Keith Clanton will start his professional career in his hometown. The forward, who concluded his UCF career in March as the greatest post player in program history, will compete for the Orlando Magic in the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League, which starts Sunday.
Clanton finished his career as UCF’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,000), blocks (227), games played (129) and starts (121). A member of three 20-win squads, he scored 1,718 points, good for sixth in program history.
As a senior this past season, the former Orlando Christian Prep standout received NABC All-District 11 First Team and All-Conference USA Second Team honors after averaging 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. He ranked fifth in C-USA in rebounds per game, second in blocks per outing (2.0) and sixth in field-goal percentage (35.5).
The power forward averaged a career-best 2.5 assists. He played 35.4 minutes per contest and logged 1,096 minutes during the year, the second-highest total in school history.
The summer league will occur at the Magic’s practice court at the Amway Center and is not open to the public. Orlando will open the event on Sunday against the Boston Celtics at 11 a.m. The Magic will play five contests and competition ends next Friday.
In April, Clanton excelled at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia. Playing in front of representatives from every NBA team, he led his squad to the title and averaged 12.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks to earn all-tournament honors.