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SPORTS News:
Alex Kirk of Los Alamos has signed with Anadolu Efes Sports Club, a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul, Turkey. He’ll be with the team Thursday in Barcelona, Spain.
Anadolu Efes is the most successful club in the history of the Turkish Basketball Super League, having won the league’s championship 13 times.
The home of Anadolu Efes S.K. is the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, which has a seating capacity of 12,270 people for basketball games. The club has its own practice facility built in 1982 in the district of Bahçelievler. The team competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League and EuroLeague.
Kirk was born and raised in Los Alamos and is the son of Municipal Court Judge Alan Kirk who coached him in high school and his mom is Pat Kirk, a 6th grade instructional aide at Pinon Elementary School in White Rock.
The 6’11” center played at Los Alamos High School. He went to the University of New Mexico in 2010, averaging 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in the 2010–11 season. In the offseason, Kirk underwent back surgery for a herniated disc and subsequently redshirted the 2011–12 season. Kirk bounced back as a redshirt sophomore, averaging 12.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game. At the conclusion of the season, Kirk was named second team All-Mountain West Conference and a member of the league’s All-Defensive team.
In the summer of 2013, Kirk was named to the United States’ team for the 2013 Summer Universiade. He averaged 3.7 points and 4.6 rebounds as the team finished in ninth place.
In 2013–14, Kirk increased his numbers to 13.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He was named third team All-MWC and repeated as a member of the All-Defensive team.
In April 2014, Kirk declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility.
Professional Career
Cleveland Cavaliers
After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Kirk joined the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2014 NBA Summer League. Aug. 11, 2014, he signed with the Cavaliers. During his rookie season with the Cavaliers, he had multiple assignments with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League.
Jan. 5, 2015, Kirk was traded to the New York Knicks in a three-team trade that also involved the Oklahoma City Thunder. Two days later, he was waived by the Knicks.
Canton Charge
Jan. 10, 2015, Kirk was acquired by the Canton Charge. In 46 games for the Charge in 2014–15, he averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.
Pistoia Basket 2000
Aug. 15, 2015, Kirk signed with Pistoia Basket 2000 of the Italian Serie A for the 2015–16 season. Kirk averaged 16.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for Pistoia, which reached the Serie A playoffs before being eliminated in the first round by Scandone Avellino. Kirk was selected as the first team all Italian League and named MVP of the Italian All Star Game in 2016.
Guangzhou Long-Lions
In July 2016, Kirk played for the San Antonio Spurs in the Utah session of the 2016 NBA Summer League. He then played for the Toronto Raptors in the Las Vegas session.
July 29, 2016, Kirk signed to play for the Guangzhou Long-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2016-17 season. He averaged 17 points and 10.1 rebounds. Nov. 15, he was released by Guangzhou.
Anadolu Efes
Jan. 16, 2017, Kirk signed with Anadolu Efes.
