The top three teams in the waiver priority order are currently the Tulsa 66ers, Texas Legends and Rio Grande Valley Vipers, with the Vipers the most in need of a point guard with Mustafa Shakur currently on a call-up with the Washington Wizards. Update: The Vipers made a succesful waiver claim of Scheyer Thursday. The team's next game in Tuesday on the road against the Texas Legends.

"I talked to my agent and said I need to get back to 100 percent before I do anything," Scheyer told ESPN Chicago last week of his time away from the game. "I took some time off."

"This is the first year in eight years that I've been out of the media," he continued. "You haven't been seeing me. I was probably more watched as a sixth- or seventh-grader than I am now. I've been in the gym by myself, lifting, working out. I've gotten back to the love of the game."

Playing in the D-League, Scheyer will likely be watched quite heavily once again as his blend of size, shooting and mistake-free play from the point guard position is very intriguing when it comes to playing at the next level.

As a senior at Duke, Scheyer averaged 18.2 points, 4.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.

 

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