Hall Signs Two-Way Deal With OKC; Peace, Zaccheaus Make NFL Rosters
Posted on Wednesday, Sep. 4, 2019, 4:12 pm
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By Jerry Ratcliffe
Devon Hall (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Three former University of Virginia athletes have signed professional contracts with the NBA and NFL as free agents.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Sam Presti, vice president and GM of the franchise, confirmed that former Cavalier basketball co-captain Devon Hall has reached an agreement on a two-way contract with the club. Hall’s deal is similar to Kyle Guy’s with the Sacramento Kings, in that while he’s assigned to the G-League team, he can be called up at any time to the Kings during the season.
Each NBA team is allowed two players on a two-way contract in addition to the standard 15-man roster. Those on two-way contracts spend the majority of the season in the G-League but can be called up to the NBA parent team for a maximum of 45 days.
Hall, who was originally the Thunder’s No. 53 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, will be assigned to Oklahoma City’s G-League team, the Blue, which is also located in the same city as the NBA franchise.
Hall spent his rookie season with Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League of Australia, where he appeared in 28 games and averaged 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
During the NBA Summer League, Hall played in five games for the Thunder, and averaged 21.6 minutes per game, 7.4 points (12-34 FG, 35%), 0.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 SPG, and 0.4 blocks per outing
Chris Peace (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Virginia football coach Bronco Mendenhall congratulated two of his former players, linebacker Chris Peace and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, for making the final cut and landing spots on NFL rosters with the Los Angeles Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons, respectively.
Both made the 53-man rosters as undrafted free agents.
“It says a lot to who those young men are to make the roster coming as free agents, so I’m so proud of them both,” Mendenhall said.
Peace played four seasons for UVA after redshirting in 2014. In 50 career games, Peace put up 198 tackles (94 solo), 29.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, four forced fumbles, an interception, and five passes defended. He was a third-team All-ACC linebacker and led all conference linebackers with 7.5 sacks.
Peace is a speed rusher who posted a 4.73 in the 40-yard dash on his pro day.
Olamide Zaccheaus (Photo: thefalcoholic.com)
Most Virginia fans were surprised when Zaccheaus went undrafted. He broke the Cavalier record for career receptions (250) and finished second to Billy McMullen in career receiving yards (2,753). He also broke his own record for most receptions in a season during his senior year with 93, surpassing the previous record of 85 in 2017.
It was evident as soon as Zaccheaus landed in Atlanta’s training camp that he would be contending for a roster spot, and the competition at wide receiver was described as “fierce,” with six players battling for the final two spots on the club. Zaccheaus was the only rookie and only free agent to win a spot.
During the Falcons’ preseason games, the UVA standout finished second among Atlanta’s receivers in reception yards (110), tied for second in receptions (10), and was first in overall targets (20). He joins Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Mohamed Sanu, Russell Gage, and Justin Hardy as Atlanta’s receiving corps.
