By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Fedor Zugic. Does that name sound familiar? He’s the youngest player to have ever played in the EuroLeague. He was 15 years, 5 months and 4 days old when Buducnost VOLI Podgorica lost to Zalgiris Kaunas (84-76) in Lithuania on February 22, 2019. Other players had to reach double that age to make their debuts in the competition.
Here are five of them.
JIMMER FREDETTE
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens | Guard | February 25, 1989 | USA
13.2 pts | 2.2 reb | 1.8 ast | 0.8 stl | 0 blk | 1.4 tov | 21:45 min | 13.1 PIR | 26 G
It was 2014 when Panathinaikos OPAP Athens tried to acquire him for the first time. Their persistence was rewarded years later and last fall Jimmer Fredette finally started playing in green. This season is his first in Europe and, by extension, in the EuroLeague, following his journey around the world, even in China (2016-19), where he got the nickname “The Lonely Master.” He must feel lonely, despite the presence of the rival defense, every time he tries to score, as he’s a master of the art of shooting. Proof of that is the fact that he’s the second-best scorer on Panathinaikos, making 48% of his field goal attempts.