Former Dayton guard Landers heading back to Europe for second season in pro basketball

“Extremely excited to be playing year two of my professional career in Finland!” Landers said. “Thank you to (Kataja) for giving me an opportunity to continue playing the game I love! Let’s get to it!!”

Landers, a 2020 University of Dayton graduate, played with Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany last season, his first in professional basketball. He averaged 3.6 points in five regular-season games and appeared in nine EuroCup games, averaging 2.4 points.

Landers was one of eight former Flyers to play with the Red Scare last weekend in The Basketball Tournament. He scored three points in an 88-44 victory against BC Vahakni City on Saturday and four points in a 76-69 loss to Category 5 on Sunday.

Here’s an update on a number of Dayton basketball alums:

• Devin Oliver: Oliver will play in Japan for the first time this season. It will be the sixth country he has called home as a pro. He signed with the Sendai 89ers in June.

Oliver played for Buyukcekmece in Turkey last season, averaging 12.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He also has played in France, Germany, Belgium, Israel and Slovenia.

Oliver played for Dayton from 2010-14, scoring 923 points.

• Kostas Antetokounmpo: After appearing in 15 games last season for the Los Angeles Lakers, Antetokounmpo will take his professional career overseas for the first time. He will play with Asvel in Lyon, France.

Antetokounmpo, the 60th and last player chosen in the 2018 NBA Draft, scored 21 points in 22 games for the Lakers over three seasons.

Antetokounmpo spent two years at Dayton and played one season on the court. He averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game in 2017-18.

• Josh Cunningham: In his first season in New Zealand, playing for the Southland Sharks, Cunningham’s averaging 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He signed with the Sharks in April after playing in the NBA G League and with ZZ Leiden in the Dutch Basketball League in the 2019-20 season.

Cunningham scored 964 points in three seasons (2016-19) at Dayton.

• Scoochie Smith: He led all American players in assists (5.7 per game) in his first season in the Adriatic League. He also averaged 10.0 points in 25 games with KK Mega Bemax in Belgrade, Serbia.

Smith played in Australia, Greece and in the NBA G League earlier in his career. He finished his Dayton career in 2017 and ranks 28th in school history with 1,289 points.

• Vee Sanford: He averaged 13.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for Élan Béarnais in the top-tier league in France. Sanford has played the last four seasons in France after previously playing in Iceland, Colombia and Germany.

Sanford played from 2012-14 for Dayton and scored 735 points.

• Charles Cooke: He signed with the Hamilton Honey Badgers, of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, in June. Cooke previously played in the G League, Puerto Rico and Italy and appeared in 13 games for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017-18.

• Dyshawn Pierre: He signed a three-year contract in June to remain with Fenerbahçe Beko in Instanbul, Turkey. In his first season with the team, he appeared in 36 games and averaged 9.1 points and 3.3 rebounds. He was named the best first-year player by the EuroLeague Players Association.

Pierre previously played in Germany and Italy. He finished his Dayton career in 2016 with 1,423 points.

• Chris Johnson: He averaged 13.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 13 games for Hapoel Holon in Israel.

This is Johnson’s second stint in Israel. He played for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2018-19 and then played in France in 2019-20. Earlier in his career (2012-16), Johnson appeared in 147 NBA games with five teams.

Johnson played for Dayton from 2008-12 and scored 1,467 points.

• Darrell Davis: He averaged 22.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in 11 games for KB Rahoveci in Kosovo this spring. Earlier in the season, he played in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for OKK Sloboda Tuzla, averaging 12.1 points in nine games.

Davis played in Hungary and Holland earlier in his career. He finished his Dayton career in 2018 with 1,008 points. He will join Oliver on the Red Scare roster for the third straight season.