The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ZANE Knowles suffered a possible life-threatening injury last season but the former national basketball team standout is set to return to the court in Bulgaria.

Knowles signed with a former club of Levski Sofia of Bulgaria’s NBL.

“I’m beyond thankful for this opportunity. My old team giving me an opportunity to step on the court again and finish the season out with them,” Knowles posted to his Instagram account. “We won a Cup in 2020 and shortly after, the season was cancelled due to COVID. Looking forward to helping to get that trophy that was taken from us.”

Last season while preparing for the season in Hungary with Zalakerámia ZTE KK, Knowles sought treatment for what he described as a minor hamstring injury when doctors discovered a rare Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) that would require surgery.

An AVF, is an abnormal connection of vessels in the tissues around the brain or spinal cord in which one or more arteries are directly connected to one or more veins or venous spaces.

In a busy 2019-20 season, Knowles played in three leagues and two countries before the COVID-19 pandemic brought basketball to an end globally. He concluded the campaign with Levaki of the Bulgarian NBL League. In just two games with the club, he averaged 13 points, seven rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.

A 6’9’ centre, Knowles was one of three international signees for Zalakerámia in Hungary’s Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the top tiered league in country.

Knowles spent much of the summer at home giving back to the local basketball community as an instructor at the 33rd annual Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp. He spent last season with Baikesir Buyuksehir Belediyespor of the Turkish Basketball League. In 31 games, he averaged 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Prior to Bulgaria, he began the season with PAOK Thessaloniki in the Greek Champions League where through 12 games he averaged 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. In Greece, he also played 16 games in the Greek A1 League where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

In 2018-19 Knowles was in the French ProB League with Etoile Charleville- Mezieres. In 27 games with the club, he recorded 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Knowles spent his first professional season with Siarka Tarnobrzeg and King Wilki Morskie Szczecin of the Polish Basketball League or Tauron Basket Liga, the highest level of pro basketball in the country. He has also played professionally in Japan (Tokyo Cinq Reves and Wakayama Trians) where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 24 total appearances before making the move to France.