NBA G League Ignite has signed eight players to its roster, adding veteran presence with NBA and G League standouts including John Jenkins, Eric Mika and Cameron Young, plus the return of Pooh Jeter.
“We’re grateful to this group for their willingness to share their experience as they mentor and guide our young guys through the beginning of their professional basketball careers,” said head coach Jason Hart. “I couldn’t be more excited to get started with our team and begin preparation for a competitive G League season.”
Additionally, Anthony McClish, who worked in a consultant role with Ignite in its first two seasons, is the team’s new General Manager. McClish previously served as Director of Basketball Operations for the Sacramento Kings and General Manager for the Stockton Kings, and worked in a consultant role with USA Basketball. Ignite has also added Amani Jackson as an Assistant Athletic Trainer and Jonathan Wall as Assistant Performance Coach.
More on Ignite’s player additions below:
Aubrey Dawkins | Forward
Dawkins most recently played on the Boston Celtics’ 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League roster, averaging 5.8 points. He signed with the New Orleans Pelicans on an Exhibition 10 contract in 2019, appearing in 37 games for New Orleans’ NBA G League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks, where he averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. Dawkins spent last season with Turk Telekom in the Turkish Basketball Super League, averaging12.9 points and shot 45.2 percent from 3-point range, and played a season with Germany’s BG Gottingen in 2020-21.
Marcus Graves | Guard
A three-year NBA G League veteran, Graves spent 2021-22 with the Stockton Kings and Wisconsin Herd. He played in 31 games for the Kings and 13 games for the Herd, averaging 9.8 points and 5.4 assists in 44 total appearances on the season. He also saw Summer League action with the Milwaukee Bucks this July.
John Jenkins | Guard
Jenkins, a former five-star recruit and Associated Press third-team All-American while at Vanderbilt, brings more than a decade of NBA, G League and international experience to Ignite’s roster. He was
selected 23rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2012 NBA Draft and amassed 171 career appearances during his time with the Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and New York Knicks. Jenkins has also played in Spain, Israel and France.
Pooh Jeter | Guard
Jeter returns for a second consecutive season with Ignite after appearing in 25 games and averaging 7.9 points and 3.4 assists last year. Prior to joining Ignite, he spent time with the Sacramento Kings and in the NBA G League. Jeter also brings a wealth of international experience from a prolific career spanning the globe, including time in Spain, Israel, China, France, Turkey and the Ukraine.
Eric Mika | Center
In his lone G League season, Mika was a standout for the Stockton Kings in 2019-20, averaging 18.8 points. 12.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23 games. His international experience spans the globe, with stops in Italy, Germany, China, Serbia and France. A member of the 2020 USA Basketball Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying Team, Mika helped the team to a 2-0 record in the FIBA tournament. He rejoined USAB for Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team action this summer.
Shareef O’Neal | Forward
O’Neal played in four games for the Los Angeles Lakers at 2022 NBA Summer League, where he shot 44.4 percent from the floor. He spent two seasons at UCLA, including a medical redshirt year in 2018-19, during which he had heart surgery, and finished his collegiate career with two seasons at LSU. O’Neal participated in NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago this May.
James Southerland III | Forward
Southerland’s professional career includes stops with the Charlotte Bobcats, New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers, as well as the G League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders, Santa Cruz Warriors and South Bay Lakers. He most recently played with CAB Madeira in Portugal, and previously played overseas in France, Italy, Germany and Japan.
Cameron Young | Guard
Young was an NBA G League standout in 2021-22, averaging 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31 regular-season games. He started the season with the Memphis Hustle and was traded to the Cleveland Charge in February. Prior to his time in the G League, Young played with Cherkaski Mavpy in Ukraine in 2021 and Cantu in Italy in 2019-20.
2022-23 NBA G LEAGUE IGNITE ROSTER
NUMERICAL
NO NAME POS HT WT DOB Hometown Prior to Ignite
0 Scoot Henderson G 6-2 196 2/3/04 Marietta, Ga. Kell HS (GA)
1 Cameron Young F 6-6 217 3/24/96 Inglewood, Calif. Cleveland Charge
3 Marcus Graves G 6-1 185 6/9/96 San Diego, Calif. Stockton Kings
5 Pooh Jeter G 5-11 192 12/2/83 Gardena, Calif. BC Dnipro (Ukraine)
7 Mojave King G 6-5 205 6/11/02 Brisbane, Australia Southland Sharks (New Zealand)
8 Shareef O’Neal F 6-10 225 1/11/00 Los Angeles, Calif. Los Angeles Lakers
10 Efe Abogidi F 6-10 222 10/11/01 Delta State, Nigeria Washington State University
11 Leonard Miller F 6-11 221 4/21/01 Scarborough, Canada Fort Erie Intl. Academy (Canada)
12 Eric Mika C 6-10 251 1/5/95 Alpine, Utah JL Bourg (France)
23 John Jenkins G 6-4 206 3/6/91 Hendersonville, Tenn. BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque (France)
24 Aubrey Dawkins F 6-6 204 5/8/95 Durham, N.C. Turk Telekom (Turkey)
25 Sidy Cissoko G 6-6 219 4/2/04 Paris, France Baskonia (Spain)
31 James Southerland III F 6-8 221 4/28/90 Queens, N.Y. CAB Madeira (Portugal)
