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Saint Joseph’s grads Shavar Newkirk and Jai Williams to play professionally

The former Hawks signed with teams in Canada and Poland.

St. Joseph's Shavar Newkirk drives past George Mason's Justin Kier during the 2nd half of the A-10 tournament, quarterfinals, at the Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, Friday, March 9, 2018. St. Joes beat Mason 68-49 to advance to the Semifinals. STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's Shavar Newkirk drives past George Mason's Justin Kier during the 2nd half of the A-10 tournament, quarterfinals, at the Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, Friday, March 9, 2018. St. Joes beat Mason 68-49 to advance to the Semifinals. STEVEN M. FALK / Staff PhotographerRead moreSteven M. Falk

Former Saint Joseph's players Shavar Newkirk and Jai Williams, both 2018 grads, recently signed contracts to begin their professional basketball careers.

Newkirk, who came back from an ACL injury to lead the Hawks in scoring with 17.4 points per game and also averaged 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals last season, signed with the Halifax Hurricanes of the National Basketball League of Canada. The 6-foot guard from New York was second-team all-Atlantic Ten and all-Big Five.

Williams, a 6-8 forward from Philadelphia, will play in Poland for Polpharma Starogard Gdanski of the Energa Baskeball Liga, the highest league  in the country. He played a total of 47 minutes off the bench last season, averaged 1.4 points, and received the Hawks' Ariano Character Award.