The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE next step on the pro basketball journey for Michael Carey Jr will take him to the top league in Mexico.

Carey reached an agreement with the Huracanes de Tampico of Mexico's premier basketball league, Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional.

He comes off a strong summer with the Bahamian national team when he averaged 16 points, 5.5 assists and four rebounds in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifier.

The league was founded in 2000 with 11 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important basketball leagues in Latin America. The regular season is played in a round-robin format in which the eight best-placed teams qualify to the postseason. For every game won, two points are added, and for every game lost, one point is added.

Carey spent last season with Étoile Charleville-Mézières of French Basketball's Pro B Division, the second tier level league in the country.

He was one of four Bahamians to compete in the league last season, along with his Etoile teammate Zane Knowles, Jaraun "Kino" Burrows and Johnathan Augustin-Fairell.

Carey's first pro assignment came last season with Soles de Santo Domingo of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) in the Dominican Republic. Through 13 games, the 6'5" guard averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He completed his two-year career at Wagner University with a number of accolades for his numbers in the senior season.

His list of postseason awards include: Third Team All-Metropolitan, First Team All-Northeast Conference, All-NEC Tournament honours and the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 18 First Team.

Carey scored in double figures in 47 games, hitting for 20 or more points 13 times and pulling down 10 or more rebounds in 31 games while leading the Seahawks on the boards in 42 contests. He also became just the fourth player in Wagner men's basketball history to record 20 double-doubles or more for a career, as he finished his playing career with 27.