Raymar Morgan is headed to Russia. Morgan, a power forward/center out of Michigan State, has signed a one year-deal (with an option for a second year) with UNICS Kazan in the VTB United League. Morgan spent last season playing in Turkey with Tofas SK, where he averaged 15.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game across all competitions and lead Tofas to the finals of the Turkish Basketball Super League playoffs.
Olimpia Milano has signed power forward Jeff Brooks for next season. Brooks joins the Italian side from Unicaja in Spain's Liga ACB, where he had played for the past two years, averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game across all competitions for Unicaja, including an 8.8 points per game average in the Euroleague.
The last time Brooks played in Italy was during the 2014-2015 season, when he played for Dinamo Sassari, where he won a Serie A championship and the Italian Cup. Milano went 22-8 and won the Serie A Championship this season but struggled in the Euroleague, going 10-20 in the most competitive league in Europe.
Per Sportando and other outlets, Limburg United announced its signing of forward Paul Carter for next season. Carter joins the team from Latvia, where he played for VEF Riga.
This week in the Weekly Roundup: a big signing in Turkey, a few guys signing contract extensions, and a whole lot more! If you know of a signing that should be included in the Weekly Roundup, hit us up at ballersabroad@gmail.com or tweet at us @BallersAbroad.
After a very impressive first season abroad, Thomas Walkup has signed a contract with one of the best teams in Europe. BC Zalgiris Kaunas has signed Walkup to a 1+1 contract with the Lithuanian champions, giving him a one-year contract with the option for a second season. Walkup joins Zalgiris from Germany, where he was named Eurobasket.com's Import Player of the Year with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg after averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. The Stephen F. Austin grad also helped his team to two major semifinals: one in the German Basketball Bundesliga, and the other in the Basketball Champions League.
This past season was Walkup's first in Europe after spending his rookie season with the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League. Walkup will link up with a Zalgiris Kaunas team that won the Lithuanian domestic league while advancing to the Final Four of the Euroleague, the best basketball competition in Europe.
Jamar Abrams is the latest signing in the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany. Abrams signed with Science City Jena for the 2018-2019 season, joining the team after playing in the BBL for the Giessen 46ers last season. In 32 games, Abrams averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game finished in the bottom half of the BBL standings with a 16-18 record. However, they did finish with a better record than Science City Jena's 14-20 mark, something Abrams will hope to help the team improve on next season.
This will mark the second consecutive year in Germany for Abrams, who came to the country from Romania in 2016. He has also played in Canada, Japan and Slovenia.
The New Zealand Breakers continued to put together their roster for the 2018/2019 season, adding Patrick Richard to their list of import players. Richard comes to the Breakers from Divina Seguro Joventut in Spain, where he averaged 11.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, including an 11.1 points per game clip in qualifying for the Basketball Champions League, as Joventut finished with a 12-22 record in Liga ACB. The Breakers qualified for the last spot in Australia's NBL playoffs last year with a 15-13 record, losing in the semifinals to Melbourne United.
Richard is the second American that the Breakers have signed this offseason, with the other player being Corey Webster. He also played in Australia for the Sandringham Sabres in 2013. |