In the past two weeks, former Iona guard A.J. English was named the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational, garnered an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine and has begun working out for individual NBA teams.
The 6-foot-4 English worked out for the Utah Jazz (Saturday), the San Antonio Spurs (Tuesday) and the Houston Rockets (Wednesday).
Next week he will be in Chicago for the Combine May 11-15.
After that he has workouts scheduled with Milwaukee, Cleveland and Washington.
English earned his Combine invite with strong play at Portsmouth where he averaged 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and a team-high 6.7 assists while shooting 58.1 percent and 64.7 precent (11-for-17) from beyond the arc.
“Nearly every NBA team was in to see A.J. during the year and now he has created a great buzz with his play in Portsmouth,” Iona associate head coach Jared Grasso recently told SNY.tv. “He’s a 6-4 point guard who can really shoot the ball and is a tenacious competitor. In my mind their is no doubt he is an NBA player.”
Iona, which won the MAAC Tournament championship to reach the NCAA Tournament, has put a player into Portsmouth for five straight years, something no other program can say.
“AJ’s work ethic became the culture of our program and it is the reason we won a championship this season and is the reason he has turned himself into a pro,” Grasso said.
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