STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford will be well-represented with four former members of the Cardinal set to compete in the NBA Summer League, which begins Monday.
Josh Sharma will play with the Utah Jazz and Marcus Allen and Rosco Allen will play with the Los Angeles Lakers. KZ Okpala was drafted by the Phoenix Suns last month, but the draft rights have reportedly been traded to the Miami Heat. The trade will not be executed until July 6, and Okpala will not play with the Heat when they compete in the California Classic in Sacramento July 1-3. Plans have yet to finalized with Okpala and the Heat when Miami competes in the Las Vegas Summer League July 5-15.
Sharma will play with Utah in the Salt Lake City Summer League July 1-3 and the Las Vegas Summer League July 5-15. Marcus Allen will play with the Lakers at the California Classic July 1-3 and the Las Vegas Summer League. Rosco Allen will compete with the Lakers in the California Classic only.
Okpala earned First Team All-Pac-12, First Team United Sates Basketball Writers Association All-District and Second Team National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District honors as a sophomore last season with the Cardinal. He averaged a team-best 16.8 points to go along with 5.7 rebounds and a steal per contest in 2018-19. The Cardinal standout finished fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring with the second-most 20-point games (15) in the conference as a sophomore. He also ranked 16th in the conference in rebounding and 12th in defensive rebounding (4.5 drpg). During the Pac-12 season, he finished fifth in the conference in scoring (17.5 ppg). Okpala averaged 13.8 ppg over his two seasons on The Farm.
The Utah Jazz signed Sharma to an NBA Summer League contract after a standout senior season on The Farm. The center, who was a leading candidate for the Pac-12's Most Improved Player Award, established a school record for field goal percentage in 2018-19. His mark of .673 was not only a program record, it was the eighth-best field goal percentage in a season in Pac-12 history. Sharma completed his standout career eighth on Stanford's field goal percentage list, shooting .563 for his career. The Cardinal senior was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection, after finishing the year as the conference's field goal percentage leader and ranking in the top-10 in the league in offensive rebounds (3rd, 2.6 orpg), blocks (7th, 1.4 bpg) and rebounds (9th, 7.1 rpg). He averaged 11.3 ppg and 8.2 rpg during Pac-12 play, posting double-doubles in five of his final seven games. Sharma averaged 14.7 ppg and 11.1 rpg over those final seven contests. He was selected to play in the NABC College All-Star Game at the Final Four, featuring the top seniors in the nation.
Marcus Allen enjoyed a standout career with the Cardinal from 2014-17. He was voted to the Pac-12's five-member All-Defensive Team as a senior in 2017. Allen ranked fifth in the Pac-12 in steals (1.6 spg) in conference play as a senior and completed his career tied for 11th in school history with 121 career steals. Allen recorded 23 steals in his final 12 games in a Cardinal uniform, and led the Cardinal with 40 thefts overall. He starred for the Los Angeles Lakers' G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers this past season. The guard started 23 of 43 games and averaged 8.5 ppg in 20.9 mpg with the South Bay Lakers in 2018-19.
Rosco Allen was a standout for the Shimane Susanoo Magic of Japan's B League this past season. He also played for Obradoiro CAB in the ACB League in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Rosco Allen played in 97 career games with 60 career starts for the Cardinal. He scored 811 career points, with an 8.4 ppg career scoring average. The forward earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors during his final season in 2015-16. He led Stanford in scoring (15.6 ppg) and minutes (34.1 mpg), and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 Conference in scoring (16.8 ppg) during league action, and ninth overall in 2015-16. Rosco Allen played with the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Sumner League and the Boston Celtics in the 2017 NBA Summer League.
