Memphis Roar

After their collegiate careers, some players are given the opportunity to play professional basketball in the NBA.  Other players who are not drafted may enter the NBA Development League with the hopes of grabbing the league’s attention while simultaneously honing their skills.

Another route that some may take in their careers is joining an overseas basketball league in order to continue their ambitions of playing basketball for a living.  For former Tigers Jeremy Hunt, Robert Dozier, Shawn Taggart, and Chris Massie, this was the route that was traveled, taking them far from home.

Jeremy Hunt, a four year player for the Tigers, averaged 24.4 minutes per game in his career, and averaged 14.1 points per game in his senior year.  He was a part of three NCAA tournament appearances, including an Elite 8 run in which he led the team in points for three of their tournament games coming off the bench (16 points against No. 13 Nevada, 19 points against No. 9 Texas A&M, and 26 points in a loss against No. 1 Ohio State).

After playing with the Tigers, Hunt decided to travel overseas to play professional basketball.  Last season, he played 32 games with the German team, Koein 99ers where he averaged 12.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 26 minutes.  This season, Hunt joined the Portuguese team, FC Porto Ferpinta; in 12 games, he averaged 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 steals in 23.2 minutes.

This past weekend, Hunt and FC Porto Ferpinta won the Portuguese Cup, triumphing over Ovarense, 82-72.  Hunt lead his team with 23 points.

Two-thousand miles away, former Tiger Robert Dozier plays for the Greek team, VAP Kolossos.

Dozier, another four year player, averaged 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a senior, and was an integral part to multiple NCAA Tournament runs, including the National Title game against Kansas in 2008.  Dozier was drafted by the Miami Heat with the final draft pick in 2009, but went on to sign a one-year contract with the Greek team and Miami retained his rights.

With VAP Kolossos, Dozier has played 19 games and is averaging 26.7 minutes, 9.2 points, and 6.3 rebounds per game.  He has posted one double-double with the team, as well as 8 double-digit point performances (season high of 21 points).

Shawn Taggart, who started his collegiate career at Iowa State, played two seasons with the Tigers.  In his final season, Taggart added 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game to the stat sheet in 25 minutes of playing time.

Taggart decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and declared for the NBA draft.  As the picks were made, Taggart’s chances grew slimmer.  After not being selected in the draft, Taggart inked a deal with the Israeli team Ironi Nahariya.

In the ten games that he played with Ironi Nahariya, Taggart scored 14.8 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game.  He was shooting 46.7% from beyond the arc and 78.6% from the free throw line.

Taggart began to look elsewhere and eventually signed another contract with the Spanish team, Caceres 2016 C.B.  Since joining his new team, Taggart has played in seven games and has gradually gained more playing time.

Chris Massie is another former TIger also playing basketball in Greece, for the team Gymnastikos Olympia Larissas. As a Tiger, Massie played for two seasons, averaging 16.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game in his final season.

Massie is currently averaging 14.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game with the Greek team.  In 18 games, he had 8 double-doubles, with his best performance being a 19 point/23 rebound/6 assist performance on February 6.

Quick Hits

• Antonio Anderson was signed to a second 10-day contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder after first signing an initial 10-day contract on February 22.  Since joining the Thunder, Anderson has played in one game for 15 minutes, in which he scored 2 points and had 1 offensive rebound.

• Earl Barron continues to have double-double performances with the Iowa Energy of the NBA Developmental League.  On March 5, Barron had his best game of the season with 35 points and 24 rebounds, along with 1 block and 1 assist.

• Stephen Gostkowski, the New England Patriots’ kicker, was assigned a second-round tender of 1.75 million dollars.

• Tony Brown, a defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans, was assigned a first-round tender of 2.621 million dollars.