Former Wichita State standouts Cleanthony Early and Fred VanVleet are competing in the 2017 NBA Summer League.
 
Early's San Antonio Spurs played the first of three games in the Utah chapter on Monday. Action from Salt Lake City continues Wednesday and Thursday evenings on NBA TV.
 
VanVleet will be a member of the Toronto Raptors' squad in Las Vegas, July 7-17. His team kicks off its three-game pool play schedule on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans (5 pm CT, ESPN3).
 
Select matchups from Vegas will air on ESPNU or ESPN2, including the Raptors' July 10 game against the Denver Nuggets (7 pm CT, ESPNU). All others can be seen on ESPN3. Based on pool results, teams are seeded into a single elimination bracket for the league's championship playoff, July 12-17.
 
With chapters in Orlando, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, the NBA Summer League's abbreviated exhibition schedule serves as a training ground for young professionals and gives executives an opportunity to evaluate their own players, as well as potential free agent pickups, in a competitive environment.
 
Since 2013, five Shockers alumni – including VanVleet and Early -- have made their NBA regular season debut. Former Shockers have taken part in each of the last six summer leagues, with a record six ex-WSU players appearing on rosters in 2016.
 

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Spurs Schedule (Early):
Utah Summer League | Salt Lake City, Utah | Jon M. Huntsman Center
Monday, July 3 vs. Jazz --- L, 87-74
Wednesday, July 5 vs. Celtics --- 6 pm CT (NBA TV & CSNHD)
Thursday, July 6 vs. 76'ers --- 6 pm CT (NBA TV)
 
Early was taken 34^th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft and appeared in 56 games for the New York Knicks over the next two seasons. He spent the first part of the 2016-17 campaign rehabbing a hamstring injury. In December, Early was traded to the Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State's D-League affiliate), where he averaged 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14 regular season games.
 
A two-time first team all-conference selection and a 2014 consensus All-American for the Shockers from 2012-14, Early is the only junior college transfer in WSU history to qualify for the school's 1,000-point club. Over his two seasons, WSU went 65-10 with a trip to the 2013 Final Four followed by an undefeated 2013-14 regular season.
 

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Raptors Schedule (VanVleet):
Las Vegas Summer League | Las Vegas, Nev.
Friday, July 7 vs. Pelicans --- 5 pm CT (NBA TV/ESPN3)
Saturday, July 8 vs. Timberwolves --- 5:30 pm CT (NBA TV/ESPN3)
Monday, July 10 vs. Nuggets --- 7 pm CT (ESPNU)
 
This is VanVleet's second summer tour with Toronto, though his circumstances have changed drastically from 12 months ago when he was an undrafted free agent. He returns as one of the roster's headliners, alongside fellow second-year Raptors Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam.
 
VanVleet parlayed a strong 2016 Summer League showing (6.2 points, 3.0 rebounds in 16.0 minutes) into a training camp invite from Toronto and ultimately a roster spot. He went on to appear in 37 NBA games as a rookie and posted averages of 2.9 points and 7.9 minutes. He scored in double figures three times and appeared in seven postseason games.
 
VanVleet also made a handful of cameos with the franchise's NBA D-League team, Raptors 905, averaging 16.9 points and 7.6 assists in 16 contests. He returned for the last two games of the D-League finals and totaled 28 points and 14 assists in the 905's decisive game-three victory.
 
An All-American point guard and two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, VanVleet finished as WSU's career leader in both steals and assists.