Shuler to play in Germany

Former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball standout Jamal Shuler has signed a contract with Trier of Germany’s first league and joins a growing list of Rams who have continued their careers in Europe. “I’m excited to continue my career,” Shuler said. “I had offers from Turkey and Belgium, but (Trier) followed me pretty well. They told my […]

July 23, 2008; 10:50 AM • by FTRea

Former Virginia Commonwealth University basketball standout Jamal Shuler has signed a contract with Trier of Germany’s first league and joins a growing list of Rams who have continued their careers in Europe.

“I’m excited to continue my career,” Shuler said. “I had offers from Turkey and Belgium, but (Trier) followed me pretty well. They told my parents that they’d take care of me and that I wouldn’t have to worry about anything, so I’m excited to get over there and get started.”

Shuler will depart Sun., July 27 for Trier. Training camp begins the first week of August. Trier kicks off its 68-game regular season Sept. 21 against Gottingen. Shuler will face off with former Rams’ guard Domonic Jones, who plays for Braunschwig, on two occasions.

A 6-4, smooth shooting guard, Shuler expects his role to be a familiar one.

“They said they plan to use me a lot like VCU and Coach (Anthony) Grant’s system, at the two and three,” Shuler said. “In his system those positions are pretty much interchangeable. The coach has told me, whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, I should be looking at 25-30 minutes a night, and he’s given me the green light to score.”

In four seasons at VCU, Shuler averaged 8.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 116 games. He was one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in school history. In addition to connecting on 38.2 percent of his career attempts, his 170 treys rank fourth on VCU’s all-time list.

Shuler enjoyed his best season in 2007-08, averaging 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He was named First Team All-CAA, as well as CAA All-Defensive Team.

As many as 12 former Rams played professionally in Europe last season, including eight who have graduated since 2002.

– The information above was provided by Chris Kowalczyk at VCU