ST. LOUIS – After a flurry of recent signings and with more on the way, the total number of players advancing to the next level of their careers after playing in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association has reached more than a dozen, after just one year of the league’s existence.

                    “That’s pretty impressive for such a young league,” said Craig Fata, Vice President and Director of Communications for the MPBA.  “It shows that we have good coaches with good connections, and that we bring in quality players.  It also shows that we’re committed to our model of developing players and moving them on.”

                    The first player to sign overseas out of the MPBA was Kenny Williams of the St. Louis RiverSharks, who went to Sweden just two weeks into the league’s inaugural season.

                    Arnold Louis of the Champaign Swarm followed soon after, signing in Colombia.  Brandon Hogg and Anthony Booker, both of St. Louis, then signed in Albania.  Booker’s signing was unique—scouts in Albania were actually watching a live stream of a game on the MPBA website for the purpose of evaluating Hogg, when they decided they liked Booker, too.

                    Terrence Green of the Bloomington Flex then signed in Peru, followed by Brandon Provost of the RiverSharks getting called up to the NBA D-League’s Erie BayHawks.

                    “Losing players to better opportunities isn’t always easy on the coach or the team, but it’s the right thing to do,” said St. Louis RiverSharks head coach Al Grushkin, who lost a third of his team to call-ups and overseas contracts during the 2015 season.  “But our league's vision is to help players to gain better opportunities.  And so while our coaches should strive to win every game, they need to do it with an eye on moving guys along.  [The RiverSharks} were fighting for a championship, but we always tried to let our guys know of opportunities and to promote them to other contacts we had in professional basketball,” Grushkin said.

                    Following the season, Chicago’s John Taylor signed in Mexico, Champaign’s LaPhonso Ellis, Jr. signed in China, St. Louis sharpshooter Jerrold Brooks signed in England, and Gateway Steam players Tarvin Gaines, Anthony Borden, and Raymond Jarrett signed in Germany, Denmark, and Oman respectively.  Their Steam teammates Jake Anderson and Lee Fisher are expected to sign contracts within the next couple weeks, while Carl Montgomery and Tre Johnson, who played very well when the Flex went to China following the 2015 season, have signed in the Dominican Republic and Austria, respectively.

                    Prospective players interested in advancing their careers should consider attending the first fall MPBA combine, scheduled for Sept. 26 in Chicago.  Combine details can be found on the MPBA website.