International hoopsters

By Scott Goode, assistant athletic director for sports information

The opportunity to study in one of Har­ding’s overseas programs is a draw to many students, but another overseas opportunity has presented itself to several members of the Bison basketball team when their collegiate careers end.

According to the Eurobasket.com website, 13 Bison basketball players have continued their careers overseas, beginning with Tony Marion, who graduated from Harding in 1994 and played 13 seasons in Denmark.

“It’s great for these guys to have the opportunity to continue to play the game they love,” head basketball coach Jeff Morgan says. “They get to travel and see different parts of the world, different cultures, and continue to play basketball. Some of these guys have had great experiences that they never thought they would have.”

One of the most well-traveled may have been Chris Campbell, who graduated from Harding in 2003 and played in Hungary, Russia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jordan and Qatar as well as a year with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Harding Athletics Hall of Famer Matt Hall played in Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico and Australia.

Currently Harding has three former players who play professionally overseas after outstanding careers at the University.

Andraz Kavas, a 2016 graduate from Ljubljana, Slovenia, averages 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds for Brno in the Czech Republic. He also has played in Slovenia, Spain and Latvia. During the 2018-19 season, Kavas averaged 16.8 points and 5.3 rebounds for BK Liepaja in Latvia.

Stefan Andelkovic, a 2017 graduate from Vlasotince, Serbia, recently joined Sorgues BC in France. He is in his third season of professional basketball and has played in Spain and Portugal.

The third Bison playing overseas is 2017 graduate Jacob Gibson, who hails from Jonesboro, Arkansas. Gibson played in 104 games over four seasons at Harding, scored 1,290 points, and made a then school record 231 3-pointers.

In his senior season, Gibson averaged 17.3 points and 5.1 rebounds and made a school record 92 3-pointers, winning the Great American Conference Player of the Year Award and Har­ding’s Berryhill Award as its top senior athlete.

Gibson had not really considered playing overseas until his outstanding senior year.

“I was finishing my career and looking to see what was next,” Gibson says. “Then I got the player of the year award for the conference, and awards like that go a long way in getting you recognized. Once I got the award, I figured I’d give it a try.”

Most collegiate players with the talent to play overseas are contacted by an agent in March of their senior season. The player signs with an agent, who helps them find a team.

Gibson’s path was a little different. He had a friend from Paragould named Skyler Bowlin, who played collegiately at Missouri Southern before continuing his career overseas. In 2012, Bowlin played for the Ringwood Hawks in Australia, a team coached by Ken Harrington.

Bowlin helped connect Gibson with Harrington, and after graduation, Gibson headed to play for the Hawks in Ringwood, Australia, a suburb of Melbourne with a population just over 17,000 and the home of a Cadbury chocolate factory since 1967.

“I had options to go to France or Australia,” Gibson says adding with a smile, “I knew it was going to be an English-speaking country.”

Gibson averaged 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 2017, his first season in Australia. Playing in the Big V, the third level of Australian professional basketball, Gibson helped lead the Hawks to the regular season and postseason championships.

Ringwood repeated as champions in 2018 with Gibson averaging 20.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. He shot better than 40% from 3-point range both seasons.

In his third season, Gibson and the Hawks moved up to NBL1, the second level of Australian basketball. He averaged 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds, but the team finished 17th of 18 teams in the league.

“In Australia, we practiced three times a week and played games on the weekend,” Gibson says. “It was a great family atmosphere. Teammates hung out together, and we were always together building that bond, that chemistry. In the end it paid off. We had two successful seasons and one season that didn’t go like we wanted.”

After three seasons in Australia, it was time for Gibson to move on.

“I wanted to get into Europe,” Gibson says. “A lot of teams in Europe don’t take Australian basketball seriously, so some of the numbers I was putting up they thought might have been inflated.”

Gibson chose Romania for a couple of reasons.

“The Romanian league (Liga Nationala) is very professional, and I knew it was going to be like that,” Gibson says. “And my dad has done mission work in Romania. He has friends all around Romania and there is a church of Christ that’s about an hour away in Sibiu, so I have made a couple of friends there. His translator is always checking on me making sure I’m OK.”

“It’s really cold right now, but overall it’s a beautiful country and the people have been great.”

Gibson plays for CSM Medias, located in the town of Medias (which means “sour cherry”). The city has a population of slightly under 50,000 and was founded in the 13th century. Today it is most known for its production of methane gas, and tourists walk through well preserved medieval fortifications. Medias was recently in the news for huge brown bears wandering the town’s streets.

Gibson lives in a communist-era apartment provided by the team located above a grocery store just a few blocks from the team’s arena, Sala Sporturilor Medias. His roommate is Quincy Harding, a 2019 graduate of Western State in Colorado, also an NCAA Division II school like Harding.

The club provides lunch and dinner every day at a local restaurant that sponsors the team.

“They have pizza, fried chicken and burgers,” Gibson says. “It’s really good.”

Gibson and his team practice twice daily. The team’s morning practice is mostly lifting and conditioning with some shooting. The night session is more intense, with drills and schemes for the next game.

Medias is among the top teams in Group B and hopes to be promoted to Group A pending results of an upcoming tournament.

Through the team’s first nine games, Gibson has been a key contributor. Starting at forward, he is averaging 11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He leads the team with 21 3-pointers made.

“What an awesome opportunity for Jacob,” Morgan says. “Of all places in the world for Jacob to land in Romania, where his dad has been a missionary. He could have gone a lot of places after leaving Australia, but for him to get to go to Romania where his dad has influenced the lives of so many people is pretty amazing.”