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Temple’s Obi Enechionyia to play for Pistons in NBA summer league

Detroit was one of seven teams Enechionyia worked out for prior to the draft.

Temple's # 0 Obi Enechionyia splits UConn's # 5 Isaiah Whaley and # 4 Jalen Adams as he goes to the net in the first half of the Univ of Conn. at Temple University Mens college basketball game at Temple's Liacouras Center in Phila., Pa. on January 28, 2018. ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
Temple's # 0 Obi Enechionyia splits UConn's # 5 Isaiah Whaley and # 4 Jalen Adams as he goes to the net in the first half of the Univ of Conn. at Temple University Mens college basketball game at Temple's Liacouras Center in Phila., Pa. on January 28, 2018. ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff PhotographerRead moreElizabeth Robertson

Recent Temple graduate Obi Enechioyia, who was not selected in Thursday's NBA draft, says that he will be playing for the Detroit Pistons on their summer league team in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-10 power forward said his agent had talked to a few teams but he felt the Pistons provided him the best opportunity.

"We felt this would be a good place for me to play," Enechionyia said by phone.

Enechionyia, whose best attribute is his shooting, had eight NBA pre-draft workouts with seven teams, going twice with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[Quite an honor off the court for Enechionyia]

The final team he worked out with was the Pistons on Tuesday.

"It feels good to have this done and now I can prepare to take the next step," said Enechionyia, a career 36.6 percent three-point shooter.

Enechionyia, who earned his degree in communications, had 1,296 points and 613 rebounds during his Temple career.

[Enechionyia stats]

He is going to a team that has a big Philadelphia connection. Last month the Pistons hired Ed Stefanski, the former Sixers president and general manager and a Penn graduate as a senior executive reporting directory to the owner Tom Gores. Stefanski has been given the responsibility of reshaping basketball operations. He was hired from Memphis where Stefanski had served as the executive vice president.

The Pistons have qualified for the playoffs just once in the past nine years and have missed out the previous two seasons.

Enechionyia says he can't wait to get started.

"It has been a bit of a stressful process and now I am relieved and ready to go," he said. "I am really excited for this opportunity."