Willie Deane (born February 23, 1980) is an American-Bulgarian former 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. Deane has won three Bulgarian championships, one Bulgarian Cup, a French championship, a French Super Cup and an Italian championship.
College career
Dean played high school basketball at
Schenectady High School
Schenectady High School is a high school located at 1445 The Plaza in Schenectady, New York, USA. It was founded in 1992 through the merger of Linton High School and Mont Pleasant High School. It is the only high school in the Schenectady City ...
, in
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
. He played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
at
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
for one season before transferring to
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
to complete his final three years of eligibility.
Professional career
In 2008, Deane became a household name in European Basketball when he signed a contract with
Zalgiris rumored to be excess of $600,000.
In June 2012, Deane signed with Ukrainian team
BC Khimik
Khimik Yuzhne ( uk, Хімік Южне) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that is based in Yuzhne. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In 2006, the club reached the final of the EuroCup Challenge, where they were d ...
.
Deane signed with
BC Krasny Oktyabr
BC Krasny Oktyabr was a Russian professional basketball club that is based in Volgograd. In English, the club's name translates to "'BC Red October'". The club played in the VTB United League until 2016, when the team was forced to leave the league ...
for the 2013–14 season.
On May 12, 2014, he signed with
Emporio Armani Milano
Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...
of the Italian
Lega Basket Serie A
The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...
for the rest of the 2013–14 season.
On September 19, 2014, Deane signed with
Pallacanestro Varese
Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...
. On February 27, 2015, he left Varese and returned to his former team Krasny Oktyabr for the rest of the season.
On November 5, 2015, Deane signed with
STB Le Havre
Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre or simply STB Le Havre is a basketball club based in city of Le Havre, France that plays in the Pro B division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB). Their home arena is Dock Océane.Allen Mack Jr. JPMorgan
*
Ref ...
of the French
LNB Pro A
The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...
. In March 2016, he left Le Havre and signed with Latvian club
Ventspils
Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...
for the rest of the season. On July 26, 2016, he re-signed with Ventspils for the 2016–17 season.
On June 16, 2017, Deane signed with French club
Châlons-Reims for the 2017–18 season.
References
External links
Eurobasket.com profileEuroleague.net profileDraftExpress.com profile
1980 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Bulgaria
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American expatriate basketball people in Latvia
American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
American expatriate basketball people in Poland
American expatriate basketball people in Russia
American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from New York (state)
BC Krasny Oktyabr players
BC Odessa players
BC Spartak Primorye players
BK Ventspils players
BC Žalgiris players
Boston College Eagles men's basketball players
Bulgarian men's basketball players
Bulgarian expatriate basketball people in France
Bulgarian expatriate basketball people in the United States
CB Estudiantes players
Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket players
Ilysiakos B.C. players
Liga ACB players
Olimpia Milano players
Pallacanestro Varese players
PBC Academic players
Point guards
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players
SLUC Nancy Basket players
Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York
STB Le Havre players
Türk Telekom B.K. players
Virtus Bologna players
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