Jonathan Augustin-Fairell is the newest player at Denain-Voltaire after signing with the French club November 20. Fairell started the season in France, playing for Cholet Basket in the Jeep Elite LNB Pro A league. In 7 games played, Fairell averaged 7.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Denain-Voltaire could certainly use his help, as they are off to a 2-4 start in the LNB Pro B league, France's second division.
Fairell is no stranger to the league, as he played the past two seasons. Last season with ADA Blois Basket 41, he averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as he helped lead Blois Basket to first place and a promotion to LNB Pro A. He also played the 2016-2017 with Rouen Metropole Basket in the same league, putting up 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the squad. This is Fairell's fourth year in pro basketball.
Igokea in Bosnia have strengthened their roster with the addition of veteran point guard Oliver Lafayette. Lafayette joins Igokea after spending last season in Italy with Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the Lega Basket Serie A. The 34-year-old, who has dual American-Croatian citizenship, averaged 9.4 points and 3.2 assists per game as Virtus Bologna finished with a 15-15 record and narrowly missed out on a playoff spot. He joins an Igokea side that is off to a 3-5 start in the Adriatic League, a good start for a team that finished last season with a 7-15 record. This will be the first time Lafayette will play in Bosnia.
Cade Davis is the newest player at Crelan Okapi Aalstar in Belgium after signing with the team October 15. Davis joins Okapi Aalstar after playing last year in Cyprus for Keravnos Strovolou, where he averaged 14.0 points per game in league play as went 15-3 in the regular season and advanced to the finals of the Division 1 playoffs.
Davis will join an Okapi Aalstar team that is in second-to-last place in Belgium's EuroMillions league with a 2-5 record early on in the season. This will be the Oklahoma grad's first time playing in Belgium after stops in Macedonia, Cyprus, Finland and Italy.
Mitteldeutscher BC in Germany have added a veteran presence to their roster after signing 36-year-old guard Tremmell Darden, who started the season in the EuroMillions Basketball League in Belgium with Telenet Giants Antwerp. Darden has played in Europe for 15 years, lacing up his kicks for 13 teams in seven different countries. The Niagara product averaged 5.8 points per game off the bench for Antwerp last season, helping the team to an appearance in the finals of the EuroMillions League playoffs. He had and had yet to appear in a game for the team this season before signing with Mitteldeutscher, who could certainly use his help as the team is off to a disappointing 1-5 start in Basketball Bundesliga play.
Kevin Allen is putting up big numbers and Romania, and we took notice. This week's Baller of the Week had another huge game in a win, as Allen scored 34 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in Targu Jiu's 18-point victory over Agronomia. Over the past week, Allen has averaged 37.5 points and 18.0 rebounds per game while shooting 66.7% from the field. Allen's big week makes him an easy nod for our Baller of the Week.
Demitrius Conger is returning to Australia. The small forward signed with the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League, joining the team after starting the season with Le Mans Sarthe Basket in France's LNB Pro A league. Conger will play in Australia again after spending a highly successful last season with the Illawarra Hawks, where he finished second in MVP voting after averaging 19.7 points nd 5.7 rebounds per game. On the heels of his success in Australia, he finished the 2017-2018 season with Divina Seguro Joventut in Liga Endesa in Spain, putting up 9.9 points per game in 13 games played.
“I like the professionalism of the league and the way Australia treats basketball more like an event. I feel Australians have a very good appreciation for basketball, which for me is pretty special," Conger told Sportando.Conger is a savvy veteran scoring presence that the 36ers are in sore need of at the moment after a paltry 2-7 start. The St. Bonaventure grad was averaging 10.1 points per game through all competitions for Le Mans, and will hope to replicate last seasons numbers to help turn the 36ers' season around.
After a few seasons away playing in other countries, Jacob Pullen is headed back to Croatia. The guard signed with Cedevita Zagreb earlier today, joining the team after spending last year playing for four teams in three countries. The Kansas State product started the 2017-2018 season in the United States, signing a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers October. After splitting time between the 76ers and their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, he signed with Mahrm Tehran in Iran in January 2018 before finishing the season in Turkey, helping Afyon Belediye achieve a promotion to the Turkish Basketball Super League.
Pullen's last stint with Cedevita was during the 2015-2016 season, where he averaged 13.2 points and 3.0 assists per game. Cedevita Zagreb is in the bottom half of the Adriatic League standings after starting the season 2-3, and is also 2-3 in EuroCup play. |