Dukies playing overseas 2023-24

JasonEvans

JasonEvans

Host, The Duke Basketball Roundup
I looked and looked but could not find a similar thread to this. I swear, I thought we had one.

Anyway, I was just looking for a place to post this -- Vernon Carey won the Player of the Week award in the Turkish league from some Euroleague agents (or something like that): https://basketball.eurobasket.com/Turkey/news/843276/common

22-year old American center (206-C-2001) had an amazing evening in the last round for second-ranked Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir and receives a Hoops Agents Player of the Week award for round 11.
He had a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, while his team crushed Galatasaray (#11, 4-7) with 22-point margin 98-76. Pinar Karsiyaka is placed at 2nd position in Turkish league. They would have been even better if they hadn't lost a few games earlier this season. Pinar Karsiyaka will need more victories to improve their 8-3 record. In the team's last game Carey Jr. had a remarkable 60.0% from 2-point range. He turned to be Pinar Karsiyaka's top player in his first season with the team. Vernon Carey Jr. averages this season 13.6ppg and 6.2rpg.
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JasonEvans said:
I looked and looked but could not find a similar thread to this. I swear, I thought we had one.

Anyway, I was just looking for a place to post this -- Vernon Carey won the Player of the Week award in the Turkish league from some Euroleague agents (or something like that): https://basketball.eurobasket.com/Turkey/news/843276/common
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We had a couple posts in the NBA thread when somebody asked about it, but no full thread.

That site is a news aggregator that also scrapes data from league stat sites. Vernon is having a strong start to his time in Europe. He could very well be an elite EuroLeague level player in a few years if he does not fight his way back to the NBA or head to Asia.

There are a few other updates since the last time that there were posts on this subject. Jahlil Okafor got bought out of his contract at Zaragoza by his former team in China, but he has not played in his first game there yet. Frank Jackson also got interest from China and Lyon-Villeurbanne let him go to Shanxi for nothing as they had a terrible start to the season resulting in Tony Parker removing his younger brother from the head coaching position for the second time and they wanted roster flexibility. He started well for Shanxi, but has fallen off recently. Obviously Justin Robinson took the Duke job as it became clear that he would not be able to play for Ramat Hasharon. The top division in Israel did restart with foreigners allowed so Cassius Stanley is playing for Hapoel Afula again. Jacob Grandison has started his pro career in Spain's second division with Hestia Menorca. Trevon Duval is playing in Europe for the first time with Manisa in Turkey after not being drafted by the G League.

This thread also seems like a good place to mention where former women's team players are playing now:
The season is over in Puerto Rico, but Sofia Roma played for Morovis.
Haley Peters is playing for Virtus Bologna in Italy.
Chloe Wells is playing for Poznan in Poland.
Elizabeth Williams is playing for Cukurova in Turkey.
Angela Salvadores is playing for Landes in France.
Oderah Chidom is playing for Virtus Eirene Ragusa in Italy.
Kendall Cooper is playing for Montbrison in France's second division.
Miela Goodchild is playing for the Perth Lynx in Australia.
Jade Williams in playing for Prishtina in Kosovo.
Elizabeth Balogun started her career in Bembibre in Spain after a few administrative snafus.
Taya Corosdale and Mia Heide just kept on being teammates with Marbo in Sweden.

Might as well cover some transfers too:

Rasheed Sulaimon played with Hong Kong in China's second division over the summer before joining Wolves in Lithuania.
Alex Murphy is playing with Estudiantes in Spain's second division.
Semi Ojeleye is playing for Valencia in Spain.
Jordan Tucker is playing for Chorale Roanne in France.
Chase Jeter is playing for Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
Jordan Goldwire has had a couple of short term gigs with Xalapa in Mexico and Yireh in the Dominican Republic.
Alex O'Connell is playing for Reyer Venezia in Italy.
Patrick Tape is playing for Nokia in Finland.
Derryck Thornton is playing for Focsani in Romania.
Michael Gbinije is playing for Tabiat in Iran.

Alexis Jones played in Puerto Rico for Santurce and then signed with Kawkab Marrakech of Morocco for the Arab Club Championships that they were hosting. The big earthquake there happened in the middle of the tournament, but they were able to complete it.
Crystal Primm is playing for Adareva in Spain's second division.
Kyra Lambert is playing for Riga in Latvia.
Sierra Calhoun is playing for Izmit in Turkey.
Sierra Moore is playing for Esperides Kallitheas in Greece.
 
Joey Baker started his pro career with Pieno Zvaigzdes in Lithuania. I have no idea why he was left off my schedule spreadsheet and must have burned that page.
 
Big Vern had been dominating in the Turkish league, one of the best players in the league with close to 18ppg and 8 rpg. Hope he can fully recover.
 
NJ.com: Former Duke star, No. 2 NBA Draft pick brought to tears by reporter’s question

Jabari Parker, the former Duke star and No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, was brought to tears by a reporter’s question after his FC Barcelona team was eliminated in the EuroLeague playoffs.

After calmly and thoughtfully answering several other questions, Parker was asked for “one thought, one statement” on his “first year outside the United States... in terms of basketball and in terms of life.”

At that point, Parker began to break down and cry for about 30 seconds and did not answer the question.
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Furniture said:
Gosh. That was moving. As someone that lived overseas away from family I can relate. It’s a lot and sometimes you have to let your emotions out.
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I don't need to remind any of you what Jabari Parker's reputation was like growing up...
4fb3c003ecad04547600003a


"Best high school player since LeBron..."

I am sure he never, ever envisioned playing in the EuroLeague while he was still in his 20s. He was always supposed to be a guy who would be in the NBA -- as a starter and a star -- until he chose to hang it up. Instead, multiple ACL tears and other nagging injuries never allowed him to fully live his dream. Sure, he made $50+ million over the course of his NBA career, but he was never quite the player he seemed fated to be.

It is not hard to tell that something about the end of the EuroLeague season triggered a reflection in him that was just overwhelming. It is impossible not to feel for the dude...
 
brevity said:
NJ.com: Former Duke star, No. 2 NBA Draft pick brought to tears by reporter’s question

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Man, that is a very moving video. He has always been a very measured, thoughtful guy, but also atypical as an NBA player which his answers reflect. He doesn't go for cliches, and there were always reports about him being a guy who didn't really fit NBA culture. His emotions, I imagine, are a combination of missing home and what could have been in the NBA, but also maybe gratitude for still playing, for being welcomed by the team. According to that article he played quite well and is an important part of the team. I wish the best for him and hope he has years ahead of him playing at a high level.
 
There's the Woj Bomb, and then there's Shams Shrapnel. I guess Adrian Wojnarowski was taking a nap earlier today.

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

2020 Lakers reunion: DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard and Quinn Cook will play together on the Taiwan Mustangs in the Asian Tournament in July, sources say. Howard serves as a player and part-owner of the Taiwan league.

6:15 PM · Jun 18, 2024
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BasketNews adds that "The Mustangs will face teams from the Philippines, China, Japan, and South Korea in the tournament."

More Quinn Cook news: Back in May, he signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce, a pro club in Puerto Rico, for the 2024-2025 season. (Hoops Wire)
 
Since the seasons for our last two players finished this weekend, I figured that it would be a good time to put a bow on this thread.

Ryan Kelly finished out his sixth season with Shibuya in Japan, but they just could not get over the hump and make the playoffs. He has signed a two year contract with Fukui, an ambitious team that just got promoted to the second division there in time for next season.

Antonio Vrankovic missed some time with injury late in the season and Saint-Chamond could not quite make it to the playoffs in the second division in France, but still finished securely in the middle of the standings.

Jabari Parker's emotional Barcelona season was covered and he is under contract there for two more seasons.

Jahlil Okafor had a pretty solid season in China even though the team did not quite reach their goals. Before that season was even finished, he had agreed to join the Arecibo Captains in Puerto Rico as soon as he was available and he also played well there, but they just lost in Game 7 in the quarterfinals even as the top seed in their division.

Frank Jackson had some good games in China, but also had some injury troubles and did not end up making much of an impact. He will return to France next season with Nanterre.

Javin DeLaurier was used in somewhat unusual fashion in Lithuania, starting, but often not playing heavy minutes. The team did end up winning the championship. He will return to Greece with Promitheas Patras next season, but it is not clear to me whether they were going to sign him regardless or whether he was chosen after Jontay Porter's deal with the team fell through.

Theo John also suffered some injury problems late, but Donar Groningen nearly recovered enough to contend for the championship in the Netherlands.

Vernon Carey's season-ending injury was already covered here.

Jacob Grandison ended up finishing his short-term contract with Hestia Menorca and then played the rest of the season with Salon Vilpas in Finland, where he did well.

Cassius Stanley did end up being able to play the whole season with Hapoel Afula, but they were just short of the playoffs in Israel.

Quinn Cook played with the Carolina Giants in Puerto Rico, but that did not work out and the Santurce Crabbers picked him up, but that did not last either. His current stint in an exhibition tournament was also mentioned here. He is reported to be heading to Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia next.

Trevon Duval did not end up finishing out the season with Manisa in Turkey.

Haley Peters and Oderah Chidom both played in Italy and had good seasons, but Oderah's Virtus Eirene Ragusa upset Haley's Virtus Bologna in the playoffs and then both teams announced after the season that they would no longer participate in the top division. Haley is banned from the signing with WNBA for this season because of their rules, although it has been quite a few years since she actually played in the league.

Chloe Wells played for Poznan in Poland until the winter break, but she was not quite living up to expectations and both sides cut the deal short.

Elizabeth Williams had a strong season for Cukurova in Turkey, which made it far in all competitions.

Angela Salvadores had her usual inconsistent season for Landes in France and will return to Spain next season with Estudiantes.

Kendall Cooper had an MVP season in France's season division even though Montbrison could not win promotion, but her efforts got her a contract with the team that did, Chartres.

Miela Goodchild had a great season in Australia's national league with the Perth Lynx and then returned to her home state for the state league season where she was an incredible scorer for the North Gold Coast Seahawks, which just lost in the semifinals.

Elizabeth Balogun was doing okay with Bembibre in Spain, but there was a dispute after the February international break and she was frozen out of the lineup as they were doomed to relegation.

Taya Corosdale and Mia Heide finished out the season as teammates in Sweden. Mia then headed to the Penrith Panthers for Australia's state league season and was a solid defender and rebounder even though the team struggled.

Jade Williams had a very strong season in Kosovo with Prishtina.

Jiselle Havas was just going to play in the England league while getting a degree from the University of Nottingham, but she ended up signing with their top team in the British league and put in some excellent performances.

Bego Faz Davalos played in both Mexican national leagues, starting with new team Libelulas in the older, but less strong league, and then playing for Veracruz in the stronger league, which is filled with fairly reputable Americans, leaving the Mexican players like her on the bench most of the time.

I will do a short update on transfers some other day.
 
Is Haley Gorecki still playing in Poland? She was in 2022-23, but she's no longer on that team's roster, and I can't find anything about this past year.
 
Some other signing news for next season:

Matthew Hurt signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia.

Jack White is returning home to Australia, signing a two year contract with Melbourne.

Erin Mathias is ending her brief retirement to play with Alpo in Italy.

Kennedy Brown is starting her professional career in Armenia with Yerevan Foxes.

Some news on players who transferred out of Duke:

Rasheed Sulaimon had a good season in Lithuania with Wolves, an ambitious new team.

Alex Murphy played well for Estudiantes in Spain's second division, but they just missed out on promotion to the top division.

Semi Ojeleye had an excellent season with Valencia in Spain so he is returning there next season.

Jordan Tucker had an up and down season with Chorale Roanne, which was ultimately relegated from the top division in France, but I guess he at least avoided his original destination of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.

Chase Jeter played for Ostrava in the Czech Republic.

Jordan Goldwire plays for BUAP in Mexico, which either counts as the end of the 2023-24 season or the start of the 2024-25 season depending on your perspective.

Alex O'Connell played for Reyer Venezia, but basically was just a backup in EuroCup and usually not able to fit under the foreigner limit in Italy so he did not get many minutes.

Patrick Tape played for Nokia and helped them win the championship in Finland.

Derryck Thornton played decently for Focsani, a struggling team in Romania.

Michael Gbinije played most of the season for Tabiat in Iran, which later won the championship.

Joey Baker played limited minutes in a brief spell in Lithuania before heading to the G League.

Alexis Jones played for Peja in Kosovo.

Crystal Primm played the first half of the season with Adareva in Spain's second division.

Kyra Lambert played with Riga in Latvia and then joined Chihuahua in Mexico, which is in the middle of trying to win the championship series.

Sierra Calhoun had a strong season with Izmit in Turkey.

Sierra Moore played with Esperides Kallitheas in Greece and then returned to Irapuato in Mexico, playing well in both places.

Azura Stevens played the last portion of the season with Xinjiang in China, but they exited the playoffs quickly.

Phredd3 said:
Is Haley Gorecki still playing in Poland? She was in 2022-23, but she's no longer on that team's roster, and I can't find anything about this past year.
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It looks like she has been working regular jobs since then. She is still listed as an available player on her agency's page though so it may be the case of being open to the right offer.
 
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