June 29, 2010

By Ethan Conley The News-Star

Though he was not selected in Thursday's NBA Draft, former Louisiana Tech guard Kyle Gibson is still working his way toward playing professional basketball.

Gibson has been invited to the Miami Heat's summer league team and will try to earn a spot on the roster when the team competes in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Gibson will join the team in Miami in July 4, and then the Heat will head to Las Vegas on July 8. The team opens Summer League play against the New Orleans Hornets on July 12.

"I am excited for Kyle and the opportunity presented by the Miami Heat organization," said Tech head coach Kerry Rupp. "It is a great chance for him to showcase himself in a professional setting, with a great NBA organization. I know he will find a way to make a positive contribution both on and off the court."

Gibson said he was hopeful he would be drafted on Thursday, but was not surprised when the draft came and went without his name being called.

"I was thinking maybe I could go late second round," he said. "I had a lot of workouts -- a couple workouts with the (Phoenix) Suns -- and was feeling pretty good overall. But it didn't surprise me. It wasn't a big deal."

Once he finished his class work at Louisiana Tech, Gibson spent a month in Phoenix, and has since moved to his hometown of Los Angeles. He had three workouts with the Suns leading up to the draft, and also worked out for the Detroit Pistons and the New Jersey Nets.

He believes he has several NBA-quality components in his game.

"I think I can create, and I think I cave a high knowledge of the game, and that can be a huge asset," Gibson said. "I can score, and defensively I can guard about three different positions, so I think I'm very versatile."

Gibson, listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, finished his collegiate career sixth on Louisiana Tech's all-time scoring list with 1,677 points. He averaged 18.4 points per game as a senior as the Bulldogs went 24-11 overall.

He said his main focus in preparing for the draft -- and now the summer league -- is conditioning and quickness. Gibson still has a nagging ankle injury from late in Tech's season, but he said he's near 100 percent health.

"I'm working on being able to guard quicker, stronger athletes, and keeping my conditioning right -- being able to be as quick and as fast as other top athletes," Gibson said."

Gibson is represented by Todd Eley of Stratosphere Sports. Gibson credits Eley and Tech head coach Kerry Rupp for helping him land an opportunity with the Heat.

Gibson's Tech teammate, forward Magnum Rolle, was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the draft with the 51st overall pick. Gibson said he and Rolle communicated often throughout the draft process, and as soon Rolle's name was called, Gibson sent a congratulatory text message.

"We've just been encouraging each other," Gibson said. "Sometimes he says, 'It's tough, but you've got to just keep going. The goal is right there in front of us.' We just stay positive. I just talked to him the other day, and he was heading up to Indiana."

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