During head Coach Bill Coen's career at Northeastern, he has helped 20 members of his basketball team on to professional careers, most recently with All-CAA First Team honoree Vasa Pusica, who joined KK Partizan for their 2019 KLS campaign. Hear what they have to say about where they are playing, what they are up to, and how Northeastern helped to prepare them for this moment in time.Â
With the conclusion of the 2018-19 basketball season, we caught up with all of the current Huskies in the Pros... take a look!Â
JJ BAREA (2002-2006)
One of the most accomplished Huskies of all time, Barea just finished up his 13th NBA season, his 10th with the Dallas Mavericks. Barea played 38 games in the 2018-19 season before tearing his Achilles, setting him out for the rest of the season. At the time, Barea was the Mavericks best playmaker, leading the team with 5.6 assists per game while also averaging 10.9 points. Barea's 38 games moved him into a tie for seventh on the Mavericks' all-time games played list (608), surpassing Shawn Bradley along the way. The former Husky remains the only Northeastern player to win an NBA title (2011).
VASA PUSICA (2017-19)
Following the conclusion of the Huskies' 2018-19 campaign, Pusica signed a professional contract with KK Partizan, a team based in his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia. He previously played with Partizan's youth team before coming to the United States, winning the gold medal in the 2013 U-19 league and being named to the All-Tournament Team NIJT Euroleague 2012-13.
Â
Pusica joined the team for their 2019 KLS (top league in Serbia) campaign, where they made a run to the league championship series before falling 3-1 to Crvena Zvezda in mid-June. In 12 games for the team, Pusica averaged 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 54% from the field and 45% from three in 15.4 minutes.
Â
DEVON BEGLEY (2014-18)
Begley, Northeastern's lone senior in the Class of 2018, signed with the BBC Bascharage Hedgehogs, a team in Luxembourg, during their most recent campaign. When Begley joined the team they were in last place in the league, which would have put them in place to be relegated to the league below theirs at the end of the season. After signing Begley the team lost only two games the rest of the season, moving them out of the relegation zone and keeping them in their current league for the following season.
Â
T.J. WILLIAMS (2013-17)
After making the Charlotte Hornets' preseason roster and playing with their G-League affiliate Greensboro Swarm in 2017-18, Williams went overseas to continue his career, most recently playing with BC Oostende in the PBL, the top league in Belgium. Oostende won the PBL Championship for the eighth straight year in 2019.
Â
In addition to the PBL, the team also competed in the Basketball Champions League and the FIBA Europe Cup, where they lost in the quarterfinal round. In 49 games in all competitions in 2018-19, Williams averaged 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Â
ALEX MURPHY (2017)
With his final college season in the books with the Huskies in 2017, Murphy headed overseas. After a year with a team in Finland, Murphy joined Szolnoki Olaj, a team that competes in the NB I/A, the top league in Hungary. In addition to their domestic league, the team also took part in Basketball Champions League qualifying and the FIBA Europe Cup, where they made it as far as the second group stage.
Â
Murphy played in all three competitions, totaling 17 games played with eight starts while averaging 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game on 51.8% shooting from the field and 39% from behind the arc.Â
Â
DAVID WALKER (2012-16)
Walker, part of the Huskies' NCAA Tournament team in 2015, currently plays for MoraBanc Andorra – a team that is based in Andorra but is part of the Liga ACB, the top league in Spain. The team made a deep run in the EuroCup this year, making it all the way to the semifinals before being eliminated. Walker played in 24 games throughout the season, posting averages of 8.7 points, 2.46 rebounds, and 1.33 assists per game.
Â
QUINCY FORD (2012-16)
Just like his former Northeastern teammate Williams, Ford also plays in the PBL. His team, Spirou Charleroi, earned the third-best record (24-12) in the PBL regular season in 2018-19. They also went 3-3 in the FIBA Europe Cup, falling in the group stage. Ford averaged 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.58 steals per game in all competitions. His 6.7 rebounds per game in the PBL were fifth in the league, while his 1.6 steals per game ranked second. Ford's performance earned him a spot on the PBL's all-star team.
Â
SCOTT EATHERTON (2013-15)
Eatherton has spent most of his post-college career playing in the top German basketball league, the Bundesliga. He's played the last two seasons for Basketball Löwen Braunschweig, who made the playoffs in 2018-19 before losing to Bayern Munich. The forward started 29 of the 31 games he played in and was fifth in the league in points (17.1) and second in rebounds (9.0) per game while adding 2.1 assists, earning the league's Most Efficient Player award.
Â
JONATHAN LEE (2010-13)
Lee, one of the Huskies' greatest shooters of all time, has carved out a successful career overseas. He just finished his sixth season of international basketball, and his second with his current team, Kutaisi. The team competes in the Georgian Superliga, the top league in Georgia. Kutaisi took the regular season title and came up just short in the playoffs, losing the championship series 3-2.
Â
Lee was first on the team and third in the league in assists per game at 5.9. He was also third on the team in both points (15.6) and steals (1.3) while leading the team in minutes (32.5) per game, and shot 39% from three.
Â
MATT JANNING (2007-10)
Another great shooter and fourth on the all-time Northeastern scoring list, Janning has been well traveled in his post-Huskies career. Janning has played in the NBA Sumer League, the G-League, made the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets' preseason rosters, and made the Suns' final roster after signing a two-year contract. In addition, he has played for seven different teams in eight seasons internationally, including winning an Italian League title with Siena and making the EuroLeague Final Four with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. Janning is a 1,000-point scorer in EuroLeague competition.
Â
Janning's last two seasons have been with Baskonia in the Liga ACB – the same league that Walker's MoraBanc Andorra play in. Baskonia and Janning finished third in the 2018-19 regular season standings in the Liga ACB. They also made the playoffs in the EuroLeague before losing to eventual champions CSKA Moscow. In 52 games in all competitions, Janning averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
Â
