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Veteran point guard Kenny Hayes will suit up for a new team in Turkey after signing with Gaziantep Basketbol in the Turkish Basketball Super League. Hayes, the 2019 BSL leading scorer with Buyukcekmece Basketbol, has yet to sign for a team this season. He's played in Turkey the past two seasons, and last season he scored 19.8 points per game and dished out 4.8 assists per game for Buyukcekmece before the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gaziantep currently sits in the middle of the BSL standings with a 7-10 record, but are hoping to snap out of a four-game losing streak at the moment. Hayes joins fellow Americans Rashard Kelly, Brynton Lemar and Trevis Simpson on the squad. ![]()
Ethan Happ is moving teams in Italy after signing with Dinamo Sassari Jan. 18. The second-year power forward started the season with another team in Italy's Lega Basket SerieA, Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, where he averaged 14.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game across all competitions, including the Basketball Champions League.
Happ will play for his third different team in Italy's top division. He spent his rookie season for Vanoli Basket, where he averaged 16.5 points per game. Dinamo Sassari currently sits in third place in the Lega Basket Serie A standings with a 10-5 record, and sits solidly in second place in its Basketball Champions League group with a 3-2 record. The Wisconsin grad will join fellow American Jason Burnell on the squad.
The first Baller of the Week for 2021 is here, and it's something special! We're headed to Armenia for the first time this season, where Jordan Watson put up 51 points in his team's win over the weekend.
Baller of the Week takes us to Italy for the first time this season, where Josh Adams had a big game for his team in the EuroCup this week!
Swingman Taylor Braun is moving to a new team in Israel after signing with Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Winner League. Braun, who has yet to sign for a team this season, has played in Israel before. The seventh-year pro laced up with Hapoel Be'er Sheva during the 2018-2019 season and again in 2020, splitting the 2019-2020 season between the Brisbane Bullets in Australia and Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
He averaged 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for Brisbane, and will look to infuse some more offense into Haifa's squad, as the team is off to a 1-6 start in Winner League play. He will join fellow Americans Michael Brisker, Chris Dowe, Davon Jefferson and Donta Smith on the team's roster. ![]()
Dario Hunt has moved teams in Italy after signing with Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103. Hunt changes teams in Italy's first division after starting the season with Virtus Roma, where he averaged 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the first seven games of the season. Last week, Virtus Roma withdrew from Lega Basket Serie A amid financial uncertainty and the lack of a prominent main sponsor. While their long-term future is up in the air, players were released from their contracts this season, paving the way for Hunt's move to Fortitudo.
The team could use the big man's help, as they've gotten off to a 2-8 start in league play. He joins fellow Americans Adrian Banks, Tre'Shaun Fletcher, Ethan Happ, Wesley Saunders and Todd Withers on the roster.
We're in Norway for Baller of the Week, where Devin Gilligan tied his season-high in scoring while stuffing the stat sheet in his team's dominating win the Norway's Basketligaen Norge (BLNO).
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