By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Virtus Bologna signed former Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion, the club announced. After his rookie NBA season, Mannion is returning to his home country to join the reigning Italian League champions and one of the top EuroCup contenders.
“Since the beginning of the transfer season, Nico was one of the most important goals and the negotiations to get him to play were ongoing for several weeks,” Virtus CEO Luca Baraldi said, per the club. His arrival at Virtus is thanks to the work and teamwork that was put in place, from the top of the company, together with our coach Sergio Scariolo.”
Mannion, 20, moves to Virtus following a quite productive summer with the Italian national team. He had a team-high 24 points in a win over Serbia in the Final of Belgrade’s Olympic Qualifiers Tournament to help his team win the tournament and get to Tokyo. In the Olympics, he averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 assists.
Virtus adds Mannion to an already powerful roster that includes Milos Teodosic, Marco Belinelli and Ekpe Udoh, among others.
Mannion’s father Pace Mannion played professional basketball in Italy with various teams in the last stretch of his career and after several years in the NBA.