Jordan Howard was coming home from a 4 p.m.workout Tuesday when his agent called.
The Golden State Warriors were interested in the University of Central Arkansas' all-time scoring leader (2,524 points), and the reigning NBA champions wanted him to work out with the team Wednesday night.
"Can you get out on a flight in an hour?'" Howard, the Southland Conference's all-time leader in three-pointers (386), recalled. "I had to rush home, pack my bags, fly out, and with the time change I didn't get there until 12 at night. I went straight to sleep and woke up and went to the workout."
The Warriors drafted Cincinnati forward Jacob Evans with the No. 28 pick Thursday night, and Howard said his agent called him afterward to tell him him that he had received an invitation to play for the Warriors' Summer League team.
"Super excited about the opportunity," said Howard, the Southland's Player of the Year for the 2017-18 season. "Now it's just doing what I can control: go to the Summer League and do well and hopefully get a spot on the actual team. That's the goal."
The Warriors' Summer League team will play in a short tournament with the California teams from July 2 until July 6, Howard said, then they will join the rest of the NBA teams in Las Vegas from July 7 until July 16.
Howard will be competing for one of the Warriors' 15 spots on their NBA roster, or he could earn a two-way contract, which would essentially split his time between the Warriors and its developmental team, the Santa Cruz Warriors, in the NBA G League.
Howard hasn't spoken to anyone on Golden State's staff yet, but he said the organization told his agent that they thought Howard's style of play fit into their scheme.
"The ball movement, the shooting, the spacing the floor, pushing the tempo -- it's a type of game that I like to play and excel at," said Howard, who ranked third in the NCAA with 25.1 points per game in 2017-18.
UCA Coach Russ Pennell attended the Reese's College All-Star game on March 30 -- when Howard had 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists -- and he said pro scouts from the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks "kept questioning me, 'Is this kid that good?'"
Howard also worked out with the Hawks and Bucks; but the last-minute call from the Warriors gave him his best opportunity to become the first UCA player to play in the NBA since Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame forward Scottie Pippen (Hamburg).
"Golden State is exactly what he's about: space the floor, make the extra pass," said Pennell, whose Bears reached its first postseason tournament in its 12-year Division I history last season, reaching the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational. "All those things bode well for him. I realize they're the world champions, but there's no better fit than Jordan Howard."
Sports on 06/23/2018