SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – University of the Incarnate Word guard Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) signed to play for the Houston Rockets NBA Summer League team on Friday.  He will be the first NBA Summer League competitor in UIW history.

The Rockets compete in the Las Vegas Summer League that runs July 10-20 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus.
Livingston has been a busy man since the regular season ended in mid-March with the Cardinals loss to University of Louisiana in the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament.  He was invited to the 2015 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and then he had workouts with the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz leading up to the NBA Draft on Thursday night.  "I didn't like all the travel, but I had to do it," said the 6-4 combo guard.  "It was stressful and tiring, but the hard work paid off."

When he was asked about signing with the Rockets the Houston native said, "It feels really good, it's been a blessing.  I've been watching the Rockets my whole life." 

"The Rockets are an interesting team," continued Livingston.  "I feel like I can do a lot of things that the Rockets need and want."

In a story for the San Antonio Express-News Livingston had told Jerry Briggs that he thought he would likely go un-drafted, but that the Rockets called his agent and offered a spot on their summer league team shortly after the conclusion of the two round draft.  He is still waiting for his travel schedule to Las Vegas, but he has his mind set on continuing to work on his game with defense and a new three-point line as the focus.

Livingston entered UIW in 2011 when the school was still part of NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference.  By the time he finished his four years with the Cardinals he had helped propel the program into Division I relevance with wins over Nebraska and Princeton on the road.

Livingston's final two seasons in college were some of the best in school history.  He averaged 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game and he followed that with 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game as a senior.  He finished in the top 10 nationally in steals both year and was in the top five in scoring as a senior.  In his final two seasons, he accumulated 1,172 points, 355 rebounds, 187 assists, 142 steals and 76 blocks as a member of Division I.  He finished his career with over 1,700 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals.

In his junior year, he earned second team all-Southland Conference and all-Southland Conference Defensive Team honors.  As a senior he grabbed first team all-Southland Conference and first team NABC All-District 23 honors while being named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch List.  He was a three-time College Sports Madness Mid-Major Player of the Week in his career and he also received player of the week accolades from ESPN's Dick Vitale, BennettRank, College Sports Madness, Netscouts and the Southland Conference.
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