Kristjan Kitsing

Kristjan Kitsing
No. 33 – Tartu Ülikool
PositionPower forward
LeagueKorvpalli Meistriliiga
Latvian–Estonian Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1990-12-11) December 11, 1990 (age 33)
Tartu, Estonia
NationalityEstonian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
Playing career2008–present
Career history
2008–2010Tartu Ülikool/Rock
2010–2015Kalev/Cramo
2012–2013→Pärnu
2015–2016TTÜ
2016Estudiantes Concordia
2016–2017Bakken Bears
2017–2018Tartu Ülikool
2018–2020Kalev/Cramo
2020–2021Rytas
2021–2023Kalev/Cramo
2023–presentTartu Ülikool
Career highlights and awards

Kristjan Kitsing (born December 11, 1990) is an Estonian professional basketball player for Tartu Ülikool of the Estonian–Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Kitsing is also a member of the Estonia national basketball team.[1][2]

Club career

Kitsing started his career with the junior team of the University of Tartu basketball team. In the beginning of the 2008/2009 season, Kitsing was promoted to the senior team. In his first season he averaged 4 points a game with an average of almost 8 minutes in only 11 games. The following season looked a lot better for the Estonian youngster as he averaged 8,7 points in 16 minutes in the regular season, but was later benched for the playoffs although he proved to be one of the best prospects in Estonia at that time. After winning his first Estonia League title in Tartu, Kitsing moved to BC Kalev in hopes of getting more playing time and gaining some experience in the VTB United League. With the new team and a new coach, his decision to change the club proved to be right as Kitsing averaged 6,5 points in 16 minutes, playing in a total of 36 games. He went on to win his second championship.

In the start of the 2011/2012 season, Kitsing scored 11 points against the Lithuanian team Žalgiris. He continued his season putting up pretty great numbers and in the end of the season he won his third Estonian title. For the 2012/2013 season, the forward was loaned to Pärnu to recover from an injury. After spending a season on loan, Kitsing made his Eurocup debut back at his previous club in 2013. By the end of the season Kitsing had won another title to write on his name. The next season his role and statistics stayed the same, but after the team's starting power forward left the club, the situation didn't improve as small forwards were pushed to his position. After the defeat in the 2014/2015 finals, Kitsing left the club. He signed with TTÜ. He played 32 minutes a game averaging 16,5 points and 6,3 rebounds per game. He was voted to the league's symbolic 1st team lineup and later in the summer he had a great qualification tournament with the national team.

After his season, Kitsing moved to Argentina to play for the Estudiantes Concordia in the Argentinian first division, but the player and the team terminated the contract after two months. A week later, Kitsing announced that he would be joining the Bakken Bears of the Danish Basketball League who was also participating in the newly announced Basketball Champions League. At the end of the 2016/2017 season, Bakken won the title of the Danish Basketball League. For the next season Kitsing moved back to his hometown to play with his old club BC Tartu.

On 13 September 2020, Rytas announced an addition of Kitsing for the 2020–21 season.[3]

On July 29, 2021, he signed with Kalev/Cramo of VTB United League.[4]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Domestic leagues

Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Tartu Ülikool/Rock KML 11 7.8 .447 .333 .529 1.4 .2 .6 .2 4.2
2009–10 20 13.7 .641 .500 .595 3.0 .3 .4 .6 7.3
2010–11 Kalev/Cramo 36 16.0 .448 .312 .727 3.6 .6 .5 .4 6.6
2011–12 26 13.7 .495 .308 .833 2.9 .5 .4 .0 5.3
2012–13 Pärnu 29 29.1 .447 .388 .776 5.3 1.1 .5 .2 10.4
2013–14 Kalev/Cramo 29 17.3 .497 .466 .729 3.8 .4 .5 .3 8.4
2014–15 26 19.6 .528 .300 .759 4.5 .7 .3 .2 7.3
2015–16 TTÜ 32 31.8 .476 .418 .832 6.5 1.5 .8 .2 16.6
2016–17 Estudiantes Concordia LNB 8 10.3 .294 .300 .875 .9 .6 .0 .0 2.5
Bakken Bears Basketligaen 31 16.1 .495 .354 .875 3.4 .8 .3 .3 8.9
2017–18 University of Tartu KML 30 27.1 .522 .441 .766 4.9 1.5 .5 .2 14.8
2018–19 Kalev/Cramo LEBL 29 19.4 .490 .367 .755 3.9 .9 .6 .0 9.7
2019–20 21 21.6 .486 .430 .804 3.5 .8 .5 .2 10.0

References

  1. ^ Kristjan Kitsing basketball profile
  2. ^ Kristjan Kitsing profile (in Estonian)
  3. ^ "Ekstra iškvietimas: „Rytas" pasirašė sutartį su aukštaūgiu iš Estijos Kristjanu Kitsingu" (in Lithuanian). BC Rytas. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Estonian national team sharpshooter Kristjan Kitsing re-joins BC Kalev/Cramo". bckalev.ee. July 29, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.