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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Insider: Braun stars in Australia
7/14/2019 10:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Other 2017-18 Lopes make solid pro debuts
Former Grand Canyon basketball star Joshua Braun's pro career has been worth the wait.
After finishing a GCU career that made him the program's second all-time leader scorer, Braun was packed for his first pro basketball job in Germany when a foot injury derailed the trip. With European seasons underway upon Braun's return to health, his next opportunity came from Australia in February and the sharpshooter seized it in a big way.
Braun is the second-leading scorer in the State Basketball League with two games remaining in the regular season. He is averaging 26.2 points per game while also ranking eighth in the league for rebounds per game (8.8) and fifth for 3-point shooting percentage (45.2) and free throw percentage (84.2).
His team, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns in Perth, is 13-11 with a five-game winning streak and Braun earning league all-star honors and two league player of the week selections. As he did at GCU, Braun's versatility has been put to use to play on the wing, at point guard and at power forward.
After finishing a GCU career that made him the program's second all-time leader scorer, Braun was packed for his first pro basketball job in Germany when a foot injury derailed the trip. With European seasons underway upon Braun's return to health, his next opportunity came from Australia in February and the sharpshooter seized it in a big way.Braun is the second-leading scorer in the State Basketball League with two games remaining in the regular season. He is averaging 26.2 points per game while also ranking eighth in the league for rebounds per game (8.8) and fifth for 3-point shooting percentage (45.2) and free throw percentage (84.2).
His team, the Kalamunda Eastern Suns in Perth, is 13-11 with a five-game winning streak and Braun earning league all-star honors and two league player of the week selections. As he did at GCU, Braun's versatility has been put to use to play on the wing, at point guard and at power forward.
"Just the fact that I have this opportunity to play basketball is something that I praise God just for the opportunity because, after my injury, I went from having a few opportunities to none real quick and having to miss out on a European season," Braun told the SBL web site. "But thank God we ended up being able to come here and I'm so thankful for that. But it does make it a lot better adjusting to a completely new area 10,000 miles from home to have your wife (Leigh Stonerook, a former GCU beach volleyball player) to lean on, and for her to lean on me. We've enjoyed this experience together and this adventure. We couldn't complain."
Here is how other 2017-18 GCU seniors fared in their first pro seasons:
- Keonta Vernon averaged 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds for Toulouse in a French league.
- Casey Benson averaged 7.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds for Hopsi Polzela in a Slovenian league.
- Fiifi Aidoo averaged 10.2 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds for Ura Basket in a Finnish league.
Players Mentioned
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