From Iowa to Europe: State schools send bevy of stars to pro basketball leagues overseas

WARSAW, Poland — Every summer, usually around late July or August, hundreds of Americans get on planes and head to Europe to prepare for another season of performing in a pro basketball league.

For rookie pros, what awaits is cultural adjustments off the court and a few rule variances on the hardwood. For the pro veterans, the transition is not as drastic but can be a challenge moving from country to country.

But for Aljaz Kunc, 25, a former standout at Iowa State, that summer transition is not as pronounced since he grew up in Slovenia — a hoop-mad country of about 2 million people that was part of the former Yugoslavia.

The 6-foot-9 Kunc, who ended his career with the Cyclones in 2023, has played the past two seasons in Torun, a city in north-central Poland that is known more as the hometown of scientist Copernicus than for its hoop team.

“It obviously helps with the adjustment,” he said of being from Slovenia and playing in Europe. “A lot of my Slovenian friends went to college in the U.S. I can see that (adjustment) being a big problem for U.S. guys overseas. It is completely different overseas. It is definitely a tough world to adjust to.”

He saw that firsthand from his girlfriend, Olivia Wee, who grew up in Ankeny, and played soccer for the Cyclones. She was able to work remotely from Europe as a dietitian for several months.

“For sure, even seeing my girlfriend live in Europe for the first time, I can see some tough things she had to adjust to,” Kunc said. “It is a new world, new people. Everybody from the Midwest is friendly. No one asks you how your day is going in (Eastern Europe). They don’t say hello at the grocery store.”

Kunc also is able to adjust better on the court, as well, compared to his American counterparts.

“The game in Europe is different than the college game or the G League,” he said. “I feel it is a lot more tactical, a lot more plays, a lot more play calling. The game in college is a lot faster.

“In college, the center may be young and very athletic. In Poland, you may have some 37-year-old big, enormous Polish dude in the lane. The game is a little slower, but it is more physical in Europe. There are some different rules with traveling and goal tending.”

Top American players in the best Polish league, according to a veteran journalist here, can make about $150,000 per season. Salaries and the level of competition rises in domestic leagues in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Greece, among other locales.

Americans can make more money overseas than in the G League — but the drawback is being a long way from family and friends.

Kunc, the product of Slovenia, will spend time in Iowa the next few weeks with his girlfriend before going to Slovenia and preparing for another season — perhaps in Poland, or another country in Europe. He was aided in college at Iowa State by a coaching staff that includes assistant JR Blount, who played in England, and assistant Kyle Green, a former player/coach in Denmark.

“Coming from Washington State, when I was there basketball was not the number one sport. A lot of people didn’t really care. Transferring to a school with such a history of success, fans were amazing at Iowa State,” he said June 2. “Both years I was there we made the NCAA tournament. That was a new experience for me. Today I went back to the facility and talked to everyone.

“The assistant coaches are very helpful since they have connections with agents. They point you in the right direction. Not all people on the team are going to the NBA.”

That is the case for many alums of Iowa schools who have found their hoop dreams many miles from home.

A TITLE IN POLAND

Tre Jackson, who played in college at Iowa State before transferring to Western Carolina, played in the second-best league in Poland this season and led Bydgoszcz — a city in the central part of the country — to the title and a chance to move up to the top Polish league in 2025-26.

Jackson had 21 points in the clinching victory in late May.

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Jaren Holmes, 26, a former teammate with Kunc with the Cyclones, also just finished his second pro season in Europe. His first year was in Great Britain and this season he played for a team in Himburg, Belgium. He averaged 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest as his team lost in the fifth and deciding game of the league semifinals on May 28.

“I learned a lot both years,” he said in early June, before heading back to his home in Michigan. “I can’t complain. I like the lifestyle and the style of basketball, and I get to travel the world. I don’t think England was that big of an adjustment.

“This year in Belgium, it was more difficult. English is not their first language. I would say the Belgian league is much better than England. The English league is a very American style of play — it is a run-and-gun situation.”

Kunc, whose team was eliminated in the top Polish league playoffs in May, is one of several former Iowa State hoopsters who played in Europe during the 2024-25 season.

While former Iowa State star Tyrese Haliburton had a standout season in the NBA with Indiana, other ex-Cyclones have found their hoop calling overseas. Ex-Cyclones to play for pay in Europe in 2024-25 included Will Clyburn, Dustin Hogue and Tyrus McGee in Italy; Nick Weiler-Babb, Gabe Kalscheur, Osun Osunniyi and Matt Thomas in Germany; George Conditt IV and Melvin Ejim in Spain; Naz Mitrou-Long, Georgios Tsalmpouris and Donovan Jackson in Greece; Marial Shayok (Israel); Diante Garrett (Lithuania); Chris Babb and Bubu Palo in France; Daniel Edozie and Prentiss Nixon in Great Britain; and DeAndre Kane (Iceland).

Israel, of course, is in the Middle East but traditionally their top teams also have competed in Euroleague play.

NBA alum Thomas, whose mother went to high school in Dubuque, played again this season for Alba of Berlin in the top league in Germany. The shooting guard averaged 13.4 points per game and 1.8 assists and 1.8 rebounds per contest as Alba was 18-14 in regular-season play in Germany and 5-29 and last of 18 teams in the Euroleague, considered the best circuit in the world after the NBA.

Thomas played for Toronto, Utah and Chicago in the NBA before heading to Europe.

“I think it is important to share people’s stories when guys are playing overseas and making a career,” Thomas said after a game in Berlin in 2024. “Maybe a lot of fans saw their favorite player in college, or a guy that was in the NBA for a few years, and say what happened to him? Where is he at? Maybe they think he retired. They have no idea.”

MORGAN CONTINUES PRO CAREER

Jeremy Morgan, who ended his college career with Northern Iowa in 2017, played this season for a team in Israel.

He had seven points on May 28 as his team won over Tel Aviv in game 2 of the league semifinals. The 6-6 shooting guard, who played in high school at Iowa City West, also has played Finland, France, Germany and Italy. He averaged nearly 10 points per contest for a team in France during the 2023-24 season.

Morgan turned 30 in May. He signed with Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League in July of 2024.

On June 3, he started and had five points and two rebounds in an 86-83 upset win over H. Tel-Aviv in the Israeli semifinals to take the series 2-1. That sent his team into the finals, which begin June 13 against M. Tel-Aviv.

"I’m extremely excited to join Hapoel.... I am 100 percent locked in to help bring Hapoel to the next level,“ he told reporters when he signed last year. ”I also remember the unbelievable atmosphere that the red fans brought back in Malaga, and I can't wait to feel that energy once again.”

Morgan’s father, Michael, played for Iowa in the 1980s and his mother, Cris, played at Drake.

Other Northern Iowa players who played in Europe during the 2024-25 season were former Cedar Rapids Washington prep Wes Washpun, who averaged about 17 points per contest for a team in Portugal; and Bennett Koch, who averaged nearly 10 points per outing in his fifth season with a club in Sheffield, England.

Drake products who suited up in Europe this past season included Roman Penn (Romania); Nick McGlynn (Greece), who began the season in Poland; Ayo Akinwole (Spain); Benjamin Simon (Poland); ShanQuan Hemphill (Sweden); Darnell Brodie (Hungary); Sardaar Calhoun (Germany); and Noah Thomas (France).

As for the University of Iowa, Jarrod Uthoff has played this season in Italy; Devyn Marble has been in Portugal; Filip Rebraca was in Serbia; Gabriel Olaseni and Tyler Cook played in Turkey; Peter Jok was in Croatia; and Ben Krikke competed in Spain.

Marble was averaging 16 points per contest in early June for FC Porto, an established club in Portugal and a popular city for tourists that is about 175 miles north of Lisbon.

Virginia native David Driver lived three years in Hungary with his family, has lived for two years in Poland and has interviewed American basketball players in 15 countries in Europe. He is the author of “Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas,” available on Amazon and at daytondavid.com; Driver is the former sports editor of papers in Baltimore and Harrisonburg, Virginia.