Noah Vonleh Signs with Shanghai Sharks, Will Play with Yogi Ferrell

Noah Vonleh, who played for coach Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2013-14 season, has signed with the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association. Vonleh will also play alongside a former Indiana teammate in point guard Yogi Ferrell.

Many are saying that Shanghai is the new Bloomington. 

The Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association have signed former Indiana men's basketball player Noah Vonleh. This is the second time Vonleh will have played for the Sharks, having played for Shanghai back in the 2021-22 season, before re-joining the NBA for the 2022-23 season to play for the Boston Celtics.

Shangai Sharks sign Noah Vonleh, Yogi Ferrell https://t.co/sKyaaJqrhR

— Sportando (@Sportando) August 17, 2023

Vonleh played for coach Tom Crean during the 2013-14 season, and declared for the NBA Draft following his freshman season. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, though he would only stay with that franchise for one season.

From 2014-23, Vonleh played eight seasons in the NBA, and suited up for eight different teams — the Charlotte Hornets, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets, the Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics.

After averaging 11.3 point and 9.0 rebounds per game in his lone season with IU, Vonleh averaged 4.7 points and 4.9 rebounds over the course of 362 games in the NBA.

Vonleh won't be the only Hoosier suiting up for Shanghai this year, though. His former teammate in Bloomington, Yogi Ferrell, was also signed by the Sharks in July. Ferrell played for Crean's Indiana teams from 2013-16 and finished his career in Bloomington with 1,986 points, the seventh-most in IU men's basketball history. 

Coming off a 2012-13 season where Indiana won the Big Ten and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, the 2013-14 Hoosiers floundered on their way to a 17-15 season with Vonleh and Ferrell. Crean and Co. would soon turn things around and win the Big Ten once more in the 2015-16 season, but 2013-14 was a year to forget for Indiana fans. 

During his previous campaign with the Shanghai Sharks in the 2021-22 season, Vonleh showed out. The former Hoosier finished third on the team in scoring average with 15.0 points per game, and led the squad in rebounding with 9.9 boards per game. 

Both Vonleh and Ferrell will play for the Sharks through the end of the 2023-24 season.

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