Winona State University men’s basketball team, Jonte Flowers proved he’s one of the best players in NCAA Division II.
Last weekend, he showed he can play with some of the best seniors in Division I.
Flowers scored in double-figures in all three games of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which draws the top 64 seniors in the country to play in front of NBA and European scouts.
Flowers, the only Division II player in the field, helped his team — Norfolk Sports Club — to a 1-2 record. His teammates included Tennessee’s Chris Lofton, Xavier’s Drew Lavender, Georgetown’s Jonathon Wallace, and Auburn’s Quan Prowell.
In his first game Thursday night, a 90-78 loss to a team featuring Ohio State’s Othello Hunter and Oklahoma’s Longar Longar, Flowers scored 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting and added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench.
As a starter in Friday night’s 89-88 win over a team featuring Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing Jr., Kentucky’s Joe Crawford, Tennessee’s JaJuan Smith, and Wisconsin’s Brian Butch, Flowers scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and had five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 28 minutes.
As a starter in Saturday’s 97-93 overtime loss to a team featuring Kentucky’s Ramel Bradley, Flowers had 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 31 minutes.
Flowers, who was named the most outstanding player of the Division II Elite Eight en route to leading the Warriors to their second national championship in three years, averaged 13 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the field (17-for-37) and 27.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc (3-for-11) over the three-game tournament.
It won’t mark the last time he’s featured on the national stage.
Flowers and John Smith will participate in the Collegiate Basketball Invitational, which brings together 64 players from Division II, Division III and the NAIA to play in front of professional basketball representatives and agents.
The three-day tournament runs April 24-26 in Wadsworth, Ohio. An all-star game is set for 7 p.m. April 26 and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Both Smith and Flowers will be teamed with familiar faces.
Smith, who was named the Division II player of the year for the second consecutive season after averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 blocks, will play with Grand Valley State center Calistus Eziukwu and Augusta State forward Tyrekus Bowman. The Warriors defeated Grand Valley State in the national quarterfinals and Augusta State in the championship game.
Flowers, who averaged 17.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.4 steals during his senior season with WSU, will play with Grand Valley State’s Jason Jamerson and Augustana’s Corey McIntosh.