SALT LAKE CITY – Northwestern State basketball great Trey Gilder's bid to return to the NBA appears on track, according to a report in The Salt Lake Tribune saying he is expected to be invited to the Utah Jazz's training camp.

The NBA preseason begins next week and Utah's first preseason game is Dec. 19 at Portland. The newspaper reported the Jazz could invite 3-4 players to camp along with the 11 under contract once a pair of rookie draft picks are signed. The report said while most NBA teams carry 15 players, the Jazz have in the past kept only 13-14 under contract.

Utah opens the regular season Dec. 27 at Los Angeles against the Lakers.

The 6-9, 185-pound forward played the first two games of the 2009-10 season for the Memphis Grizzlies, then starred in the NBA Development League for a second straight year.

He won a skills competition and scored six points in the fourth annual NBA Development League All-Star Game in conjunction with the NBA's 2010 All-Star Weekend in Dallas and Arlington.

Gilder averaged 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in the NBA D-League with Maine and Albuquerque.

Gilder, a Dallas native who was a standout for the Demons from 2006-08, was among 20 of the NBA D-League's top players chosen as All-Stars by a combination of fan voting online and voting by the league's 16 head coaches.

As a Demon, Gilder was named to the 2007-08 All-Southland Conference first team after leading Northwestern in points (16.4) and rebounds (6.2) as a senior, finishing ninth in school history in points in a single season (542).

He was a two-year All-SLC Tournament selection, helping the Demons to the league championship game in both his seasons.

He made the 2009-10 opening day roster in the NBA as a rookie forward for the Grizzlies, playing in the season opener and scoring a basket and getting a rebound and steal, then being released two games later as the Grizzlies activated Allen Iverson. The D-League's Maine franchise signed him about a week later. He finished that season with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.

Gilder is one of 11 former Demons who have played in coach Mike McConathy's 12 previous seasons as coach and remain active in professional basketball. A total of 17 Demons who have played since 1999 have played pro basketball at some level, along with Demetrius Bell, who is an offensive tackle for the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Gilder emerged as a standout three seasons ago in the D-League, helping lead the Colorado 14ers to the league title for 2008-09.