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The Dalton, Ill. native, who graduated in 2013, achieved this task in only his second professional season overseas,
“A lot of mental focus had to take place to obtain that record. We held each other accountable in practice so we could perform our best each game. I wanted to win the championship more than anything. The MVP award was icing on the cake," Needham said.
Needham was a natural leader for the Stags, starting all four years during his time with the Fairfield University.
Needham was in the forefront in most of the 36 victories of his Ukraine league team finishing the campaign with an 11.4 scoring average and dishing off 4.9 assists per game. One of his best games of the season came in what also proved to be the closest Khmik came to a loss in 2014-15. The guard tallied 25 points to lead his team to an 84-83 win over Budivelnyk Kyiv early in the season.
Needham’s stellar play with Khmik landed him an opportunity to sign with Germany’s Basketball Braunschwieg in June. This will be his third country in as many years.
Needham started his career in Lithuania before playing in the Ukraine last season. In addition to becoming familiar with his teammates and coaches, Needham also had the issue of learning the cultures of those two countries. The language and time changes also created some complications for Needham; however, the guard was up for any challenge thrown his way.
Getting along and coming together as a team was something to which Needham had become accustomed while wearing Fairfield red. Needham quickly won the admiration and respect of his coaches and teammates during his four-year stay in Connecticut. He remains one of the program’s all-time leading scorers with 1,875 points and still holds the school record for career three pointers with 281.
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