Devon Marquis Saddler (born October 27, 1992) is an American-born, naturalized Belarusian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Delaware before playing professionally in Italy, Greece, Hungary, Belarus and Israel. A two-time Belarusian League champion with Tsmoki-Minsk, Saddler was named the Belarusian League MVP in 2019.

Devon Saddler
Personal information
Born (1991-05-10) May 10, 1991 (age 33)
NationalityAmerican / Belarusian
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolAberdeen (Aberdeen, Maryland)
CollegeDelaware (2010–2014)
NBA draft2014: undrafted
Playing career2014–2019
PositionPoint guard
Career history
2014–2015Omegna
2015–2016Apollon Patras
2016–2017Körmend
2017Jászberény
2017–2019Tsmoki-Minsk
2019Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Career highlights and awards

Early life and college career

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Saddler attended Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland, where he averaged 18 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals while leading Aberdeen to a 20–3 record in his senior year. Saddler was named 3A All-State as a junior.[1] He also played at The Winchendon School in Winchendon, Massachusetts for the 2009–10 season.[1]

Saddler played college basketball at the University of Delaware, where he averaged 19.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.[1] On March 6, 2014, Saddler earned a spot in the First-team All-Colonial Athletic Association for two consecutive years.[2]

Professional career

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2014–15 season

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On August 5, 2014, Saddler started his professional career with Fulgor Omegna of the Italian Serie A2 Basket.[3] In 30 games played for Omegna, he averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

2015–16 season

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On September 1, 2015, Saddler signed with Cibona Zagreb of the Croatian League and the ABA League.[4] In November 2015, he parted ways with Cibona before appearing in a game of them. On November 27, 2015, Saddler signed with Apollon Patras of the Greek Basket League.[5] In 19 games played for Patras, he averaged 10.5 points, 3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

2016–17 season

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On September 19, 2016, Saddler signed with Egis Körmend of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A (NBI/A).[6] On February 2, 2017, Saddler parted ways with Körmend to join Jászberényi KSE for the rest of the season.[7] On April 8, 2017, Saddler recorded a career-high 35 points, shooting 13-of-20 from the field, along with six rebounds and three assists in a 90–74 win over MAFC Budapest.[8]

2017–18 season

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On September 15, 2017, Saddler signed a two-year deal with Tsmoki-Minsk of the Belarusian Premier League and the VTB United League.[9] Saddler won the 2018 Belarusian Premier League championship and the 2018 Belarusian Cup titles with Tsmoki-Minsk.

2018–19 season

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On April 30, 2019, Saddler recorded a season-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-19 from the field, along with five rebounds and four assists in a 70–77 loss to Nizhny Novgorod.[10] Saddler went on to win the 2019 Belarusian Premier League championship title, leading his team to the 11th champion title in a row as he earned the Finals MVP honors.[11]

2019–20 season

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On May 27, 2019, Saddler signed with Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League.[11] On August 16, 2019, he parted ways with Saratov before appearing in a game for them.[12] On September 2, 2019, Saddler signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the Israeli Premier League.[13] On October 15, 2019, he parted ways with Rishon LeZion after appearing in three games.[14]

On November 25, 2019, Saddler announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.[15]

Belarus national team

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Saddler was a member of the Belarus national basketball team. In 4 games played during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, he averaged 16 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.[11] On February 26, 2018, Saddler made a key contribution to a sensational 93–92 win of the Belarusian team over Slovenia, recording 25 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Devon Saddler - University of Delaware Athletics". bluehens.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  2. ^ "Blue Hen Seniors Devon Saddler, Davon Usher Named To CAA Men's Basketball First Team". BlueHens.com. March 6, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  3. ^ "Paffoni Fulgor Omegna lands rookie Devon Saddler". Sportando. August 5, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "Cibona Zagreb signs Devon Saddler and Jasmin Hukic". Sportando. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Devon Saddler signs with Apollon Patras". Sportando. November 27, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Devon Saddler helyettesíti Tyler Larsont a Körmendnél". Kezdo5.hu. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  7. ^ "Devon Saddler switched to Jaszberenyi". Court-Side.com. February 2, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "MAFC Budapest 74 at Jaszberenyi KSE 90". RealGM.com. April 8, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "Devon Saddler to suit up for Tsmoki-Minsk". Court-Side.com. September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "Tsmoki-Minsk 70 at Nizhny Novgorod 77". RealGM.com. April 30, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "Devon Saddler Joined Avtodor". Avtodor.ru. May 27, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Saddler left Avtodor". Eurobasket.com. August 16, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Maccabi Rishon ink Devon Saddler". Sportando. September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  14. ^ "פרידה מהירה: דבון סאדלר שוחרר מראשל"צ". ONE.co.il (in Hebrew). October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "Devon Saddler retires from basketball at 28". Sportando. November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  16. ^ "Belarus v Slovenia - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers". FIBA.basketball. February 26, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
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