By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
If you had to think about the shortest backcourt in Euroleague Basketball – both the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup, which team’s duo would come to mind? The answer is not all that obvious!
Now, what if we add to the equation that the two players from this backcourt have started several games together and have helped their team to a 4-1 record in the standings? The selection has now been narrowed down to…
Gran Canaria’s Andrew Albicy and Dylan Ennis! For the record, the Frenchman Albicy stands at 1.78 meters and Ennis at 1.88.
Coach Porfi Fisac has chosen an intriguing starting five for the majority of Granca’s games in EuroCup this season, where the two remain on the court at the same time. Despite the general rule that shorter players always have a tougher time on the court, it seems to be working just fine for this pair.
In fact, when both are on the court, they create balance on the offensive end. Ennis leads all team scorers with an average of 16.4 points per game, ranking 12th overall in the competition. What may look like a disadvantage actually works in their favor. Despite not being the most efficient shooter from the perimeter, Ennis is Granca’s go-to guy when the game is hanging on a thread. He’s a drop-dead shooter who also knows how to position himself in the mid-range and in the paint in such a way that bigger defenders have a hard time guarding him.
Albicy is the main facilitator with 7.5 assists per game. He ranks second in the competition behind MoraBanc Andorra’s Codi Miller-McIntyre. Albicy has not been much of a scorer this season, though it’s clear what coach Fisac expects from him. Since, technically, passing into the paint is much tougher for a guard of his height, we often see him passing on the perimeter. He uses his basketball IQ to the fullest when it comes to pick-and-roll situations.
As you would expect, another aspect of his game in which height plays a big role is tricking his opponents and stealing the ball. He does that more often than any other Granca player and is second overall in EuroCup behind Partizan’s Aleksa Avramovic. In his sixth campaign in the competition, Albicy knows how to use his “disadvantage” to his favor, making his coach and team happy.
Ennis is no rookie either; he’s made his return to the EuroCup with emphatic performances and thus far found a great partner in Albicy.
With their roles being so clear when working together, it’s no wonder that we’ve seen this duo start three out of the five games together. By the looks of it, only Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana has managed to crack the code. The rest of the teams have either struggled or will struggle to get past this backcourt duo.
Photo: EuroCup