2018/19 EuroLeague previews: Milano have spent big money to build a competitor
September 7th, 2018
The 2018/19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is coming around fast. For the 16 teams taking part, preseason has already started, as teams work to gel their new rosters of players for the upcoming season in preparation for the first round of matches on October 2011. Teams new to the competition this year include Bayern Munich, Buducnost, Darussafaka and Gran Canaria, taking the places of Brose Baskets Bamberg, Crvena Zvezda, Unicaja Malaga and Valencia. With rosters now mostly set, there follows over a series of posts here at GiveMeSport a look at all sixteen teams participating in the 2018/19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, in a preview of the upcoming season. It continues here with a look at Italian champions, Armani Olimpia Milano. READ: Part 1 – Anadolu Efes Armani Olimpia Milano Out: Davide Pascolo (to Trento), Awudu Abass (to Brescia), Marco Cusin (to Torino), Andrew Goudelock (to Shandong, China), Mantas Kalnietis (to ASVEL, France), Amath M’Baye (to Virtus Bologna), Jordan Theodore (unsigned) In: Mike James (from Panathinaikos), Christian Burns (from Cantu), Jeff Brooks (from Unicaja Malaga, Spain), Amedeo Della Valle (from Reggio Emilia), Nemanja Nedovic (from Unicaja Malaga) In last year’s competition, Milano never got going. They lost their first three games, five of their first six, and nine of their first thirteen, ultimately finishing second-last with a 10-20 record. They were undone by having the competition’s worst overall defensive rating. And yet for whatever reason, they have sought to remedy that by adding offensive talent. On the plus side, they have added some significant individual offensive talents. James and Nedovic are EuroLeague stars; creative, explosive, dynamic half-court talents who can get their own in isolation, get to the rim, finish, pull-up, work off of the scoring threat to find team mates, and save any possession with their individual shot-making talents. How […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Utah
July 8th, 2013
Jeff Brooks Brooks has improved year on year and now finds himself playing a decent role for one of the best teams in a strong league. Playing for Cantu in Italy’s SerieA, Brooks averaged 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as one of the few non-shooters on a perimeter oriented team. His tremendous athleticism is a mismatch, particularly against the slower European forwards. When plugged in, Brooks can defend interior and perimeter forwards, take the slower ones off the dribble with a decent handle, fly out in transition and hit open mid range jump shots. William Buford Buford’s first professional season was not a good one. He was able to land a spot in Spain’s ACB, very rare for an American rookie, but in 31 games for Obradoiro, Buford averaged only 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He scored 108 points on 136 shots, shooting 34% from two and 25% from three, in what was frankly a nothing year for him. Perhaps this summer league stint can be a springboard from which to restart his career. Trey Burke Utah have been searching very, very proactively for a point guard, a “proper” one of some calibre, since Deron Williams left. Figured that search would culminate with someone like Jose Calderon or Andre Miller. Trumped that and then some. Alec Burks Burks stagnated a bit as a sophomore, although the signs of improved range are positive. The arrival of Burke should facilitate his offence from now on and improve his efficiency, and the apparent commitment to the youth movement means he shouldn’t lack for opportunity from here on out. You can’t commit to a youth movement if you’re DNP-CDing your lottery picks. Dionte Christmas After (and because of) his summer league performance last year, Christmas signed a contract with the […]
