Saluki center shines at the Portsmouth Invitational

It’s no secret that SIU center Rolan Roberts is looking to play in the NBA.

And after his strong showing in the Sweet Sixteen and then participation in three selective postseason competitions, it’s likely his stock in June’s NBA draft has risen.

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This past weekend, Roberts played in the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia with approximately 50 of the nation’s top seniors as a member of the Riddle Acura team, one of six teams in the tournament.

Riddle Acura ended the three-game event with a record of 1-2. Roberts was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 19.0 ppg and shooting 70.3 percent from the field.

In the first game against Beach Barton Ford, Roberts posted 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks. He topped that with 20 points and five rebounds versus Norfolk Sports Club. In the final game against Sales Systems LTD., he scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

It was good competition, said Roberts, whose teammates at Portsmouth included Iowa’s Luke Recker. A lot of guys were going for themselves and they either helped or hurt themselves.

There were representatives from every NBA team at the event to watch the prospects. Roberts feels good about his performance and believes that he did more good for himself than bad.

Roberts now awaits the announcement to be made in New York June 26, when he will find out if he is drafted into the NBA or has to proceed down another path.

Before Portsmouth, Roberts appeared in a slam dunk contest at the Final Four, where he was named co-champion, and also an all-star game. He said he’s been happy with his performances.

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I was lucky to be in the finals of the dunk contest, and in the all-star game I played well and had a good performance, Roberts said.

Not being drafted in the NBA is not on Roberts’ mind right now. He said that after graduation he will be signing with an agent and will just wait to see what happens afterward.

At 6-foot-6-inches tall, some question whether the bulky Roberts is tall enough to play on the interior professionally. That’s part of the reason he isn’t being too picky about where he’d like to land if he makes it to the NBA.

It doesn’t matter. It will be a dream to play for any team, Roberts said.

During the Portsmouth tournament, Roberts played small and power forward as well as center, and said going into the NBA he would gladly play any of those positions.

Reporter Samantha Robinson can be reached at [email protected]