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St. Henry graduate Ryan Mikesell (33), shown here playing for MLP Academics Heidelberg this past season, will continue his professional basketball career in the United Kingdom for the London Lions in the Super Basketball League.
The passports for Ryan Mikesell and his wife Quincy have a healthy amount of destination stamps.
Now, the former St. Henry and University of Dayton standout is heading to Great Britain after signing a deal with the London Lions of Super League Basketball the top tier of British professional basketball.
The chance to play in London, and removing the language barrier that had come up with previous stints with teams in France and Germany, was a big plus in signing with the Lions.
"I signed relatively early in the summer compared to other guys," said Mikesell via telephone. "It was one of those cities hard to turn down. Obviously, the language barrier isn't there. That's huge with me and my wife living in Europe the past five years. It makes a huge difference going into a situation where you don't need a translator."
Another was the fact that London would be playing in the EuroCup, which ranks behind the EuroLeague in important European pro tournaments. This upcoming season, EuroCup features other pro teams from Turkey, Greece, France, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Romania, Germany and Israel.
"On weekends, it will be the domestic league (SLB). Weekdays it's EuroCup," said Mikesell, who leaves for London in mid-August after spending the summer back in the United States. "We'll be traveling all over Europe and have the home games at (the 6,000-seat Copper Box Arena in East London).
"It's a lot of games, which I'm excited about," said Mikesell. "When you have a 10-month season and playing a game every week and practicing. I'm excited to have an opportunity to show my skills on an international scale and get more eyes on me in trying to continue my career."
The SLB replaced the British Basketball League as the top tier of professional basketball in the U.K. Eight English teams - London, Bristol Flyers, Cheshire Phoenix, Leicester Riders, Manchester Basketball, Newcastle Eagles, Sheffield Sharks and Surrey 89ers - and one team in Scotland (Caledonia Gladiators, based in East Kilbride) play a 32-game regular season schedule with eight teams making the postseason. The Lions won the regular season this past year, finishing 24-8 before losing in the playoff semifinals.
"It will be a new roster for me, obviously, trying to build some chemistry with my teammates," said Mikesell. "I know they have 4-5 guys coming back that have been on the team for a while. It'll be good to talk to them, pick their brains about the best spots in London, getting used to the league. The main thing is getting there and building relationships."
Mikesell had a tremendous season with MLP Academics Heidelberg of Germany's Basketball Bundesliga, leading the team with 15.1 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
"It was one of those things where we weren't expected to do well (last season). I think last season they finished just outside relegation (to the second-tier league)," said Mikesell, whose squad finished 18-14 and were the fifth-seed in the BBL playoffs. "Making the playoffs is a big deal. After the season, my agent was getting a bunch of phone calls from teams."
The Mikesells have spent much of the off-season back in the United States, where Mikesell has kept in shape getting ready for the fall.
"Now that I'm used to moving year after year, I have it down pat," said Mikesell. "I didn't have the contract signed (before packing their belongings to be sent back to the states). Once I figured that I would be in London, we packed up again (and sent it on). Basically we've been visiting family and friends.
"I actually took a few weeks off (from training) to give the body a rest, more mentally than anything. When the season is long, you need to have a mental reset. Then you get your body right and prepare for another long season and put more miles on the body."
