By George Orfanakis / info@eurohoops.net
The top European clubs have completed their transfer deals and have now entered the preparation stage with the aim of presenting the best possible outcome.
But in conjunction with team goals, each player will try to give their best and to raise their value. After all, best is the enemy of the good and those who want to give some answers will have the chance to do so.
Eurohoops presents 10 players that we expect will improve their performance in the new environment that has been created in their teams…
Dee Bost (Khimki)
The new season will find Dee Bost in the EuroLeague once again, where he played in 6 games last season in the colors of Zalgiris Kaunas (2.2 points, 1.3 assists), before being released from Sarunas Jasikevicius’s team.
The American spent most of the 2017-2018 season in the French team, Strasbourg, with whom he reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League and the semifinals of the domestic league.
Now, Dee Bost will be playing in Khimki, where he’ll have the chance to side with Alexey Shved and provide solutions in offense and creation. We expect that he will be clearly improved with a steady role and playing time in Georgios Bartzokas’s rotation.
Janis Strelnieks (Olympiacos)
Olympiacos are entering a new era under the instructions of David Blatt and the different philosophy is expected to help several players, among them, Janis Strelnieks. After all, the Latvian guard characterized the basketball the Reds were playing last season as old-fashioned.
It’s telling that Strelnieks put up the worst averages of his career (7.5 points, 2.1 assists, 38% in three-point shooting) in a total of 34 games in the EuroLeague, while he was lacking rhythm in his game and a steady role.
The clearly more aggressive basketball that Olympiacos will be playing is a perfect fit for the 29-year-old guard, who will raise his averages in scoring and creating. Of course, the final judge will be the court…
Luca Vildoza (Baskonia)
Baskonia is a club that historically has a unique ability to discover players, mainly from Argentina, has confidence in them and takes them to the next level. The case of Luca Vildoza seems to be of such a player and this season will be especially important for his evolution.
At the age of 23, Vildoza has already shown very good things and his playing time is expected to be greater compared to the 13 minutes he played last season in the EuroLeague (4.5 points, 2 assists).
He’s athletic, fast, with very good ball-handling skills and plenty of audacity, elements that are enough to convince Pedro Martinez to trust him even more. Vildoza is definitely one of the names we’ll be looking out for in Baskonia, who do have many quality players in the backcourt.
Anadolu Efes’s disappointing season didn’t allow several of their players to show their real skills and one of them was Brock Motum. The Australian’s averages were satisfactory (8.7 points, 3 rebounds) but a closer look at his stats proves that they were the result of bursts and not a consistent course.
What’s to come, however, is more promising as Ergin Ataman’s plans don’t include Derrick Brown, which will help Motum get more playing time. Together with Adrien Moerman, the 28-year-old forward will cover the 4 position and prove that he’s an athletic player who can put the ball on the floor, provide solutions from any range and hold his own at the top level.
Ioannis Papapetrou (Panathinaikos)
Ioannis Papapetrou’s move from Olympiacos to Panathinaikos, as expected, made a lot of noise. Any player leaving one “camp” for the other automatically becomes the center of attention, with a lot of cheering and criticism in equal measure.
It’s granted that Greek fans will be tracking closely Papapetrou’s progress throughout the season, but he’s ready to go a step further.
He’s worked hard, at the young age of 24 he has 114 games worth of experience, and in Xavi Pascual’s Panathinaikos he’s going to be the starting 3. It should be considered a given that, at the end of the season, Papapetrou’s averages will be higher compared to his last season playing in red (6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 29% in three-point shooting).
Facundo Campazzo (Real Madrid)
There’s no doubt that Facundo Campazzo is coming off the best season of his career with Real Madrid as he covered for the injured Llull in the regular season and, together with Luka Doncic, led the Whites to the playoffs.
It’s telling that the Argentine achieved career-highs in points (7.9) and assists (4.5), while he counted 30 appearances with an average of over 23 minutes on the court. How easy will it be to outdo these numbers and raise his performance levels?
The departure of Doncic creates a big gap in the backcourt and Pablo Laso will rely heavily on Facundo Campazzo. As Sergio Llull’s main partner and armed with last season’s experience, he’s ready to shine again.
Edwin Jackson (Buducnost)
New team, new challenge, new demands! Buducnost returns to the EuroLeague and one of the players on the roster that is expected to carry the team offensively and have a leading role, is Edwin Jackson.
The French guard is known for his talent in offense and it’s a given that he will boost his averages, from last season’s 4.6 points and 1.2 assists in just 9 appearances with Barcelona.
Jackson’s stepping up is a natural progression since he’s going to a club in which he will be the big name, but at the age of 29, he’ll have to prove that he can have a leading role in the EuroLeague.