The Salt Lake City Stars have announced their opening day roster, and three former Badgers found their way onto it: John Tonje, Steven Crowl, and Max Klesmit. This is big news, as only Tonje was essentially guaranteed a spot. The other two earned their way by effort and a strong showing during the preseason scrimmages and practices.
John Tonje signed a two-way player deal after he was drafted in the 2nd round by the Utah Jazz. This contract means he can be called up to the NBA at any point without changing his contract. These contracts are perfect for players with a ton of potential but need more time to develop into the players the NBA needs them to be.
Steven Crowl has been hanging around the Utah Jazz all offseason, as he's popped up at tryouts, signed an offseason deal, a training camp deal, and is now on the G-League roster.
Wisconsin boasts three G-League players on the same team: John Tonje, Steven Crowl, and Max Klesmit
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Max Klesmit showed up just in the preseason, and not much is known about how he's impressed or played, but he's clearly good enough to make the roster. It seemed as if he would be a long shot, but instead, he's going to open the season as an NBA hopeful with the Salt Lake City Stars G League team.
It's not only cool to see all three former players make the G-League, but it's even more incredible that all three are on the same G-League team and can continue to use their chemistry developed last season at Wisconsin at this new level.
The Salt Lake City Stars open the G-League season at 11:30 am CT against the Santa Cruz Warriors (the affiliate of the Golden State Warriors). It will be airing on NBAGLeague.com, Jazz+, and/or NBCSBA.