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The Rocky Mountain Collegian

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The Rocky Mountain Collegian

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The Rocky Mountain Collegian

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Clavell and Omogbo wrap up NBA Summer League

The 2017 Las Vegas NBA Summer League recently concluded with the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Portland Trailblazers for the exhibition league title, but a pair of former Colorado State hoopers are still looking for their next professional opportunity. 

Gian Clavell (3) tries to pump up the crowd after a foul call on SDSU in the 2nd half of the Rams thrilling win over the Aztecs. Clavell finished with a game high 18 points and 10 rebounds. (Javon Harris | Collegian)

Despite each of the former Rams landing on rosters for the summer league, Gian Clavell and Emmanuel Omogbo remain on the open market this offseason and have the ability to either sign a professional contract overseas or with an NBA franchise.

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Clavell, who played for the Miami Heat in both Orlando and the Las Vegas summer league is coming off of a red hot stretch in which the Puerto Rico native was one of the most consistent players in the entire league.

In the six games that the Heat played in sin city, Clavell played in five, averaging 25 minutes per-game and scoring 12.4 points per-game.

The former Ram thrived in the Miami offense individually, as Clavell shot 45.2 percent from the floor. He proved to be much more than an isolation scorer though, finishing as one one of the top 10 most efficient players in Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

With Clavell on the floor, Miami averaged roughly 1.17 points per-possession. Only six players in the league finished with a higher average for their team.

Omogbo recently wrapped up his time with the 2017 NBA Champions, playing in three games with the Golden State Warriors. While Omogbo did not see much action, playing in three games with an average of five minutes per-game, suiting up for a high profile franchise like the Warriors was a great opportunity for the big man to have a little fun and gain more exposure.

Subsequently leaving CSU as one of the most dominant rebounders in program history, Omogbo received interest from a variety of teams, including the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks, before ultimately agreeing to a summer league deal with Golden State. 

Omogbo has since been in contact with a variety of international teams, including Aek BC, a professional club in the Basketball Champions League in Greece and U.S. Victoria Libertas Pallacenestro from the Lega Basketball Series in Italy.

While the international leagues are not quite as glamorous as the NBA, they offer an opportunity for players to craft their game and make a decent living playing the game they love. The average salary for a player in the recently rebranded NBA G League will make anywhere from $19,500- $26,000 depending on the tier of their contract. Those same players can often make at least three times more by playing overseas.

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Omogbo previously told the Collegian that he would love an opportunity to play in the NBA, but realizes realistically his best opportunities will likely come overseas at the moment. 

Follow the Collegian for further updates on everything CSU hoops. 

Collegian sports director Justin Michael can be reached by email at jmichael@collegian.com or Twitter @JustinTMichael.

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