Utah State forward Justin Bean (34) drives as BYU forward Seneca Knight, right, defends in the first half during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Former Utah State men’s basketball star Justin Bean has signed a three-year contract with Alba Berlin according to an announcement the Germany-based team made this morning.
Alba Berlin competes at the highest levels of European basketball, playing in both the Basketball Bundesliga and as a qualifying member of EuroLeague. In the last three seasons of EuroLeague play, Alba Berlin has a record of 37-65, with its best mark (14-20) coming in 2021-22. Last season the club went 11-23 in EuroLeague to finish 16th (of 18 teams) but finished second in Basketball Bundesliga with a record of 31-3 in that league.
Bean played four seasons at Utah State, averaging 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. In his senior season, Bean averaged 17.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
In the year following his graduation from USU, Bean signed on with multiple NBA organizations, playing for their summer league and G-League teams. Bean first played for the Los Angeles Clippers’ summer league team in the summer of 2022. In September, Bean signed what was likely an Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies and participated in their preseason training camp. The Grizzlies waived Bean on October 10, but retained him on their G-League affiliate team the Memphis Hustle.
Bean spent the 2022-23 season playing for the Hustle, averaging 10.2 points and 7.3 rebounds across 48 games in the G-League regular season and Showcase Cup.
In his most recent appearances as a pro, Bean played for the Boston Celtics summer league team. He appeared in all five of the Celtics’ games in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds.
