By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With the playoffs just around the corner, it’s a good time to look at the best young rookies of the 2019-20 7DAYS EuroCup season. The selected players are establishing themselves early in their careers. Some of them will finish strong runs with the conclusion of the Top 16 stage, but others are set for the next round.
Here is the breakdown:
Rashawn Thomas (Partizan NIS)
Age: 25
Height: 2.03m
Stats: 9.6 PTS, 5 REB, 11.2 PIR
Moving through his second European campaign, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi alumni is proving his case. Thomas paid his dues in G League before his overseas jump, joined Dinamo Sassari for the 2018-19 season, and signed a two-year contract with Partizan last summer.
Thomas introduced himself to the EuroCup stage with a very strong regular-season run, averaging 13 points per outing. Has been held to 4.8 points per match in the Top 16, but helped the Serbian club clinch first place in its group.
Devin Williams (Tofas Bursa)
Age: 25
Height: 2.06m
Stats: 14.6 PTS, 8.3 REB, 1.5 AST, 17.1 PIR
He notched six Turkish Airlines EuroLeague appearances last year with Buducnost VOLI, but Devin Williams is having a breakout season in his first 7DAYS EuroCup run. Tofas will be in the playoffs with the former West Virginia standout making a substantial contribution.
He competed in the G League and Australia before moving his talents to Europe. Now, he’s cementing himself at the top level of European basketball in his second campaign here by nearly averaging 15 points per EuroCup game.
Bonzie Colson (Darussafaka Tekfen)
Age: 24
Height: 1.98m
Stats: 10.5 PTS, 5.1 REB, 10.6 PIR
Another American rookie, Bonzie Colson, played in eight NBA games with the Milwaukee Bucks and also put up impressive averages in the G League. His strong EuroCup outings add to his evolving resume.
Coming out of Notre Dame, he went undrafted in 2018 but signed a two-way contract with the Bucks. After being waived, he inked a contract with Darussafaka Tekfen for the 2019-20 season. He’s been delivering points and rebounds since.
Nenad Dimitrijevic (Joventut Badalona)
Age: 22
Height: 1.87m
Stats: 11.9 PTS, 3.9 AST, 1.6 REB, 12.9 PIR
Joventut Badalona will not continue in the playoffs, but Nenad Dimitrijevic certainly turned some heads during the 2019-20 season. The 22-year-old point guard’s 7DAYS EuroCup debut has included double-digit scoring shows in all his four of his Top 16 appearances so far.
Despite his young age, this is his fourth campaign in Spain. He’s steadily gaining more playing time and demonstrating his scoring and creative talents in the EuroCup. With one game left, Dimitrijevic is nearing 12 points and 4 assists per contest.
Rashard Kelly (Dolomiti Energia Trento)
Age: 24
Height: 2.03m
Stats: 8.6 PTS, 4.5 REB, 1.8 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.7 BLK, 9.3 PIR
The Wichita State alumni made his way to Parma Perm for the 2018-19 season before joining Dolomiti Energia Trento for this one. His limited experience was an issue, but he jumped to a fast 7DAYS EuroCup start to overcome any initiation issues.
Trento is 0-5 in Top 16 in spite of his 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Kelly’s solid inside presence was noted from the regular season and went a long way toward helping the Italian team make it through to the Top 16.