Essegian Helps Armenia to LA International Cup Title
Connor Essegian helped Armenia to a 2-0 record at the Los Angeles International Basketball Cup over the weekend. The 6-foot-4 guard shined in the title game, a 92-91 win over Ireland with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting along with six rebounds and three steals.
Essegian chipped in six points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds in Armenia's 89-57 victory over Guatemala in the tournament opener. For the event, Essegian averaged 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 36 percent from 3-point range.
This marks the second straight year Essegian has competed with the Armenian national program.
Nebraska men’s basketball guard Connor Essegian will be in action this weekend, as Armenia will play a pair of games in the Los Angeles International Basketball Cup.
Armenia takes on Guatemala on Friday before wrapping up action against Ireland on Sunday afternoon.
Essegian is playing for Armenia for the second straight summer. In 2023, he averaged 11.5 points per game in two games against France, highlighted by a 14-point showing, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, in the final game of the series.
Essegian joined the Husker program after spending two seasons at Wisconsin. Last year, he played in 33 games as Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament. In 2022-23, he averaged 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. He set a Wisconsin freshman record with 69 3-pointers in 2022-23 and is a career 35 percent shooter from 3-point range.
Essegian is one of two Husker newcomers playing with their national team programs. Berke Buyuktuncel (Turkey is currently preparing for the FIBA U20 Eurobasket tournament set for July 13-21 in Gdynia, Poland.