Kyle Vinales (born June 18, 1992) (/vɪnælɛz/) is an American-Puerto Rican professional basketball for Indios de Mayagüez of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He previously competed for the Central Connecticut Blue Devils men's basketball team.
| No. 0 – Indios de Mayagüez | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| League | BSN |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 18, 1992 Farmington Hills, Michigan |
| Nationality | American / Puerto Rican |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College | Central Connecticut (2011–2015) |
| NBA draft | 2015: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2015 | Vaqueros de Bayamón |
| 2015–2017 | Club Africain |
| 2017 | Brujos de Guayama |
| 2017–2018 | US Monastir |
| 2018 | Caciques de Humacao |
| 2018–2019 | AEK Larnaca |
| 2019–2020 | Kalev/Cramo |
| 2020–2021 | Lietkabelis |
| 2021 | Gigantes de Carolina |
| 2021–2022 | SC Derby |
| 2022 | Mets de Guaynabo |
| 2022–2023 | SLUC Nancy Basket |
| 2023 | Legia Warszawa |
| 2024–present | Indios de Mayagüez |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
editVinales began playing basketball with The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Under head coach Brian Shanahan, he emerged as a pure scorer with a diverse attacking game. However, the combo guard would later move to North Farmington High School and start playing with coach Tom Negoshian. He spent his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons at Farmington Hills. In his last year with North Farmington, Vinales averaged about 25.7 points per game. Some of his greatest honors in high school include All-Oakland County and Second Team All-State.[1]
Collegiate career
editBefore committing to Central Connecticut State University, Vinales was rated as a one-star recruit by ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball with a scout grade of 78. He officially signed with the team on November 8, 2010.[2]
Vinales made an excellent career debut after scoring 24 points and recording 5 steals in a loss against Yale on November 11, 2011. He would score a season-high 39 points in his second game against Niagara. Due to his performances, Vinales was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on several occasions, but never earned more prestigious honors.[3]
In his sophomore season at CCSU, Vinales became known as one of the top scorers in the NCAA. He averaged the seventh-most points in the Division I and became the quickest player in school history to reach the 1,000 point ceiling. Vinales was named NEC Player of the Week during the season, and was also named the conference's Rookie of the Year, making the All-Rookie Team as well. Following the season, Vinales made the decision to return to Central Connecticut despite the strong possibility of the transfer.[4]
In his third year playing basketball for CCSU, Vinales continued to be one of the most aggressive scorers in the NCAA. However, in January 2014, Vinales injured his shooting hand during practice. Howie Dickenman, the team's head coach, made the statement, "You hate to see it happen to someone who works so hard."[5]
Kyle never played in his senior year. He announced that he would not be playing via Twitter, saying "No more college ball for me. Time to start my pro career"[citation needed] after he was arrested in October 2014 for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. He ended his career with 1,514 points and hopes to play in the NBA. However, he was later signed by the Puerto Rican team Vaqueros de Bayamon for the 2015 season.[6]
Professional career
editIn 2015 Vinales won the Tunisian League MVP, averaging 22.4 points and 6 assists per game, while also winning the Tunisian championship that same year. In 2018, he was named into the all-BSN team, which is an honour for the Puerto Rican league's top five players. During the BSN season, he averaged 20.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game for the Grises de Humacao.
On September 30, 2019, Vinales signed with Kalev/Cramo of the Latvian–Estonian League.[7]
On July 12, 2020, he signed with Lietkabelis of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[8] Vinales played for Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican league in 2021, averaging 11.2 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. On September 7, 2021, he signed with KK Studentski centar of the Prva A Liga and the ABA League.[9]
In Februaray, 2022, Vinales signed with Mets de Guaynabo of the Puerto Rican League.[10]
On July 4, 2022, he signed with SLUC Nancy Basket of the LNB Pro A.[11]
On January 1, 2023, he signed with Legia Warszawa of the Polish Basketball League.[12]
The Basketball Tournament
editVinales joined House of 'Paign, a team composed primarily of Illinois alumni in The Basketball Tournament 2020. He scored five points and dished out four assists in a 76-53 win over War Tampa in the first round.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Kyle Vinales Bio". CCSUBlueDevils.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ "Kyle Vinales". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ "Kyle Vinales Player Profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ Johnson, Raphielle (24 May 2013). "Kyle Vinales won't leave Central Connecticut State after all". NBCSports.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ Johnson, Raphielle (8 January 2014). "Central Connecticut State guard Kyle Vinales out 5-6 weeks with broken finger". NBCSports.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ "Kyle Vinales Basketball Player Profile". Latin-Basket.com. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Kyle Vinales signs with BC Kalev/Cramo". Sportando. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ "Kyle Vinales signs with Lietkabelis". Sportando. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "S.Centar inks Kyle Vinales". Eurobasket. September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ "Los Mets de Guaynabo adquieren a Kyle Viñales desde Carolina". elnuevodia.com (in Spanish). 11 February 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ "Le meneur américano-portoricain Kyle Vinales débarque au SLUC Nancy" (in French). basketeurope.com. July 4, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "Legia ma nowego rozgrywającego". plk.pl (in Polish). January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Richey, Scott (July 4, 2020). "Thrive and advance". The News-Gazette. Retrieved July 5, 2020.