Abramo Canka

Abramo Canka (born Abramo Penè;[1] 18 March 2002) is an Italian college basketball player for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He began his college career with one season with the UCLA Bruins, before transferring to Wake Forest.

Abramo Canka
Canka with Roseto Sharks in 2018
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (2002-03-18) 18 March 2002
Genoa, Italy
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Stella Azzurra Roma
2019–2020Roseto Sharks
2020–2022Lokomotiv Kuban
2020–2021→Nevėžis Kėdainiai

Early life and youth career

Born in Genoa, Italy, to a Senegalese father and a Kosovo Albanian mother,[2] Canka grew up playing basketball for Tigullio Sport Team Ligure.[3] In 2016, he joined the youth academy of Serie B club Stella Azzurra Roma.[3] In 2018, Canka joined the Roseto Sharks youth program.[2]

In January 2020, Canka played for Stella Azzurra's under-18 team at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Munich, where he helped the team reach the final and was named to the all-tournament team.[4] He averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals in four games.[5]

Professional career

Canka started the 2019–20 season with Stella Azzurra Roma in the third-tier Serie B. He made his first and only appearance on 28 September 2019.[5] He joined the Roseto Sharks in the second-tier Serie A2 in October 2019.[5] On 13 October, he recorded a career-high 25 points, shooting 12-of-15 from the field, along with nine rebounds, five assists and five steals in a 113–112 double-overtime win over JuveCaserta.[6] He averaged 7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 18 games for Roseto in 2019–20.[5][7]

On 27 June 2020, Canka signed with Lokomotiv Kuban of the Russian VTB United League.[7] Six days later, he was loaned to Nevėžis Kėdainiai of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).[8] In 17 games in 2020–21, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.[5]

Canka started the 2021–22 season with Nevėžis Kėdainiai and averaged 7.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in nine games.[5] He returned to Lokomotiv Kuban on 3 December 2021.[9] To finish the 2021–22 season, he played one game for Lokomotiv in the VTB United League and 16 games for Lokomotiv's reserves team in the Russian Basketball Super League 1.[5]

College career

In August 2022, Canka moved to the United States to play college basketball for the UCLA Bruins,[10] whose assistant coach Ivo Simović had strong connections to the international community.[11] As a freshman in 2022–23, Canka played in 22 games and averaged 1.5 points in 5.4 minutes per game.[12][13] He shot 44% overall and 50% on 3-pointers (5 of 10),[13][14] but struggled at times defensively, not uncommon for youngsters in coach Mick Cronin's complex defense.[14]

In May 2023, Canka transferred to Wake Forest,[15] who had recruited him before he chose UCLA.[13]

National team career

Canka represented Italy at the 2018 FIBA U16 European Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia. In seven games, he averaged 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, two assists and 1.9 steals per game, leading his team to 12th place.[16] He also averaged 9.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in the 2022 FIBA U20 European Championship.[17]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 UCLA 2205.4.444.5001.000.7.2.2.01.5

References
  1. "ANGT Munich: Players to Watch". euroleaguebasketball.net. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. Rapone, Marco (30 July 2018). "Penè, scommessa Sharks: "A Roseto per vincere"". il Centro. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  3. "Abramo Penè nuovo innesto in casa Stellazzurra Basketball Academy. In arrivo anche gli altri 2002 Stefano Faloppa e Raffaele Romano" (in Italian). Stella Azzurra Roma. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  4. Robledillo, Albert (3 May 2020). "ANGT Munich, Kaunas & Belgrade - Top Performers". Eurohopes. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. "Abramo Canka". usbasket.com. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  6. Lupo, Nicola (13 October 2019). "Roseto, brilla il classe 2002 Abramo Canka: 25 punti e 9 rimbalzi contro Caserta" (in Italian). Sportando. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  7. Lupo, Nicola (27 June 2020). "Abramo Canka signs long-term deal with Lokomotiv Kuban". Sportando. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  8. "Nevezis adds NBA prospects Abramo Canka and Ariel Hukporti". Sportando. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  9. "Abramo Canka returns to Lokomotiv Kuban". Sportando. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  10. "UCLA Men's Basketball Signs Abramo Canka". uclabruins.com. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  11. Bolch, Ben (28 August 2022). "Devin Williams becomes first in what's expected to be a big UCLA recruiting class". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  12. "Abramo Canka". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  13. Dell, John (23 May 2023). "Wake Forest lands wing player from UCLA for its men's basketball program". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  14. Bolch, Ben (11 May 2023). "Two transfers leave UCLA basketball in biggest flux of the Mick Cronin era". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  15. "Demon Deacons Bring On Canka to 2023 Roster". godeacs.com. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  16. "Abramo Pene (ITA)'s profile - FIBA U16 European Championship 2018". FIBA. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  17. "UCLA Bruins men's basketball team adds Italy's Abramo Canka to roster for this season". ESPN. Associated Press. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
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