ex players

[Sacramento Fan]

Some ex HSU players are playing for the Alaska Dream ABA pro-team. J Ward, Grayson Moyer and Will Sheufelt. Some names you may remember from the old GNAC days are Justin Bourne, Andrew Smith, from Fairbanks; Carl Arts, Anchorage; Brian Freshwater from Central Washington. All are playing for the team.

[EDAllen17]

That is good to see that Ward, Moyer and Shuefelt can continue to play and travel. What made them all go to Alaska? I thought that league had California and Oregon teams too.

A lot of former HSU players are playing professional basketball overseas.

Kevin Johnson played his first year in Austria, averaging about 13 PPG and 9 RPG. KJ was an All-Star and appeared to do very well. He is playing on a team in Poland this year.

I saw that J. Ward showed up on a website for the Bonn (Germany) Slammers. I couldn't figure out which league or division they played in. It looked like it was a club team that held tournaments and conducted camps.

Devin Peal is playing in Luxemburg.

Keith Spencer is playing in the Netherlands. He isn't scoring much, but he has good rebounding numbers. K Smooth is also shooting about 20% from the free throw line.

It looks like Cy will be coaching high school basketball in Humboldt County, along with Aaron Hungerford.

Nice to hear the update on Moyer and Shuefelt. Keep us posted on how they are doing.

[Sacramento Fan]

The coach want's to have as many locals as possible. Will, J Ward and Grayson were known from the GNAC years, so they got an opportunity to play. Will and J Ward have not made the travel team yet but have a chance to move up over some of the local players if they play better. Will has always had to overcome the perception that he is not athletic enough. Passing and shooting has been his strong points. We'll see if it is enough to get him some playing time. If not it was fun while it lasted. I don't think he has any regrets over playing basketball.

[EDAllen17]

A ?Dream? come true for Jacks
By RAY HAMILL, The Eureka Reporter
Published: Oct 26 2008, 12:04 AM ? Updated: Oct 26 2008, 12:06 AM

Topic: HSU Men's Basketball

Lumberjacks basketball is alive and well ? in Alaska.

This week, three more former Humboldt State players signed on to continue their careers at the professional level, and all three will play on the same team, the newly formed Alaska Dream of the American Basketball Association.

Will Sheufelt, Jeremiah Ward and Grayson Moyer, key members of the Jacks program over the past five years, joined former teammates Austin Nichols (France), Fred Hooks (Mexico), Kevin Johnson (Poland)and Devin Peal (Luxemburg) in taking their game to the professional ranks.

?I finally get to say I?m a professional basketball player,? said Sheufelt, who has been pursuing that dream since finishing up with the Jacks last spring. ?To get paid to play basketball, that?s the best.?

Moyer echoed the sentiment.

?I get to keep playing the game I love and I don?t have to work 9 to 5,? he said. ?So, I?m not complaining at all.?

Does it sound weird to say they?re now professional players?

?It does,? Ward said with a smile. ?Because I?ve been working for a long time to go somewhere and everything just happened in a week.?

All three can thank their Lumberjacks connections for the move, with former HSU assistant coach Josh Binderup first putting Sheufelt in touch with Dream head coach Al Sokiatis who used to coach against the Jacks at Alaska Fairbanks, and from there the connection spread to Moyer and Ward.

?It?s a brand new team,? said Sheufelt, who spent five years with the Jacks. ?They?re trying to start a new team in Alaska and it sounded like a good situation, with a good coach.?

The Dream will compete in the Northwest Division of the new-age ABA, which was re-established eight years ago after originally peaking and folding in the 1970s when some of the league?s teams were incorporated into the NBA.

The new league features 37 teams in four divisions, with five more franchises scheduled to be included next winter, with the season running from Mid-November through March.

The Dream will play games throughout the country although most of their opponents will be in West Coast cities, like Sacramento, San Francisco and Modesto.

And getting used to their new environment will be the first big test for the former Lumberjacks.

?It?s not too bad yet, but they keep telling me it will be negative 20 in a week,? said Moyer with a smile. ?That?s alright, we?ve got the heat turned up in our house.?

?It?s pretty interesting,? said Sheufelt. ?I woke up the other day and looked out my window and saw three moose. There?s snow everywhere already, so it?s a little bit of a change, but I can get used to it.?

Playing basketball no doubt will help with the adjustment from the milder winter climate of California.

?The cold and the other things don?t matter,? said Ward, who graduated from HSU two years ago. ?I just want to live my dream and play basketball.?

The new team also features several former Great Northwest Athletic Conference players, whom the Jacks played against regularly in recent years, so the three former HSU players are already on a familiar basis with some of their new teammates.

And playing alongside each other will be a huge plus, according to all three.

?I think it?s a big advantage,? said Moyer, who finished at HSU in the spring. ?We spent three or four years together and now we get to continue that. They know where I?m going to be on the court and I know where they?re going to be.?

?A lot of times when you go to a new place, the players don?t know your strengths, so it?s nice to have guys you?ve played with for three or four years,? said Sheufelt. ?And there are a lot of guys from the GNAC here.?

Under Sokiatis, the Dream are also expected to play a fast-tempo style similar to that at HSU, which should suit the former Lumberjacks just fine, although Sheufelt and Ward will switch roles, with Sheufelt moving to shooting guard and Ward to point guard.

?It?s fun. I kind of missed it,? said Ward, who was recruited as a point guard to HSU. ?I had to get back into it, but I?m adapting pretty good. Everything?s working out for the best.?

All three also will carry fond memories of their time at HSU.

?I?m going to miss the community,? Sheufelt said. ?And the relationships I developed there. I?m going to miss all the guys. It was a real good situation and I hope they can continue the success they?ve had.?

Moyer echoed the remark.

?I loved playing there,? he said of his time at HSU. ?And the thing I?ll remember most is the community support and the packed East Gym. When we talked to the other guys on the (Dream) that played against us (at HSU), they loved coming to Humboldt because of the crowd in the East Gym.?

?The games were amazing,? Ward said of playing at HSU.

As for the future, all three are glad to be given a chance to keep playing the game they love, and are hoping to take it as far as they can.

?I just want to work as hard as I can and see where it takes me,? said Sheufelt. ?And have fun playing basketball.?

For now, these former Lumberjacks are getting to do just that.

[Seattle Fan]

Does anyone have the current team web addresses for the ex-players? I have the Dream Alaska website and Austin Nichols, Hyeres-Toulon website address but nothing for KJ, Peal or Fred Hooks.

[jacksfan]

Here's an Austin Nichols highlight film from France...

YouTube - Austin Nichols Mix

[williefresh]

Austin Nichols is tearing up the French league. Here are his stats:

Season: 2008-2009
Summary
League Team G MIN PTS 2FGP 3FGP FT RO RD RT AS PF BS ST
France (Men) Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket 9 350 208 48-101 27-59 31-35 16 20 36 22 22 4 15
AVERAGE
France (Men) Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket 9 38.9 23.1 47.5% 45.8% 88.6% 1.8 2.2 4.0 2.4 2.4 0.4 1.7


Season: 2008-2009
Summary
League Team G MIN PTS 2FGP 3FGP FT RO RD RT AS PF BS ST
EuroChallenge (Men) Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket 6 205 126 30-48 10-28 36-43 9 17 26 9 22 1 8
AVERAGE
EuroChallenge (Men) Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket 6 34.2 21.0 62.5% 35.7% 83.7% 1.5 2.8 4.3 1.5 3.7 0.2 1.3

Season: 2008-2009
Details
Date Team Against Team MIN PTS 2FGP 3FGP FT RO RD RT AS PF BS ST
10/4/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Le Havre 40 31 10-17 3-7 2-2 1 3 4 2 2 2 3
10/11/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Nancy 36 17 5-11 2-4 1-1 3 3 6 0 3 1 1
10/18/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Roanne 33 14 5-9 0-6 4-4 0 3 3 1 4 0 0
10/25/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Gravelines 44 27 5-13 5-9 2-2 5 3 8 6 2 0 1
11/1/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Le Mans 40 24 7-12 2-5 4-5 0 0 0 4 1 1 0
11/8/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Rouen 38 12 3-10 1-4 3-4 5 4 9 1 5 0 3
11/14/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Dijon 45 45 4-15 10-14 7-7 2 0 2 5 1 0 5
11/22/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Vichy 40 18 6-9 1-5 3-4 0 3 3 0 1 0 0
11/29/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Orleans 34 20 3-5 3-5 5-6 0 1 1 3 3 0 2

Season: 2008-2009
Details
Date Team Against Team MIN PTS 2FGP 3FGP FT RO RD RT AS PF BS ST
10/14/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Cedevita 33 17 4-7 2-4 3-4 1 2 3 0 4 0 0
10/21/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Cedevita 34 21 5-8 2-2 5-6 2 1 3 2 4 0 0
11/4/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Ploiesti 39 30 6-8 2-7 12-15 2 2 4 3 3 0 3
11/11/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Ploiesti 27 10 2-7 0-5 6-8 1 3 4 2 5 1 3
11/25/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Ural Great 40 28 9-12 1-4 7-7 1 4 5 1 1 0 1
12/2/2008 Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket Keravnos 32 20 4-6 3-6 3-3 2 5 7 1 5 0 1