Burbank alum Austin Pope signs with Lithuanian pro basketball team
With his basketball future still up in the air, Austin Pope took some time to give back to a community he holds dear.
Following a successful senior season at Chaminate University in Hawaii, Pope, a 2013 Burbank High graduate, spent the summer weighing his options for what would be his next step in basketball. Despite his career uncertainty, Pope returned to his alma mater this summer to interact with players from the Bulldogs boys’ basketball team.
“It’s just something I like to do to give back,” Pope said. “Burbank is where I started out and it’s a special place for me. If I can mentor the players or help them out in any way that’s what I’m going to do.
“I even gave every player my phone number and told them they could call me when they wanted to or if they needed anything.”
Said former Burbank boys’ basketball coach Jamayne Potts who has moved on to Village Christian: “When Austin came to talk to the kids this summer, he didn’t just talk with the varsity players, but he talked with the JV guys and the soph-frosh guys as well. He is just a high character guy and I can see why he’s been successful.
“He is unselfish with his time, he really cares about his community and where he came from and the fact that he just takes the time to come out to summer practice and give back to the program says a lot about him. And all of it is so genuine, it’s so sincere.”
If the Bulldogs players want to contact Pope starting next month, they will have to make an international call. Last week, Pope, a 6-foot-6, 180-pound guard, signed his first professional basketball contract with BC Silute in Lithuania.
“I’m excited to say the least,” said Pope, who departs for his new venture Sept. 3. “I am really looking forward to the opportunity and I intend to make the most of it.”
BC Silute plays in the National Basketball League (NKL), which is the second-tier pro league in Lithuania, but is a candidate for promotion to the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), the top professional organization in the country.
“My agent sent me over a spread sheet and I have done my homework as well just learning about the team and the league I will be playing for,” Pope said. “We are going to be battle tested and there are a lot of great players in that league.
“This will be my biggest test to date, but I’m looking forward to it. I think I’m a pretty versatile player and I know I will be able to adapt to the style of basketball they play there.”
Pope heads to his first foray in the professional ranks after enjoying success in his senior campaign with Chaminade in 2017-18, where he was an All-Pacific West Conference first-team award winner in his second season with the Hawaii-based school.
Pope was a two-time PacWest Player of the Week honoree (Nov. 27 and Jan. 22) and started all 28 games for the Silverswords. He led the PacWest and ranked 27th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7), along with being the team leader and ranking among conference leaders in scoring (14.8), assists (4.5), steals (1.2), total blocks (18) and minutes per game (35). In addition, he was sixth in the PacWest in field goal percentage (45.6).
It’s been a long road from Burbank to Lithuania for Pope. Prior to Chaminade, he the attended North Idaho College during the 2014-15 season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He also played at Cerritos College in 2013-14.
“Just being a kid from Burbank and to have made it as far as I have is just great,” Pope said. “I’ve been all over and been to so many different places and this is just another experience for me.”
Pope, who would like to conduct a summer basketball camp in Burbank in the future, hopes to make some noise in Lithuania and still holds hope of one day playing in the NBA.
“I am looking forward to doing well in Lithuania, and the leagues there have a lot of ties with the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors. So eventually I hope to make it back to the states to play basketball,” he said.
Twitter: @jefftsports
