Two Former PVAMU Basketball Standouts Drafted By NBA D-League

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Two former Prairie View A&M men's basketball standouts in Jourdan DeMuynck and Reggis Onwukamuche were drafted by the NBA D-League on Saturday afternoon.

DeMuynck was drafted by the Iowa Energy in the fifth round and played during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 campaigns at PVAMU.    

While at PVAMU, the California native was a go-to scorer as he led the Panthers to the 2013 SWAC Tournament Finals for the first time since 1998.  DeMuynck averaged 15.7 points as a senior and earned All-SWAC Second Team honors as he also had solid performances in memorable wins over Houston and Navy.  After graduating from PVAMU, DeMuynck played overseas with Keravnos of Cyprus and MZT Skopje of Macedonia.

The Energy starts their season on Saturday, Nov. 14 as DeMuynck will have less than two weeks to get acclimated.  The Energy are an affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies and finished last season with a 26-24 record.

Onwukamuche was drafted in the sixth round by the Bakersfield Jam. He is less than one year removed from his playing career at PVAMU as he was named the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year while also earning a spot on the All-SWAC Second Team last season.  A native of Missouri City, Texas, Onwukamuche finished the regular season with 50 blocked shots (1.6 per game), ranked 10th in the SWAC with 5.2 rebounds and second with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. 

Bakersfield's 2015-16 season begins on Friday, Nov. 13.  The Jam finished the 2014-15 season with a 34-16 mark and was second in the West Division.  The Jam are affiliated with the Phoenix Suns as Onwukamuche will have an opportunity to play in Texas six times this season with games in Frisco (Dallas), Cedar Park (Austin) and Hidalgo.

"I am very excited and proud for those young men," said head coach Byron Rimm II.  "They are an example of what Prairie View A&M has to offer athletically and academically as both players were exceptional students in the classroom in addition to great basketball players who helped our program reach new heights.

"Both Jourdan and Reggis have a solid future ahead of them," added Rimm.  "Their success will motivate our next group of Panthers as it shows them what it takes to reach the next level."

Both players were the only draftees from the SWAC this season and continues the trend of PVAMU men's basketball players receiving professional opportunities.  Onwukamuche's former teammate and last year's scoring leader in Montrael Scott is having a solid start to his professional career as he's the leading scorer (22.3 ppg) in the Kosovo League.  He was named EuroBasketball.com Player of the Week recently after scoring 28 points with six rebounds and three assists in a win over Vellaznimi.

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