Gabriel Olaseni selected the top British player playing abroad in last week's games

Here is the weekly review of the top performing British players, who play currently abroad.

Gabriel Olaseni

   #1. This week's number one is an international center Gabriel Olaseni (211-91, college: Iowa, currently plays in Turkey). He led Buyukcekmece to a 1-point victory over the closely-ranked Gaziantep (7-8) 66-65 in the Turkish BSL last Saturday. Olaseni was MVP of the game. He scored 20 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Demir Insaat Buyukcekmece Basket (7-7) is placed sixth in the BSL. Olaseni has individually a very good season with high stats. He averages: 15.9ppg, 8.1rpg, 2FGP: 66.2%(88-133) and FT: 79.7%. Olaseni is currently a member of the British senior national team.

Tarik Phillip

   #2. Second place goes to an international guard Tarik Phillip (191-93, college: WVU, currently plays in Turkey). Phillip led Tofas to a victory against the closely-ranked Turk Telekom (9-6) 78-64 in the Turkish BSL in Saturday night's game. He scored 11 points, had 4 boards, passed 7 assists and added 5 steals. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Tofas Bursa (15-5) is placed third in the BSL. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. Phillip has relatively good stats this season: 12.3ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.8apg, 1.5spg, 2FGP: 51.5%, 3FGP: 37.9% and FT: 58.3%. He is a naturalized American. Phillip is in the roster of the British senior national team. Strangely he has never played in United Kingdom.

Samuel Idowu

   #3. The British player who performed third best last week abroad was former U20 international forward Samuel Idowu (204-97, college: St.Peter's, currently plays in Denmark). Idowu led Naestved to a victory over the leader Wolfpack (4-7) crushing them 84-64 in the Danish BasketLigaen last Monday. He was the best player in that game. Idowu recorded 22 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in 29 minutes; quite an impressive performance considering it's only his second season in pro basketball. Team FOG Naestved (9-7) is placed fifth in Pro A group. They ended the series of four consecutive loses. Idowu has very impressive stats this year: 15.3ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.6bpg, 2FGP: 62.7%(84-134), 3FGP: 27.3% and FT: 76.2% in 16 games he played so far. He played for the British U20 national team four years ago.

Luke Nelson

   #4. Guard Luke Nelson (191-95, college: UC Irvine, currently plays in Germany) was the major contributor in a 2-point BG Goettingen's victory against the closely-ranked 46ers (0-3) 92-90 in the German BBL on Saturday night. Nelson scored 14 points. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. BG Goettingen (3-0) is placed first in the BBL. So far his team won all three games in the Regular Season. But the season just started, so everything may happen. This year Nelson has very high stats. He averages: 15.9ppg, 1.4rpg and 4.4apg. Nelson is also British national team player.

Morayo Soluade

   #5. Former international swingman Morayo Soluade (196-95, currently plays in Spain) contributed to a Leche Rio Breogan's victory against the fifth-ranked Burgos (12-5) 83-79 in the Spanish LEB Gold (second division) in Sunday night's game. He scored 9 points in 21 minutes. Leche Rio Breogan (8-1) is placed first in Group A. It was his team's sixth consecutive victory in a row. This year Soluade's overall stats are: 6.6ppg, 1.8rpg, 1.7apg and 1.1spg in nine games. He used to play for the British national team two years ago.

Aaron Menzies

   #6. Center Aaron Menzies (221-96, college: St.Mary's, CA, currently plays in Spain) could not help Ourense (2-8) in their last game on Sunday. Despite his very good performance the ninth-placed Ourense (2-8) was badly defeated 87-69 on the road by the higher-ranked Palencia (#7) in the Group A. Menzies was the top scorer with 21 points. Menzies' total stats this season are: 6.7ppg and 1.8rpg. Worth to mention Menzies played also at Eurobasket Summer League, which helped him get the job in pro basketball. He is a former U20 international player as he played for the British team six years ago.

Amin Adamu

   #7. Former U20 international guard Amin Adamu (196-97, currently plays college basketball in the States) helped Montana St. win their game against the University of Montana Western (14-3) crushing them 96-67 in the NCAA in Friday night's game. He recorded a double-double by scoring 17 points and getting 12 rebounds. Adamu also added 4 assists. The Montana State University has 3-3 overall record this season. This year Adamu has relatively solid stats: 14.6ppg, 4.2rpg and 3.0apg. He used to play for the British U20 national team four years ago.

Carl Wheatle

   #8. Forward Carl Wheatle (199-98, agency: Octagon Europe, currently plays in Italy) helped Pistoia edge the 11th-ranked Ravenna (2-5) 74-72 in the Italian Serie A2 (second division) last Sunday. Wheatle recorded 7 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 35 minutes. Georgio Tesi Group Pistoia (2-2) is placed second in Group B. But the season is still in its first stage and everything can happen. This year Wheatle's total stats are: 9.6ppg and 5.9rpg in seven games. He plays currently for the British national team.

Shaquille Walters

   #9. Former U20 international guard Shaquille Walters (198, currently studies in the States) helped Northeastern win their game against the Elon University 66-58 in the NCAA on Sunday night. Walters scored 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. The Northeastern University has 2-0 conference record this season. But the season is still in its first stage and everything can happen. Walters has averaged so far 9.3ppg, 6.8rpg and 1.8apg. He used to play for the British U20 national team five years ago.

Kavell Bigby-Williams

   #10. Forward Kavell Bigby-Williams (211-95, college: LSU, currently plays in Italy) was not able to help Cantu in their game against Fortitudo BO in the Italian Serie A. Bigby-Williams scored 5 points and blocked 3 shots in 18 minutes. The league leader Cantu lost 67-80 at home to the lower-ranked (#3) Fortitudo BO. It's Bigby-Williams' first season with the team. He has averaged so far 4.7ppg and 2.3rpg in three games. Bigby-Williams is a former international player as four years ago he still played for the British senior national team.

   #11. Former U20 international forward Jubrile Belo (206-98, is currently at the American university) is a teammate of previously mentioned Amin Adamu and both played together in the last NCAA game. Belo helped Montana St. win their game against the University of Montana Western crushing them 96-67. He recorded 19 points. Belo has reliable stats this season: 13.0ppg, 5.2rpg and 1.3apg. He used to play for the British U20 national team four years ago.

   #12. Former U20 international forward Obinna Agu (198-97, college: W.Wyoming, currently plays in NCAA2) was not able to secure a victory for the Northeastern State University (0-4) in their last game. Despite Agu's good performance his team was edged 85-84 in Topeka by the Washburn University. He recorded 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a mere 17 minutes. Agu's stats this year are: 10.5ppg, 4.8rpg and 1.5apg in four games. He used to play for the British U20 national team back in 2017.

   #13. Former international forward Adam Thoseby (198-91, college: GSW, currently plays in Austria) couldn't help Arkadia Lions (2-12) in their last game on Tuesday. Despite his good performance the bottom-ranked Arkadia Lions were defeated 90-83 in Klosterneuburg by the leading Dukes. Thoseby scored 12 points, made 4 passes and 3 steals. This season Thoseby has very high stats. He averages: 15.4ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.8apg and 1.1spg. Thoseby attended previously one of camps at Eurobasket Summer League on his way to pro basketball. Thoseby used to play for the British national team three years ago.

   #14. Former U20 international forward Benjamin Lawson (216-95, college: WKU, currently plays in Japan) couldn't help FE Nagoya in their game against Sendai 89ers in the Japanese B2 League. He cannot count Monday's game as one of the best ones. Lawson recorded only 2 points in 8 minutes on the court. It was his first game for FE Nagoya this season. His team lost 66-78. Lawson used to play for the British U20 national team back in 2015.

   #15. An experienced former U16 international guard Daniel Ogoro (196-0, currently plays college basketball in the States) managed to help Youngstown State University to win against the Carlow University crushing them 109-56 in the NCAA last Monday. He recorded 5 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Ogoro has averaged so far 1.0ppg and 1.3apg. He used to play for the British U16 national team five years ago.


The list of other players, who all have British passport but never been selected to any of British national teams:

   #1. O.G. Anunoby (201-F-97, college: Indiana, currently plays in NBA) could not help the Toronto Raptors (1-5) in their last game. Despite his very good performance the Toronto Raptors (1-5) lost 93-100 on the road to the Philadelphia 76ers. Anunoby recorded 20 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 36 minutes. But this is still an early stage of the season and everything may happen. It's Anunoby's fourth year with the team. He has individually a very good season with high stats. Anunoby averages: 11.7ppg, 5.7rpg, 1.8apg and 2.0spg in six games he played so far.

   #2. Thomas Scrubb (199-F-91, college: Carleton, currently plays in EuroCup) was not able to help JL Bourg (0-0) in their game against Joventut in the Eurocup. He scored 9 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 27 minutes. But the first-placed JL Bourg lost 75-90 in Badalona to the leading Joventut in the group G of Eurocup. This year Scrubb's overall stats are: 8.4ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.4apg and 1.7spg in 10 games. He has a dual citizenship: British and Canadian.

   #3. Obi Emegano (189-G-93, college: ORU, currently plays in Spain) was not able to secure a victory for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in their game against FC Barcelona (14-3) in the Spanish Liga Endesa. Emegano scored 8 points in 25 minutes. Baloncesto Fuenlabrada was badly defeated 83-67 in Barcelona by the second-ranked FC Barcelona. It's Emegano's first season with the team. This year he has relatively solid stats: 10.7ppg, 3.2rpg, 1.4apg and 1.2spg in 17 games. Emegano is another player who holds two passports: Nigerian and British.

   #4. Experienced Ksistof Lavrinovic (210-C-79, currently plays in Lithuania) was the major contributor in Vytis' victory against the tenth-ranked Zalgiris II (0-3) 79-75 in the Lithuanian NKL (second division) in Wednesday night's game. Lavrinovic scored 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Sakiu Vytis (11-3) is placed fourth in the NKL. It was his team's fourth consecutive victory in a row. Lavrinovic averaged so far 10.6ppg, 5.1rpg and 1.8apg.

   #5. Kimbal Mackenzie (185-G-96, college: Bucknell, currently plays in Spain) couldn't help Huesca (1-8) in their game against Real Murcia (4-7) in the Spanish LEB Gold (second division). He scored 7 points, made 3 passes and 3 steals in 29 minutes. Huesca (#10) was edged 68-65 in Murcia by the higher-ranked (#7) Real in the Group B. It was Huesca's sixth consecutive loss in a row. Mackenzie averaged so far 10.8ppg and 1.2apg in five games. He has both Canadian and British nationalities.

   #6. Taiwo Badmus (203-F-93, college: UVA Wise, currently plays in Spain) managed to help Leyma Basquet Coruna in a victory against the fourth-ranked Valladolid 78-67 in the Spanish LEB Gold (second division) on Sunday night. Badmus scored 5 points in 8 minutes. Badmus has averaged so far 3.1ppg and 1.3rpg in seven games. He also holds two passports: British and Irish.

   #7. Sam Pleszak (197-F-97, college: Calumet, currently plays in Portugal) couldn't help Ginasio (1-7) in their last game. Despite Pleszak's good performance Ginasio (#7) was crushed 100-65 at home by the leading Illiabum in the North group. He was the second best scorer with 13 points. Pleszak also added 4 rebounds in 26 minutes. Pleszak has averaged so far 10.0ppg and 2.5rpg in four games.

   #8. Eduardo Andre (208-C-1, currently plays college basketball in the States) couldn't help the Nebraska in their game against the Ohio State University in the NCAA. He cannot count Wednesday's game as one of the best ones. Andre scored only 3 points in 7 minutes on the court. His team was crushed by 36 points 90-54. Andre has averaged so far 3.0ppg and 1.6rpg in five games. He has dual citizenship: Angolan and British.

   #9. Gedi Juozapaitis (193-G/F-98, currently studies in the States) couldn't help the Georgia South in their game against the University of South Alabama in the NCAA. Juozapaitis cannot count Friday's game as one of the best ones. He recorded only 3 points in 17 minutes. His team was crushed by 29 points 88-59. Juozapaitis has averaged so far 2.7ppg, 1.7rpg and 1.7apg in three games. He has British and Lithuanian nationalities.

   #10. Solomon Iluyomade (201-F-97, is currently at the American university) contributed to a 3-point Maine's victory against the University of New Hampshire 59-56 in the NCAA last Saturday. Iluyomade scored only 4 points in 8 minutes on the court. Iluyomade has averaged so far 2.6ppg and 1.2rpg in five games.