Spencer Weisz (ספנסר וייס; born May 31, 1995) is an American-Israeli professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1 ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

. He played college basketball for the

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in ...

, completing his college career in the 2016–17 season. Playing for gold medal-winning Team USA, Weisz was the Most Valuable Player of the Under-18 basketball competition in the 2013 Maccabiah Games. He earned the 2014 Ivy League Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year Award and the 2017

Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Ivy League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1974–75 season. There have been six players honored on two occasions: Craig Robi ...

Award, and was a 3-time first or second team All-Ivy selection. During the summer of 2015, he was a member of the

Israel national under-20 basketball team The Israeli national under-20 basketball team represents the country in various FIBA youth tournaments. It usually competes in the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, and used to compete in the now defunct FIBA Under-21 World Championship. This ...

at the 2015 FIBA U-20 European Championship.

Early life

Weisz is a native of

Florham Park, New Jersey Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,Seton Hall Prep Seton Hall Preparatory School, generally called Seton Hall Prep or "The Prep", is a Roman Catholic all boys' high school located in the suburban community of West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, operating under the supervision of the Arch ...

. As a junior, he was first-team All-County. As a senior, ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'' recognized Weisz as a second-team All-State selection in New Jersey and the

Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 863,728, making it the state's second-most populous county, behind Bergen and Middlesex Counties.

boys' basketball Player of the Year.

College career

Playing for

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, Weisz earned the 2014

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year. On December 7, 2013, he posted his first career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 17 points (including 3-for-3 on

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

s) and 10

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

against

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

. He earned second-team All-Ivy League recognition in 2015 and 2016. As a sophomore, in 2014–15, he was 6th in the Ivy League in 3-point field goal percentage (.408), 7th in 3-point field goals (51), and 8th in scoring (11.6). As a junior, he served as a tri-

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(along with Mike Washington Jr. and Steven Cook) of the 2015–16 team, led the Ivy League in

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

-to- turnover ratio (2.8), and was 2nd in the league in assists-per-game (3.9), 4th in assists (113), 6th in 3-point field goals (63), and 8th in

defensive rebound In basketball, a rebound, sometimes colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game; if a shot is suc ...

s (129). Going into his senior year, ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' projected him as Ivy League first team, and ''

Lindy's Lindy's was two different deli and restaurant chains in Manhattan, New York City. The first chain, founded by Leo "Lindy" Lindemann, operated from 1921 to 1969.("Opening date was Aug. 20, 1921.") In 1979, the Riese Organization determined that ...

'' projected him as Ivy League second team. As a senior, Weisz led Princeton in rebounds, assists (4.2 per game; 125; 2nd in the league), and steals (1.5 per game; 46; 2nd in the Ivy League), while coming in 2nd in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), 5th in 3-point field goals (61) and defensive rebounds (137), and 10th in total rebounds (161).">"Weisz, Stephens, Henderson Earn Major Awards as Four Tigers Earn All-Ivy Honors"
GoPrincetonTigers.com. In December 2016, he tied the Princeton single-game record for assists in a game, with 13 against Liberty. He posted his career high of 26 points in a February 3, 2017, 69–64 victory over Dartmouth. He served again as a co-captain, and earned

recognition. He became the 8th player in Ivy League history to win both the league's Rookie of the Year Award and Player of the Year Award. He was one of two unanimous first-team All-Ivy selections, despite only ranking fourth on Princeton in scoring average. Weisz was included on the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

Division I All‐District 13 second-team, earned honorable mention on the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All-America team, and was named to the ''

Jewish Sports Review ''Jewish Sports Review (JSR)'' is a bi-monthly magazine that was established in 1997. Its editors are Ephraim Moxson and Shel Wallman. The magazine identifies which star and professional athletes are Jewish. It also covers and has all-time lists ...

'' 2016–17 Men's College Basketball All-American First Team. The 2016–17 Princeton Tigers earned Princeton its first

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

invitation since the 2010–11 team did so. He became the only player in Princeton career history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 3-pointers. He ended his college career 2nd in Princeton history in assists (383), 5th in 3-pointers (209), and 12th in scoring (1,241 points). His 511 career defensive rebounds were 5th in Ivy League history.

Professional career

Hapoel Gilboa Galil (2017–2018)

On August 3, 2017, Weisz started his professional career with

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil ( he, הפועל גלבוע גליל) is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250 ...

of the

, signing a one-year deal with an option for another one. Weisz helped Gilboa Galil reach the 2018 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually lost to

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

in the Quarterfinals.

Maccabi Ashdod (2018–2019)

On July 19, 2018, Weisz signed with

Maccabi Ashdod Maccabi Ashdod B.C. ( he, מכבי אשדוד) is a professional basketball team based in the port city of Ashdod, Israel. The team currently plays in the Israeli National League. History The team was founded in 1961 by "Maccabi Ashdod Sport ...

for the 2018–19 season. On April 10, 2019, Weisz recorded a career-high 27 points, shooting 6-of-9 from three-point range, along with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals, leading Ashdod to a 94–86 win over his former team

. In 26 games played for Ashdod, he averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2019–21)

On June 21, 2019, Weisz signed a two-year deal with

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

. Two months later, he was named Be'er Sheva's new team captain, replacing

Chanan Colman Chanan Safir Colman ( he, חנן ספיר קולמן; born March 10, 1984) is a Danish-Israeli professional basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israel Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for Chipola before playing profes ...

. On October 21, 2019, Weisz recorded a season-high 21 points, shooting 5-of-8 from three-point range, along with eight assists, scoring the last 13 out of 15 points to give Be'er Sheva an 88–87 win over Hapoel Eilat. In 2020-21 he averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals (7th in the league) per game. He was 3rd in the league in steals, with 48, and 8th in three-point field goal percentage at .356. He was voted Eurobasket All-Israeli League Honorable Mention.

Hapoel Haifa (2021-present)

On July 6, 2021, Weisz signed with

in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.

International play

Weisz was a member of the Under-18 US National team that won the 2013 Maccabiah Games gold medal, along with future NFL player Anthony Firkser, and earned the Most Valuable Player recognition for the tournament. In the final, gold medal game against Team Israel, Weisz scored 19 points, brought down 12 rebounds, and had 11 assists. During the summer of 2015, Weisz was a starter for the

at the 2015 FIBA U-20 European Championship, where Israel finished 10th out of 20 teams.

References

External links

Weisz
at

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Weisz
@

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

Weisz
@ IvyLeagueSports.com
Weisz
@ GoPrincetonTigers.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Weisz, Spencer 1995 births Living people 21st-century American Jews American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from New Jersey Competitors at the 2013 Maccabiah Games Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Hapoel Gilboa Galil Elyon players Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Israeli American Israeli Basketball Premier League players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players Maccabi Ashdod B.C. players Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States People from Florham Park, New Jersey Princeton Tigers men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey