Fiat Torino in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A have reportedly signed Victor Rudd, according to Sportando and several outlets. Rudd arrives in Italy after splitting last season between Turkey and Russia, starting the season with Gaziantep Basketbol in the Turkish Basketball Super League before moving to CSKA Moscow in 2018.
The 27-year-old out of South Florida averaged 8.8 points per game across all competitions, though his numbers dipped a bit after his move to CSKA Moscow. He will look to right the ship at Torino, a team that went 13-17 and missed out on the Serie A playoffs last season. The Italian league begins play on October 7.
Big man Greg Whittington is the newest player at Hapoel Gilboa Galil after signing with the Israeli club this weekend. Whittington joins Gilboa Galil from Japan, where he spent last season with Levanga Hokkaido in the Japanese B.League. The Georgetown grad averaged 11.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for Hokkaido as the team finished with a 26-34 record.
Hapoel Gilboa Galil will hope to improve on its winning record from last season, as they advanced to the quarterfinals of the Winner League playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 17-16 record. Whittington has also played in Australia after spending the first part of his career in the NBA G League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
By Ryan Beltran
In a video from Vice Sports two years ago, former Ole Miss point guard Marshall Henderson was highlighted as he was playing professional basketball in Iraq, which was facing some extreme violence. There were times where he pointed out that there would be explosions outside his hotel at night. Compared from his Ole Miss days when he was a controversial, loud, arrogant star, his career and life took a complete spin. He was no longer flashing insults at opposing teams fans or was the troublemaking star for Ole Miss. He wasn’t the guy making showboating gestures at Auburn or Florida fans, making him a villain to many other fans across college basketball. After his college career, he has been drifting from place to place trying to get his life back.
After failing to get drafted and failing to get guaranteed spots on a summer league roster, Henderson took his career overseas. He first traveled to Italy and took short-term contracts at Italian clubs Bertram Tortona and Openjobmetis Varese. After playing in Italy he had stints in Qatar and Iraq in 2015, being named MVP of the Arab Club championship for Al Rayyan Doha. He then got signed for the Sacramento Kings but was then later cut in October 2015 after only one preseason appearance, returning to Italy again for another stint.
Panionios BC in Greece has added another American to their roster after signing E.J. Singler. Singler, a 28-year-old forward out of Oregon, played in Germany last year for s.Oliver Wurzburg where he averaged 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game as Wurzburg went 19-15 in the Basketball Bundesliga, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot. A 2017 NBA G League champion, Singler has spent the majority of his career in the United States playing for various teams in the NBA G League, most recently with Raptors 905 from 2016-2017. He joins a Panionios team that will hope to improve on its 7-19 record last season and a finish in the bottom half of the league standings.
One of the newer players on the international scene, point guard Phil Pressey has signed in Turkey with Besiktas Sompo Japan of the Turkish Basketball Super League. Pressey arrives from Spain, where he spent last season with FC Barcelona Lassa in Liga Endesa.
D.J. Kennedy is headed to Australia for the first time in his career after signing with Melbourne United in the National Basketball League. Kennedy spent last season in Turkey with Pinar Karsiyaka in the Turkish Basketball Super League and had one of the best seasons of his career, being named the top scorer of the Basketball Champions League after averaging 19.3 points per game and leading Karsiyaka to the quarterfinals of the competition.
Kennedy, who was also named the top scorer of the Basketball Bundesliga in 2015 and was an NBA D-League All-Star in 2013, will be playing in the eighth different country of his career, which includes multiple stops with NBA G League teams. The St. John's product joins one of the best teams in the country in Melbourne United, who won the NBL Finals last season after finishing the regular season in first place with a 20-8 record. United have also re-signed Casper Ware and Josh Boone for their title defense.
Darnell Harris is the newest player for Panionios BC after signing with the Greek team earlier today. Harris played during the summer in China for the Beijing Bucks, averaging 27.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 16 games. Harris played for VOO Liege Basket in Belgium's EuroMillions Basketball League last season, averaging 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as Liege Basket went 8-28 and finished in the bottom half of the EuroMillions League standings.
The Middle Tennessee State product joins a Panionios side tha will hope to improve on their paltry 7-19 record last season in the Greek A1 Basket League. Harris joins Americans Nate Britt, Sir'Dominic Pointer and Kasey Hill on the roster. |