J. P. Batista

Infobox Euroleague Player

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position = Power forward
nickname =
league = French League
Euroleague
height_ft = 6
height_in = 9
weight_lbs = 270
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|10|29
birth_place = Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil
nationality = Brazil
team = Le Mans Sarthe Basket
college = Gonzaga
draft = Not drafted
draft_year = 2006
draft_team =
career_start = 2006
career_end =
former_teams =

João Paulo Batista (born October 29 1981, in Olinda, Pernambuco), more commonly referred to as simply J. P. Batista, is a Brazilian basketball player who played at Gonzaga University in the United States. The 6'9", 270 lb (2.06 m, 123 kg) Batista, who grew up in Olinda, Pernambuco, attended Colegio Atual school in Olinda and was named State Player of the Year as a senior in 2001.

College career

Batista arrived at Gonzaga in 2004, after spending the first year of his college career at Western Nebraska Community College and the second at Barton County Community College in Kansas, where he mentored teammate and fellow international student Antanas Kavaliauskas. He finished his first season with Gonzaga averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game, and was named the top newcomer in the West Coast Conference.

Playing alongside the All-American Adam Morrison, Batista finished the 2005/2006 NCAA Basketball season averaging over 19 points and 9 rebounds per game, while shooting a remarkable 59 percent from the field and 83 percent from the line.

Professional career

Despite his impressive collegiate statistics, Batista was generally ignored by the scouts leading up to the 2006 NBA Draft, with his lack of athleticism and his age (he was nearly 25 at the time of the draft, unusually old for a college prospect) perhaps hindering his chances of being drafted. Batista played for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves entry in the Las Vegas Summer League [http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/story.asp?ID=138026 Spokesman-Review] , but he was not signed by the team. He accepted an offer to play for Lietuvos Rytas in Vilnius, Lithuania in the LKL and ULEB Cup. With Lietuvos Rytas he played in the ULEB Cup and Lithuanian basketball Cup finals, and won the BBL championship. Their 2006-07 ULEB Cup run ended in a loss in the final to Real Madrid, but since Real had already qualified for the 2007-08 Euroleague through their league position, Lietuvos Rytas received the Euroleague berth that normally goes to the ULEB Cup winners.

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22276 ESPN Profile]
* [http://gozags.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/batista_jp00.html Gonzaga Basketball Profile]
* [http://212.47.102.48/index.php/ZnVzZWFjdGlvbj1wbGF5ZXJzLm1haW4mdD00NSZwPTU5Mw=. Batista's Stats with Lietuvos Rytas]