The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

VALERIE Nesbitt will begin the next phase of her basketball career in Spain - her debut as a professional.

The national team standout and former Ole Miss point guard has signed with Club Baloncesto Islas Canarias for the upcoming season.

Club de Baloncesto Islas Canarias, better known for sponsorship reasons as SPAR Gran Canaria, is a Spanish women’s basketball team from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in The Canary Islands. Founded in 1980, it has played in the Spanish Women’s League since 1983.

Nesbitt was the first Bahamian player signed by Yolett McPhee-McCuin in her tenure as the head coach of the Rebels.

A general business major, she was recently named to the SEC First Year Academic Honour Roll and was also an M-Club Student of the Month for July.

In 26 games with 10 starts last season, Nesbitt averaged 6.2 points and 2.4 assists per game to help Ole Miss reach the NIT final.

As a junior, she had a seamless transition on the court to NCAA Division I basketball following two years at the JuCo level.

Through 15 games, with 11 starts, she led the Southeastern Conference in steals at 3.2 takeaways per game and had six games this season with at least four. She was the Rebels’ second-leading scorer at 11.3 points a game and was also second in minutes played at 24.3 and assists at 3.2 per game.

Prior to Ole Miss, she was first team All-Conference for JuCo powerhouse Chipola College. As a freshman, she averaged 10.5 points and 3.2 assists per game and was MVP of the JuCo All-Star game, a showcase which hosts the top 40 players in the division.

As a sophomore, she averaged 17.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and shot 45 percent from the field.

Nesbitt made her national team debut in 2015 and helped The Bahama win gold at the Caribbean Basketball Championships in Tortuga, British Virgin Islands.

She was also a member of the team that finished third at the FIBA Centrobasket 2017 in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

Nesbitt played locally for the CV Bethel Stingrays before she relocated to the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas.