Three members of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Horizon League Championship team are being given an opportunity to continue their careers for overseas teams and national teams, while others are still playing basketball in various locations.
Foreward Kyle Kelm signed with the Bascharage Hedgehogs, a team in Luxembourg, early in July. He is currently the starting power forward for Bascharage. The Hedgehogs are in third place in their table with 8 points, to points behind Residence and US Heffingen. Kelm played three seasons for the Panthers, averaging 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds as a forward during last seasons run that ended in the NCAA Tournament in Buffalo.
Jordan Aaron was on the 2013 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team and 2014 All-Horizon League and was the Horizon League Tournament MVP. Aaron is currently playing in Portugal for CAB Madeira. Aaron signed his contract in the beginning of September.
Thierno Niang was announced to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup team for Senegal. He is not a newcomer to FIBA tournaments as he was also on the Senegal roster at the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship. Niang was born in Dakar, Senegal. In 2011, Niang averaged 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds. The Senegal team finished 5th in the 2011 tournament. He played in five games in the World Cup, playing 8.2 minutes per game, shooting 30% from the field with six points and two rebounds.. He was later awarded the best assist award for the entire tournament for this play against Puerto Rico.
Ricky Franklin, who graduated in 2010, left Benefica to join CAB Madeira where he now plays with Aaron in the highest Portuguese division. Franklin led CAB in performance index rating (16.2), points (21.7) and assists (7.1) through the 2013-2014 season. Performance index is a stat that combines a combination of statistics to determine a players overall impact for a team.
Clay Tucker has played for 16 different teams since leaving Milwaukee in 2003. The most recent team is TED Ankara Kolejliler of Turkey. He has played a few years in the developmental leagues in the United States, but most of his experience has been in Europe. Tucker was named to the ABA’s All-Decade First Team for the 2000s despite playing only one season in the league. Tucker is possibly best known for his game winning three pointer vs. #25 Butler.
Dylan Page was also on the 2003 NCAA Tournament roster for the Panthers. Page is currently in Belgian playing for the Spirou Charleroi. He has played for nine teams since leaving college ten years ago. Last season, Dylan scored 13.9 points per game and had fewer than four rebounds a game for CEZ Basketball Nymburk.
While no player has played a game in the NBA, former Panther foreward Demetrius Harris is playing in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs. Von McDade, 1991, and Larry Pikes, 1997, were both drafted in the NBA. Several UW-Milwaukee players have played during the NBA’s summer league.