Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) celebrates the Jayhawks’ 80-60 win over Missouri as the Jayhawks leave the court on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug

After leading his team to three wins in four days and the tournament title, former Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. received MVP honors in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament on Saturday.

Council averaged 19.3 points on 45.6% shooting with 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists for Portsmouth Sports Club in the all-star event for college basketball seniors. He was the player of the game in each of his team’s three games at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia.

In his first game against Sales Systems, Ltd., on Wednesday, he hit a key shot with 21 seconds left to extend his team’s lead to three points in what became a 78-75 victory. He finished with 20 points as teammate Tre Carroll of Xavier led all players with 22 and J’Vonne Hadley of Louisville recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Carroll led the way again with 16 in a less dramatic 83-66 victory over Jani-King on Friday, but Council put up a 14-point, 10-assist double-double with six rebounds as five members of Portsmouth Sports Club reached double-figure scoring overall.

The tournament’s championship game meant a challenging matchup with Mike Duman, Inc., led by SMU’s Boopie Miller and Oklahoma State’s Anthony Roy. But Council scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, including 6-for-6 free-throw shooting in the final three minutes and 24 seconds as his team went cold from the field, and Portsmouth Sports Club held on for a 93-86 victory on Saturday.

Council, a fifth-year senior from Rochester, New York, who started his career at Monroe College and played at Wagner and St. Bonaventure before becoming a fan-favorite Jayhawk in his final season, was not the only recent KU player in action in Portsmouth.

Teammate Tre White, who played at USC, Louisville and Illinois before joining the Jayhawks as a starting forward for the 2025-26 campaign, spent the tournament with Jani-King, which went 1-2 overall.

That included the loss to Council’s Portsmouth Sports Club, in which White had seven points on 3-for-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. Prior to that, in his opener on Wednesday, White had chipped in 14 points and eight boards in a 97-94 victory over Round’s Landscaping as teammate Malik Dia of Ole Miss led the way with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.

In Jani-King’s Saturday evening finale, which was the third-place game, Dia dropped 21 again, Riley Kugel (UCF) and Chase Ross (Marquette) each scored 17 and White added 11 on 3-for-11 shooting, but Texas A&M forward Rashaun Agee’s 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting and 12 rebounds propelled Portsmouth Partnership to a 97-93 victory.

Other former Jayhawks in Portsmouth included Ernest Udeh Jr., recently of Miami, who was Council’s teammate for Portsmouth Sports Club, and AJ Storr of Ole Miss, who played for Portsmouth Economic Development. Storr was a member of the all-tournament team along with Council.

Sunday’s championship game wrapped up the 72nd annual edition of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Last year, Zeke Mayo was the only Jayhawk who took part, and he ended up receiving a spot in the NBA G League with the Cleveland Charge.

It will be some time before this year’s players learn their professional fates. The NBA Draft begins June 23. In the meantime, some key dates include the early entry deadline on Friday, NBA G League Combine beginning May 8 and NBA Draft Combine beginning May 10.