Former University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball guard Joe French has signed with the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G-League, UAPB announced Thursday.
The Skyhawks, which play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., are the Atlanta Hawks’ G-League affiliate. They went 17-17 last season, finishing eighth out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference.
French played for the Golden Lions last year after transferring from Bethune-Cookman. He averaged 15.1 points per game, third most for UAPB and eighth most in the SWAC.
The Orlando, Fla., native made 109 3-point shots, the most of any SWAC player. He and teammate Rashad Williams each made 40.5 percent of their 3-point attempts, which ranked second in the SWAC.
French’s best performances as a Golden Lion were a 34-point night against Ecclesia College and a 30-point outing against Missouri, but he also made 8 of 12 3-point shots against Gonzaga for a 26-point showing.
Before transferring to UAPB, French played three seasons at Bethune-Cookman. In the 2021-22 campaign, he averaged 15.8 points per game and was named Second Team All-SWAC. As a freshman in the 2019-20 season, he was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team.