COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus native and former Marshall University men’s basketball guard Taevion Kinsey signed a free agent contract with the Utah Jazz following the 2023 NBA Draft Thursday.
Marshall University says Kinsey is the first men’s basketball player from the university to sign a draft-night deal with an NBA team since Hassan Whiteside was selected with the 33rd overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft.
"I think it's a good place for him to land," Herd men's basketball head coach Dan D'Antoni said in a press release. "He comes out as one of Marshall's most decorated players. I'm glad to see him get that chance at the highest level of basketball."
Kinsey is a graduate of Eastmoor Academy within Columbus City Schools. During his senior year, he averaged 19.5 points shot 60% from the field and hit 39% of his 3-point shots. Kinsey was also named the Division II district Player of the Year and a member of the OPSA’s all-state first team during his junior year.
While playing at Marshall, Kinsey was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, All-SBC First-Team, and was a 2023 Lou Henson Award Finalist.
Kinsey scored 706 points (22.1 per game) to lead the conference and rank seventh in the nation in the 2022-23 season. His 20 games of 20 or more points and his 271 made field goals also led the Sun Belt while ranking third in Division I men's basketball with his made field goals.
He tallied a career-high 37 points at Georgia State on Feb. 11, the most by any student-athlete in a Sun Belt Conference game in the 2022-23 season, according to the university.
Additionally, Kinsey ranked second in the conference in total assists (173) and assists per game (5.4). He became the program's all-time scoring leader with 2,641 points, passing Jon Elmore in the SBC quarterfinals against Texas State. He also became the all-time leader in made field goals earlier this season when he passed Skip Henderson's mark of 1,000 at Old Dominion.
Kinsey joins Ohio State forward Brice Sensabaugh who was drafted by the Utah Jazz during the 2023 NBA Draft. He was the 28th overall pick.
