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It appears Michael Qualls’ long journey to the NBA is finally coming together.
Shreveport native and 6-5 SG Michael Qualls (played for Arkansas in college) will play for New Orleans in summer league #PelicanState
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) June 28, 2016
As Razorback fans know, Qualls injured his knee preparing for the 2015 NBA Draft after leaving Arkansas after his junior season. He was expected to be drafted but wasn’t because of his injury. He did sign as a free agent with the Oklahoma City Thunder after the draft, but was cut before his injury healed.
Qualls is one of Mike Anderson’s best success stories at Arkansas. Qualls was a lightly recruited fringe top-150 player out of high school and contributed sparingly as a freshman, but blossomed into an All-SEC level player by the end of his junior year and was arguably the best player on the team during Arkansas’ 2015 NCAA Tournament. Not to mention his unforgettable run of SportsCenter highlights.
It’s been a rough year for Qualls. Following his injury, he was arrested on misdemeanor drug charges in December. Hopefully, all of that is behind him and if he’s back to 100%, it should be exciting to see what he can do professionally.