Men's Basketball

NSU's Jamerson, Butler, Long to Compete in Showcase Events

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State men's basketball seniors Derrik Jamerson Jr., Jordan Butler and Alex Long will compete this Thursday and Friday in the Portsmouth Basketball Summit. Jamerson and Butler are also set to take part in the Gotham Hoops Invitational next weekend.
 
Both events offer players a chance to showcase their skills in front of professional scouts, executives and agents.
 
The sixth annual Portsmouth Basketball Summit will include three or four games guaranteed that will be played between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday at I.C. Norcom High School.
 
Similar events are also held in New York, Houston, Miami and Las Vegas. NSU has had players compete in the Portsmouth Basketball Summit in years past, including Jeff Short, who was named MVP of the event in 2016.
 
The sixth annual Gotham Hoops Invitational will be played on April 27 from 12-8 p.m. at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. A total of 36 seniors from various levels of collegiate basketball will compete in a tournament-style setting in which four teams will play semifinal games and then in either a consolation or championship game.
 
Games will be broadcast live on GothamHoops.com. Admission is free. Former NSU player D'Shon Taylor participated in the event in 2016. MEAC players Aaren Edmead (North Carolina A&T) and Kevin Larkin (Delaware State) are set to compete along with Butler and Jamerson this year.
 
Jamerson earned second-team All-MEAC honors this year after averaging 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He led the nation in 3-point shooting at 49.7 percent while also earning second-team NABC All-District 15 accolades. Aside from leading the league in 3-point shooting, the Detroit native ranked seventh in field goal percentage (49.6) and third in 3-pointers per game (2.6).
 
Butler was third-team All-MEAC this season after leading the league in blocks (2.0) and ranking 10th in rebounding (6.4). A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Butler averaged 8.1 points per game while shooting nearly 46 percent from the field. He ranked in the top 50 in the nation in blocks per game and ended his career sixth among active D-I players in total blocks with 230.
 
Long ended the season averaging 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, shooting nearly 49 percent from the field. Hailing from Clinton, Maryland, he ranked eighth in the league in field goal percentage as well as 11th in blocks per game (0.8). He became the 36th player in program history to score 1,000 career points and also set the school record for most games played with 134.
 
The Spartans finished the year 14-2 in the MEAC to capture the regular season title as well as 22-14 overall. They advanced to the NIT, where the Spartans defeated No. 1 seed Alabama in the first round.