Maccabi Rishon Le Zion has signed 27-year-old forward Murphy Holloway, Eurobasket reported earlier today. Holloway is spending his second consecutive season in Israel after spending last season with Hapoel Gilboa Galil, where he averaged 15.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, finishing second in the Winner League in rebounds per game as Gilboa Galil narrowly missed qualifying for the playoffs after finishing 15-18. He also spent the summer playing for Globalport in the Philippines in the PBA League, averaging 27.8 points and 17.8 rebounds per game.
Rookie Avry Holmes will be starting his pro career in Greece. The 6-foot-2 guard has reportedly signed with Panionios in the A1 League, Greece's top division. Holmes played his collegiate ball at Clemson, where he averaged 10.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Tigers while shooting 44 percent from three-point range.
Holmes will join fellow Americans Jalen Jackson and Tony Woods as newcomers to Panionios, which won the Greek A2 Basket League after going 26-4 last season. They will be back in the Greek A1 League for the first time since the 2014-2015 season.
There's no doubt that everyone loves making early-season predictions, and we here at Ballers Abroad are no different. We don't know how these guys are going to do this season but, given their experience and play last season, here are five players to look out for this season in the Basketball Bundesliga, Germany's top division. Our list includes long-time German mainstays and a few newcomers, but all are worth watching as the BBL season kicks off September 28. Think we're missing someone? Let us know in the comments. And awaaaaaay we go!
Bilbao Basket announced their signing of center Mickell Gladness for the 2017-2018 season. This will be Gladness' first season playing in Spain.
Gladness spent last season in Estonia, playing for BC Kalev/Cramo of the VTB United League, where he averaged 7.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in all competitions and lead Kalev/Cramo to the Estonian league championship.
The leader in blocks last season for the United League, Gladness started his career in the States before coming abroad in 2014. His NBA experience includes stints with the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors, as well as G League experience with the Santa Cruz Warriors and Reno Bighorns.
Darian Townes is returning to Lebanon. The forward/center from Chatham, VA, re-signed with the team he played for last season, Champville, in the Lebanese Basketball League. This is the first time that Townes has played consecutive seasons in the same country, and for good reason. The former University of Arkansas star put up career highs in points and rebounds per game for Champville, averaging 15.8 points,13.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while leading his team to a sixth-place finish in the LBL and the quarterfinals of the LBL Playoffs.
Townes has played professionally in Poland, Hungary, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan before coming to Lebanon, and will be starting his seventh professional season in 2017-18.
Gaziantep's Cameron Clark could be out for up to four months after suffering an injury during a preseason game Sept. 14. Gaziantep, a team in the Turkish Basketball Super League, was playing against Greek side Trikala when Clark injured his knee.
He signed with Gaziantep in July after spending last season with Elan Chalon in France's Pro A division, where he averaged 18.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game across all competitions. Gaziantep has already hit the market in search of a replacement, as reports have indicated that Clark likely won't be back until early 2018.
Guard Michael Jenkins has reportedly signed with Reyer Venezia in Italy, per basketball reporter David Pick. Jenkins is staying in Italy, where he finished the 2016-2017 season playing for Pistoia Basket after starting the season in Greece with Arias Thessaloniki. In Greece, he averaged 11.8 points per game in the Basketball Champions League and 10 points per game in the Greek Heba A1 League.
In 11 games played for Pistoia, he put up 10 points and 3.5 assists per game to close out the season. He will be joining a Reyer Venezia team that won the Serie A Championship last season after finishing second in the regular season with a 21-9 record. Venezia will be the fourth team in Italy for Jenkins, having played for Basket Brescia in 2012-2013 and Pallacanestro Cantu from 2013-2014 in addition to Pistoia last season. |