ALBA Berlin has announced the signing of Justin Bean to a three-year deal. Bean (2.01 meters, 26 years old) made his professional debut last season and averaged 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals for the Memphis Hustle in the G League. The American forward now heads outside of the United States for the first time in his career, as he embarks upon a new journey in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with ALBA.
ALBA wraps up Justin Bean signing
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Justin Bean's historic college numbers
At Utah State University, Bean became something of a double-double machine, recording 46 – the second-highest figure in school history – across his four years there. In fact, Bean's numbers at Utah State are incredibly impressive as he has the school record for most games with 10+ rebounds (57), he's second all-time in rebounds (1,027), fifth in steals (161) and tied for eighth for games played (126).
In his freshman year, the 2018-19 season, the American played a total of 28 games and averaged just 4.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in just over 12 and a half minutes per night. The following campaign, however, saw a big change for Bean, as his minutes increased to just shy of 30 minutes per game, while his averages also improved to 11.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals through 34 appearances.
With Bean having established himself as one of Utah State's best players, his third year with the team resulted in him posting 11.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 29 fixtures. Bean's final year at Utah State was his most productive from a scoring point of view, as he averaged 17.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals across 34 games.
What to expect in the EuroLeague
With ALBA having said goodbye to Luke Sikma, there are extra minutes to go around at the forward positions. ALBA has a good track record of developing players and turning them into EuroLeague-ready players and Bean will be hoping to follow that same path. After an impressive college career at Utah State and a year's experience in the G League, Bean now has a chance to prove himself on the old continent.