By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
In the Hamburg Towers’ inaugural 7DAYS EuroCup campaign, there’s a “late bloomer” of sorts who is taking the competition by storm. His name is Caleb Homesley and he’s third in the competition in scoring so far this season.
Homesley began his professional career a few months before turning 25 with the Erie BayHawks in the G-League in early 2021. His overall performance (9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game) put him on the scouts’ radars and Homesley was actually offered a multi-year contract by the Washington Wizards. Just when everything seemed to be coming together, Homesley was waived nearly two months after signing the said contract, without ever appearing in a game.
The Liberty University alumnus didn’t have a conventional beginning to his career, although he had a few impressive games under his belt in college, including a career-high performance (up to that point) of 30 points during the 2019 NCAA Tournament. It was almost a year and a half after his graduation when the opportunity arose to play for Coach Pedro Calles.
Both Hamburg and Homesley showed from the get-go that they are not your typical rookies looking for excuses. The American guard introduced himself to EuroCup with a 21-point performance against Partizan NIS Belgrade in a fast-scoring showdown on opening night and he has been scoring in double figures consistently since.
Coach Calles trusts in him to be his main, go-to ball handler, and Homesley has taken on this role with rather impressive shooting percentages (44% 3FG, 52.2% 2FG). It comes as no surprise that he trails only Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar stars Johnathan Motley and Errick McCollum in the battle for the most points scored this season with 20.7 per game.
“I’ve learned a lot from coach Pedro coming in, and I came a little late”, Homesley told in a recent interview on Hamburg’s YouTube channel. “The first couple of weeks were a little shaky, just because the rules were different, I felt like the court shrunk a little bit. I think Pedro did a very good job preparing me for where I am today. Whatever I’m doing in the game is a direct result of coach Pedro helping me out, and also the freedom [with which] Pedro lets us play”
With much freedom on his hands on the offensive end, Homesley pushes Hamburg in fast-paced games. He was the reference point in Hamburg’s recent impressive three-game streak with 76 points scored across those wins. His brightest moment so far was a dominant performance over Turk Telekom Ankara, in which he posted a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds along with 6 assists and 3 steals in 32 minutes on the court.
Besides being an explosive scorer and taking full advantage of the chance to showcase his talent, Homesley is also a team player. He is averaging 4.3 assists per game, along with 3.9 rebounds, and these numbers aren’t always seen in guards of his caliber.
“I don’t care about the personal goals, achievements, I just try to get the win for my teammates”, he said after the win over Turk Telekom.
There’s no doubt that Homesley has enough confidence to drive the entire team. Even in tough situations with fellow guard and a key piece of Calles’s rotation, Jaylon Brown, missing in two of the squad’s last three games, Homesly held the flag up high with his best games of the season.
Of course, we have to bear in mind that Hamburg’s job this season is a tough one. They have faced three of the EuroCup’s superpowers (Partizan, Lokomotiv, Joventut Badalona) and even managed to upset Loko, while openly challenging all three repeatedly in the regular season.
So far, Homesley is winning Hamburg’s bet (and the critical acclaim). His transition to European basketball has run smoothly with only a few downsides to his game that could be attributed either to his inexperience or that – especially on the defensive end – there are some key differences in comparison to college basketball. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to lock him for the All-EuroCup first team, provided that Hamburg remains well-placed in the standings as the season progresses.
Photo credit: EuroCup