Shawn Long is moving to a new team in Australia after signing with the NBL's Melbourne United. Long is staying put in the league after spending the 2018-2019 season with the New Zealand Breakers. The third-year pro had an incredible season last year for the Breakers, placing in the top-five in the league in both scoring (18.3 points) and rebounding (8.9 per game) as the Breakers finished the regular season at 12-16, out of contention for a playoff berth.
Now, Long moves to team that came as close as can be to a championship last year. Melbourne United lost in the NBL Finals to the Perth Wildcats last season, and the acquisition of Long could be what turns this team from runners-up to a championship team. This will be Long's second season in Australia after stops in the NBA, NBA G League and China.
Rod Camphor is staying put in Poland. After spending the 2017-2018 season with Turow Zgorzelec and finishing the 2018-2019 season with Spojnia Stargard, Camphor has signed with Rosa Radom in Energa Basket Liga for his sixth season of professional hoops. The Southwestern Oklahoma State product averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as his team finished with a 9-21 mark in the league.
He joins a Radom team that also missed out on a playoff spot after going 11-19 in the EBL. The 2014 GAC Player of the Year has also played in Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Belgium and Greece during his career.
Rob Gray is the newest player for Levallois Metropolitans in France, signing with the team for the 2019-2020 season. Gray will remain in France for his second season of professional basketball. After starting his rookie season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League, he finished out the 2018-2019 campaign with JL Bourg Basket, another team in France's LNB Pro A. In 10 games, the Houston product averaged 14.0 points and 3.9 assists per game as Bourg narrowly missed out on a playoff spot, finished the regular season in ninth place in the league standings.
Gray will look to help revitalize Levallois, who had a down year during the 2018-2019 season as they finished in twelfth place in the league standings with a 14-20 record. He was a two-time All-AAC First Team player at Houston in 2017 and 2018 after arriving from Howard College (TX), and averaged 17.1 points per game for the Mad Ants during his time in the G League.
Phil Greene IV has signed with Happy Casa Brindisi in Italy for the rest of the season according to Sportando and other sources. Greene joins Brindisi after playing for two other teams this season - Gaziantep Baskebol in Turkey and Trefl Sopot in Poland. In 17 games, Greene averaged 10.5 points and 2.7 assists per game, including putting up 15.9 points per game in the Polish League.
This will be his first time playing in Italy's top division after playing two seasons in the Serie A2 division from 2016-2018. Brindisi currently sits in fourth place in the Serie A standings with an 18-11 record with one game to go in the league's regular season.
As we wind down the regular season in leagues across the world, we've slowed down our Baller of the Week feature. However, a big game from Askia Booker got our attention and we decided to continue with Baller of the Week through the month of May. Booker's team, UCAM Murcia, is fighting off relegation, and his huge performance this week against Baxi Manresa helped spur his team on to victory. Booker scored 40 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists, as well as hitting an incredible nine three-pointers in Murcia's 96-86 victory over sixth-place Manresa. The fifth-year pro has had several big games in the past month and is doing his best to keep his team in Liga Endesa next season, and such a big performance in crunch time made his an easy choice for Baller of the Week.
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