Eli Abaev (Hebrew: אלי אבייב; born December 13, 1998) is an American-Israeli basketball player who last played for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in 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 competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball ...

, at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and center positions. He played college basketball for

Eastern Florida State College Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public college in Brevard County, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as a Virt ...

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sit ...

, and

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

Early life

Abaev was born in Israel and moved to the United States as a child. His hometown is

Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs, officially the City of Coral Springs, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. It is a ...

, and he is Jewish. He is 6' 8" (203 cm) tall. He weighs 205 pounds (93 kg). He played at Zion Lutheran High School in Deerfield Beach."Zion Lutheran"
''Miami Herald''. There, Abaev averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game on 56% shooting from the floor for the Lions.

College

Abaev began his college career playing for

for two years. In 2016-17 in his first season, as the Titans were national runners-up, as a freshman he shot 59.8% from the floor, and had 7.4 rebounds per game. He was named to the 2017

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Division I Championship All-Tournament team. In 2017-18 Abaev helped the Titans finish third in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament. He averaged 9.1 points and 9.8 rebounds (2nd in

NJCAA Region 8 Region 8 of the National Junior College Athletic Association comprises at least 26 community and state colleges from the Florida college system. All members of the NJCAA Region 8 are Division I, excluding Pasco–Hernando State College, which is ...

) per game, shot 52.9% from the floor, and received First Team All-

Mid-Florida Conference The Mid–Florida Conference is a conference within the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 8. The conference consists of seven state colleges located in Florida. Members Member institutions are: *Seminole State College ...

honors. He transferred to

, and in 2018-19 due to a lower-body injury he

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

ed. As a redshirt junior in 2019-20 he played for Austin Peay. In 2019-20 Abaev averaged 7.9 points and 7.7 rebounds (4th in the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cha ...

) per game for the

Austin Peay Governors The Austin Peay Governors are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Austin Peay State University (APSU), located in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. The Governors athletic program is a member of the ASUN Conference. Prior to 2022 the Governo ...

, shooting 50.6% from the field. Abaev then transferred and attended

, graduating in 2021. In 2020-21 he played for the

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (also FGCU) refer to the fifteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Florida Gulf Coast University, located in Fort Myers, Florida in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross ...

. He averaged 7.1 points, 7.4 rebounds (3rd in the

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Div ...

), and 0.7 blocks (4th) per game.

Professional career

Abaev started his professional career playing for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the

, with whom he signed on June 21, 2021.

International

Abaev played for Team USA in the 2019 European Maccabi Games, winning a gold medal and averaging 17.0 points and 15.3 rebounds in six games. In the gold medal game against Team Russia, he scored 23 points and had 28 rebounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abaev, Eli 1998 births Living people 21st-century American Jews American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Austin Peay Governors basketball players Basketball players from Florida Centers (basketball) Eastern Florida State College people Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Israeli American Israeli men's basketball players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players People from Deerfield Beach, Florida Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Coral Springs, Florida

Early life

College

Professional career

International

See also

References