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Capping another successful offseason, CBA players, including three former MVPs, continue to advance

02/06/2019, 8:15am CST
By CBA Staff

With the 2019 CBA season schedule set to be released this week, it presents a good opportunity to reflect on the 2018-2019 CBA offseason, as the fruits of the league's labor has put on display as CBA players continue their efforts in advancing their respective basketball careers.

With 32 CBA players receiving opportunities to play overseas in the summer and fall, coupled with 11 players in Antigua & Barbuda last month as part of the CBA partnership with the Caribbean, an additional 10 more players have now received opportunities during the winter to push the total of 53 players competing at the international level this 2018-2019 CBA offseason. 

The list below features the 10 athletes earning a chance to play abroad, including three former league most valuable players and a league alum from its inaugural season, further demonstrating that the CBA boasts players that can earn international opportunities at any age and from any institution. 

  1. Mardracus Wade (Jackson/Mississippi) - NBA G-League
  2. Tyron Criswell (Illinois) - Canada
  3. Jameel Best (Memphis) - El Salvador
  4. Justin Taylor (Bowling Green) - Canada
  5. Sampson Carter (Jackson/Mississipi) - Canada
  6. Greg Foster (Fort Wayne) - Tunisia
  7. Chris Watson (Bowling Green) - China
  8. Riak Bol (Illinois) - Armenia
  9. Dontarion Wright (Memphis) - El Salvador
  10. Lavantez Knight (Jackson) - Mexico

Notables from the above list include:

Wade, a 6-foot-3 guard from the University of Arkansas, who was picked up the NBA G-League's Greensboro Swarm this year, earned 2015 CBA Most Valuable Player honors with the Mississippi Eagles (now Jackson Eagles), where he was second in the CBA in total points scored (178), second in the league in total steals (23), sixth in the league in total assists (30), and scored the most points in a regular season game (40). He finished the 2015 season averaging 22.2 points per game, 3.8 assists per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, and 2.9 steals per game. After playing in the CBA, Wade received international opportunities in Taiwan and Germany, while also playing two seasons in the NBA G-League with the Iowa Energy and the aforementioned Greensboro Swarm. 

Criswell, a 6-foot-4 guard from the University of Nevada, who received an opportunity with NBL-Canada's Kitchener-Waterloo this winter, earned 2017 CBA Most Valuable Player honors with the Illinois Coal Miners, where he averaged 21.6 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, 2.5 assists per game, and 1.8 steals per game. For players that played in at least five regular season games that year, Criswell led the league in points per game, and was in the top-10 in rebounds per game and assists per game. He also led the league in free throw shooting percentage, for players attempting at least forty free throws this season, shooting 83.6% from the free throw line. Criswell, who was drafted by the NBA G-League, Reno Bighorns, earned his first international opportunity in Israel after the 2017 CBA season.

Best, a 6-foot-9 center, who played football at Ole Miss University and Mississippi Valley State University, received his first international opportunity in El Salvador this winter, after earning 2018 CBA Most Valuable Player honors with the Memphis Rail Runners last season. In eight regular season games and one playoff game last season, Best shot 56.4% from the field, averaged 18.8 points per game, and scored in double-digits in each game including four games featuring 20+ point scoring totals. He posted double-digit rebounds in every game, averaging 15.4 rebounds per contest, including a league-record 59 offensive rebounds this season, and finishing second in the CBA with 139 total rebounds. Some of Best's top performances in 2018 included: 20 points (9-for-15 from the field) and 20 rebounds (9 offensive) in an overtime victory versus Bowling Green; 24 points (9-for-14 from the field) and 16 rebounds (7 offensive) in handing Middle Tennessee its only regular season loss of the season; and 27 points (11-for-18 from the field) and 17 rebounds (8 offensive) in the playoff defeat against Indianapolis. 

Taylor, a 6-foot-3 guard from Tennessee Tech University, earned his first international contract in six years with NBL-Canada's Cape Breton Highlanders, after playing in the CBA in its inaugural season in 2013 with the Bowling Green Hornets. Taylor averaged 19.3 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, and 2.4 steals per game as he led Bowling Green to its first ever championship game appearance. 

Carter, a 6-foot-8 forward from the University of Massachusetts, who signed with the Island Storm of NBL-Canada, was the first CBA player to receive a contract in the National Basketball Association, signing with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015 immediately after the CBA season. Carter, who played in the CBA with the Mississippi Eagles (now Jackson Eagles) averaged 21.7 points per game and 7.7 points per game. After his stint in the NBA, Carter went on to play in Dubai, as part of the CBA Global Opportunities program, as well as the Philippines, before receiving this latest opportunity north of the border. 

With approximately 250 players receiving opportunities overseas and nearly a dozen in the NBA & NBA G-League, the Central Basketball Association has continued to be the top of the class in advancing the careers of aspiring basketball athletes across the nation. With the CBA set to begin its 7th season next month, a new class of players will seek to make a name for themselves just like their predecessors in the league. 

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