HARROGATE, Tenn. — After completing one of the most successful careers in program history, former Lincoln Memorial University All-American forward Dorian Pinson has signed to play professionally for White Wings Hanau in the German ProA league.

Pinson – a four-year letter winner with the Railsplitters – will join his former teammate Luquon Choice in Hanau, Germany and will be coached by Simon Cote.

“I am thrilled for Dorian as this is a very well-deserved opportunity for him to continue his career at the professional level,” said LMU men’s basketball coach Josh Schertz, who brought Pinson to Harrogate by way of Greenville, South Carolina prior to the 2014-15 season.

Hanau finished eighth out of 16 teams in the ProA standings last season with an even 15-15 record. Choice finished second on the team with 10.4 points per game and shot 42 percent from three-point range.

Pinson was arguably the most versatile player in the history of the LMU men’s basketball program. Despite his 6-5, 230-pound frame, he served as the lynchpin of the Railsplitters’ offensive system with elite skills as both a ballhandler and passer.

Pinson finished his career as the only player in program history with over 1,300 career points, 900 career rebounds and 400 career assists despite missing the entire second half of the 2016-17 season due to injury. As a senior, he averaged 15.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game to earn All-South Atlantic Conference first team, All-Southeast Region first team and DII Bulletin All-American honors.

“As I told Coach Cote upon signing Dorian, he’s getting one of those rare players that immediately makes any organization better just by his mere presence,” Schertz said. “He’s a ferocious competitor whose basketball acumen is off the charts and to top it off he’s without question the best leader I’ve ever coached.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his arrival on campus in 2014 brought about the greatest four-year run in LMU and South Atlantic Conference basketball history, and as a program we got over the hump on the national level.”

Pinson’s career did, indeed, coincide with the winningest stretch ever seen by a SAC men’s basketball program. From 2014 to 2018, the Railsplitters went a combined 126-14 with four straight SAC regular-season titles, two SAC tournament championships, two Southeast Regional championships and back-to-back appearances in the national semifinals, including a run to the 2016 national championship.

The four highest single-season win totals in program history all occurred during Pinson’s tenure: 34 in 2015-16, 32 in 2016-17, and 30 in 2017-18 and 2014-15. In those four seasons, the Railsplitters were ranked No. 1 in the nation at least once every year, hosted the regional three times and made three consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky over the years to coach some absolute studs; however, none has had a greater impact on the trajectory of our program than Dorian Pinson,” Schertz said.

Pinson will make his professional debut when Hanau opens the 2018-19 campaign on Sept. 22.