Oliver Kullamäe latest Estonian basketball star to be snapped up by US college team

18-year-old Estonian national basketball team player Oliver Kullamäe has committed to top NCAA side the San Jose State Spartans.
Kullamäe, who previously spent three years within German club Ulm's youth system, spent last season preparing for college basketball at the SoCal Basketball Academy in Irvine, California.
Kullamäe's decision was announced by SoCal head coach Julius Von Hanzlik, via Jonathan Givony, a journalist who covers young basketball talent in the U.S.
The San Jose State Spartans compete in the NCAA's Mountain West Conference, where some of their more prominent rivals include the Universities of New Mexico and Las Vegas. San Jose State teams have 10 NCAA championships to their name overall, though all in other sports – none from basketball, yet. Nonetheless, the men's basketball team has reached the NCAA Tournament three times, though most recently 30 years ago, well before Kullamäe was born.
Alumni to have made it to the pinnacle of the sport, the NBA, include the late Brandon Clarke, who made more than 300 appearances for the Memphis Grizzlies. Clarke passed away last month.
Tariq Abdul-Wahad, now a coach and formerly of the Sacramento Kings, and Chris McNealy, who played for the New York Knicks in the 1980s, are also San Jose State alumni.
Kullamäe also played a major role for the Estonian national team that reached the final of last year's FIBA U18 European Championship Division B. He averaged 11.5 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 7.5 assists per game. Oliver is the first in the family, somewhat of a basketball dynasty, to head to the U.S.: Neither his father Gert, now a coach, nor his brother Kristian (Lietkabelis Panevėžys and the Estonian national team) have played on the other side of the Atlantic.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Anders Nõmm











