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Men's Basketball 8/16/2018 3:20:00 PM By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Beverly Heading Back Overseas

Daemen Great To Play In Top Italian League

AMHERST, N.Y. - Former Daemen College basketball star Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y.) has agreed to contract terms with Germani Brescia Leonessa, a professional basketball club that competes in Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the top professional league in Italy.

"I am really excited for this opportunity to play in Brescia, Italy," said Beverly who has been on campus working out this summer. "I have heard nothing but good things about the team and country. I'm looking forward to getting out there and showing what I can do. I hope to contribute to whatever the team needs to help them win."

Beverly joins a Germani Brescia Leonessa team that posted a 20-10 record and advanced to the LBA semifinals last season. The team's 2018-19 roster, according to eurobasket.com, presently features five American players, including Beverly. The highest profile American on the roster is 6-foot-7 forward Jordan Hamilton out of the University of Texas, a 2011 first round draft pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

A 2015 Daemen graduate, Beverly left as one of the school's all-time greats. He's one of only two players in team history to score more than 1,000 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds. He ranks fifth all-time in total points (1,799), second in total rebounds (1,004) and first in total blocks (330). He was also a two-time East Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year selection, while also earning first-team All-ECC honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He was also named the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Division I Most Outstanding Player for the 2014-15 season, the final year of the team's transition to full NCAA Division II membership. The season culminated with Beverly leading the Wildcats to the USCAA national championship. Over his four-year career, Beverly helped Daemen to an 89-34 record.

The deal to join Germani Brescia Leonessa is just the latest professional stop for Beverly. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward has previously played for overseas clubs in Germany, Israel and Belgium. He finished out the 2017-18 season playing for betFIRST Liege Basket in the Belgian Euromillions League where he averaged an impressive 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 13 games.

Beverly's most extensive professional experience has been in the NBA-G League (Developmental League). In two seasons for the Canton Charge, Beverly averaged 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 82 games played. The 2017-18 season was his in Canton, averaging 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, all increases over his production from the previous season.

Beverly also had the opportunity to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Las Vegas Summer League in 2017. In five games, Beverly averaged 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game, while playing against the likes of high NBA draft picks Lonzo Ball (Los Angeles Lakers) and Thon Maker (Milwaukee Bucks).

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