Rion Brown has found a new team in Greece. Brown joined Promitheas Patras of Greece's A1 League earlier today, signing with the team for next season. The Miami (FL) grad joins Patras from Dijon Basket, where he averaged 12.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game playing in the LNB Pro A, France's top division.
Dijon Basket went 20-14 last season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pro A playoffs. Brown will be joining a Patras team that went 17-9 last year, good enough for third place in the A1 standings, and advancing to the semifinals of the A1 playoffs. He has also played in Belgium, Israel and Finland during his career.
The Basketball Tournament has grown astronomically since its inception in 2014, and for good reason. Whether they're teams that are brought together by a common cause, alumni of a university or some other reason, plenty of quality basketball players link up and form teams that rival some of the best around the world. Something interesting about The Basketball Tournament is that the teams are made up of hundreds of Ballers Abroad from around the world who ply their trade in every corner of the globe. Now that the tournament field is down to the 'Super 16' we thought we'd take a look at the remaining teams and see which players are in our Ballers Abroad database - we definitely found a few!
Reyer Venezia in Italy have announced its signing of forward Deron Washington for next season. Washington has played in Italy since 2015, spending the last two years with Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino. The team announced the news on Twitter.
Washington averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game across all competitions for Torino last season as the team went 13-17 in the Lega Basket Serie A and finished in third place in its group in the EuroCup.
Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia has announced its signing of shooting guard Sean Armand to a new deal for the 2018-2019 season. Armand joins Zenit after playing in Turkey last season with Gaziantep, where he averaged 15.1 points and 4.8 assists per game across all competitions, which included the Turkish Basketball Super League as well as the Basketball Champions League.
Though Gaziantep had an offseason in both competitions, Armand's scoring and playmaking abilities helped keep the team in contention through many games, though this didn't show up in the team's final record. Zenit had a more successful year last season, going 16-8 in the VTB United League and advancing to the semifinals of the VTB playoffs. Armand has played in Turkey since 2015, and will be playing in Russia for the first time in his career.
After a season with Turkish power Banvit BK, Tony Taylor will ply his trade in Italy. The point guard signed with Virtus Bologna in the Lega Basket Serie A, joining Kevin Punter and Brian Qvale as the Americans playing for Bologna. Last year with Banvit, Taylor averaged 12.3 points and 4.1 assists per game across all competitions, including scoring 12.7 points per game in the Basketball Champions League as Banvit advanced to the quarterfinals of the European competition.
The George Washington product will be joining a Bologna team that narrowly missed out on a playoff spot in the Italian league after finishing the regular season at 15-15. They will also be playing in the Basketball Champions League this upcoming season after not playing in it last year.
Shavon Shields is the newest player for Kirolbet Baskonia after signing a two-year deal with the Spanish team. Shields arrives in Spain from Italy, where he spent last season with Aquila Basket Trento in Lega Basket Serie A.
The former Nebraska Cornhusker averaged 13.7 points and 2.5 assists per game across all competitions, which included Serie A and the Eurocup. The third-year pro, who has dual American-Danish citizenship, has also played in Germany during his career.
Panathinaikos has announced its signing of shooting guard Keith Langford to a contract for next season. Langford joins the Greek team after splitting time between Israel and China last year. The Kansas product started the year with the Shenzen Leopards in the Chinese Basketball Association, where he averaged 15.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, and moved on to Maccabi Rishon LeZion where he averaged 19.1 points per game in 12 games with the Israeli side.
Last year Panathinkaikos went undefeated in Greece's A1 League at 26-0 and won the league championship. The team also went 19-11 in the Euroleague, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Euroleague playoffs. |