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Sacha Killeya-Jones

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Sacha Killeya-Jones
Killeya-Jones with Kentucky in October 2016
No. 3 – Kawasaki Brave Thunders
PositionPower forward
LeagueB.League
Personal information
Born (1998-08-10) August 10, 1998 (age 26)
Highland Park, New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / British
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKentucky (2016–2018)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Sparta Praha
2019–2020Kalev/Cramo
2020–2021MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza
2021–2022Hapoel Gilboa Galil
2022–2023Oklahoma City Blue
2023–2024Surne Bilbao Basket
2024–presentKawasaki Brave Thunders
Career highlights and awards

Sacha Liam Killeya-Jones (born August 10, 1998) is an American-British professional basketball player for Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the B.League. He played college basketball for Kentucky.

High school career

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Killeya-Jones at the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game

Killeya-Jones grew up playing football at the quarterback position. As a freshman at Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, Virginia, he played football, a year before giving up the sport in exchange for basketball, which better suited his height and build.[1] For his final two years, Killeya-Jones transferred to Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia. In his senior season, he averaged 23.6 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game and led his team to a VISAA Division II state title.[2] He was also selected to play in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game.[3] Killeya-Jones left high school as a consensus five-star recruit. He originally committed to Virginia before switching to Kentucky.[4]

College career

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As a freshman at Kentucky, Killeya-Jones played 14 games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game. He did not play for much of the second half of the season, logging minutes in 14 total games.[5] In his sophomore season, he became a more frequent contributor off the bench, averaging 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game through 34 appearances.[6] After the season, Killeya-Jones announced that he was transferring from Kentucky.[7] On May 15, 2018, he committed to continue his career at NC State and sit out his next season due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer rules.[8] On February 28, 2019, before becoming eligible to play, Killeya-Jones left NC State to pursue a professional career.[9]

Professional career

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2019–22

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In April 2019, Killeya-Jones joined Get Better Academy, a private basketball academy based in Prague.[10] He played 12 games for the academy team Sparta Praha of the 1.Liga, the second-tier Czech basketball league, and averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.[11] On July 11, Killeya-Jones signed with Braunschweig of the Basketball Bundesliga, the top-tier German league, but never played an official game with the team.[12] For the 2019–20 season, he signed with Kalev/Cramo, an Estonian team competing in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League and VTB United League.[11] He averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the club.[13]

On July 13, 2020, Killeya-Jones signed with MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza of the Polish Basketball League.[14] He averaged 19 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks per game, but left the team in January 2021.

On August 23, 2021, Killeya-Jones signed with Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[15] In 2021–22, he led the league in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game.[16]

Oklahoma City Blue (2022–2023)

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On October 2, 2022, Killeya-Jones signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder as Sterling Brown was waived.[17] In his first preseason game with the Thunder, he recorded one block against Vlatko Čančar. After just one preseason game, he was waived on October 4. On November 3, he was named to the opening night roster for the Oklahoma City Blue.[18]

Surne Bilbao Basket (2023–present)

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On June 30, 2023, Killeya-Jones signed with Surne Bilbao Basket of the Liga ACB.[19]

National team career

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Killeya-Jones, who has a British-born mother, is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom. He represents Great Britain at the international level. Killeya-Jones attended the team's training camp for FIBA EuroBasket 2017.[20] He earned his first international cap against Ukraine in the Patras Tournament on 7 August 2017, but did not play, he was only 18-years-old. A few days later, Killeya-Jones saw action for the first time and scored 9 points vs Israel in a closed international test match. He played for Great Britain at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Cates, Ben (1 May 2016). "2016 All-Area Boys Basketball". The News & Advance. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. ^ Brown, CL (14 September 2018). "Out of the Kentucky glare, Sacha Killeya-Jones finds peace with the Wolfpack". The Athletic. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ^ Cates, Ben (22 January 2016). "Sacha Killeya-Jones follows Staples' footsteps into McDonald's All-American Game". The News & Advance. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. ^ Johnson, Chris (19 August 2015). "2016 four-star PF Sacha Killeya-Jones commits to Kentucky". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. ^ Oakes, Zac (27 April 2017). "Sacha Killeya-Jones gets high praise from Derek Willis". A Sea Of Blue. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  6. ^ Upchurch, Matt (12 April 2018). "Sacha Killeya-Jones Transfer: An unfortunate Kentucky basketball casualty". Wildcat Blue Nation. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. ^ Boone, Kyle (9 April 2018). "Former five-star recruit Sacha Killeya-Jones announces he's transferring from Kentucky". CBS Sports. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  8. ^ Borzello, Jeff (15 May 2018). "Sacha Killeya-Jones transferring to NC State from Kentucky". ESPN. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  9. ^ Giglio, Joe (28 February 2019). "Sacha Killeya-Jones leaves NC State to pursue pro career". The News & Observer. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  10. ^ Roush, Nick (16 April 2019). "Sacha Killeya-Jones lands in the Czech Republic". Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Michael Finke and Sacha Killeya-Jones are Kalev players". VTB United League. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Löwen verpflichten vielseitigen Big Man Sacha Killeya-Jones" (in German). Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  13. ^ Varney, Dennis (26 March 2020). "Catch up with 36 ex-Cats playing pro basketball in leagues outside the NBA". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  14. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (13 July 2020). "Sacha Killeya-Jones inks with MKS Dabrowa Gornicza". Sportando. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Sacha Killeya-Jones (ex MKS DG) joins H.Galil Gilboa". Eurobasket. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Israeli BSL Stats - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  17. ^ Parker, Derek (2 October 2022). "Thunder Sign Sacha Killeya-Jones, Waive Sterling Brown". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  18. ^ "Oklahoma City Blue Roster 2022-23". NBA.com. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Sacha Killeya-Jones se convierte en hombre de negro". BilbaoBasket.biz (in Spanish). 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  20. ^ Page, Fletcher (21 July 2017). "Kentucky's Sacha Killeya-Jones to attend Great Britain national team training camp". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  21. ^ Gains, Bradley (21 February 2020). "GB Senior Men's final 12 confirmed for EuroBasket qualifiers". Hoopsfix. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
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