CHICAGO -- While the Flames are busy preparing to wrap up the non-conference portion of their 2018-19 schedule, three former UIC standouts who played under head coach Steve McClain are in the early stages of their professional basketball careers. After helping the Flames to consecutive postseason appearances and the first 20-win season in 14 years in 2017-18, Dikembe Dixson, Tai Odiase and Clint Robinson have continued to make an impact in gyms all over the world.

Dixson, the 2015-16 unanimous Horizon League Freshman of the Year, began the season playing with Hoops Club in Beirut, Lebanon in that country's top division. Dixson's first taste of professional action came with the Miami Heat during Summer League stints in Sacramento and Las Vegas. On December 18, Dixson returned to the United States as he was acquired by the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League, the official minor league system of the NBA. Dixson, who averaged 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 74 career contests with the Flames, joins the Bulls for the NBA G league Winter Showcase in Las Vegas this week. Windy City takes on the Northern Arizona Suns on Dec. 19, and the Iowa Wolves on Dec. 21. Dixson's first home game, played at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, is scheduled for Jan. 1 against the Greensboro Swarm.

Overseas, Odiase is playing for Lavrio, a top-division squad in Greece. The two-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 4.0 points per game and shooting nearly 52 percent from the floor. After graduating as the all-time leader in UIC and Horizon League history in blocks, he's posted eight rejections in nine games played this season. In Odiase's last game against European powerhouse AEK Athens, he poured in a career-high nine points. He began his professional career in Spain last spring and also played with the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League.

Robinson has hooked up with Esgueira, a club in Portugal's top division. Robinson is averaging more than 31 minutes per game through 10 contests and he's posting nearly a double-double with 9.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. The UIC alumnus from Montego Bay, Jamaica, currently ranks second in the league with 2.2 blocks per game and third in rebounding.