Desmond Bane invited to Nike Skills Academy

TCU senior Desmond Bane is headed west this week, where he will participate in the Nike Skills Academy, taking place at Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Ca. Mamba Sports Academy is the brainchild of former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, who opened the facility this year with the goal of “providing effective, safe and transparent human performance training to develop athletes to the peak of their potential.”

Nike will take over the space Wednesday through Friday, when 24 of the best collegiate athletes in the country descend on the court in some exclusive new kicks to train with elite Nike grassroots instructors and in front of NBA scouts from nearly every team. In addition to the training sessions and skill work, players will participate in scrimmages and games. Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, and several newly-drafted players are expected to make appearances as speakers and coaches throughout the three day event.

Bane was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and as a member of the USBWA All-District VII team at the conclusion of a personally successful junior year. After testing the draft waters, the Richmond, Ind., native returns as the leading scorer for the Horned Frogs after averaging 15.2 points per game last season - the most points by a TCU player in five seasons. Bane shot 50.2 percent from the field, the sixth-best in the Big 12.

He will be counted on to lead a group that has seven new players this fall, and is the lone returning senior in the program.