By David Driver, Special Correspondent 

WARSAW, Poland – Darrell Davis has seen the world since leaving Dayton in 2018, playing pro basketball in Hungary, Kosovo, Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and now Cyprus. "For me, NCAA rules are totally different," Davis said.

Another overseas veteran is Devin Oliver, who is now playing in Japan after earlier stops in Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Slovenia, and Turkey. "Life is amazing here in Japan now," he wrote in late March. "I love playing here and it's been a nice change of pace after my last couple years in Europe."

Meanwhile, the pro sojourn has just begun for Belgium native Toumani Camara, a rookie in the NBA with Portland after averaging nearly 14 points per contest for the Flyers in 2022-23.

When Camara's Trailblazers played Obi Toppin and the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 27, it was the first time two Flyers started against each other in an NBA game in 40 years.

Jalen Crutcher, the "Peanut Butter" to Toppin's "Jam" on UD's great 2019-20 team, was elevated on a 10-day contract to the New Orleans Pelicans from the Birmingham Squadron of the G League, marking the first time three Flyers were active in the NBA since the 1985-86 season.

And then there is Sam Mackay, who parlayed a playing career overseas – including a lengthy tenure in Greece – into a current assistant coaching position with the women's program at Wittenberg University in nearby Springfield, Ohio. "I played in Hungary, France, Slovenia, Portugal and five years in Greece," according to Mackay. "I retired after the 2022 season."

There is no cookie-cutter formula to playing hoops for pay – as many former Flyers have shown – but for many of them Europe is part of the equation in some fashion.

Oliver, 31, was averaging more than 10 points and six boards per contest in late March in Japan for Yokohama BC.
The lefty power forward steadily improved with the Flyers, improving his scoring average from 1.4 points per contest as a freshman to 11.9 for his senior year of 2013-14. The native of Michigan began his pro career in Belgium and in 2017 he was the Eurobasket.com Player of the Year in Slovenia.

"The biggest adjustments I had to make on the court overseas was the style of play," he notes. "In America, a lot of the game of basketball was based on athleticism and power whereas overseas was more based on ball movement and IQ. I like to think I have always been a cerebral player but playing in Europe forced me to think about the game on a deeper level. Off the court, it was my first time being away from America so it was a whole new world. I would say the biggest adjustment was the pace of the European lifestyle. I have obviously grown to love it though because I'm now married to my European wife."

His wife, Nuša Šebenik Oliver, is from Slovenia, a picturesque country in central Europe which stretches from the Alps in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south. Oliver played two seasons, from 2016-18, in the capital of Slovenia in Ljubljana.  They recently had their first child, a girl, Mila June Oliver, who was born Nov. 2, 2023. 

Now he and his family are in Yokohama, a city of about 3.8 million in Japan. The population of Slovenia is just around 2.1 million people.

"In my free time I'm mostly spending time with my new, small family," he writes.

On the court, Oliver notes there is some difference in the style of play overseas compared to the NCAA.

"As far as the style of play between the A-10 and Europe, it is tough to say. Probably more similar in the case of my time spent at Dayton, but the game has changed so much since then, so it is difficult to say. We had a lot of ball movement, screening actions and free flowing play when I was at UD, but that was 10 years ago. The best part is how free the game is now! It is an art," he observes.

Several former Flyers from the women's program have also excelled overseas.

Erin Whalen is in her second season in a top league in Spain after playing in New Zealand. She was averaging more than eight points per game in late March for her team in San Sebastian, a famous resort city on the northern coast of Spain.

Araion Bradshaw began her pro career during the 2022-23 season in the United Kingdom and averaged nearly 15 points, seven rebounds and 5.1 assists per contest. Playing for a team in Sweden this season, she averaged 11.2 points in her first 13 outings.

Kelley Austria, an Atlantic 10 conference standout for UD, played in Greece and Hungary before returning to the USA to coach at the high school level at Archbishop Carroll in Dayton in 2019. "Living in a different country has been a challenge, but it was a great experience," Austria said.  "I think the biggest thing in style I have noticed is how much physical the game is in Europe. You can get away with things that would be called fouls in college."

Other former UD men hoopsters who have played overseas this season in European leagues, according to eurobasket.com, include Chris Johnson (Israel), Scoochie Smith (Lithuania), Matej Svoboda (Czechia), Ibi Watson-Boye (Sweden), Kostas Antetokounmpo (Greece), Dyshawn Pierre (Turkey), Jordan Sibert (Greece), Ryan Mikesell (France), Vee Sanford (Finland), Jordy Tshimanga (Kosovo) and Alex Gavrilovic (Montenegro).

Johnson has had a long pro career – finishing up at Dayton in 2012 – with stops in the NBA with Memphis, Boston, Philadelphia, Utah and Milwaukee from 2012-16. Since then, he has played overseas in France and Israel after appearing in 70 games with the Jazz in 2015-16.

Other Flyers at the pro level this season include Josh Cunningham (Uruguay), Devon Scott (Brazil), Josh Parker (Mexico), John Crosby (Syria), Jalen Robinson (Kuwait) and Rob Lowery, also in Kuwait.

Parker has one of the longest tenure of any active UD product, and has played in more than 10 countries since 2012, including European stops in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, hoop-crazy Lithuania, and Turkey.

The longest pro run belongs to Maryland native Lowery, whose pro gigs since 2010 have also included Belarus, Czechia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Turkey. He turns 37 in December and averaged 18.3 points per contest in four Arab Cup games earlier this season. 

Rodney Chatman, who played two seasons for UD, began his pro career last season in Denmark and is now with a team in Poland. Another former Dayton player in Poland is Xeyrius Williams.

Davis, who is from Michigan, is a prime example of a player from a top program such as Dayton who has made the most of his career overseas. He was averaging better than 22 points per game in early March for his pro team in Bulgaria before heading to Cyprus.

"They call a lot of fouls overseas, which I was not used to," he says. "On the court, just learn to play basketball (as a pro). In the U.S. we play a totally different way. You cannot get homesick." 

That is a winning mantra for many former Flyers who have excelled overseas.

Editor's note: Basketball writer David Driver, who grew up in Dayton, Virginia, lived with his family for three years in Hungary and currently lives with his wife, Dr. Liz Driver, in Poland. He is the author of "Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas," which is available on Amazon and the website of the author at daytondavid.com.