- J. P. Batista
Infobox Euroleague Player
position = Power forward
nickname =
league = French LeagueEuroleague
height_ft = 6
height_in = 9
weight_lbs = 270
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|10|29
birth_place =Olinda ,Pernambuco ,Brazil
nationality =Brazil
team =Le Mans Sarthe Basket
college = Gonzaga
draft = Not drafted
draft_year = 2006
draft_team =
career_start = 2006
career_end =
former_teams =João Paulo Batista (born
October 29 1981 , inOlinda ,Pernambuco ), more commonly referred to as simply J. P. Batista, is aBrazil ianbasketball player who played atGonzaga University in theUnited States . The 6'9", 270 lb (2.06 m, 123 kg) Batista, who grew up inOlinda ,Pernambuco , attended Colegio Atual school in Olinda and was named State Player of the Year as a senior in 2001.College career
Batista arrived at Gonzaga in 2004, after spending the first year of his college career at
Western Nebraska Community College and the second atBarton County Community College inKansas , where he mentored teammate and fellow international studentAntanas Kavaliauskas . He finished his first season with Gonzaga averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game, and was named the top newcomer in theWest Coast Conference .Playing alongside the All-American
Adam Morrison , Batista finished the 2005/2006 NCAA Basketball season averaging over 19 points and 9 rebounds per game, while shooting a remarkable 59 percent from the field and 83 percent from the line.Professional career
Despite his impressive collegiate statistics, Batista was generally ignored by the scouts leading up to the
2006 NBA Draft , with his lack of athleticism and his age (he was nearly 25 at the time of the draft, unusually old for a college prospect) perhaps hindering his chances of being drafted. Batista played for theNBA 'sMinnesota Timberwolves entry in the Las Vegas Summer League [http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/story.asp?ID=138026 Spokesman-Review] , but he was not signed by the team. He accepted an offer to play for Lietuvos Rytas inVilnius ,Lithuania in the LKL andULEB Cup . With Lietuvos Rytas he played in the ULEB Cup and Lithuanian basketball Cup finals, and won the BBL championship. Their 2006-07 ULEB Cup run ended in a loss in the final to Real Madrid, but since Real had already qualified for the 2007-08 Euroleague through their league position, Lietuvos Rytas received theEuroleague berth that normally goes to the ULEB Cup winners.External links
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22276 ESPN Profile]
* [http://gozags.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/batista_jp00.html Gonzaga Basketball Profile]
* [http://212.47.102.48/index.php/ZnVzZWFjdGlvbj1wbGF5ZXJzLm1haW4mdD00NSZwPTU5Mw=. Batista's Stats with Lietuvos Rytas]
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