Penn State Basketball: D.J. Newbill Signs Professional Deal with French Club ASVEL Basket

After an up-and-down stint in the Orlando Summer League with the Los Angeles Clippers, it appears D.J. Newbill has found himself a more permanent home in Lyon, France. More specifically, with ASVEL Basket, one of 18 teams in the French ProA League. From the ASVEL website, (translation courtesy Google translate):

The Asvel Basket is pleased to announce the signing for next season, back American Jerrell Devonte Newbill (23 years, 1m93).

Philadelphia native DJ fate of three academic years with Penn State in the Big Ten, one of the biggest NCAA conferences. His offensive skills were unanimous during his university studies (more than 16 points on average each season) and has recently been named MVP of Portsmouth Camp.

True leader of attack (20.7pts 45% success last season), this post 2 powerful and often very dramatic has just played the Orlando Summer League with the Los Angeles Clippers (10.2pts, 3.5rbs and 2.8ass / match). He will know ASVEL his first experience in Europe.

The opinion of Gaëtan MULLER (Deputy Chairman): "This is a very interesting player who made ​​unanimously with our sports staff and manager. With our existing external lines, it was important to find a profile that can have complementarity with the players already under contract. DJ is a strong scorer who created many without monopolizing the ball constantly. It is able to defend hard and already seems very mature for his age. We are proud to welcome him ASVEL for his first experience in Europe. "

If you need something official in English:

Welcome home @djnewbill !!!

— ASVEL Basket (@ASVEL_Basket) July 29, 2015

A quick glance at Wikipedia reveals that ASVEL is one of the most decorated and prestigious clubs in French basketball. They've won their domestic championship 17 times and won their domestic cup on eight occasions, and the club is chaired by NBA star Tony Parker, who briefly suited up in ASVEL's green and black during the 2011 NBA lockout.

The nature of European basketball means that the details on Newbill's contract will remain under wraps, but odds are that he'll be earning quite a bit more than if he were to stick it out on home soil. Of course, that alternative has its benefits - Tim Frazier earned himself an NBA deal after dominating the D-League - but this doesn't mean that Newbill's NBA dream is over. It might just be taking a quick detour (detour is a French word, right?).

Faire le travail , D.J.