Pistons Summer League: So who the heck is Stanley Umude?

With both its starting guards eventually injured, the Detroit Pistons needed someone to step up against the Washington Wizards. They received help from an unlikely source: Stanley Umude. Most fans probably had never heard of him before.

In Summer League, with most NBA teams not having their main players on the roster, opportunities arise for unknowns to step up and get noticed. Last year, Luka Garza and Jamorko Pickett played well enough to earn upgraded contracts with the Pistons (although neither got renewed for next year).

An early candidate for the ‘Where did he come from?’ for Detroit this summer is rookie guard Stanley Umude.

After not playing in their opener, Umude poured in 12 points in just 10 minutes, 43 seconds of action in a 105-99 win over the Wizards. Detroit is now 2-0 in summer league action.

Umude’s points were needed, as the Pistons lost guard Jaden Ivey with an ankle injury just five minutes into the game. Starting point guard Saben Lee left the game early in the second half with his own ankle injury.

(Note: Pistons seem to suffer an inordinate amount of ankle injuries. Last training camp they got hit with a ton of bad ankles as well, including one that knocked Cade Cunningham out for almost a month.)

Umude did most of his damage in the first half. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard out of Arkansas scored nine points in less than five minutes, making both three-point shots, as Detroit bolted out to a 59-37 lead at halftime.

Umude shot 37.1% from three-point land as a fifth-year senior with the Razorbacks. A big guard who can shoot is certainly the type of player the Pistons like.

What you need to know about Stanley Umude

• Umude started his college career at the University of South Dakota, where he played four years, averaging 21.7,points as a senior. He then transferred to Arkansas with the extra year of eligibility given by the NCAA due to COVID-19.
• He led the Razorbacks with 21 points in its NCAA Tournament first-round win over Vermont. Arkansas went on to knock off No. 1 Gonzaga and reach the Elite Eight.
• The three-point shooting prowess Umude is showing is fairly recent. In his freshman year at South Dakota, Umude only attempted 3 three-point shots (missing all three).
• Umude’s biggest scoring game with Arkansas came when he had 31 points against Georgia.
• He is 23-years-old (five years older than fellow Pistons rookie Jalen Duren), so Umude is no kid, probably a key reason he did not get drafted.

Does Stanley Umude have a chance with the Detroit Pistons?

Once the NBA draft was over, Pistons general manager Troy Weaver moved quickly to lock up Umude. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Detroit just a few days following the draft.

An Exhibit 10 deal means Umude is on the Pistons off-season roster and has an automatic invitation to training camp. If he does not make the team and ends up on Detroit’s G-League roster, he gets a bonus if he plays with them for at least 60 days.

It is only one game, but if Umude continues to shine in Las Vegas, like Pickett and Garza last year, he suddenly could become a candidate for the big club.