By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Shabazz Napier’s return to Milano has created some buzz in the EuroLeague landscape, but Nemanja Nedovic is now fully convinced that despite losing him, Crvena Zvezda will bounce back under head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos.
During the red-and-white Serbian team’s end of the year’s annual cocktail party, in fact, the 32-year-old Serbian guard commented on how much they stayed next to his now-former teammate. “In ten years of my career, I have not seen anyone put up with and support someone else, I don’t mean only the club, as we supported Shabazz [Napier]”, the former Milano player shared to several media.
Now that the American guard is no longer on board in Belgrade, the sharpshooter believes things will change for the Serbian side, which is currently standing in 15th position, tied with the Italian team on a 6-10 record. “We spent a lot of energy on that, instead of on some important things, and now that he’s gone, I think we can focus on what we need and it will surely make things easier for us”, he said.
Playing with Milano in the second part of the 2022-23 season, helping Ettore Messina’s team win the Italian championship by beating Virtus Bologna in the LBA Finals, Shabazz Napier had 9.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game with Crvena Zvezda to start this year.
Returning to Crvena Zvezda in the summer of 2022 after beginning his career there from 2008 to 2012, Nemanja Nedovic has been averaging 12.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists since the start of this year’s EuroLeague Regular Season. The Serbian shooter played with Milano from 2018 to 2020.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague