Point guard Talor Battle has signed with BK Ventspils in Latvia, Ballers Abroad has learned. The signing comes hours after Battle parted ways with the team he spent the majority of the 2015-2016 season with, Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Winner League. Battle had been having a successful season in Israel, averaging 12.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. Latvia will be the sixth country Battle has played in in his career, having also made stops in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Israel. Shooting guard Courtney Fells and Italian club Virtus Bologna have parted ways, Sportando and other outlets are reporting. Fells was signed by Bologna in November 2015 after starting the season in Argentina, and played in 11 games in Italy, averaging 14.9 points per game in all competitions. The former NC State player has been in eight countries (including the United States) in his career.
Since Ballers Abroad tries to keep it as global as possible, our Baller of the Week takes us to Iceland, where Al'Lonzo Coleman went off for a season-high 41 points against Thor AK. Coleman, a second-year pro who played in Canada last season, is averaging 20.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per game for Stjarnan. The team is third in the league with a 12-5 record.
Lokomotiv Kuban has announced that the team has signed guard Matt Janning. Janning had been playing in Israel for the better part of the 2015-2016 season, parting ways with Hapoel Jerusalem Feb. 7.The Northeastern grad played in 16 games for Hapoel so far this season, averaging 8.4 points and 2.2 assists per game. Lokomotiv marks the fifth different country that Janning has played in during his career, having spent time in Italy, Croatia and Turkey, as well as playing in the NBA Development League for the first two seasons of his career. Lokomotiv is in the midst of VTB United League play with a 12-5 record, as well as Euroleague play (4-2, good for second in its group). Rookie guard C.J. Carter is headed to Macedonia. The recent graduate of the University of Nebraska Omaha has signed with MZT Skopje of the Adriatic League, which is comprised of teams in six different countries. Carter averaged 16.9 points and 2.7 assists per game for Omaha last year, where he was a 1,000-point scorer for the Mavericks. Skopje is currently in the middle of the Adriatic League standings with a 9-13 record, and could certainly use a scoring guard like Carter. German team Eisbaren Bremerhaven has signed rookie guard Chris Evans, Eurobasket and other outlets are reporting. Evans graduated from the University of Charleston (West Virginia) in 2015, and the signing marks his first taste of professional basketball. Before playing for Charleston, Evans spent time at Sacred Heart University as well. Bremerhaven currently sits at the bottom of the Basketball Bundesliga with a 5-15 record heading into its next game Feb. 6 against Fraport Skyliners, so hopefully Evans can bring something to the table. He averaged 12.3 points and 2.6 assists per game in his final year at Charleston. |