University of Richmond Athletics
Recent Spider Grads Make Mark in European Pro Leagues
02/12/2026 | Men's Basketball
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - It is rare for American basketball players working their way up the pro ladder to perform in the same country two straight years. That is not the case for former Richmond standout Isaiah Bigelow - but with a twist in central Europe.
A product of Greensboro, North Carolina, Bigelow has played this season with Alba, traditionally one of the stronger clubs in Hungary. During the 2024-25 campaign, he played as a rookie pro with ZTE KK in Zalaegerszeg – a town of about 60,000 people in western Hungary.
"It was a little unexpected," said the 6-foot-7 Bigelow, 26, leaning against a wall courtside after scoring eight points, with a key dunk, and six rebounds in an 89-68 win for Alba over Honved in the Hungarian capital on Feb. 7. "Last year I played the 4 spot. I wanted to go to a team where I could play the 3 spot with a league I was already familiar with. It is a very, very talented league in Hungary. That was my decision."
Two members of the UR team in 2024-25 are now first-year pros in Europe: forward Dusan Neskovic, who is from Bosnia-Herzegovina and has been playing in Germany and guard DeLonnie Hunt, a former Spider captain who is from Maryland and has played this season in hoop-hotbed Croatia.
Hunt missed 15 games for the Spiders in 2025 after he broke a bone in his foot on Jan. 8, 2025, against state rival George Mason. He returned to play a few minutes against Davidson in the conference tournament before beginning his pro career - after another setback.
In June of last year, his mother, Mellissa, passed away.
"Two days after my mother passed, the club in Croatia called me. The biggest challenge (overseas) honestly is mom's passing," Hunt said in a phone interview from Croatia. "I am still dealing with that even though it has been six or seven months. It is not something you brush off. Basketball is one thing by itself. It is really a mental battle."
He had 11 points and seven assists in a one-point win on Feb. 7 against Sibenka and was averaging nearly 15 points and more than five assists per outing in Croatian league play.Â
Neskovic, who transferred to Richmond from Dartmouth, averaged about five points per game in his first 10 contests in Germany. He averaged 13.5 points an outing for the Spiders last season.
Other former Spiders who have played overseas this season, per eurobasket.com, include (not a complete list) Winchester native Grant Golden (Spain, France); Andre Gustavson (Finland, Belgium); Jordan King (Greece); Tyler Harris (Finland) and a trio of players in Italy - Jacob Gilyard, Blake Francis and Terry Allen. Gilyard later moved to a club in France, where he became teammates with Neal Quinn, who ended his college career with Richmond in 2024.
"The season has been a whirlwind," Gilyard wrote on Feb. 9. "Started in Italy and moving to France has been a really good move for me on the court. Getting adjusted to the different cities but I've enjoyed it. Europe always excites me with the different cities I'm able to travel to and see."
The former NBA player, who appeared in 42 games with Brooklyn and Memphis from 2023 to 2024, has been to Germany, Italy and France and visited London, Prague, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Paris, and Lake Lugano in Switzerland while overseas.
On the court, Gilyard averaged more than six assists per contest in his first four outings for Gravelines, in northeast France. In addition, Nathan Cayo and Solly Stansbury have also played in France; and others overseas this season include Justin Harper (Japan), David Gonzalvez (Finland), T.J. Cline (Israel), and Kendall Anthony, who has played in Brazil.
KEEPING TABS ON CURRENT SPIDERS
With the Atlantic 10 tournament in Pittsburgh in March, Bigelow tries to keep track of the current Spiders, even during rough patches. He is also part of a group chat with several former UR hoopsters, many of whom are playing overseas. The current UR squad has its own United Nations feel, with players from Canada, Australia, and Greece.
"I watch their games. We keep up with the guys," Bigelow said in Budapest. "They will bounce back."
His basket over a smaller defender gave Alba a 32-25 lead in Budapest in early February against Honved. Then his dunk made it 71-50 in the third quarter as Alba pulled away and improved to 13-6, good for third in the 14-team league. Most domestic leagues in Europe play one game a week, normally on Saturday or Sundays.
Golden, second on the all-time scoring list at UR, is playing in France after starting the season in Spain. He has also played in Italy and Greece since his college days.
"The team in Spain wanted to make some changes. I was unfortunately one of those changes, so this new team bought me out," he noted. Besides domestic league games, his club takes part in the Basketball Champions League with contests against teams from other countries.
He had 20 points and six boards in a game in late January and was named the Player of the Week in his French league. His American teammates in France have included Justyn Mutts, who concluded his college career in 2023 at Virginia Tech; and Zac Cuthertson, a Coastal Carolina product who has played overseas since 2019.
"France has been great so far," Golden wrote on Feb. 9 from the wine region of Chalon in eastern France, near Lyon. "I've only been here for a month after changing teams from Spain and I have enjoyed it so far. Chalon is a small but beautiful town and the transition has been smooth. I think France is the closest thing compared to playing in the United States in terms of athleticism and the style of play. They really like to play fast and in transition much more compared to the other places I have been."
Bigelow, who started all 33 games for the Spiders in 2023-24 as a graduate student, switched teams in Hungary primarily for his own development on the court. But the side benefits including learning more about the culture and a few phrases in Hungarian, considered one of the hardest languages in the world for a foreigner to master.
Bigelow's America teammates with Alba in early February included Isiah Phillmore, who is from Maryland and ended his college career at Xavier; and Tanner Stuckman, who played in college at Quincy in his native Illinois. Kornel David, the only Hungarian to play in the NBA, saw action with Alba before joining the Chicago Bulls in 1998.
The North Carolina native has gone the opposite direction – from the United States to Hungary. And he is making the best of it, just like some of his former Richmond teammates who have adjusted to new clubs this European season. He was averaging about 14 points and eight boards per contest in early February.
"More than anything that matters it is the confidence to play at the 3 spot. In the past I have relied on athletic ability," Bigelow said. "I have to find a way to separate myself and that is what I have been doing this year."
Editor's note: Harrisonburg native David Driver is the author of "Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas," available on Amazon and at daytondavid.com. Driver lived three years in Hungary, currently lives in Poland and has interviewed American basketball players in more than 15 countries. He is the former sports editor of papers in Harrisonburg, Arlington, and Baltimore, and has covered the Atlantic 10 Conference for more than 20 years for various outlets – including the UR title game win in 2022 in Washington, D.C.
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A product of Greensboro, North Carolina, Bigelow has played this season with Alba, traditionally one of the stronger clubs in Hungary. During the 2024-25 campaign, he played as a rookie pro with ZTE KK in Zalaegerszeg – a town of about 60,000 people in western Hungary.
"It was a little unexpected," said the 6-foot-7 Bigelow, 26, leaning against a wall courtside after scoring eight points, with a key dunk, and six rebounds in an 89-68 win for Alba over Honved in the Hungarian capital on Feb. 7. "Last year I played the 4 spot. I wanted to go to a team where I could play the 3 spot with a league I was already familiar with. It is a very, very talented league in Hungary. That was my decision."
Two members of the UR team in 2024-25 are now first-year pros in Europe: forward Dusan Neskovic, who is from Bosnia-Herzegovina and has been playing in Germany and guard DeLonnie Hunt, a former Spider captain who is from Maryland and has played this season in hoop-hotbed Croatia.
Hunt missed 15 games for the Spiders in 2025 after he broke a bone in his foot on Jan. 8, 2025, against state rival George Mason. He returned to play a few minutes against Davidson in the conference tournament before beginning his pro career - after another setback.
In June of last year, his mother, Mellissa, passed away.
"Two days after my mother passed, the club in Croatia called me. The biggest challenge (overseas) honestly is mom's passing," Hunt said in a phone interview from Croatia. "I am still dealing with that even though it has been six or seven months. It is not something you brush off. Basketball is one thing by itself. It is really a mental battle."
He had 11 points and seven assists in a one-point win on Feb. 7 against Sibenka and was averaging nearly 15 points and more than five assists per outing in Croatian league play.Â
Neskovic, who transferred to Richmond from Dartmouth, averaged about five points per game in his first 10 contests in Germany. He averaged 13.5 points an outing for the Spiders last season.
Other former Spiders who have played overseas this season, per eurobasket.com, include (not a complete list) Winchester native Grant Golden (Spain, France); Andre Gustavson (Finland, Belgium); Jordan King (Greece); Tyler Harris (Finland) and a trio of players in Italy - Jacob Gilyard, Blake Francis and Terry Allen. Gilyard later moved to a club in France, where he became teammates with Neal Quinn, who ended his college career with Richmond in 2024.
"The season has been a whirlwind," Gilyard wrote on Feb. 9. "Started in Italy and moving to France has been a really good move for me on the court. Getting adjusted to the different cities but I've enjoyed it. Europe always excites me with the different cities I'm able to travel to and see."
The former NBA player, who appeared in 42 games with Brooklyn and Memphis from 2023 to 2024, has been to Germany, Italy and France and visited London, Prague, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Paris, and Lake Lugano in Switzerland while overseas.
On the court, Gilyard averaged more than six assists per contest in his first four outings for Gravelines, in northeast France. In addition, Nathan Cayo and Solly Stansbury have also played in France; and others overseas this season include Justin Harper (Japan), David Gonzalvez (Finland), T.J. Cline (Israel), and Kendall Anthony, who has played in Brazil.
KEEPING TABS ON CURRENT SPIDERS
With the Atlantic 10 tournament in Pittsburgh in March, Bigelow tries to keep track of the current Spiders, even during rough patches. He is also part of a group chat with several former UR hoopsters, many of whom are playing overseas. The current UR squad has its own United Nations feel, with players from Canada, Australia, and Greece.
"I watch their games. We keep up with the guys," Bigelow said in Budapest. "They will bounce back."
His basket over a smaller defender gave Alba a 32-25 lead in Budapest in early February against Honved. Then his dunk made it 71-50 in the third quarter as Alba pulled away and improved to 13-6, good for third in the 14-team league. Most domestic leagues in Europe play one game a week, normally on Saturday or Sundays.
Golden, second on the all-time scoring list at UR, is playing in France after starting the season in Spain. He has also played in Italy and Greece since his college days.
"The team in Spain wanted to make some changes. I was unfortunately one of those changes, so this new team bought me out," he noted. Besides domestic league games, his club takes part in the Basketball Champions League with contests against teams from other countries.
He had 20 points and six boards in a game in late January and was named the Player of the Week in his French league. His American teammates in France have included Justyn Mutts, who concluded his college career in 2023 at Virginia Tech; and Zac Cuthertson, a Coastal Carolina product who has played overseas since 2019.
"France has been great so far," Golden wrote on Feb. 9 from the wine region of Chalon in eastern France, near Lyon. "I've only been here for a month after changing teams from Spain and I have enjoyed it so far. Chalon is a small but beautiful town and the transition has been smooth. I think France is the closest thing compared to playing in the United States in terms of athleticism and the style of play. They really like to play fast and in transition much more compared to the other places I have been."
Bigelow, who started all 33 games for the Spiders in 2023-24 as a graduate student, switched teams in Hungary primarily for his own development on the court. But the side benefits including learning more about the culture and a few phrases in Hungarian, considered one of the hardest languages in the world for a foreigner to master.
Bigelow's America teammates with Alba in early February included Isiah Phillmore, who is from Maryland and ended his college career at Xavier; and Tanner Stuckman, who played in college at Quincy in his native Illinois. Kornel David, the only Hungarian to play in the NBA, saw action with Alba before joining the Chicago Bulls in 1998.
The North Carolina native has gone the opposite direction – from the United States to Hungary. And he is making the best of it, just like some of his former Richmond teammates who have adjusted to new clubs this European season. He was averaging about 14 points and eight boards per contest in early February.
"More than anything that matters it is the confidence to play at the 3 spot. In the past I have relied on athletic ability," Bigelow said. "I have to find a way to separate myself and that is what I have been doing this year."
Editor's note: Harrisonburg native David Driver is the author of "Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas," available on Amazon and at daytondavid.com. Driver lived three years in Hungary, currently lives in Poland and has interviewed American basketball players in more than 15 countries. He is the former sports editor of papers in Harrisonburg, Arlington, and Baltimore, and has covered the Atlantic 10 Conference for more than 20 years for various outlets – including the UR title game win in 2022 in Washington, D.C.
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