The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536961
JULY/AUGUST 2025 ■ 45 team in northeastern Hungary, near the border with Ukraine. Spanning The Globe A transfer from UNC Wilmington, Bryce is one of several former NC State basketball players who appeared at the pro level in 2024-25, with most in leagues overseas — and especially Eu- rope. Bryce was not the only Pack alum to play in Greece this past season. The list also included Lorenzo Brown and Devon Daniels, with the latter beginning his European career in Serbia after being drafted by Toronto's G League team. "You have to be down for the journey. Everyone's journey is different," Daniels said. "You have to learn about yourself while playing overseas. I was up in To- ronto, and I wasn't getting any playing time in the G League." Daniels' agency, Octagon Sports, let him know about the chance to play in hoop-crazy Serbia, and he was open to the possibility. "I wanted to play. Let's do it. I wanted to start my career," he said. Daniels, who has also played in Po- land, was able to see some of the fa- mous sites in Greece this year, such as the Acropolis and the Parthenon. His time in Europe has allowed him to visit Berlin, Amsterdam, Turkey and Gdańsk, Poland. "It's more so about adjusting," said Daniels, who ended his Pack career in 2021. "European life and American life are completely different." Poland was another popular land- ing spot in 2024-25 for NC State alums. Former NBA player C.J. Williams, D.J. Funderburk and Abdul-Malik Abu all played in the country of about 40 mil- lion people, which borders Ukraine and Belarus to the east, Germany to the west and Slovakia to the south. Williams and Funderburk helped their respective teams make deep play- off runs. Williams was with a team in Lublin, in southeastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, and recently helped it reach the title series for the first time ever. He had 20 points in Game 3 of the best-of- seven finals against Legia in a win. But Legia of Warsaw won the decisive Game 7 at Lublin on June 22 by a score of 92- " I never really heard about playing in Europe before I got to college at NC State. I saw a lot of guys that had gone overseas and had come back and were telling me about the experience. It's hard to be away from your family, but it's one of the best decisions I've made in my life." Former NC State Guard C.J. Williams Guard C.J. Williams played this past season for Lublin, a team in the top Polish league. The former NC State standout spent time with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves, and has since played in France, Israel, Italy, Romania and Turkey. PHOTO COURTESY POLSKI CUKIER START LUBLIN