By Lefteris Moutis
Georgi Shermadini started playing basketball very late -until the age of 16 years he had never catch a ball in his hands- but was fortunate enough to become early member of a high-level team and learn to live in a championship environment.
Panathinaikos trusted the young Georgian by giving him the opportunity to learn the center position along with Batiste, Pekovic etc. However, he didn’t play so much as he would like and two years ago he found a way to Olimpia Ljubljana, where impressed. Also, last summer wasn’t into the priorities of “greens” and agreed to play again in a Euroleague’s team, after being released by Panathinaikos.
The rumor that next year he will play in Maccabi has spread across Europe. However, this will not be the first time Shermadini is in the target of the Israeli champions.
David Blatt believed his talent and had him very high on his transfer list last summer, when he was looking for the releasing formula from Panathinaikos (as free agent or on loan). Due to financial reasons the negotiations haven’t progressed and he signed to Cantu.
The news that are coming from Israel say that Shermadini might play for Blatt one year later as a result his amazing season in Euroleague (10.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 15.3 points in ranking system).
What is certain is that Maccabi is close to sign one of the most efficient centers in Europe at the age of 23 years; which means that Sofoklis Schortsanitis and/or Richard Hendrix will not wear yellow next season.