Beverley in Ukraine

It's not too often that an Arkie (Arkansan) like myself gets to write about a connection between my home state and the big, wide world of international basketball, but tonight is an exception:

Guard Patrick Beverley, who starred for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks the past two years, is playing for BC Dnipro in the Ukraine this fall due to undisclosed reasons.

The Chicago native averaged 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds a game last season and would have been the Razorbacks' returning leader in both categories (I remember he averaged over 10 rebounds a game in the first half of the SEC season last year - a phenomenal feat for a 6-foot-1 guard!)

According to ESPN, he originally wanted to play in the NBA's Developmental League in order to prepare for the 2009 draft, but decided to play in the Ukraine after he learned that DC Dnipro's coach is Bob Donewald , who has coached in the college, the NBA, Great Britain and Brazil personally trained NBA players LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, Dejaun Wagner, Jamal Mashburn, Baron Davis, Nene, and Marcus Vinicius Vieira De Sousa.


The ability to learn under such an experienced teacher and garner a 1-year salary of over $100,000 likely proved decisive for Beverley.

So what exactly is BC Dnipro and how is Beverley faring on its team?

BC Dnipro is located in Dnipropetrovsk, the 3rd-largest city in Ukraine.

The team plays in the 5200 person arena SC Meteor.

It is in the 8-team UBL league. There are two other Ukrainian domestic leagues - the 10-team Superleague - and the 12-team Higher League.

Currently, BC Dnipro is 3rd place at 6-3 - so far an improvement over last year's 8th-place finish (with a 8-14 record) in the Superleague.

Beverley is making Chicago and all of Arkansas proud over there, leading the team in minutes a game (32.3), steals (2.2), assists (3.7) and 3-point % (47.6). He's second in points (16.2) and apparently blocked shots (3.3!)

In the UBL league, Beverley is 10th in points, 7th in assists, 3rd in steals, and 4th in blocks.

We sure miss him in Arkansas, but it looks like he's doin' just fine overseas so far.