John Cantrell Signs Contract with Ukraine's BC Odessa

Former Chicago State men’s basketball player John Cantrell has signed a professional deal to compete for BC Odessa of the Ukraine Basketball League for the 2009-10 season.
 
The 6-2, 175-pound shooting guard from Pontiac, Mich., is the third player under head coach Benjy Taylor to play professional basketball overseas, joining former teammates David Holston (Turkey) and Chidoze Chukwumuh (Saudi Arabia). He joins a BC Odessa team that produced a 29-23 record and advanced to the UBL semifinals last season.
 
Cantrell posted averages of 19.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.2 assists per game in his final season with the Cougars in 2008-09 in helping the team finish with a 19-13 record, the program’s first winning season in 23 years. He ranked 25th nationally in steals and 31st in scoring in addition to garnering a pair of Great West Conference Player of the Week awards.
 
Cantrell scored a career-best 40 points in CSU’s quadruple-overtime battle against Utah Valley and closed his career with a 33-point performance against Houston Baptist.
 
For his efforts, Cantrell earned Second Team All-Independent accolades and was named First Team All-Chicago honors from ChicagoCollegeBasketball.com following the season.