Illini in the NBA: Recap

Meyers Leonard

Over his last 10 games, Leonard has averaged 4 Minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound and 0.5 assists for the Portland Trailblazers. His best recent performance came on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, where in five minutes, Leonard scored eight points with one assist and one rebound. Leonard also came to the defense of Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood on twitter recently, voicing his support for the coach and his team.

Brandon Paul

Paul started the season strong, but over his last 10 games for the Spurs, Paul has averaged just 7.6 Minutes, 1.4 Points, 1.8 Rebounds and 0.4 Assists. He hasn’t been getting too many minutes recently, although on Dec 8, he saw 12 minutes of action, scoring three points with one assist and one rebound in the Spurs’ 107-100 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Illini not playing in the NBA...

Following is a look into former Illini who have continued their playing careers in leagues other than the NBA

Maverick Morgan

Morgan is currently playing for GTK Gliwice in Poland, and he is averaging 14.0 points , 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists. Morgan went off on Jan 7, scoring 22 points with six rebounds and 4 assists, guiding his team to a 83-77 victory. Morgan has spent the season in a starting spot for all of his teams 17 games thus far, where they hold a disappointing 4-13 record.

Malcolm Hill

Hill is currently playing for Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany, and is averaging 9.7 points, 1.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Hill’s best game fairly recently came just before the New Year on Dec 29, where he saw 24 minutes of action, scoring 19 points with four rebounds and one assist. Malcolm has been a strong bench presence for his team, and has not started a game yet this season.

James Augustine

Augustine is currently playing for Unicaja Malaga in Spain, and is averaging 7.5 points, 1.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds. Augustine has started 15 of his teams 32 games thus far, but has seen more time of late as the starting Center. In a recent game on Jan 12, Augustine scored 12 points with nine rebounds in 79-77 loss.

Tracy Abrams

Abrams is currently playing for APOP Paphou in Cyprus, and is averaging 15.4 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.9 rebounds. Abrams has started in all 11 games for APOP Paphou, and leads the team in assists (6.3) and steals (1.3) per game. APOP Paphou has been doing about as well as the Illini this season, as they sit with a 1-11 record.

Cory Bradford

Bradford, at the ripe young age of 39!!, is currently playing for Bosna-Royal in Bosnia, and is averaging 12.1 points, 1.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Bradford has started in 14 of his teams 17 games so far this season. In a recent game on Jan 9, Bradford scored 13 points with two rebounds and four assists.

Nnanna Egwu

Egwu is currently playing for the Cairns Taipans in Australia, and is averaging 5.3 points, 2.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. He has started in 21 of his teams 22 games this season.

Demetri McCamey

McCamey is currently palying for Fortituto Kontatto Bologna in Italy, and is averaging 11.5 points, 2.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds. He has started 15 games this season, and in his most recent one on Jan 12, he scored 13 points with one assist and two rebounds.

Rayvonte Rice

Rice is currently playing for Orasi Ravenna in Italy, and is averaging 18.7 points, 1.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds. Rice is leading his team in points (18.7) and steals (1.7) per game, and has started every game thus far. In his most recent game, a 98-73 win over the Roseto Sharks, Rice scored 20 points, with two assists, four rebounds and four steals!

Jaylon Tate

Tate is currently playing for the Niagara River Lions in Canada, and is averaging 11.0 Points, 6.1 Assists and 2.5 Rebounds. Tate worked his way into the starting lineup after a hot start coming off the bench, and has now started in 12 of his teams 20 games. He leads the team with 6.1 assists per game.

DJ Richardson

In 8 games this season for S. Oliver Wuerzburg in Germany, Richardson averaged 4.1 Points, 0.2 Assists and 1.8 Rebounds. He is now playing for BM Slam Stal Ostrow WLKP in Poland, and we will provide an update on his stats after he accumulates a bit more playing time with his new team.

Overall it is nice to see Illini contributing to the sports world far and wide. Bradford turned 39 on December 4th, and is still in his teams starting lineup! Overall most of the players outside the NBA are not on good teams...but someday we will be seeing current and former Illini winning again.