- Alto Virgil
Alto Virgil (born
1982 inLivingston, New Jersey , U.S.) is a British-American professionalbasketball player, currently plying his trade withBritish Basketball League teamSheffield Sharks , with whom he signed for in2007 .Virgil, 6ft2 in height, attended Montclair High School in
2000 where he was the conference player of the year averaging 22.6 points-per-game. In2002 was averaging 26.3 points-per-game forPassaic County Community College inNew Jersey , where he was also named as New Jersey JUCO player of the year [cite web| author = Vancouver Volcanoes | title = Vancouver Volcanoes sign third player for 2006 IBL season | url = http://www.iblhoopsonline.com/articles/VV_3rdSigned.pdf | year = 2006 | accessdate = 2007-05-15 | publisher = IBL | date = 2007 ] .In
2006 thepoint guard signed professional with start-up franchiseVancouver Volcanoes of theInternational Basketball League , where he averaged 15.7 points-per-game. Seeking a new challenge, Virgil moved across theAtlantic later that year when he signed forChester Jets . Virgil made his debut in theBritish Basketball League , the UK's top league, onOctober 6 ,2006 in a home game againstScottish Rocks . The score finished 89-86 to the Jets, and Virgil claimed instant recognition as the game-high scorer with 29 points on the night.Virgil played in all 36 league games during the 2006-07 season, averaing 36.86 minutes-per-game, and an impressive 18.36 points-per-game, becming the club's second top scorer after
Louis McCullough , the half-brother ofNBA superstarKevin Garnett , and the league's sixth highest scorer, with McCullough in fourth. He was also ranked fifth in the league in assists, with 4.58 per-game, and tenth in free-throw shooting, with 78.30 percent. Despite these impressive figures, Virgil was overlooked by many as the Jets endured a dismal season and failed to qualify for the post-season playoffs for the first time in eight years.On
May 1 ,2007 it was announced that Virgil was called-up by Chris Finch to train with the Great Britain team, alongsideChicago Bulls starLuol Deng , in preparation for theEurobasket 2009 qualifiers throughout the summer [cite web| author = BBC Sport | title = Deng included in strong GB squad | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/6612709.stm | year = 2007 | accessdate = 2007-05-15 | publisher = BBC | date = 2007 ] . He later withdrew from the team amid confusion of his British citizenship status, after various sources incorrectly claimed he was born inLiverpool as opposed to his hometown of Livingston, in the United States.After his successful debut season in Britain it was no surprise that many big clubs fought to sign Alto, and on
September 6 it was formally announced that Alto had penned a contract with title-chasingSheffield Sharks , as part ofPeter Scantlebury 's new-look team.Notes
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