By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
Which players made their debut on the courts of the Euroleague this season and have stood out most with their performances? Shortly before the end of the regular period, Eurohoops.net evaluates the rookies and ranks them.
The Euroleague is a competition that is difficult and tough, and you have to experience it for a while before you can be able to cope. Most players need time in order to be able to adapt to the demands and get used to the level of competitiveness. Head coach Andrea Trinchieri of Brose Baskets Bamberg made an excellent analysis of this in the “Coaches Corner” column on the Euroleague website.
Most players need time and several games’ worth of experience in order to perform according to their actual capacity and rise to the level of the competition. But there are some who stand out, some who have shown this kind of quality early on and have are candidates for best rookie at this early stage of the season.
The evaluation wasn’t made based on statistics, but rather on the players’ performance, the role that they have within their teams, and the effect that they have on the overall performances of their teams.
Tyler Honeycutt
Khimki Moscow Region
Age: 25
Country: USA
Position: Forward
Height: 2.03 meters
Previous teams: UCLA, Sacramento Kings, Reno Bighorns, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Ironi Nes-Ziona
Tyler Honeycutt is currently in his second year with Khimki, but this is his rookie season in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. The American forward is on a roster full of stars, especially in the backcourt, but he’s extremely valuable for Rimas Kurtinaitis, serving many functions on the court. Besides, it’s not common for a player who averages just 5.2 points to have a 10.3 performance index rating. Honeycutt doesn’t shoot a lot, but makes a difference in other ways, such as the 19 rebounds he pulled last week, the second-most by a Euroleague player this decade.
Trevor Mbakwe
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
Age: 26
Country: USA
Position: Center
Height: 2.07 meters
Previous teams: Marquette, Minnesota, Virtus Roma, Brose Baskets Bamberg
Trevor Mbakwe is one of the top athletic big men in this year’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague, an ideal model of the mobile big men that have dominated in the Euroleague in recent years. The 26-year-old American center is making constant leaps in his career and this year he introduced himself to the fans of the Euroleague as one of the best rebounders around in a Maccabi jersey. He tops the list of the most offensive rebounds and he’s third in total rebounds. Offensively, he’s had a few ups and downs, but he showed that he has the skills to dominate.
James Feldeine
Panathinaikos Athens
Age: 27
Country: Dominican Republic
Height: 1.93 meters
Previous teams: Quinnipac, Breogan Lugo, Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, Kantu, Vaquerso de Bayamon
This summer James Feldeine made a leap in his career by signing with a Turkish Airlines Euroleague team for the first time, and in the first three months of the season he has solidified his place is among the top players. The Dominican guard is Panathinaikos‘s main shooting guard, he has the second-most playing time and the most shot attempts after Nick Calathes. Feldeine is the third-best scorer for the Greens and had a period of excellent form in November with 15.2 points on average in four games.
Ryan Broekhoff
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Age: 25
Country: Australia
Position: Forward
Height: 2.01 meters
Previous teams: Valparaiso, Besiktas JK Istanbul
The Australian forward has appeared for the first time in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague with the colors of Lokomotiv, becoming one of Georgios Bartzokas’s secret weapons in the Russian team’s amazing run this year. Broekhoff is an excellent long-range shooter, ranking ninth in three-point accuracy (51.4%), but also helps his team in many other ways. The 25-year-old forward attempts more three-pointers than two-pointers and, with his great percentage from behind the three-point line, opens up rival defenses, creating space for his teammates’ drives.
Daniel Theis
Brose Baskets Bamberg
Age: 23
Country: Germany
Position: Forward
Height: 2.06 meters
Previous teams: SU Medien, NY Phantoms Braunschweig, Ratiopharm Ulm, Weissenhorn
The 23-year-old German is making gradual steps towards establishing himself at the highest level and with every passing season proves that his future looks bright. After three consecutive seasons in the Eurocup, Theis was “promoted” to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. After his very good season last year with Bamberg, head coach Andrea Trinchieri gave him an even more enhanced role in this one and was vindicated. Theis is extremely effective close to the basket, shooting 69% in two-pointers, ranking sixth among all Euroleague players. He has become one of the main reasons for Bamberg’s success.
Ekpe Udoh
Fenerbahce Istanbul
Age: 28
Country: USA
Position: Center
Height: 2.08 meters
Previous teams: Michigan, Baylor, Golden State Warriors, Bnei Hasharon, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers
This summer Fenerbahce lured Ekpe Udoh by persuading him to become the mobile big man who’s going to be Jan Vesely‘s partner in the frontline and the one who will increase the team’s athleticism. The 28-year-old American is very consistent in his performances, scoring in double-digit points in five of his seven games so far. He’s quite accurate in two-point shooting, as he is from the free throw line, which is rare for a player of his size. And he’s also the Fenerbahce player with the second-highest ranking after Vesely.
Jon Diebler
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Age: 27
Country: USA
Position: Guard
Height: 1.98 meters
Previous teams: Ohio State, Panionios BC Athens, Pinar Karsiyaka
He’s 27 years old, a veteran on European courts, but this year is his first season in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Diebler is one of the best shooters in the competition so far, vindicating head coach Dusan Ivkovic’s decision to bring him to Efes. He has already made 28 three-pointers (a little more than 3 three-pointers per game), more than any other Euroleague player through nine games! The American shooter is the third-most accurate in the competition among those who have attempted at least 30 shots, making 53.8% of his attempts from the arc.
Cory Higgins
CSKA Moscow
Age: 26
Country: USA
Position: Guard/Forward
Height: 1.96 meters
Previous teams: Colorado, Charlotte Bobcats, Erie Bay Hawks, Triumph Lyubertsy, Royal Hali Gaziantep
In the summer, head coach Dimitrios Itoudis chose to add to CSKA Moscow‘s gilded roster a young American with no prior experience in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. The CSKA boss has been proven perceptive even before the regular season is over. Higgins was the ideal “glue” for the perimeter and the frontline of the Russian team, to which he adapted after the first four games. He has 10.7 points per game with 55% accuracy in two-point shooting and 56% in three-point shooting, while being extremely “economical” in his attempts on a team that’s brimming with offensive solutions. Additionally, his 12.4 index rating per game ranks Higgins fourth on the team behind Nando De Colo, Milos Teodosic and Kyle Hines.
Bradley Wanamaker
Brose Baskets Bamberg
Age: 26
Country: USA
Position: Guard
Height: 1.93 meters
Previous teams: Pittsburgh, Teramo Basket, Libertas Forli, Austin Toros, CSP Limoges, Gruppo Tesi Pistoia
He was Bamberg head coach Andrea Trinchieri’s ardent desire for a few years. He was acquired two summers ago, raising Bamberg’s competitive level in the Eurocup, and this year Wanamaker has been introduced to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague audience. The 26-year-old American guard has a high level of basketball intelligence and a well-developed scorer’s instinct, averaging 13 points, 14th-highest among all Euroleague players. But Wanamaker doesn’t overdo it with his shot attempts and is a wonderful team player, dishing 4.3 assists per game, which is 12th-best in the league. He’s Bamberg’s mastermind and his 10th-place in performance index rating proves his overall contribution and quality.
Quincy Miller
Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
Age: 23
Country: USA
Position: Forward
Height: 2.06 meters
Previous teams: Baylor, Denver Nuggets, Iowa Energy, Reno Bighorns, Sacramento Kings, Grant Rapids Drive, Detroit Pistons
He’s the player-phenomenon of this year’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague! Miller signed with Crvena Zvezda shortly after the start of the season, missing the two first games in the Euroleague. It took him another two games to adapt, as he’s playing for the first time in Europe. From the fifth round onwards though, the 23-year-old American has had an impressive run of four consecutive appearances with 23.5 points, 8 rebounds and 26.5 index ratings on average! Overall, he’s the seventh best scorer (15.4 points) in the competition. Miller really is the definition of a player who joined a team and moved it up at least a couple of levels.
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