The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536961
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 82 to claim its eighth title. Williams had 2 points and 2 steals off the bench in the decisive game. Funderburk played with Anwil in Wloclawek, a city in southwestern Poland. In Game 2 of the Polish semi- finals in late May, he had 23 points in just 21 minutes, but it wasn't enough to lift Anwil to victory; visiting Legia prevailed, 89-83, to take a 2-0 series lead. In Game 3 on June 2 in Warsaw, Funderburk scored 10 points in just 22 minutes in a loss. "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," Wil- liams, 35, said last season. "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 standouts who per- formed in Italy this past season included Trevor Lacey and Maverick Rowan. Suiting up in Israel, a country that at- tracts many American players, were Markell Johnson and Lennard Freeman. Other former Wolfpack hoopsters who played pro basketball overseas this past season, according to Eurobasket.com, in- cluded Eric Lockett (Hungary), Mohamed Diarra (France), Torin Dorn (Czechia), Dennis Smith Jr. (Spain), DJ Horne (Ger- many), Javier Gonzalez (Puerto Rico), Anthony Barber (Portugal), DJ Burns Jr. (South Korea), Jericole Hellems (Kosovo), Jordan Vandenberg (Australia), Thomas de Thaey (Taiwan) and Michael O'Connell (Puerto Rico). Funderburk, who earlier had played in Croatia, France, Israel, Italy and Russia, averaged about 15 points per game for An- wil this past season in the Polish league. Lockett averaged about 15 points per outing last season for Atomeromu, one of the traditional powers in the Hun- garian league. He has also played in Cyprus, Czechia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Qatar. Dorn averaged 17.7 points per game for a team in Jindrichuv Hradec for the GBA Lions, a club founded in 1953 in Czechia. From The NBA To Europe Williams wasn't drafted into the NBA but ended up spending time with the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timber- wolves in between his overseas travels. "It was a dream come true," said Wil- liams, a four-year player for the Pack. "I wanted to hear my name during the draft, but sometimes you realize the politics. I'm a little jealous of the NBA guys now since there is social media. When I first came out of college, social media was not that great, and you could be forgotten. With the way social media is set up now, it's perfect [for generating attention]." From Fayetteville, N.C., Williams helped NC State reach the Sweet 16 in 2012, his final college season. He played in Cyprus out of college and for a while went back and forth between Europe and the NBA's developmental leagues. Williams made his NBA debut on Nov. 10, 2017, with the Clippers. This past year, he aver- aged about 10 points per game in Poland. "For me, it was about what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to get to the NBA," he said. "When I spoke with my agent, he told me, 'We have a five-year plan for you.' He said part of it was to go overseas, and part of it was to come back and play in the G League. I was able to do both, and in five years I accomplished what I wanted." Devon Daniels began his pro career with the Toronto Raptors' G League team before heading to Europe. The 6-foot-5 guard has played in Serbia, Poland and Greece. PHOTO COURTESY DEVON DANIELS