Former Bradley men's basketball player Eddie Cage has been recognized as one of the top players in Spain's LEB Silver division of professional basketball for the 2008-09 season. The website Eurobasket.com, which reports on professional basketball played around the world, announced its LEB Silver postseason awards today and Cage was named the division's Center of the Year, while also landing spots on the five-player All-LEB Silver First Team and the LEB Silver All-Import squad.
The 6-foot-9 Cage, who played at Bradley from 1996-2001, recently completed his seventh professional season overseas and his first season for HNV Consmetal Navarra in the Spanish LEB Silver league. In 34 games, Cage was his team's leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game and third-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game. He shot 53.4 percent from the field and also averaged 0.8 blocked shots and 0.7 steals per game.
The Eurobasket.com postseason awards are the first for Cage, who has previously played two years in Germany (2002-04), one season in Luxembourg (2004-05), two years in England (2005-07) and now two years in Spain (2007-09).
Cage is not the only former Bradley big man to enjoy a solid season in Spain this year: playing for Rayet Guadalajara Zach Andrews led the LEB Bronze division in rebounding by averaging 9.2 boards per game. In his second pro season, the 6-foot-9 Andrews also averaged 11.5 points, 1.3 steals, 0.9 assists and 0.8 blocked shots per game in his 30 league games in 2008-09.
While the pro season has come to an end in most countries, two former Braves are still in action in locales halfway around the world from one another: Marcellus Sommerville in Belgium and Phillip Gilbert in New Zealand.
Sommerville began his third pro season in the top French league and was averaging 15.1 points per game before a knee injury forced his release from Chorale de Roanne. Following two months of rehabilitation in Peoria, Sommerville signed in April with Dexia Mons-Hainaut in Belgium's top league and has helped his new club reach the best-of-three league championship series. After averaging 9.6 ppg in his eight regular-season games, Sommerville has averaged 13.0 ppg in the first four playoff games, including a 24-point effort in the third semifinal game versus Generali Okapi Aalstar to clinch a spot in the Big Final championship series.
Meanwhile, Gilbert is playing for the Taranaki Mountain Airs in the New Zealand National Basketball League. Although cumulative stats have not been located on the web, Gilbert appears to be his team's leading scorer and his topped 20 points in three of his team's last four games.
Elsewhere, former Bradley guard Tony Bennett spent his third pro season going back and forth between Mexico and Canada. After averaging 16.4 ppg for Chihuahua Dorados in Mexico's LNPB, Bennett averaged 19.4 ppg for the Halifax Rainmen and was named to the Premier Basketball League All-Defense Team. After the PBL season ended, he returned to Mexico for a brief stint with Fuerza Guinda Nogales.
Back in Europe, a quartet of Braves have wrapped up their seasons in Germany. Will Franklin averaged 10.3 ppg for the New Yorker Phantoms, where he teamed with former Bradley teammate Jeremy Crouch in the Bundesliga. Crouch averaged 4.0 ppg in his rookie season. Bundesliga veteran James Gillingham missed six weeks with an ankle injury and averaged 7.2 ppg in his abbreviated season for TBB Trier. In Germany's ProA division, Daniel Ruffin averaged 14.1 ppg and 4.9 assists per game as a rookie for the teckpro Braves Kaiserslautern.
