The former St. John’s graduate transfer will begin his professional career overseas
Nahiem Alleyne is joining a growing list of graduating St. John’s seniors to join the professional ranks. On Wednesday, Alleyne reportedly signed with Greek basketball club AEK Athens, according to Ivan Zoroski, the founder and CEO of the Serbian sports agency Triple Double Sports Management.
After transferring from UConn last spring, Alleyne mainly played a reserve role in his only season at St. John’s, making six starts in 32 games. Last season, he averaged 6.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting a career-best 43.8% from the field, 38.0% from three, and 91.3% from the free throw line.
Ranked as a three-star recruit out of Mountain View High School in his home state of Georgia, Alleyne began his college career playing three seasons at Virginia Tech. For the Hokies, he averaged 9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 38.6% shooting from the field and 38.7% from three.
The Buford, Georgia native transferred to UConn ahead of the 2022-23 season, averaging 5.2 points and 1.2 rebounds on 36.2% shooting and 30.5% from three as a member of the Huskies’ 2023 NCAA national championship team.
Alleyne becomes one of multiple St. John’s graduates from Rick Pitino’s first season to sign his first professional contract this summer. In the NBA, Daniss Jenkins signed a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons, and Joel Soriano signed an Exhibit-10 deal with the Charlotte Hornets. Sean Conway also signed with an unnamed Greek professional team, according to Rick Pitino.
At AEK Athens, Alleyne joins other former college basketball standouts such as Richmond’s Grant Golden and Notre Dame’s Prentiss Hubb, as well as former New York Knick Mindaugas Kuzminskas.