Former Husker Bryce McGowens will continue his professional career on the West Coast, as he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.
McGowens signed a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers after spending the last two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets.
Last season, he appeared in 59 games, including 14 starts, for Charlotte and averaged 5.1 points, and 1.7 rebounds per game. He had a season-high 18 points against Cleveland, one of 13 double-figure games during the year. As a rookie, he played in 41 contests and averaged 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The 6-foot-6, 175-pound guard was a second-round draft pick of the Hornets in 2022 before he was waived last weekend.
McGowens was a third-team All-Big Ten performer in his only season at Nebraska in 2021-22, averaging a team-high 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. An eight-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week,
he had 11 games with at least 20 points, including a season-high 29 points against both Sam Houston and Rutgers.
He joins another former Husker in Portland, as Dalano Banton had his team option for the 2024-25 season picked up last month. Banton was traded to Portland at the trade deadline, and averaged 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 30 contests with the Trail Blazers.
