This is not his first rodeo.

Last year, former ISU guard DeAndre Kane participated in the 2014 Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

Kane, who went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, decided to don the mythical purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers in last year’s Las Vegas summer league. During his time with the Lakers, Kane averaged 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while averaging less than 20 minutes per game.

“It was a great experience,” Kane said. “I had the chance to prove myself at the highest level.”

However, Kane was not able to show the Lakers what he could do at the position he played in college — point guard.

In the 2014 draft, the Lakers selected point guard Jordan Clarkson out of Missouri in the second round.

“Unfortunately with Clarkson, who is an excellent player, I had to play out of position and I was not able to show what I could do at point guard,” Kane said.

With the Lakers being high on their second-round pick, it resulted in the guard, who fit the prototypical NBA appearance, out of a roster spot with the Lakers. In fact, no NBA teams made a call after the summer league to inquire about Kane’s abilities.

Though no teams wanted to sign Kane, it did not mean he would give up on his dream to play in the NBA. So Kane decided to put that dream on hold to play in European leagues. 

His European basketball journey first took him to Russia, where he played for Krasny Oktyabr in Volgograd, which is 675 miles south of Moscow. Kane did not last long with Krasny Oktyabr because of a front-office coaching battle, so he spent the rest of the season with one of the best teams in Belgium— the Antwerp Giants.

Playing in Belgium gave DeAndre lessons on and off the court.

“I always feel good about my game, but while in Europe, it helped me improve on my shooting, pick and roll ability and just my play making skills,” Kane said. “Not only did Europe help in those aspects but it also helped me mature because living in a different country, you have to grow up fast.”

With all of the above-average competition in Europe, Kane averaged 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game with the Giants. Kane’s impressive numbers with Antwerp did not go unnoticed in the states.

In an article by Real GM’s Shams Charania, NBA teams like the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings were keeping a close eye on Kane. However, they failed to secure Kane as the Atlanta Hawks swooped in and signed him to their summer league roster.

“I had a great workout for them, they have a great coaching staff that I get along with and overall, I believe it is a great fit for me,” Kane said.

In the first game for the Hawks, Kane will have the opportunity to show what he has to offer as he will be matched up against first-round pick Gary Harris and top-10 pick Emmanuel Mudiay of the Denver Nuggets.

“They [Harris and Mudiay] are great players, but I feel like I have nothing to prove,” Kane said. “I just want to go out there, show I belong in the NBA and help contribute for my team.”

When Charania announced on Twitter that Kane was going to play for the Hawks this summer, he also mentioned that the Hawks plan on discussing a free agent contract with Kane as well.

“This summer league, you are not just vying for a contract with the team you are playing for, you are playing for a contract for one of the 30 NBA teams,” Kane said. “If the team you play for does not want you, maybe one of the other 29 do. So you are playing for all 30 teams in the summer league.”

The Las Vegas summer league kicks off on Thursday and runs until July 20. Kane and the Hawks open their summer league play on Thursday at 7 p.m. when they take on the Denver Nuggets.