Central Basketball Association

Although the 2017 Central Basketball Association season is fast approaching, with the first games set to tip off in less than two months, last year's class of league players are continuing to receive international basketball opportunities. 

Three CBA players, all former teammates with the Bowling Green Hornets during the 2016 season, are heading overseas, as all three have signed contracts in El Salvador.

From a player receiving his first-ever contract, to a player receiving a deal in his 30s, to a player earning a second deal in the same country in back-to-back years, each athlete has a different story with these signings. The common denominator with this class of signings: each of them had participated in the CBA Global Opportunities Program in the last 12 months.  

Maliek Daniels, a 6-foot-4 guard from Trevecca Nazarene University, inked a deal with Santa Ana club in El Salvador, where he will try to take full advantage of his first career professional contract. Last year with Bowling Green, Daniels averaged 9.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. The 26-year-old also took advantage of the CBA Global Opportunities Program, where he played in Taiwan with the CBA Global Team in September.

Torrez Hampton, a 6-foot-8 forward from Cumberland University, returns overseas for his first deal since 2012, as he joins Quezaltepeque club in El Salvador for the 2017 season. Hampton played three seasons in the CBA, including his best year in 2015, where he averaged 10.1 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. The 32-year old also took advantage of the CBA Global Opportunities Program, where he played for the CBA Global Team in Dubai last February as well as in Taiwan with Daniels in September. 

Quincy Scates, a 6-foot-5 guard from Tennessee Wesleyan College, returns back to El Salvador, joining Hampton with Quezaltepegue club for the 2017 season. Scates earns his second contract in back-to-back years in El Salvador, as he averaged 36.1 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game for Cojute in 2016. Before signing his first professional international contract, Scates played for Bowling Green last spring, where he averaged 14.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. Just like Hampton, the 27-year-old Scates played three years in the CBA. 

With these signings, there have now been 165 players from the league that have received international opportunities after playing in the CBA. Some, like Daniels, earn their first-ever international contracts through these opportunities. Some, like Hampton, receive contracts despite not having been overseas in nearly a decade. And some, like Scates, dominate the international landscape so much, that clubs fight to have players like him stay in the country by offering a second contract. 

(Photo by: Joshua Lindsey / CBA Photos)