Ex-Bradley players playing pro

[Da Coach]

Just heard news that Former Bradley player Ari Boya has signed to play professionally with the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions of the 12-team BSL (Austrian Basketball Superliga), the top pro league in Austria.

https://www.eurobasket.com/Austria/news/767965/Arkadia-signs-Boya-just-out-of-college

Roster-

https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Austria/Arkadia-Traiskirchen-Lions/630?Page=1

Congratulations Ari! His first game is October 2.

Also playing in Austria this coming season is Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye. He has signed to play with Basket Swans Gmunden, also of the Austrian BSL.
Roster-

https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Austria/Basket-Swans-Gmunden/1382

Their first league game is September 29, but they are currently playing in a tournament, and DLO just helped lead his team to a win in the quarterfinal round of the Basketball Champions League playoff in Belgrade, Serbia.-

https://twitter.com/Hoopsfix/status/1572641122551271426

His team, Basket Swans Gmunden, plays again tonight against Parnu Sadam of the Estonian KML league.

News on other former BU players (most of this info is from last season)-

https://basketball.usbasket.com/team/NCAA/Bradley-University/856?Page=4

[Da Coach]

DLO helps lead his Basket Swans Gmuden team to the championship of the 2022 Austrian Supercup-

https://twitter.com/TangramSports/status/1575774234160553985

https://gettotext.com/basketball-highlight-gmunden-wins-supercup-with-double-winner-bc-vienna/

[Da Coach]

DLO wins another league championship. His team, Basket Swans Gmuden, is the champion of the Austrian BSL, beating BC Vienna 3 games to 1-
https://twitter.com/MarcoCalise/stat...84019499261953
The 2 teams tied for the regular season title with records of 27-5. DLO averaged 11.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and 3.2 apg.



And Luuk van Bree scored 17 points in the 4th quarter of Game 5 of the final round of the Dutch DBL League playoffs for ZZ Leiden to rally them from behind to beat Donar Groningen and win the Dutch DBL League championship 3 games to 2-
https://twitter.com/TangramSports/st...90918306885632
https://twitter.com/TangramSports/st...30154234118178



Luuk was also the star of game 4 that helped ZZ Leiden tie the series 2 games to 2-
https://www.eurobasket.com/Holland/n...-force-decider
https://twitter.com/TangramSports/st...43938186559494

Donte Thomas' team, Den Bosch, was eliminated in the semifinal round of the Dutch DBL League. Donte was a starter and averaged 9.2 ppg, and 4.9 rpg for Den Bosch.

Ari Boya started the season with Arkadia of the Austran BSL, and he averaged a terrific 10.6 ppg and 10.8 rpg.
But midway through the season, he switched teams to Eisenstadt of the Austrian BSL. In 14 games with Eisenstadt, Ari averaged 13.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg.
Eisenstadt did not make the postseason playoffs.
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/pl...de-Boya/421026

Koch Bar just completed the season with Horsens IC in Denmark. He played in 33 regular season games as the starting center, and he averaged 10.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg (tops on the team).
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/pl...och-Bar/361283

And Elijah Childs had a terrific season. He played for Bakken of the Denmark BasketLigaen. They tied for the top record in the regular season at 24-6, and easily advanced through the 4 playoff rounds. They swept their opponents in the Final series to win the Denmark Championship. Elijah scored 16 points and had 5 rebounds in the championship game. He averaged 13.5 ppg (2nd highest on the team) and 6.4 rpg (tied for tops on the team)for the season . He shot 60% on 2-point shots, and 35% from three.
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/te...us/1878?Page=3

Congratulations to all the former BU players!

[Da Coach]

...
And Luuk van Bree scored 17 points in the 4th quarter of Game 5 of the final round of the Dutch DBL League playoffs for ZZ Leiden to rally them from behind to beat Donar Groningen and win the Dutch DBL League championship 3 games to 2-
https://twitter.com/TangramSports/st...90918306885632
https://twitter.com/TangramSports/st...30154234118178

This tweet has a short video showing how Luuk and his ZZ Leiden team overcame a 16 point deficit (61-77) in the final 2:20 of game 5 of the best of 5 series to win 82-81.

[Da Coach]

...

Koch Bar just completed the season with Horsens IC in Denmark. He played in 33 regular season games as the starting center, and he averaged 10.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg (tops on the team).
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/pl...och-Bar/361283

And Elijah Childs had a terrific season. He played for Bakken of the Denmark BasketLigaen. They tied for the top record in the regular season at 24-6, and easily advanced through the 4 playoff rounds. They swept their opponents in the Final series to win the Denmark Championship. Elijah scored 16 points and had 5 rebounds in the championship game. He averaged 13.5 ppg (2nd highest on the team) and 6.4 rpg (tied for tops on the team)for the season . He shot 60% on 2-point shots, and 35% from three.
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/te...us/1878?Page=3

Congratulations to Koch Bar. He was named "Center of the Year" and was named to the 1st team All-Danish League for this past season in the Danish BasketLigaen.

And, Elijah Childs continues to have a good career in Europe. He played his first year at Trapani (2B Control Trapani) a beautiful coastal city on the island of Sicili, where he was by far their best player. So he got a better offer this past year, and signed with the Bakken Bears, a team in Denmark in the BasketLigaen, the top pro league in Denmark.
Again, he had an outstanding year, helping to lead the Bakken Bears to the best record in the league, and a sweep through the postseason playoffs winning the Championship. They did not lose a game in either round of the playoffs-

https://www.eurobasket.com/Denmark/basketball.aspx

Despite his great season, Elijah was not the MVP of the league. That award went to his teammate Ryan Evans (former Wisconsin star, averaged 14.8 ppg). But Elijah was named 2nd team All-Danish Ligaen, and was 2nd on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg), and was the top rebounder (6.4 rpg).
https://www.eurobasket.com/Denmark/n...en-Awards-2023

Today it was announced that he has signed with a new team, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga. The BBL is the top pro league in Germany, and one of the best European pro leagues.
https://twitter.com/JoshBett1/status...09593709395970

Ludwigsburg was 19-15 this past season, finishing 5th in the 18-team league. They made it to the semifinal round of the playoffs, before being eliminated by Bonn, the top team in the league. Ludwigsburg is located in Southern Germany

https://www.eurobasket.com/Germany/basketball.aspx

[Da Coach]

Followup on an ex-Bradley player who is no longer playing. Donovine Stewart is in his final year of law school.

https://twitter.com/Dwilliams1515/status/1680603515738005505

[yoda]

Finland has trimmed their 2023 FIBA World Cup roster- Ville is not on the trimmed roster
https://www.fiba.basketball/basketba...c-at-world-cup

[Da Coach]

Rienk Mast has been invited to play for the Senior Netherlands National Team. They will take part in the FIBA Olympic Pre Qualifier Tournament this summer (Aug 12-20) to try to qualify for the 2024 Olympics
https://twitter.com/HuskerHoops/stat...25830814474240

Their first 3 Group games are August 13 against Sweden, August 14 against Belgium, and August 16 against Croatia in Istanbul.
Netherlands in in Group D-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_F...2%80%93_Europe

Recent articles about his adjustment at Nebraska-
https://www.on3.com/teams/nebraska-c...off-the-court/
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRvqD0mfNSA

Other articles-
https://www.klkntv.com/husker-hoops-...bergs-offense/
https://journalstar.com/sports/huske...f22f51a1f.html


Luuk van Bree, who just finished a very successful pro season the Netherlands (see post #4 above), is currently listed as a member of the Netherlands 2023 National Team.-

https://www.eurobasket.com/Holland/basketball-National-Team.aspx

There is a good chance he will also be a part of the Netherlands Olympic Pre Qualifier team

[Da Coach]

Ville Tahvanainen just signed with a pro team in Iceland
https://twitter.com/BlacktopMgmt/sta...83892296392704

Haukar, in the city of Hafnarfjordur-(
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/te...arfjordur/1202

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haukar_men%27s_basketball

[Da Coach]

Koch Bar signs with a new team, Basketball Club Minsk, in Minsk, Belarus after a successful season in Denmark with Horsens IC (10.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.7 bpg)

https://twitter.com/TangramSports/status/1687157899234029568

[Da Coach]

Donte Thomas, who continues to have success in Europe, signs with a new team for next season. He will play for Basket Torino in the city of Turin, Italy.
Basket Torino plays in the Serie A2 league.
https://twitter.com/TangramSports/st...81062429962240
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/te...et-Torino/8913

And Ari Boya is staying in Austria. He started last season with Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions of the 12-team BSL (Austrian Basketball Superliga), the top pro league in Austria.-

https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sports-forums/basketball-fan-talk/504251-ex-bradley-players-playing-pro

But, late in the season, he moved to BBC Nord Dragonz, also of the Austrian BSL. They are located in the city of Eisenstadt.
He just resigned for another season with BBC Nord Dragonz Eisenstadt. Also note he recently got married-

https://www.interperformances.com/news/aristide-boya-returns-for-another-season-with-bbc-nord-dragonz/

https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Coldmaris-BBC-Nord-Dragonz-Eisenstadt/37257

[Da Coach]

Some Ex-Bradley players playing pro this season-
Elijah Childs had a great season with Trapani in Italy his first pro season 2021-22. Then this past season (2022-23) he he had another great year playing in the Denmark BasketLigaen with Bakken, and helped lead them to the best record in the regular season, followed by a sweep through the playoffs to become the League Champion.
He is playing this season with MHP Ludwigsburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga. The BBL is the top pro league in Germany, and one of the best European pro leagues. He is off to a good start. Playing just 16 minutes per game so far, after their first 3 games he is shooting 65% from the floor, averaging 10.0 ppg, and 5.3 rpg, second on the team.

Ari Boya, a 2022 Bradley grad, averaged 13.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg last season for Eisenstadt of the Austrian BSL. He was reported to have resigned with them again this season, but he has not played in any games yet. Eisenstadt has gotten off to a slow start, 0-4 after their first 4 games. Ari got married and had a child over this past summer.

Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye averaged 11.4 ppg and 3.2 apg, and shot 39% from three last season for Gmuden of the Austrian BSL, and lead the team to the league regular season championship in 2023, as well as the tournament and Austrian Cup Championship. But he did not resign with the team for the 2023-24 season. Despite his successes last season, DLO does not appear to have signed yet with any team for the 2023-24 season.

Luuk van Bree lead his team last season, ZZ Leiden, to the Dutch DBL Championship. He was the hero of the final game, scoring 17 points in the 4th quarter to rally his team from behind to win the championship. Luuk has re-signed with ZZ Leiden for the 2023-24 season. This season, ZZ Leiden has joined the BNXT League, a new league that combines the top pro teams from Belgium and the Netherlands. ZZ Leiden is 3-1 after their first 4 league games. Luuk has started off slow, averaging 7.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg. He also played in one FIBA Europe Cup game with ZZ Leiden, and in that game, he scored 22 points, sinking 5-10 three pointers.

Donte Thomas also played in the Dutch DBL last year and had a great season. He signed this season with a new team, Basket Torino, in the city of Turin, Italy. They play in the Italian Serie A2 League. They have started their season 4-1 and are tied for 1st place. Donte is starting and averaging a team-high 15.4 ppg along with a team-high 6.2 rpg. He is shooting 74.3% from the field (26-35), and 50% from three (7-14) so far through 5 games.
Donte's bio- https://www.baskettorinoofficial.com...4/donte_thomas (if your browser doesn't automatically translate, try clicking right mouse/pad button and selecting "Translate")

Koch Bar played last season with Horsens IC in Denmark. He had a great season in 2022-23, playing in 33 regular season games as the starting center, and he averaging 10.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg (tops on the team).
This season, he is playing for a new team, BC Minsk which played in the Belarus Premiere League until this season. This season they joined a new league, the VTB United League, which started as a mostly Russian League, but which has now expanded to include teams from Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, and Kazakhstan. He has started slow, playing in just 3 games, and getting very little playing time.

Ville Tahvanainen just started his pro career with Haukar, in the city of Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, in the Iceland pro league. Haukar is 1-2 after their first 3 games. In his first pro game, Ville scored 27 points, and was 7-12 from three to lead his team to a 127-83 win. After 3 games, Ville is a starter and leading the team in minutes played, and averaging 17.7 ppg. He is shooting 53.8% (7-13) on two point shots, and 44.8% from three (13-29). He is also averaging 3.7 rpg, and 3.3 assists per game. He has not attempted a free throw yet.
Ville was a career 85.1% FT% shooter in 4 years at Bradley, and had a stretch of 34 consecutive free throws his senior season. His career 85.1% FT% is just shy of Roger Phegley's all time highest Bradley career FT% of 85.5%. And his 34 straight free throws is tied with Phegley for 4th place in the all-time Bradley Record Book behind James Gillingham's 44 straight (2/8-2/25/2003), Andrew Warren's 40 straight (12/4/2010-1/4/2011), and Aaron Zobrist's 35 straight (12/27/1996-1/27/1997).

[yoda]

DLO appears to have a gig now as a TV basketball commentator - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFkWiEtImew
(most of his comments are between 7 min & 12 min on this YouTube video)

btw- a lot of older BU players are still playing pro overseason - Scottie James, Davante Cooper, Danya Kingsby, Josh Cunningham, among others

[Da Coach]

DLO appears to have a gig now as a TV basketball commentator - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFkWiEtImew
(most of his comments are between 7 min & 12 min on this YouTube video)

btw- a lot of older BU players are still playing pro overseason - Scottie James, Davante Cooper, Danya Kingsby, Josh Cunningham, among others

Yes, I intentionally listed just the players who played their full college careers as Bradley Braves. Does anyone care to hear about those who bolted and played elsewhere?

[houstonbrave]

So will that hold for Reink ?