Pons Joins Memphis Grizzlies Roster For NBA Summer League

One of the most effective defensive players in college basketball over the past two seasons, departed UT senior Yves Pons is joining the Memphis Grizzlies NBA Summer League roster.

The 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection, Pons saw action in 116 games with 70 total starts during his four-year career from 2017-21.

Selected as one of 10 finalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award this past season, Pons finished his career eighth on Tennessee's all-time blocks list with 137 blocked shots. 

In one of his final games as a Vol, Pons blocked a program-record nine shots during Tennessee's SEC Tournament win over Florida.

The Fuveau, France, native's 1.8 blocks per game during SEC play ranked fourth among conference players last season.

He averaged 8.7 points per game overall and increased that average to 8.9 points during SEC play. 

In May, Pons graduated from UT with a degree in Recreation and Sport Management.

Six other Tennessee basketball alums also will be active on NBA Summer League rosters.

After being selected in the first round of last week's NBA Draft, rookies Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer will be active with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.

Following an outstanding 2020-21 season with Montakit Fuenlabrada in Spain's Liga ACB, forward Kyle Alexander (2015-19) is suiting up with the Phoenix Suns this summer. Alexander averaged 9.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in Spain this past season. 

Point guard Jordan Bone (2016-19) is playing with the Indiana Pacers. A second-round NBA Draft pick in 2019, Bone has seen NBA action with the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic over the past two seasons.

Knoxville native Jordan Bowden (2016-20) is joining the Brooklyn Nets summer league squad for the second straight year. He spent the 2020-21 season with that franchise's G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.

Forward Admiral Schofield (2015-19), a free agent who spent the 2019-20 NBA season with the Washington Wizards, is playing for the Atlanta Hawks this summer. A second-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Schofield competed primarily with the G League's Greensboro Swarm last season.

This year's NBA Summer League is split between three sites. Limited action takes place at the California Classic Summer League in Sacramento (Aug. 3-4) and the Salt Lake City Summer League in Utah (Aug. 3-6) before the larger MGM Resorts NBA Summer League tips off Aug. 8-17 in Las Vegas. To access complete summer league schedules for each site, please click HERE.