Despite being named the team MVP of the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants and getting rave reviews in the NBA Summer League, former Indiana University point guard Earl Calloway is headed to Croatia.

Cibona Zagreb announced the signing of Calloway on Saturday, according to Euroleague.net:

Cibona Zagreb signed point guard Earl Calloway to a two-year contract, the team announced Saturday. Calloway (191, 24) arrives from Fort Wayne of the NBDL, where he led his team last season with 19 points per game and was sixth in the league with 5.8 assists and fourth with 2.1 steals per game. He also contributed 5.1 rebounds per game and was named team MVP at the end of the season. Last season was Calloway’s first as a professional after two strong seasons at Indiana University. Calloway averaged 9.6 points and 4.3 assists for the Hoosiers as a senior.

Calloway’s stellar play last season in Ft. Wayne coupled with summer league success couldn’t guarantee him a roster spot in the NBA, so he took the sure thing in Croatia and who can blame him? The money and security of a two-year contract is definitely more appealing than the peanuts earned in the NBDL.

The NBA’s summer league is what it is — a bunch of first-and-second-year players desperately clawing for the last few spots on their team. Often, the effort is fruitless, and those players are sent back to the NBDL or to Europe to make that strong Euro currency. The dollar’s weak anyway. Who needs it?

So it is with a requisite grain of salt that we take former Hoosier Earl Calloway’s success this offseason. Still, Calloway scored 16 points in his first summer league game on an efficient 5-6 from the field. He was matched up against No. 4 overall pick Russell Westbrook for much of the game.

Pacers coach Jim O’Brien has said he thinks Calloway is an NBA-ready point guard. If Earl’s worked on his shooting and his turnover rate in his time in the NBDL, there’s no reason he can’t fill a back-end roster spot on a team like the Pacers. Whether the Pacers actually need another point guard is a different question, but it sure would be nice to see Calloway — a class act by all accounts — play his way onto a roster somewhere.

Armon Bassett showed early on last season that he was a force to be reckoned with as he marched into Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 28th and scored a then-career-high 16 points.

He finished the season fourth on the Hoosiers in scoring at 9.5 points per game and second in assists with 3.0 per game.

Now a sophomore, Bassett will be called upon to take over the point guard duties for the departed Earl Calloway.

Inside the Hall caught up with the Terre Haute native after the Barnstorming Tour stop at New Albany. We got the scoop on what he’s been working on over the summer, what Calloway taught him last season, the incoming recruiting class and his expectations for the upcoming season.

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There weren’t two guys on last year’s Hoosier team with more charisma than Rod Wilmont and Earl Calloway. (Mike White was a close third. Wink.) They were flashy; they were fun to watch.

On a given night, Wilmont would transform into a can’t-miss-three-point assassin. Calloway, at his best, could break down a defense with ease. So, I’m glad they’ve both hooked on with NBA Summer League squads — Wilmont with the New York Knicks and Calloway with the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s hard enough making an NBA squad as a second round draft pick — they don’t get guaranteed contracts — so I doubt either of these guys will actually land on their respective team’s roster.

But hey, congrats are in order all the same.