College Basketball: Michigan State vs North Florida

Michigan State's Keith Appling cheers on his teammates against North Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Michigan State won the game, 78-48.(J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

Keith Appling wasn’t among the 60 players picked in Thursday’s NBA draft. But he didn’t stay a professional free agent for long.

The former Michigan State point guard has signed a free agent contract to play for the Portland Trailblazers’ summer league team, his agent Mike Silverman told MLive Friday afternoon.

The Trailblazers are scheduled to compete in the Las Vegas Summer League starting Saturday, July 12. They will play a minimum of five games, including three scheduled ones against New York, Houston and Atlanta.

The event will serve as an opportunity for Appling to prove himself against other NBA prospects and start the process of earning himself a place in the league.

“I feel like that would be something that’s important for all the prospects to showcase themselves against all the other prospects from around the country,” Appling said last week before the draft.

Appling started his senior season by averaging 17 points per game in the first nine games of the season. But his draft stock faltered when he hurt his wrist, returned before he was 100 percent healthy and struggled through the end of the season.

He used the months after the Spartans' season to get fully healthy and showcase himself in a series of NBA workouts, garnering interest from multiple NBA teams.

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