On Thursday, Boeheim’s Army added its newest member. DeAndre Kane was announced as the team’s most recent addition. Notably, Overseas Elite, the 4x TBT champions is not playing in the tourney this summer. What that means, is all of their players are up for grabs. Kane is one of those guys. Prior to this year, Kane had played for Overseas Elite every summer since 2016. At 6-5 200 lbs, the guard should be a great addition to this team’s backcourt. Let’s get to know the newbie.
A lot of the guys in this tournament come from big-name schools or are known for their professional play. Joe Johnson and Jordan Crawford are a couple that come to mind, both spent plenty of time in the NBA. Kane’s route was a bit different.
The guard out of Pittsburgh, PA started his college career at Marshall. He enrolled in 2009 but sat out the 2009-10 season as a partial academic qualifier. In his first season competing as a part of the thundering herd, Kane earned Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors. He started every game of that freshman season and subsequently every game he played past that point. The youngster averaged 15.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, and 3.4 apg. Kane aged like a fine wine. In his sophomore and junior years, #50 was named All-CUSA second team and helped lead Marshall to the CUSA championship game in which they fell to Memphis. That third season was his last at Marshall, as he graduated. Kane wasn’t done yet though, with immediate transfer eligibility on the table, he took his talents to the Big 12 where he became the latest import of the Iowa State Cyclones.
Kane made an impact from the jump. He started every single game for Fred Hoidberg, making waves in the meantime. The newly transferred starter was electric. In his only season in the Big 12, Kane averaged 17 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 5.9 apg. Those numbers earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the year, All-Big 12, and 3rd team All-American honors. When it came time for the postseason, Kane turned it on, scorching the competition while shooting over 63% from distance in the conference tournament on his way to being named Big 12 tournament MVP.
He went undrafted in 2014, joining the Lakers for the Summer League in the lead-up to the beginning of his career overseas. For Kane things began in Russia, playing for Krasny Oktyabr. From then on, he’s bounced around from team to team, country to country, most recently having played for Peristeri B.C. of the Greek Basket League in 2020. He’s had his fair share of success in European basketball. With Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli League, Kane helped lead his squad to an Israeli Cup victory in 2017 and league championships in 2018 and 2019.
As a TBT veteran, Kane will provide plenty for Boeheim’s Army. He knows what it takes to win, he’s had success at the college level, pro-level, and in this tournament. SU fans should see this news as a huge win.
