Former Washington State guard Michael Flowers shines in Portsmouth Invitational Tournament championship
![Washington State guard Michael Flowers brings the ball up the court during a Pac-12 game against Oregon on March 5 at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. (Associated Press)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
Former Washington State guard Michael Flowers put on a show in front of NBA scouts, scoring 23 points in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament championship on Saturday.
Flowers, one of 64 collegians invited to take part in the predraft tourney hosted over four days in Virginia, was named player of the game after shooting 8 of 9 from the field and 5 of 5 from 3-point range to help his team to a 106-94 victory.
The 6-foot-1 Flowers added four assists and three rebounds for team Sales System LTD, which completed a three-game sweep of the PIT with its win over Roger Brown’s.
Flowers shot 0 of 7 from the floor and was held scoreless with four turnovers in Sales System’s 106-88 win over Mike Duman Auto Sales on Friday. He contributed 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting (2 of 4 on 3-pointers) along with five rebounds off the bench in a 92-80 first-round victory Thursday over Portsmouth Sports Club.
The PIT is an annual showcase for college seniors hoping to catch the attention of professional franchises. Each of the NBA’s 30 teams sent representatives to the event, which features eight teams sponsored by local businesses.
Flowers lifted the Cougars this year in his first and only season at WSU, earning a second-team All-Pac-12 nod.
The point guard from Detroit, previously a scoring standout at South Alabama and Western Michigan, was instrumental in WSU’s most successful season in a decade, leading the Cougars with 14.2 points and 3.4 assists per game and hitting 100 3-pointers to break Klay Thompson’s single-season program record .
Buoyed by Flowers’ leadership and consistency, WSU compiled a 22-15 record and advanced to the semifinal round of the NIT.