Nebrasketball: Dalano Banton Receives G League Elite Camp Invite

The Nebraska Cornhuskers’ starting point guard Dalano Banton declared for the 2021 NBA Draft at the end of May, and the rising junior received an invitation to participate in the G League Elite Camp being held this weekend (June 19-21) at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Banton is the first Husker to receive an invite since James Palmer Jr. in 2019. Palmer went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. Palmer played in the 2019 NBA Summer League for the Phoenix Suns and in the preseason with the LA Clippers. He plays for the Agua Caliente Clippers in the G League.

While Banton is not one of the five Big Ten players invited to participate in the 2021 NBA Draft Combine beginning on Monday, June 21, the top performers in the G League Elite Camp will have the opportunity to earn invitations to the draft combine. 11 players earned invitations to the combine from the G League Elite Camp in 2019 and five were later drafted.

Banton’s name was not initially among those invited to participate when the NBA unveiled the initial list of 40 players who received invitations. Many of those names are familiar to Big Ten basketball fans as it includes Michigan’s Chaundee Brown, Hunter Dickinson, and Mike Smith, Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell and Duane Washington, Jr., Minnesota's Marcus Carr, Illinois’s Kofi Cockburn, and Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins.

Banton is a Western Kentucky transfer, and stands 6-foor-9 while playing point guard. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Banton had to sit out the 2019-20 season. He made 22 starts and saw action in 27 total games for the Huskers in his redshirt sophomore year this past season. He averaged 9.6 points per game while leading the Huskers in both rebounding (5.9) and assists (3.9) per game. He ranked ninth in the Big Ten in assists, 15th in blocked shots, and 18th in rebounding.

Banton became the first player since 1974 to lead UNL in both rebounding and assists while he topped the Huskers in blocked shots (25) and ranked third in steals. He also became just the second player in Nebrasketball history to notch a triple-double, scoring 13 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing 10 assists in 21 minutes against Doane.

Banton played 31 games at Western Kentucky in 2018-19, averaging 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He made 12 starts that season. His versatility as a player especially shined in his stat line as the Hilltoppers notched a win over No. 15 Wisconsin and Banton nearly posted a triple-double with 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and eight points in a career-high 38 minutes.