By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
A day after Olympiacos Piraeus announced the addition of big man Tyrique Jones, EuroLeague Basketball put up an image on social media with the three centers of the team and the caption “The best frontcourt in the EuroLeague?”
It’s a pretty legit question with an even clearer answer for Olympiacos center Donta Hall.
“I believe it,” Hall told Eurohoops when shown the social media post. “Those three right there, this is for sure, probably, the most dominant centers we have in Europe.”
“So, if you ask me: Yeah [Olympiacos has the best frontline in EuroLeague]. These 3 guys, it’s pretty tough.”
Hall welcomes the healthy competition that Jones’ arrival creates and the similar pattern between them.
“He [Jones] came to this team to win also,” Hall said. “Both of us are going to bring that energy and bring that fight. That’s what we are here to do.”
The center rotation of Olympiacos now features Hall, Jones and starting “5” Nikola Milutinov. It’s a lineup that provides Reds head coach Giorgos Bartzokas with a much-needed depth in such a demanding season and a fluidity of options as each player can serve his strategies in a variety of lineups.
Hall himself has shown that he can make the most out of every minute he gets. In the loss to Fenerbahce Beko, he delivered season-highs 16 points and 11 rebounds, playing 27:10 in the absence of Milutinov.
Tonight (9/1) he delivered 9 points, six rebounds and two steals to help Olympiacos bounce back with a win over Bayern Munich at home.
“I’m getting to that point where it’s time for me to do something a little different,” Hall said on his performances early in the second leg of the regular season. “Meshing with the guys more. We need a ‘fight or flight guy’ and that’s me”