By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Having a star at the peak of his performance is a blessing, as was the case last season in the 7Days EuroCup when Scottie Wilbekin and Darussafaka proved to be a title-winning combination. Team play, chemistry and overall efficiency, however, have proven to be the much safer road this season.
That’s exactly the case among the current crop of EuroCup quarterfinalists. While the overall numbers of all eight teams are admirable, in almost every instance, they don’t rely on a specific player, but on team effort. Most of the top teams of the competitions are built around team play – and their numbers prove it.
Individual scoring is not enough
Some of the most charismatic scorers in Europe compete in the EuroCup, but putting up big numbers does not always equate to team success.
Out of the top 20 scorers in this season’s competition, only two – Rokas Giedraitis of ALBA Berlin and Raymar Morgan of UNICS Kazan – are still in the running for the trophy. The players on the top scorers’ list are impressive, but 18 of them are already out of the competition.
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | G. | P. | AVE. |
| 1 | GARRETT, DIANTE | Tofas Bursa | 10 | 184 | 18.40 |
| 2 | LANDESBERG, SYLVEN | Turk Telekom Ankara | 10 | 175 | 17.50 |
| 3 | KARASEV, SERGEY | Zenit St Petersburg | 9 | 151 | 16.78 |
| 4 | BOSTIC, JOSH | Arka Gdynia | 10 | 164 | 16.40 |
| 5 | HAYES, NIGEL | Galatasaray Istanbul | 10 | 157 | 15.70 |
| 6 | STIMAC, VLADIMIR | Turk Telekom Ankara | 10 | 154 | 15.40 |
| 7 | PULLEN, JACOB | Cedevita Zagreb | 11 | 168 | 15.27 |
| 8 | HAMILTON, JORDAN | Germani Brescia Leonessa | 10 | 149 | 14.90 |
| 9 | KIKANOVIC, ELMEDIN | AS Monaco | 16 | 238 | 14.88 |
| 10 | RAGLAND, JOE | Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade | 16 | 236 | 14.75 |
| 11 | MEJIA, SAMMY | Tofas Bursa | 10 | 147 | 14.70 |
| 11 | ALLEN, BRYON | Germani Brescia Leonessa | 10 | 147 | 14.70 |
| 13 | GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS | ALBA Berlin | 16 | 233 | 14.56 |
| 14 | COBBS, JUSTIN | Cedevita Zagreb | 16 | 231 | 14.44 |
| 15 | MILLER, PATRICK | ratiopharm Ulm | 13 | 182 | 14.00 |
| 16 | GREEN, JAVONTE | ratiopharm Ulm | 15 | 208 | 13.87 |
| 17 | MURPHY, ERIK | Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt | 12 | 166 | 13.83 |
| 18 | REYNOLDS, JALEN | Zenit St Petersburg | 16 | 221 | 13.81 |
| 19 | KADJI, KENNY | Tofas Bursa | 10 | 138 | 13.80 |
| 20 | MORGAN, RAYMAR | UNICS Kazan | 10 | 137 | 13.70 |
That doesn’t mean, however, that the eight quarterfinalists are defensive-oriented teams. Far from it. ALBA, Unicaja, MoraBanc, Valencia, UNICS and Lokomotiv are the second to seventh best-scoring teams of the competition, behind only Tofas Bursa.
| RANK | TEAM | GAMES | POINTS | AVE. |
| 1 | Tofas Bursa | 10 | 909 | 90.90 |
| 2 | ALBA Berlin | 16 | 1399 | 87.44 |
| 3 | Unicaja Malaga | 16 | 1377 | 86.06 |
| 4 | UNICS Kazan | 16 | 1363 | 85.19 |
| 5 | MoraBanc Andorra | 16 | 1349 | 84.31 |
| 6 | Valencia Basket | 16 | 1347 | 84.19 |
| 7 | Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar | 16 | 1336 | 83.50 |
| 8 | ratiopharm Ulm | 16 | 1334 | 83.38 |
| 9 | Cedevita Zagreb | 16 | 1327 | 82.94 |
| 10 | Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade | 16 | 1315 | 82.19 |
The other two quarterfinalists, LDLC ASVEL Villerbanne and Rytas Vilnius, are not far behind, with the Lithuanians scoring 79.56 points per game and the French side averaging 77.25.
How is this possible? Almost four players on each quarterfinal team are scoring in double-digits, proving that in general, good teams in the EuroCup have many scoring options and they are expected to share the ball and the shots.