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HBCU basketball fans will notice a couple of familiar names on the Minnesota Timberwolves' Summer League roster. HBCU alums Javonte Cooke and Kris Bankston are set to play for the Timberwolves' Summer League team in Las Vegas.
Former Winston-Salem State star Javonte Cooke is entering his second year of trying to make the Timberwolves' NBA roster. Bankston joins the Timberwolves' Summer League team a few months after completing his final season at Norfolk State.
The former HBCU stars will get their first chance to play in Las Vegas Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET when Minnesota takes on the New Orleans Pelicans. The Timberwolves are scheduled to play four Summer League games in Sin City.
Cooke spent the last season with the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota's G League affiliate. Cooke averaged 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 25 games.
Cooke played for two different schools before joining Winston-Salem State, for whom he averaged 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game,
“It was a huge stepping stone in my career,” Cooke said of his season at WSSU, via HBCU Gameday. “I felt like it was a path I needed to go down. I faced some adversity, but I had some good times there as well. So I needed that to be in the position that I’m in.”
Bankston joins the Timberwolves as an undrafted free agent. The 24-year-old is older than Cooke, having spent a lengthy career playing college basketball. Before transferring to an HBCU for the 2021-2022 season, Bankston played four seasons for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In his final season with Norfolk State, Bankston averaged career-highs of 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
