Sacha Killeya-Jones

Sacha Liam Killeya-Jones (born August 10, 1998) is an American-British professional basketball player for Kalev/Cramo of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Sacha Killeya-Jones
Killeya-Jones with Kentucky in October 2016
No. 4 – Kalev/Cramo
PositionPower forward
LeagueLatvian-Estonian League
VTB United League
Personal information
Born (1998-08-10) August 10, 1998
Highland Park, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican / British
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeKentucky (2016–2018)
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Sparta Praha
2019–presentKalev/Cramo
Career highlights and awards

High school career
Killeya-Jones at the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game

Killeya-Jones grew up playing football at the quarterback position. As a freshman at Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, Virginia, he played football, a year before giving up the sport in exchange for basketball, which better suited his height and build.[1] For his final two years, Killeya-Jones transferred to Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia. In his senior season, he averaged 23.6 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game and led his team to a VISAA Division II state title.[2] He was also selected to play in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game.[3] Killeya-Jones left high school as a consensus five-star recruit. He originally committed to Virginia before switching to Kentucky.[4]

College career

As a freshman at Kentucky, Killeya-Jones played 14 games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game. He did not play for much of the second half of the season, logging minutes in 14 total games.[5] In his sophomore season, he became a more frequent contributor off the bench, averaging 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game through 34 appearances.[6] After the season, Killeya-Jones announced that he was transferring from Kentucky.[7] On May 15, 2018, he committed to continue his career at NC State and sit out his next season due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer rules.[8] On February 28, 2019, before becoming eligible to play, Killeya-Jones left NC State to pursue a professional career.[9]

Professional career

In April 2019, Killeya-Jones joined Get Better Academy, a private basketball academy based in Prague.[10] He played 12 games for the academy team Sparta Praha of the 1.Liga, the second-tier Czech basketball league, and averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.[11] On July 11, Killeya-Jones signed with Braunschweig of the Basketball Bundesliga, the top-tier German league, but never played an official game with the team.[12] For the 2019–20 season, he signed with Kalev/Cramo, an Estonian team competing in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League and VTB United League.[11] He averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the club.[13]

National team career

Killeya-Jones, who has a British-born mother, is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom. He represents Great Britain at the international level. Killeya-Jones attended the team's training camp for EuroBasket 2017.[14] He played for Great Britain at EuroBasket 2021 qualification.[15]

References
  1. Cates, Ben (May 1, 2016). "2016 All-Area Boys Basketball". The News & Advance. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  2. Brown, CL (September 14, 2018). "Out of the Kentucky glare, Sacha Killeya-Jones finds peace with the Wolfpack". The Athletic. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  3. Cates, Ben (January 22, 2016). "Sacha Killeya-Jones follows Staples' footsteps into McDonald's All-American Game". The News & Advance. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  4. Johnson, Chris (August 19, 2015). "2016 four-star PF Sacha Killeya-Jones commits to Kentucky". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  5. Oakes, Zac (April 27, 2017). "Sacha Killeya-Jones gets high praise from Derek Willis". A Sea Of Blue. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  6. Upchurch, Matt (April 12, 2018). "Sacha Killeya-Jones Transfer: An unfortunate Kentucky basketball casualty". Wildcat Blue Nation. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  7. Boone, Kyle (April 9, 2018). "Former five-star recruit Sacha Killeya-Jones announces he's transferring from Kentucky". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  8. Borzello, Jeff (May 15, 2018). "Sacha Killeya-Jones transferring to NC State from Kentucky". ESPN. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  9. Giglio, Joe (February 28, 2019). "Sacha Killeya-Jones leaves NC State to pursue pro career". The News & Observer. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  10. Roush, Nick (April 16, 2019). "Sacha Killeya-Jones lands in the Czech Republic". Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  11. "Michael Finke and Sacha Killeya-Jones are Kalev players". VTB United League. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  12. "Löwen verpflichten vielseitigen Big Man Sacha Killeya-Jones" (in German). Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. July 11, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  13. Varney, Dennis (March 26, 2020). "Catch up with 36 ex-Cats playing pro basketball in leagues outside the NBA". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  14. Page, Fletcher (July 21, 2017). "Kentucky's Sacha Killeya-Jones to attend Great Britain national team training camp". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  15. Gains, Bradley (February 21, 2020). "GB Senior Men's final 12 confirmed for EuroBasket qualifiers". Hoopsfix. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
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