Hoop pros turning Coug Nation into Coug World

FORMER WASHINGTON STATE basketball players continue to transform the Cougar Nation into the Cougar World. Indeed, Cougars are playing pro ball everywhere from the NBA to New Zealand to South Korea to Germany and beyond.

Marcus Capers, who finished up his college career last season, just signed with ToPo in Helsinki, Finland.

Taylor Rochestie, who led Le Mans to the French national title game last season, averaged 13 points and a team-high 3.5 assists in his first two games with Caja Laboral Vitoria before suffering an ankle sprain. Rochestie is expected to miss several games in Spain’s top league.

Aron Baynes is averaging 9.3 points and 3.0 rebounds with Union Olimpija in Slovenia. Baynes played for Australia’s Olympic team this summer after earning all-league honors in Greece last season.

Derrick Low, back for his second season in Ukraine, leads Dnipro with 16.3 points and 4.8 assists. He’s 10th in the league in scoring, but the veteran point guard has sank just 19 percent of his 3-pointers (4 for 21), and Dnipro is 1-5.

Rookie pro Abe Lodwick has buried 46.2 percent of his 3-point shots in four games with Phoenix Hagen in Germany. He’s averaging 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds.

DeAngelo Casto, who struggled through a tough rookie pro season in Turkey last year, is faring better in South Korea. He’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds after three games with Incheon ET Land.

Ivory Clark, who sat out last season with an injury, signed with Ironi Kiryat in Israel. He recorded nine points and four rebounds in the season opener.

Thomas Abercrombie, playing back home for the New Zealand Breakers, averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in the first two games. New Zealand plays in the Australia-based National Basketball League.

In NBA preseason action, Kyle Weaver has scored seven points while playing in two of Memphis’ four games. Josh Akognon has yet to see action after four games with Dallas.