757 has strong connection in German pro basketball league
The pipeline from Hampton Roads to German pro basketball is flowing freely. Three men familiar to area fans are making an impact in the 18-team Basketball Bundesliga, the top league in Germany.
According to basketball.realgm.com, Williamsburg native Keith Hornsby is 10th in the league in scoring at 15.5 points per game. He’s one of the league’s best 3-point shooters (52.9%), overall fieldgoal shooters (54.4%) and free-throw shooters (91.4%). He’s also averaging 2.6 rebounds per game.
His father, Grammy-winning musician Bruce Hornsby, was proud to point out the foothold he has gained with EWE Baskets Oldenburg, which is in fourth place at 21-7. Keith Hornsby’s amateur career included time with Hampton Roads Academy and powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, UNC Asheville and then a stint with LSU alongside current Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons.
As a pro, Hornsby spent three years in the NBA’s developmental G League and one in Poland.
Devon Hall, from Cape Henry Collegiate and the Virginia Cavaliers, has found a pro home after the Oklahoma City Thunder drafted him in the second round in 2018 but rarely gave him too much time on NBA floors.
Hall is playing for eighth-place Brose Baskets Bamberg (15-12). He has averages of 28.2 minutes, 14.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Hall is shooting 48.2% from the field, including 40.1% from beyond the arc, and 82.2% on free throws.
Former William & Mary star Marcus Thornton, whom the Boston Celtics drafted in the second round in 2015, is with 13th-place BV Chemnitz 99 (10-18). He is averaging 28.4 minutes, 13.7 points, 4.2 assists and two rebounds per game. He’s hitting 43.4% from the field, including 40.8% from deep, and 74.2% from the free-throw line.
McCormick honored
Poquoson native Patrick McCormick, a thirdyear Virginia wrestler who’s a kinesiology major, pinned down another honor.
Not too long after qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the first time, he was one of five Cavaliers chosen to wrestling’s Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic team. To do so, athletes must have at least a 3.0 grade-point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 career mark.
Beck, partner master VSGA
Evan Beck, 30, a former golfer for Norfolk Academy and Wake Forest, joined forces with former Virginia Tech standout Mikey Moyers to win a recent tournament by 13 strokes — the VSGA Multi-Format Team Championship at Spring Creek Golf Club in Zion Crossroads.
They fired a 9-under-par 63 in alternate-shot play after a 58 in the far-easier scramble round.
On the calendar
Hampton Roads soon will become a key destination for high-stakes college tennis.
The Colonial Athletic Association women’s tournament will be held April 22-25 at William & Mary, and the men’s event will follow from April 30-May 2.
Led by reigning CAA Player of the Week Mila Saric, the Tribe (5-8) will try to avenge a stunning 7-0 defeat at James Madison, which earned the No. 1 seed. W&M gained a confidence-building 4-1 victory over Atlantic 10 power VCU this week.
W&M’s men should be among the top challengers. The Tribe (7-5) had won five matches in a row before falling 6-1 on Thursday to No. 44 VCU. W&M’s Lev Kazakov and Sebastian Quiros have climbed to 75th nationally in doubles.
Norfolk State, which won the men’s and women’s MEAC Northern Division in the same year for the first time ever, will be playing its conference tournament April 24 and 25 on Old Dominion’s courts. Both brackets will include four teams, with women playing at 9 a.m. and men at noon on both days.
The No. 35 ODU women, who figure to make the NCAA tournament, will play their conference tournament on North Texas’ courts next week.