Gliddon, Johnson and Sobey sign overseas
Three NBL stars have signed on to play overseas after their NBL seasons concluded last month. Cameron Gliddon, Daniel Johnson and Nathan Sobey have all agreed to terms to play out the remainder of the European season.
Cameron Gliddon will suit up for Avtodor Saratov, who are a Russian team in the VTB United League. The Taipans swingman will join fellow Aussie Ryan Broekhoff, who also plays in the same league with Lokomotiv Kuban. Gliddon helped lead the Taipans to a semi-final berth this past NBL season before bowing out to the Wildcats.
A post shared by Cam Gliddon (@glizzo3) on Mar 7, 2017 at 1:35am PST
The West Australian native averaged 10.6 points, 3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per contest this NBL season. This is the second straight year that Gliddon has signed on to play in Europe following the NBL season, having played for AZS Koszalin in Poland in 2015-16.
Adelaide 36ers star Nathan Sobey will become the third NBL player to sign in Greece in the NBL off-season, joining Brad Newley (AEK Athens) and Jason Cadee (Kymis). Sobey joins PAOK Thessaloniki who are currently in fifth place in the Greek A1 League, but also currently competing in the Basketball Champions League alongside Cameron Gliddon’s Avtodor and Brad Newley’s AEK Athens. PAOK have qualified for the round of 16 in the tournament.
https://twitter.com/PAOKbasketball/status/837577958650970112
Sobey’s recruitment comes after PAOK lost their sharp shooter Jordan Sibert to injury. The Victorian’s improved play not only won him the NBL’s Most Improved Player award this past season, it also landed him a European stint. Sobey improved his stat line to 15.5 points, 4.9 boards and 4.1 assists per game during Adelaide’s table topping regular season. His increased dominance on the court also led to being named in the All-NBL Second Team.
Fellow Adelaide 36er Daniel Johnson is headed to the Iranian Superleague Petrochimi Bandar Imam Harbour to suit up for Petrochimi Bandar Imam Harbour. The Adelaide big man is set to play for the same ball club that fellow Aussie Aleks Maric played for briefly in 2015.
Johnson enjoyed another successful season with Adelaide, averaging 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The three-time 36ers club MVP helped Adelaide claim their first regular season title since 2000, however the Sixers fell short in the semi-finals to Illawarra. Johnson was named to the All-NBL First Team for the second time in his career this past season.
The big man has previously had stints playing in Poland and Puerto Rico. Johnson’s versatility, size and outside shooting stroke will aid Pertrochimi in their Superleague title defense.