By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Olimpia Milano coach Ettore Messina couldn’t help but admire the show that Paris Basketball star TJ Shorts was putting on the floor in the EuroLeague game between the two teams even though the American guard masterminded a defeat for the Italian side.
“Obviously, TJ Shorts dominated the game. He was outstanding. You won’t believe me but he was even fun to watch from the sidelines. Even though he was torturing us,” Messina honestly admitted in the post-game presser.
Shorts finished with 24 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals to lead Paris to a very important 92 – 79 win over Milano. The French squad also got the potentially decisive tiebreaking advantage while both teams stand at 16 -13 with four games remaining in the regular season.
This was Shorts’ third 20-10 game this season and fourth double-double overall. He further boosted his already strong MVP claim, now averaging 18.8 points (on 50-40 splits), 7.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds.
“For sure, his skills are of a high level. Especially the change of speed. The ball handling. His ability to go from one side to the other or forward and back,” Messina commented while making a characteristic back-and-forth move with his hand.
Messina also lauded the winning impact Shorts is bringing to Paris Basketball. While a EuroLeague rookie, the 27-year-old playmaker has made his team a legit playoff contender in their maiden campaign in the competition.
“We are all impressed by his personality. His leadership,” Messina added. “His decisions are very good most of the time. He’s also very difficult to attack on. Difficult. They are very well organized if someone wants to post him. It’s impressive. He’s played for different coaches in his experience and every year he’s facing a different level and he’s adjusting easily. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Shorts and Paris were coming off a trip at Zalgiris Kaunas where they gave up a 19-point first-half lead to suffer a tough loss in the last two seconds. The American player had an uneven performance while missing a crucial pair of free throws in the final minute his opponent up by two points.
“He’s a figher,” Paris coach Tiago Splitter later mentioned on Shorts. “It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. He’ll go out there and he’ll play hard. He has that mentality. The other day, he said that he’s the best point guard [in the EuroLeague]. I can’t understand how people judge him but this is his mentality. This is how he was brought up playing basketball A lot of people didn’t believe in him and he goes out there and he proves people wrong. If he didn’t have this mentality, he wouldn’t be where he is now.”
“I’m proud of him,” Splitter added. “He goes out there and he talks and then he does the job and the work.”