Duke Study Abroad: Former Blue Devils Making it in Europe

The list of Duke Blue Devils that have made it in the NBA is a long one — so long, in fact, that you can make an entire 1st round mock draft of them and have spare guys for a second round. But not every Duke grad can make it to basketball’s highest level, even if the school has one of college basketball’s greatest pedigrees. Guys like Brian Zoubek and Steve Wojciechowski had lives after Duke, just like teammates Kyle Singler and Elton Brand, and several over the years have made the trip overseas to continue playing the game.

For the 2015-16 season, six former Dukies are playing in the highest levels outside of the United States, from Spain to Lithuania to China, to varying degrees of success. They range in prestige from former Duke role players to team leaders, as well as guys from the early 2000s to Duke’s resergence in the early 2010’s.

Here’s a brief check in with the Blue Devils who are “studying abroad.”

Daniel Ewing, G, Neptunas (Blue Devil from 2001-05)

Ewing is a bit of a fun story of a former Blue Devil role player who’s made an impact at the next level. Ewing averaged 11.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game over four seasons at Duke, filling in as an accessory scorer and defender next to J.J. Redick. Ewing’s NBA career never really got going after two seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, mostly because he shot 38.9 percent from the field on two pretty disastrous Clipper squads.

Since, though, he’s carved out a decent career across Europe, first for Asseco Prokom in Poland and this season for Neptunas in Lithuania. Interestingly, Ewing’s often been one of the better scorers for his squads, developing a better 3-point shot and making a mark on his squads’ defenses. As a 32-year-old, he leads Neptunas in scoring with 12.5 points per game, and 14.4 points per game in the EuroCup competition, where Neptunas is fighting for positioning in the Last 32. Ewing was a guy who never seemed to fully live up to his potential at Duke, but he’s seemed to have crafted out a pretty decent career overseas.

Shavlik Randolph, PF, Liaoning Flying Leopards (Blue Devil from 2002-05)

After carving out one of the most strangely long NBA careers ever, Randolph moved to China this year and has been playing alongside Lester Hudson on the 29-7 league-leading Flying Leopards. Randolph never, ever was a point-producer, averaging 6.3 points on 50.6 percent shooting through his Duke career, and just 2.3 points per game across an eight-year NBA career. But because China is a wonderful, strange place where guys like Michael Beasley and Jordan Crawford can absolutely dominate, things are totally different in Randolph’s first international season.

Randolph, at age 32, is averaging 20.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, an absolutely absurd statement considering the rest of Randolph’s career. He’s a solid rebounder and energy guy, and that makes a huge impact in the CBA, and he, along with fellow NBA journeyman Hudson, have transformed Liaoning into a force in the league.

Olek Czyz, SF, Giorgio Tesi Pistoia (Blue Devil from 2008-10)

Czyz barely played in two seasons with Duke, but I included him here because he was a sophomore bench player for the 2010 national title team. After transferring to Nevada, Czyz moved over to Italy, where he now plays next to former Cleveland Cavalier Alex Kirk in the frontcourt at Pistoia. Czyz has been pretty effective for a young Pistoia squad, embracing the spread out nature of Italian league basketball to develop into a 37.5 percent 3-point shooter. He’s also become quite efficient as a scorer overall, fitting in as a cutter and transition weapon to average 11.6 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting overall. With Pistoia in fourth place in the Italian league, Czyz is a part of a young core poised to have a strong 2016-17 season.

Andre Dawkins, PG, Auxilium Torino (Blue Devil from 2009-14)

Dawkins is also over in Europe, though his year isn’t going as well as Czyz’s. Dawkins captains the last-place team in the Italian league, a rude awakening for a player who spent four fairly successful years at Duke and a 10-day tour of duty with the Miami Heat last year. Dawkins has always been a solid 3-point shooter who struggles finishing inside, and he’s slightly improved that this year, bringing his shooting percentage to 45.8 percent after averaging 43.3 percent from the field during his Duke career. Torino’s offense has been really inconsistent this year, and outside of Dawkins’s outside shot, making his improvement at finishing more impressive, he’s struggled to create plays for teammates and his defense hasn’t been great. Overall, it’s been a bit of a rough campaign for the former Blue Devil backup point guard.

Martynas Pocius, SG, Zalgiris (Blue Devil from 2005-09)

Pocius was another international player who was sparsely used in his time as a Blue Devil. Hailing from Vilnius, Lithuania, Pocius averaged just 1.8 points and 0.6 rebounds as a reserve for the Kyle Singler-era Duke squads. But the 6-5 shooting guard has found a role overseas, spending the last seven years as a regular rotation member for Zalgiris and Real Madrid. He’s currently in his second stint for Zalgiris, the top squad in Lithuania, and is averaging 8.1 points per game in domestic play.

Interestingly, Pocius has routinely struggled in international competitions, shooting just 40.1 percent from the field in Euroleague play for his career, and cratering to a career low 29.4 percent from outside this season. But he’s been one of the Lithuanian league’s best sharpshooters year in and year out in domestic play, and he’s shooting a scorching-hot 55.9 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from deep this year as one of Zalgiris’s most effective national league reserves.

DeMarcus Nelson, SG, Unicaja Malaga (Blue Devil from 2004-08)

Perhaps the most successful European Dukie also had the best Duke career of anyone on this list. Nelson was a solid, underrated rock on the disappointing Josh McRoberts/Greg Paulus Duke squads, and after a short stint on the Golden State Warriors in 2009, Nelson has crafted a pretty nice career in France, Greece, Croatia and now Spain.

Nelson plays as a role player for Unicaja Malaga, who is currently playing in the Round of 16 in the Euroleague competition after dominating group play. He has averaged 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists across all competitions this season, and is one of Malaga’s better defensive stoppers. Nelson still hasn’t developed a good outside shot, but he’s been a very solid role player and part-time starter overseas.