League LEB Oro Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Playing career Height 2.06 m Pro career 2012 | Nationality Latvian Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg) 2014–2015 VEF Rīga Position Small forward | |
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Born February 5, 1998 (age 19)
Cēsis, Latvia ( 1998-02-05 ) Similar Isaiah Hartenstein, Frank Ntilikina, Ömer Yurtseven | ||
Rodions Kurucs (born February 5, 1998 in Cēsis) is a Latvian professional basketball player who plays as a small forward for FC Barcelona B, the reserve team of FC Barcelona, from Spain.
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Early career
In March 2014, Kurucs signed a multi-year contract with the Latvian club VEF Rīga, after having played for the club's youth academy, VEF Rīga skola, in Latvia's second men's division (LBL2). He made his debut on VEF's first team, during the 2014–15 campaign, logging his first minutes in Latvia's top-tier level league, the LBL, in the Eastern European regional VTB United League, and in Europe's 2nd-tier level league, the EuroCup. He played at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in 2015.
FC Barcelona
In July 2015, Kurucs agreed to a four-year deal with the Spanish Liga ACB powerhouse FC Barcelona. He then spent the 2015–16 season playing in the juniors club of FC Barcelona. In 2016, after turning 18 years of age, Kurucs joined the reserve team of FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona B, of the LEB Oro, which is the second-tier level in the Spanish basketball league system.
International career
Kurucs played for the Latvian Under-16 national team at the 2014 Baltic Sea Cup, and at the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He played a crucial role in helping Latvia win the silver medal at the tournament, as he averaged 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.1 blocked shots per contest, en route to earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team, and being selected to the Eurobasket.com's website All-European Championship Under-16 First Team.