Kyle Weems after four years in Virtus Bologna lands in Tortona
Kyle Weems lands in Tortona
Kyle Jordan Weems, wing class of 1989, for the past four seasons in Italy at Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is a new Bertram Derthona player.
Born in Topeka (Kansas, USA) on Aug. 23, 1989, Weems took his first steps at Highland Park High School before choosing Missouri State Bears Basketball in college. During his college experience, the wing elevated his performance season after season and was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and All-American in 2011.
In 2012/13 he began his European career in Bonn, Germany, with whom he played in both the league and the Eurochallenge, a competition he finished with a 13.2-point average in 14 games played. In the following season he wears the Bayreuth jersey, again in Germany, before moving to France, to JSF Nanterre.
With the French team, he won the Match des Champions, the contest that pits the league-winning lineup against the one that triumphed in the French Cup, turning out MVP of the game. With Nanterre, Kyle also wins the EuroCup, at the end of the final against Trabzonspor.
In 2015/16 he switched to Strasbourg, with whom he again won the Match des Champions, and with whom he participated in the EuroLega, scoring 7.9 points per game. After being eliminated from the top continental competition, the French club reached the EuroCup final, making it all the way to the final – round-trip sum of points – lost to Galatasaray.
After the two-year period Oltralpe, Weems wears the Besiktas Istanbul jersey for two years: in the first year the Turkish club reaches the Scudetto final, losing it to Fenerbahce, while the following year the team is eliminated in the quarterfinals. With Besiktas takes part in the Basketball Champions League in both years: after winning their group on both occasions, the Istanbul lineup is eliminated in the round of 16.
In 2018/19 the American player remains in Turkey, moving to Tofas Bursa, scoring an average of 14.4 points in the EuroCup. In the summer of 2019 Weems arrives in Italy, at Virtus Bologna.
In his first year in Italy, he is among the stars of the team that leads the league standings from the start until the Covid-19 stop. In EuroCup, Virtus – until the competition stop – occupies second place in its Top 16 group.
In 2020/21, Kyle scores 9.4 points in the league and 11.8 in the EuroCup, confirming himself as an important player in coach Djordjevic’s chessboard: at the end of the season comes the Scudetto and the EuroCup semifinals.
In the following year, the American player further elevates his performance, with over 13 points per game both in Italy and in the EuroCup. His performances on both ends of the court make him very important in winning the European competition, which is worth Virtus Segafredo Bologna’s return to the EuroLega.
In 2022/23, Weems wears the team’s jersey for the fourth consecutive season, contributing to the team’s second-place finish in Serie A. Now he comes to Bertram Derthona to start a new chapter in his career.
“We are happy to have with us a champion with Kyle’s history,” the words of Marco Picchi, president of Bertram Derthona. “We are a club that clearly has in its head the goal of moving up the ladder each year, and we were looking for a person and a player of his level to help us achieve it.
