EuroBasket Pro Vaqueros Weekly Update

- April 20, 2019

POSTED BY: Eurobasket News

EuroBasket Pro Vaqueros Weekly Update

UTRGV logo Courtesy of Sports I.T. Solutions / Eurobasket.com

Every week we bring you a list of the top former Vaqueros players who continue their career in pro basketball.

   #1. Shaquille Hines (6'8''-PF-93, graduated '16, plays pro in Germany) led Basketball Loewen Braunschweig to a victory against the 14th-ranked BG Goettingen (8-20) 90-76 in the German BBL on Wednesday night. He scored 14 points in 20 minutes; quite an impressive performance considering it's only Hines' third season in pro basketball. Basketball Loewen Braunschweig (8-7) is placed fourth in the BBL. It's Hines' first year with the team. This season he averages 7.3ppg and 4.0rpg.

   #2. Mike Hoffman (6'8''-F-94, graduated '18, plays in Luxembourg) could not help T.Hesperange (17-9) in their last game. Despite Hoffman's very good performance the third-placed T.Hesperange (17-9) lost 79-93 at home to the lower-ranked (#6) Musel Pikes in the Playdowns 2 group. He was the top scorer with 25 points. Hoffman also added 9 rebounds; not bad, considering it's only his first season in pro basketball. It was T.Hesperange's first loss after six consecutive victories. There are only three games left until the end of the Second Stage. So now every game will be critical. Hoffman has individually a very good year with high stats. He averages 23.0ppg, 6.5rpg and 1.1apg in eight games he played so far. He is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top summer league for players who want to play basketball overseas.

   #3. Lauri Toivonen (6'7''-F-91, graduated '14, currently in Finland) contributed to a Lapuan Korikobrat's victory against the league outsider Ura Basket (9-31) 102-88 in the Finnish Korisliiga last Tuesday. He scored 11 points, had 4 rebounds and dished 3 assists in 25 minutes. Lapuan Korikobrat (16-24) is placed ninth in the Korisliiga. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. The Regular Season already ended. It's Toivonen's first season with the team. This year Toivonen averages 6.2ppg, 4.0rpg and 1.7apg.

   #4. Experienced Emanuel Jones (6'7''-F-85, graduated '09, plays pro in Taiwan) was the major contributor in a Yulon Luxgen's victory against the closely-ranked KKL (18-18) 74-63 in the Taiwanese SBL on Saturday night. Jones recorded 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds (made all of his six free throws). Yulon Luxgen (18-18) is placed fourth in the SBL. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. Jones has very impressive stats this year 16.5ppg, 6.8rpg and 1.1spg in eight games. Worth to mention he played also at Eurobasket Summer League, which helped him get the job in pro basketball.

Other former University of Texas Rio Grande Valley players, who play in pro basketball:

Janari Joesaar (6'6''-SF-93) plays for Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias in Spanish Liga Endesa
Perry Petty (6'1''-PG-88) plays for Shahrdary Gorgan in Iranian Superleague
Shaun Noriega (6'4''-G-90) played for Angeles in Mexican LNBP few monts ago
Everett Osborne (6'4''-G/F) played for Woodville Warriors in Australian Premier League last year
Luis Valera (6'8''-F-88) plays for Azuqueca in Spanish LEB Silver
Julius Allgood (6'8''-F-84) played for Centro in Dominican Rep. Higuey League last year
Adonis Rwabigwi (6'9''-F-95) played for Team Washington in the Eurobasket S.League last year
Brandon Provost (6'3''-PG-90) played for Air Force Bomb Squad in the The Basketball Tournament last year

Notice: The list above includes only some of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley alumni playing currently in pro basketball. Check COMPLETE LIST.