Portsmouth Invitational to Feature Troy Caupain

Troy Caupain’s college career came to an unfortunate end a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean his basketball career is over. The longtime Bearcat point guard will participate in the Portsmouth Invitational starting tonight. He will be playing for the Norflk Sports Club, which will feature the stylings of Sterling Brown (SMU), Rodney Pryor (Georgetown) and Zach LeDay (Virginia Tech). The rest of the players taking part in the event can be found here. They include Deonte Burton (Iowa State), Damyean Dotson (Houston), Amida Brimah (UConn) and Mangok Mathiang (Louisville).

During the event, which lasts four days, Caupain will compete in front of NBA scouts as well as representatives from teams from overseas. That second group is probably who will be most interested in Caupain’s professional services. Caupain wasn’t a major NBA Draft prospect coming into his senior season, and although he was a big part of UC’s first 30-win season since 2002, he didn’t have his best season in his last year as a Bearcat. At least when it comes to scoring. Caupain averaged 10.5 points per game, down from 13 the year before, while averaging 4.4 assists per game.

However, there is an argument to be made that Caupain was just not as prolific a scorer, but still an improved player from his junior year. With Jacob Evans, Kyle Washington and Jarron Cumberland taking up a lot of the offensive chances, Caupain took fewer shots in 2016-17, but he was more efficient, with his field goal percentage jumping from .375 to .396. He also set a career-high in win shares (4.8) and matched his personal best for PER (17.5).

But looking at his production through rose colored glasses ignores the fact that he was not always an effective three-point shooter, something a guard needs to be in today’s NBA, and there was also a troubling decline in free throw percentage this past season.

In all, Caupain is unlikely to get his name called at the NBA Draft, but he has a chance to at least get some D-League work and begin his professional basketball career. Getting an invite for this event is a great first step.