Traditionally, every week we bring you a list of the top former Utes players who continue their career in pro basketball.
#1. Michelle Plouffe (6'4''-F-92, graduated '14, plays pro in France) led Lyon to a victory over the eighth-ranked Flammes (3-6) 77-65 in the French LFB in Sunday night's game. She was MVP of the game. Plouffe scored 14 points, had 6 rebounds and dished 4 assists in 29 minutes. Union Lyon Basket Feminin (8-1) is placed first in the LFB. It was her team's sixth consecutive victory in a row. Plouffe has relatively good stats this year 12.0ppg, 6.9rpg, 3.7apg and 1.9spg in nine games she played so far.
#2. Experienced Leilani Mitchell (5'5''-PG-85, graduated '08, plays in Australia) was the major contributor in a Canberra Capitals' victory against the closely-ranked Perth Lynx (9-5) crushing them 92-60 in the Australian WNBL last Sunday. She recorded 22 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Canberra Capitals (8-5) are placed third in the WNBL. It was her team's third consecutive victory in a row. It's Mitchell's first season with the team. This year Mitchell averages 9.2ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.5apg and 2.2spg. She is a naturalized Australian.
#3. Kimberley Gaucher-Smith (6'0''-G/F-84, graduated '06, currently in France), who plays in the French LFB could not help the league outsider Mondeville (0-9) in their last game. Despite her very good performance the bottom-ranked Mondeville was edged 75-72 at home by the much higher-ranked (#4) Roche. Gaucher-Smith was the top scorer with 26 points. She also added 5 boards, passed 4 assists and added 4 steals in 37 minutes. So far Mondeville lost all nine games in the Regular Season. It's Gaucher-Smith's fourth season with the team. Gaucher-Smith has individually a very good year with high stats. She averages 19.0ppg, 4.5rpg, 2.0apg and 2.3spg in four games.
#4. Danielle Rodriguez (5'10''-G-93, graduated '16, plays pro in Iceland) was not able to help Stjarnan (7-4) in their last game on Wednesday. Despite Rodriguez's very good performance Stjarnan was defeated 84-73 on their home court in Stjarnan by the lower-ranked Valur (#10). She was the top scorer with 31 points. Rodriguez also added 9 rebounds, 7 assists and made 2 blocks. This season Rodriguez has very high stats. She averages 27.4ppg, 10.8rpg, 8.6apg, 1.5bpg and 3.8spg.
#5. Shona Thorburn (5'10''-PG-82, graduated '06, plays in France) is a teammate of previously mentioned Kimberley Gaucher-Smith and both played together in the last French LFB game. Thorburn was not able to secure a victory for the league outsider Mondeville (0-9) in their last game. Despite her good performance the bottom-ranked Mondeville was edged 75-72 on their home court in Mondeville by the much higher-ranked (#4) Roche. Thorburn scored 11 points, had 8 rebounds and dished 5 assists in 40 minutes. This year Thorburn averages 8.1ppg, 4.6rpg and 6.5apg in eight games. She has also British citizenship.
Other former University of Utah players, who play in pro basketball:
Emily Potter (6'6''-F-95) plays for Sunreef Yachts Politechnika Gdanska in Polish EBLK
Elli Koskinen (6'3''-F-96) plays for Forssan Alku in Finnish Korisliiga
Notice: The list above includes only some of the University of Utah alumni playing currently in pro basketball. Check COMPLETE LIST.
Ex-Players
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