Former Nebraska forward Shavon Shields to play in Germany

Earlier today it was announced that former Nebraska forward Shavon Shields would be the latest Big Ten player to continue his basketball career professionally, though Shields will have to head overseas instead of the NBA (or the NBA D-League).

The son of former professional football player (and Hall of Famer) Will Shields, Shavon spent the past four seasons playing for the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten. The 6’7” forward improved his scoring in all four seasons, eventually finishing fifth all-time on Nebraska’s career scoring list. Shields is also in Nebraska’s career top top ten for field goals made, free throws made and starts.

Shields had his best season with Nebraska this past winter when he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. While Shields had a productive career prior to 2015-16, his senior year saw him post career highs with 16.8 points and 2.7 assists per game, while also averaging 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

While he would go undrafted this summer, Shields did participate in the NBA Summer League, though he didn’t manage to stick with a team past that. That ultimately opened the doors to head overseas, which is the path the wing will take as he has signed with the Fraport Skyliners of Germany.

Shields will join a pair of Americans overseas, including Quantez Robertson (Auburn, 2005-09) and Michael Morrison (George Mason 2008-12). This past season the Fraport Skyliners would go on to win the 2016 FIBA Europe Cup, with Morrison being named the Final Four MVP.

Managing to land in the NBA is a difficult task, even for the more talented collegiate players. While the Big Ten does produce a handful of NBA players, a lot of the standouts will ultimately continue their careers overseas. Shields is the latest Big Ten player to do so, with former Minnesota forward Joey King recently announcing that he will head to Finland to continue his basketball career.