Detroit's Minnerath Joins Broekhoff at Portsmouth Invitational

PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- University of Detroit Mercy forward Nick Minnerath [Truro, Mass./Nauset (Jackson CC)] has been selected as one of 64 outgoing senior college basketball players to be invited to the 2013 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. The tournament will run from April 10-13.

Minnerath, who was named to the All-Horizon League First Team, finished fifth in the league in scoring with 14.6 ppg, while also leading the Titans on the boards with 5.9 rpg. Minnerath, who returned this year from a season-ending knee injury last year, recorded the most points in a single-game this season in the Horizon League with 36 against Valparaiso on Jan. 17. Minnerath finished his career in Detroit with 913 points and 374 rebounds.

Minnerath’s eight-man squad at the PIT, the Portsmouth Sports Club, includes Andrew Smith (Butler), Colt Ryan (Evansville), Damen Bell-Holter (Oral Roberts), Mike Rasario (Florida), Abdul Gaddy (Washington), Jamal Olasewere (LIU) and Keven Foster (Santa Clara). The team is coached by Mark Hall and Walt Webb along with NBA assistant coach Scott Wedman.

Minnerath will look to follow in the footsteps of former UDM star Willie Green, who used a 2003 invite to the P.I.T. to showcase his all-around game.  Green would later be selected with the 12th pick in the second round of the '03 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics and is currently in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks and ninth overall in the NBA.

The forward is the second Horizon League player to join a PIT roster, as Valparaiso's Ryan Broekhoff is also participating in the tournament.

Each April for the last 60 years the P.I.T. has invited 64 of the best college basketball seniors from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve-game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team.

The tournament drew the attention of NBA Scouts and General Managers in the mid-70's when players like Dave Cowens, John Lucas, Walt Szczerbiak and Bobby Cremins came to Portsmouth to play. Soon the word spread and approximately 200 Scouts, General Managers and Representatives of all 30 NBA teams began to come to see players like John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and others. Today scouts from numerous international leagues have joined in on the annual April pilgrimage to Portsmouth. Over the years the P.I.T. has been a showcase for five of the 50 greatest players in NBA History (Rick Barry, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen) and for many others who have gone on to NBA stardom.