Finally, it’s hoops time over in Europe. The basketball season in the “Old Continent” officially started last week with the Qualification Round of the Basketball Champions League and the FIBA Europe Cup. A continent with so many leagues, Europe is a place where fans can enjoy a lot of different stories, players, and games. Here are some European basketball storylines that can interest fans from the United States.
NBA NAMES IN EUROPEAN BASKETBALL
Like every year, the European basketball world will see several players who are pretty well-known in the United States for their NBA past.
This year, the face of this group of players is going to be Brandon Jennings. The 29-year-old point guard actually started his professional career playing European basketball before he had a very productive NBA career, especially with the Milwaukee Bucks. For this season, he decided to take his talents back to Europe as he will be playing for Zenit St. Petersburg, a Russian team that competes in the EuroCup, the 2nd-tier European cup.
This season, the EuroLeague will feature two newcomers fresh off an NBA career in Derrick Williams and Tarik Black. The former No. 2 overall pick Williams opted to jump across the pond with a chance to make the most of his new opportunity with German club Bayern Munich, as he told Def Pen Hoops’ JD Shaw. The former Kansas big man Black has joined Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv after spending four years in the NBA with the Lakers and Rockets. At Maccabi, Black will join another former NBA big man in Johnny O’Bryant, who played 34 games for the Charlotte Hornets last season.
NBA veteran Amar’e Stoudemire is not done yet with the game of basketball as he officially signed to return to Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel, where he averaged 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 21.1 minutes per game last season.
After a good experience in the EuroLeague with Maccabi Tel Aviv, two-time NBA champion Norris Cole decided to take his talents to Italy. He will be the star of Serie A team Sidigas Avellino, where he’s joining 2010 NBA second-round pick Hamady N’Diaye and former Spurs two-way contract player Matt Costello.
Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce has lost a key piece of last season’s roster as Brad Wanamaker left to sign in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, but the Istanbul club found a legit replacement in point guard Tyler Ennis. A former first-round pick out of Syracuse, Ennis will embrace his first European experience after spending four seasons in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Lakers.
THE DRAFT-AND-STASH PROSPECT TO WATCH IN EUROPEAN BASKETBALL
Several draft-and-stash prospects will play European basketball with the chance to keep developing before they make the jump to the NBA. There’s no question about the fact that, among the euro-stash players, Nigel Williams-Goss will be the most interesting one to watch, not only for his talent but also because of the level of the league he will play in this season.
The former Gonzaga guard, selected at No. 55 overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2017 NBA Draft, was the best rookie in Europe hands down last season as he stood out in the Adriatic League with Partizan Belgrade, averaging 16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game while shooting 46% from three. In a few weeks, Williams-Goss will make his debut with Greek club Olympiacos in the EuroLeague, the best league in the world outside of the NBA.
“ALL EYES ON TURIN”
When it comes to professional sports, not many European cities will be drawing more attention than Turin, Italy this season. In football (or soccer, whatever you call it), Turin-based club Juventus completed the so-called “move of the century” by signing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. At the same time, Serie A basketball club Fiat Turin brought in a hoops legend by hiring Larry Brown as their new head coach. This is a very important move not only for the club itself but also for the entirety of Italian basketball as this move will bring attention that Italy couldn’t draw in the past few years.
Brown is coaching in Europe for the first time in his career. Of course, his legendary resume attracted the American players on the market and Fiat Turin was able to sign interesting names such as New Orleans Pelicans draft-and-stash Tony Carr, two-time NBA champion James Michael McAdoo, 36-year-old veteran Carlos Delfino, former Brooklyn Nets guard Tyshawn Taylor, and former Clippers two-way contract player Jamil Wilson. With big-time names like Larry Brown and his new players on the roster, Fiat Turin is definitely one of the teams to watch this season in Europe.
EUROPEAN BASKETBALL ROOKIES
Like every year, a lot of rookies out of college are going to begin their professional careers in Europe after going undrafted.
Some of them will have the chance to play an important role right away in good leagues. Expect former Butler University star Kelan Martin to have a great rookie season with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, a German team that reached the Basketball Champions League finals last season. He is definitely one of the most intriguing rookies to watch this season in Europe. Another player who showed some very good things early this season is Jae’sean Tate. The Ohio State alum has immediately embraced his new role as a leader for Belgium’s Antwerp Giants, posting back-to-back-to-back double-doubles to help them win their first three games of the Champions League’s Qualification Round. Purdue and Nevada alum Kendall Stephens will have the chance to begin his pro career in a well-respected club at Spanish ACB’s Monbus Obradoiro.
Also, there are a lot of rookies who will try to make a name for themselves in under-the-radar leagues, starting with E.C. Matthews, who’s about to begin his pro career in Finland with Kouvot after a productive college career at Rhode Island. A.J. Davis, son of former NBA player Antonio Davis, had a great debut for Kosovan club Sigal Prishtina in the Qualification Round of the Basketball Champions League. Unfortunately, the team didn’t manage to make it to the regular season phase, so they will compete in the FIBA Europe Cup.
Do you love Cinderella stories? If so, you’re probably aware of Loyola Chicago’s historic run to last season’s NCAA Final Four. If you followed their journey, make sure to keep an eye on Ben Richardson, a key player from that Loyola Chicago team, as he jumped across the pond to begin his pro career in Poland with MKS Dabrowa Gornicza.
FORGOING COLLEGE ELIGIBILITY AND MOVING TO EUROPEAN BASKETBALL
In addition to the college seniors who are beginning their careers in Europe, there will be once again a few players who decided to leave college early in order to turn pro and be automatically eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft. It’s happened for a while and this trend is continuing this year, as four underclassmen have begun their pro career in Europe this season. Jalek Felton, who left North Carolina after his freshman year, has officially signed his first pro deal in Slovenia with Petrol Olimpija Ljubljana, where he will be playing alongside Washington Wizards draft-and-stash prospect Issuf Sanon. Former Oklahoma State guard Tavarius Shine left college after his junior year and joined Swedish club BC Lulea. After suffering a season-ending injury, sophomore Marcus LoVett decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility to pursue a professional career. The former St. John’s guard is currently in Italy, working out with Serie A team Dinamo Sassari until the end of training camp with a chance to make the final roster. Finally, Ole Miss guard DeAndre Burnett decided not to return to college for his senior year and signed a deal with the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League.
BC PRIENAI – YEAR 1 A.B. (AFTER BALLS)
Last season, one of the most outspoken storylines in basketball was the four-month tenure of the Ball brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo, in Lithuania. The former Chino Hills high school stars played professionally for BC Prienai — formerly known as BC Vytautas for sponsorship reasons — a team that was literally put on the map worldwide thanks to the massive media attention that the entire Ball circus was able to draw. Now that the brothers are no longer in Prienai, it will be interesting to see what’s next for the Lithuanian club. At first glance, things are looking much better than last year. With the money that the team apparently made thanks to the Big Baller publicity, BC Prienai had a pretty good signing season, adding an efficient veteran shooter in Martynas Gecevicius and former NCAA D1 players such as Wisconsin alum Mike Bruesewitz, Wake Forest’s Austin Arians, and former Illinois big man Maverick Morgan. Yes, LiAngelo and LaMelo are not there anymore, but there’s a new duo of brothers in town, as BC Prienai brought in veteran twins Darjus and Ksistof Lavrinovic, two 7-foot Lithuanian stars who have had a great career in Europe.
Last weekend, BC Prienai got the win in its first LKL game of the 2018-19 regular season, sending a pretty clear message: yes, Prienai was the last ranked team this past season, but now the music’s changed. Don’t sleep on them.
All these storylines exist and European basketball’s 2018-19 season is just beginning. Strap in, folks. It’s going to be fun.
