Basketball senior to compete in Portsmouth Invitational April 13-16

April 11, 2016 | Athletics, Events, News
By Steve Easton



Center Nathan Boothe will be one of 64 college basketball seniors competing in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament to be held April 13-16 in Portsmouth, Va.

Boothe’s selection marks the third straight year that a Rocket is participating in the event. Rian Pearson and Julius Brown received invitations following the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns, respectively.

Boothe

Boothe

The Portsmouth Invitational, which is the second post-season event that Boothe will compete in, has been held since 1953. Each year, top college basketball seniors from across the country are invited to participate in the four-day, 12-game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA organization.

“It’s an honor for our program to have Nathan chosen to participate in this year’s Portsmouth Invitational,” Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “Nathan has worked extremely hard for this opportunity and is very deserving of it. He possesses a lot of the tools necessary to play at the next level, and I’m looking forward to seeing Nathan take this step in his basketball career.”

Boothe was one of 20 players who played in the Reese’s 2016 Division I College All-Star Game during Final Four weekend in Houston.

He received first-team All-Mid-American Conference accolades this past season after leading the MAC in scoring with 19.3 points per game and ranking third with 9.0 rebounds per game and an 82.4 free-throw percentage. He also was fourth in double-doubles (14) and 11th with 3.4 assists per game.

Boothe’s 618 points this season ranked third in school history, and his 155 rejections are the most in Rocket annals. He led or shared the squad lead in scoring on a team-high 19 occasions, rebounding a team-best 25 times, and assists on 11 occasions.

The Gurnee, Ill., native concluded his career tied for 10th place on UT’s career scoring list with 1,494 points and tied for 10th place on UT’s all-time career rebounding list with 777 boards.

Earlier this season, Boothe was one of 13 individuals named to CollegeInsiders.com’s mid-season Mid-Major All-America team Jan. 5. He also received the MAC’s West Division Player of the Week honors on seven occasions.

Click to access the login or register cheese