— By Bill Cornwell
Marshall’s Taevion Kinsey wasn’t selected Thursday in the NBA Draft, but the Herd’s all-time leading scorer didn’t have to wait long after to earn an opportunity at the highest level of professional basketball.
Kinsey, a five-year standout in Huntington, has signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Utah Jazz.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum one-year NBA contract that gives a franchise the flexibility to convert it into a two-way deal, though the team has to ensure that it happens before the start of the regular season. The deal would allow Kinsey to participate in Utah’s training camp. The team will control Kinsey’s G League rights, and he is eligible to get $50,000 if he manages to spend 60+ days with the G-League affiliate.
Prior to the draft, Kinsey worked out for five NBA teams, including the Jazz.
Kinsey, a native of Columbus, Ohio, led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring in the 2022-2023 season with an average of 22.1 points, which was seventh in the nation. He scored 20 or more points 20 times.
Kinsey also ranked second in the conference in total assists with 173 and assists per game in the conference with 5.4 per game. He became Marshall’s all-time leader in made field goals on February 24th at Old Dominion, passing Skip Henderson’s mark of 1,000 and he became the Herd’s all-time leader in points on March 4th against Texas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, passing previous record-holder Jon Elmore.
Kinsey was named the 2023 Sun Belt Player of the Year and he was a 1st team All-Conference pick. He also won postseason honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
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Marshall will be playing in the Cayman Islands Classic in November and the Herd now knows its schedule in the event.
Marshall will open November 19 against Utah State at 5 p.m. Pending the result of the contest, MU will face either Florida International or Akron the next day at either 5 or 7:30 p.m.
Marshall will play its final game of the tournament on November 21 against an opponent to be determined at a time also to be determined.