houpsuarez

HOUSTON –&nbsp;The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed rookies Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington Jr.

Smith (6-10, 220) was the third overall pick by Houston in the 2022 NBA Draft following his freshman season at Auburn.&nbsp; He averaged 16.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.1 spg and 1.0 bpg along with 2.3 3-pointers made on 42.9% shooting.&nbsp; Dating back to 1992-93, Smith joined Kevin Durant as the only freshmen to have averaged at least 16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 2.0 3FGM while shooting 40.0% or better from behind-the-arc.

Eason (6-8, 216) was the 17th overall pick by Houston in the 2022 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Louisiana State.&nbsp; He averaged 16.9 points on 52.1% shooting last season, up from 7.3 ppg on 46.2% shooting as a freshman for Cincinnati.&nbsp; Eason became the first player in SEC history to be named Sixth Man of the Year while also earning All-SEC First Team honors.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Washington (6-3, 197) was the 29th overall pick by Memphis in the 2022 NBA Draft before his rights were acquired by the Rockets.&nbsp; As a freshman at Kentucky last season, he averaged 12.5 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.5 rpg and 1.3 spg while shooting nearly 50% from inside-the-arc.&nbsp; Washington set the Wildcats single-game school record with 17 assists vs. Georgia on Jan. 8.

rockets-sign-rookies-jabari-smith-jr-tari-eason-and-tyty-washington-jr

Rockets Sign Rookies Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington Jr.

HOUSTON –&nbsp;The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed free agent rookie guard Trevor Hudgins to a two-way contract.

Hudgins (6-0, 180) was eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft following his redshirt senior season at Division II’s Northwest Missouri State.&nbsp; He led the Bearcats to three Division II championships and an overall record of 131-8, including a perfect 38-0 mark during his freshman season in 2018-19.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For his career, Hudgins averaged 20.4 points, 5.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 51.7% from the floor, 46.5% from 3-point range and 87.8% from the line.&nbsp; He was named NABC Division II Player of the Year as both a junior and a senior, becoming the fourth Division II player to have won the award in consecutive years.

During a six-point loss to No. 4 ranked Duke in a 2019 exhibition game, Hudgins scored a game-high 27 points while hitting seven 3-pointers.&nbsp; He averaged 3.6 3FGM over his final three seasons.&nbsp; Some former Rockets who attended Division II schools include Mario Elie, Caldwell Jones, Major Jones, Moochie Norris, and Purvis Short.

rockets-sign-trevor-hudgins-to-two-way-contract

Rockets Sign Trevor Hudgins to Two-Way Contract

HOUSTON –&nbsp;The Houston Rockets today announced their mini-camp roster in preparation for Summer League 2022 which runs from July 7-17 at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Please note that player commitments are subject to change.

The 17th iteration of NBA Summer League features all 30 NBA teams playing five games each.&nbsp; After every team plays four games, the two teams with the best records from the first four games will meet in the Championship Game on July 17.&nbsp; The tiebreak criteria to determine the participants in the Championship Game are available here.&nbsp; The 28 teams that do not play in the Championship Game will play a fifth game on July 16 or July 17.

Below is the Rockets schedule for NBA Summer League:

rockets-announce-mini-camp-roster-in-preparation-for-summer-league-2022

Schedule and Mini-Camp Roster in Preparation for  Summer League 2022

Jae’Sean Tate surprises Victoria Bell with the exciting news

SAN FRANCISCO (June 27, 2022) –&nbsp;Today, Houston Rockets’&nbsp;Jae’Sean Tate&nbsp;awards the&nbsp;$10,000 Jae'Sean Tate BUILT Scholarship&nbsp;on Bold.org to Lawrence, Kansas local and aspiring restaurateur,&nbsp;Victoria Bell. Tate created the scholarship in November 2021 to support minorities in the food industry who juggle work and school. The scholarship is Tate’s way of honoring those within the hospitality industry who have been impacted throughout the pandemic.&nbsp;

In Victoria’s winning essay, she wrote about her passion for cooking and baking. After Bell graduates from Lawrence High in the spring of 2023, she plans to use the $10,000 scholarship to pursue her dream of studying culinary arts. With the help of a degree, Bell hopes to one day open her own restaurant or bakery. Throughout high school, Bell has juggled schoolwork with extracurricular activities and part-time jobs such as working at SweetLove Farms. In her personal time, Victoria cooks and bakes for her family. Oftentimes, Victoria will create ornate cakes for her two younger siblings. In her application, Victoria shared beautiful photos (pictured below) of her favorite work, including a layered cheesecake with a hand-frosted Olaf and a cake inspired by DreamWorks’ Madagascar movie with hand-frosted penguins.

Birthday Cakes created by Victoria Bell for her younger siblings.

Scholarship winner,&nbsp;Victoria Bell (Lawrence, KS), “I feel truly blessed to have won this scholarship, and I am thankful to Jae’Sean Tate for creating the BUILT scholarship. I had applied to so many smaller scholarships on Bold.org and didn't get them — so I never thought I would win any big scholarships like this. Winning this scholarship has relieved so much stress in my life. I feel like I can now pursue my dream career!"

Jae’Sean Tate says,&nbsp;“I’m so proud to award Victoria Bell the Jae’Sean Tate BUILT Scholarship on Bold.org. Victoria’s application was inspiring. At just 16 years old, she’s already doing everything she can to pursue her dreams of opening her own restaurant or bakery one day. Graduating with a college degree is one of my proudest accomplishments to date. I’m honored to help someone else do the same.”

Education has always been deeply important to Jae’Sean Tate. As a four-year student-athlete at Ohio State University,&nbsp; graduating with a college degree is one of his proudest accomplishments to date. Tate had to earn everything, taking the unconventional route of playing internationally before getting his NBA opportunity. Tate spent two seasons playing in Belgium and Australia before making his NBA debut with the Rockets. At 25 years old, and with the help of a campaign backed by Houston’s local coffee community, he achieved NBA First-Team All-Rookie honors.&nbsp;

Tate is part of a long list of athletes and public figures who support education on Bold.org. Other Bold.org scholarship sponsors include NBA stars&nbsp;Carmelo Anthony,&nbsp;Chris Paul,&nbsp;Dwyane Wade&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tyrell Terry, professional tennis player&nbsp;Sloane Stephens, producer and DJ&nbsp;3LAU, NFL Wide Receiver&nbsp;JuJu Smith-Schuster, NASCAR driver&nbsp;Bubba Wallace, Grammy-winning band&nbsp;Imagine Dragons, professional MMA fighter&nbsp;Cat Zingano, actor&nbsp;Terry Crews, singer songwriter&nbsp;Clario&nbsp;and actress&nbsp;Jameela Jamil.

lawrence-high-student-victoria-bell-wins-10000-scholarship-on-bold-org-to-pursue-her-dreams-of-opening-a-restaurant-or-bakery-one-day

NBA’S Jae'Sean Tate Awards $10,000 Scholarship To Kansas Student Who Dreams Of Becoming a Restaurateur

The Rockets introduce draftees Jabari Smith, Tari Eason and TyTy Washington.

2022-nba-draft-introductory-press-conference

2022 NBA Draft Introductory Press Conference

HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets today announced they have traded center Christian Wood to Dallas in exchange for the rights to swingman Wendell Moore Jr., who was selected with the 26th overall pick in last night’s NBA Draft, guard Sterling Brown, guard Trey Burke, forward Marquese Chriss, and center Boban Marjanović (BO-bahn Mar-YAWN-oh-vich).

The Rockets then traded Moore’s rights to Minnesota in exchange for the rights to guard TyTy Washington Jr., who was selected 29th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, and two future second round picks.&nbsp; Washington was originally drafted by Memphis before his rights were acquired by the Timberwolves.

Washington (6-3, 197) was an early entry candidate following his freshman season at Kentucky.&nbsp; He averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting nearly 50% from inside-the-arc.&nbsp; Dating back to 1992-93, Washington joined John Wall, De’Aaron Fox, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the only Kentucky freshmen to have averaged at least 12.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg and 1.00 spg.&nbsp; Washington set the Wildcats single-game school record with 17 assists vs. Georgia on Jan. 8.

Brown (6-5, 219) was the 46th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and has appeared in 264 career games while averaging 5.4 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 16.8 mpg.&nbsp; He averaged career-highs of 8.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for Houston in 2020-21, while also shooting a career-best 42.3% from 3-point range.

Burke (6-0, 185) was the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and has appeared in 498 career games with 130 starts while averaging 9.6 ppg, 3.1 apg and 1.8 rpg in 20.9 mpg.&nbsp; Dating back to 2017-18, he is the only player with more than three games played to have averaged at least 8.0 ppg and 2.0 apg in fewer than 17.0 mpg.

Chriss (6-9, 240) was the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and has appeared in 292 career games with 147 starts while averaging 7.6 ppg and 4.7 rpg in 18.3 mpg.&nbsp; Dating back to 2019-20, he is one of four players to have averaged at least 7.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg in fewer than 17.0 mpg, joining DeMarcus Cousins, Willy Hernangómez, and JaVale McGee.&nbsp; Chriss appeared in 16 games as a Rocket in 2018-19.

Marjanović (7-4, 290) made his NBA debut in 2015-16 after beginning his career overseas and has since appeared in 286 games with 25 starts while averaging 5.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg in 9.2 mpg.&nbsp; Dating back to 2018-19, he is the only player to have averaged at least 6.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg in fewer than 12.0 mpg.&nbsp; Marjanović was the second-tallest player in the league last season and was an actor in “John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum” and Adam Sandler’s recent basketball-themed movie “Hustle.”

Wood was acquired by Houston in November of 2020 and averaged 19.1 points and 9.9 rebounds over the past two seasons as a Rocket after averaging 9.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg his first four seasons.

rockets-complete-trades-with-dallas-and-minnesota%ef%bf%bc

Rockets Complete Trades with Dallas and Minnesota￼

HOUSTON –&nbsp;During tonight’s 2022 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets selected forward Jabari Smith Jr. with the third overall pick and forward Tari Eason (TAR-ee) with the 17th overall pick.

Smith (6-10, 220) was an early entry candidate following his freshman season at Auburn.&nbsp; He averaged 16.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks along with 2.3 3-pointers made on 42.9% shooting.&nbsp; Smith earned consensus second-team All-American honors and was named National Freshman of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

Dating back to 1992-93, the 19-year-old joined Kevin Durant as the only freshmen to have averaged at least 16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 2.0 3FGM while shooting 40.0% or better from behind-the-arc.&nbsp; Over that same span, Smith was one of four freshmen to have averaged at least 16.0 ppg, 7.0 ppg, 2.0 3FGM and 1.00 bpg.&nbsp; He hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the final 29 games of the season.

Last year, the Rockets selected NBA All-Rookie First Team member Jalen Green with the second overall pick.&nbsp; The last time Houston selected players in the top-three in consecutive drafts was in 1983 with Hakeem Olajuwon (No. 1) and in 1984 with Ralph Sampson (No. 1) and Rodney McCray (No. 3).&nbsp; Prior to tonight, the last time any team selected players in the top-three in consecutive drafts was when Boston, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Lakers all did so in 2016 and 2017.

Eason (6-8, 216) was an early entry candidate following his sophomore season with Louisiana State after beginning his collegiate career at Cincinnati.&nbsp; He averaged 16.9 points on 52.1% shooting for the Tigers, up from 7.3 ppg on 46.2% shooting as a freshman and became the first player in SEC history to be named Sixth Man of the Year while also earning All-SEC First Team honors.&nbsp; Over the final 17 games last season, Eason averaged 18.4 ppg while shooting 42.9% from 3-point range.

In 2021-22, Eason was one of four players to have averaged at least 16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.50 spg and 1.00 bpg.&nbsp; He recorded multiple steals in 20 of his 33 games played and was one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.

houpsuarez

Rockets Sign Rookies Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington Jr.

Rockets Sign Trevor Hudgins to Two-Way Contract

Schedule and Mini-Camp Roster in Preparation for Summer League 2022

NBA’S Jae'Sean Tate Awards $10,000 Scholarship To Kansas Student Who Dreams Of Becoming a Restaurateur

2022 NBA Draft Introductory Press Conference

Rockets Complete Trades with Dallas and Minnesota

Rockets Select Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason in 2022 NBA Draft

Photos: Rockets Draft Party POST Houston

houpsuarez

Rockets Sign Rookies Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington Jr.

Rockets Sign Trevor Hudgins to Two-Way Contract

Schedule and Mini-Camp Roster in Preparation for Summer League 2022

NBA’S Jae'Sean Tate Awards $10,000 Scholarship To Kansas Student Who Dreams Of Becoming a Restaurateur

2022 NBA Draft Introductory Press Conference

Rockets Complete Trades with Dallas and Minnesota￼

Rockets Select Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason in 2022 NBA Draft

Photos: Rockets Draft Party POST Houston

Rockets Complete Trades with Dallas and Minnesota