VCUAthletics.com is reporting senior forward Jamie Skeen has just signed a professional contract to play with ASVEL Basketball Club in Lyon, France — a club partially owned by San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker who is also the team’s Director of Basketball Operations.
A good number of Ram fans (myself included) expected to hear Skeen’s name called in the previous week’s NBA Draft after breaking out in this year’s NCAA tournament, landing on this year’s First Team All-Tournament team (the only Ram to ever do so). But 60 picks later (many of which were real head scratchers) and with no summer league due to the looming NBA lockout, Skeen will have to blaze a different path to the NBA, where I expect him to land sooner rather than later.
ASVEL is one of the best teams in French basketball history. Known as the “French Celtics”, they have won 17 French National Championships, most recently in 2009.
VCUAthletics.com quoted Skeen on the signing, “”I can’t put into words how I feel right now. I’ve worked my whole life to get a profesional opportunity and can’t wait to get over there and give it all I have. I feel so blessed to have such a great support system from my family to my teammates to my coaches.”
No contract details have been released.
A word of advice for Jamie’s new French fans from a Ram fan who knows what he’s capable of: enjoy Monsieur Skeen while you can, because he has NBA talent written all over him.
