By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With some big names missing from this season’s EuroCup due to the absence of Russian clubs, there might be a sense that the competition is not as strong. This perspective changes quickly, however, by carefully looking at the teams that will compete for a spot in the EuroCup Final and a ticket to next season’s Turkish EuroLeague.
At least half of the EuroCup’s 20 teams can aspire to go all the way. Meanwhile, the single-elimination playoffs format, after just one season, has already taught us to expect the unexpected. Some familiar clubs with EuroLeague experience are present in this edition of the competition, but we also find teams in places that you wouldn’t expect, like London and Paris.
Still, there’s a pecking order, which at the moment seems to be the following.
20. Dolomiti Energia Trento
Coach Lele Molin has been an assistant to legends like Zeljko Obradovic and Ettore Messina, who still respect and love him. He has veterans like Trent Lockett, who was part of the Trento team which made it to the 2016 EuroCup Semifinals, and Drew Crawford, plus Real Madrid prospect Matteo Spagnolo. Still, Trento finished the EuroCup season last year with a 1-15 record.
19. Paris Basketball
Kyle Allman, Juhann Begarin, former Olympiacos and Zalgiris forward Axel Toupane, and the 46th pick of the latest NBA draft, Ismael Kamagate. This is a very, very interesting team in a very, very interesting market, as in the case of London. Add to the mix head coach Will Weaver, a former Houston Rockets assistant who is coaching in Europe for the first time and has past experience in Australia. In theory, they should be competitive, but the 0-4 start in the French league forces us to be careful.
18. Slask Wroclaw
Last season’s Polish League champions made it to the EuroCup Eighthfinals despite a 3-13 record due to the withdrawal of the Russian teams. Are they better this year? The answer is maybe, thanks to former Joventut and Andorra player Conor Morgan and to veteran big man Artsiom Parakhouski. Are they enough for Slask to make another trip to the first elimination round? That remains to be seen.
17. Veolia Towers Hamburg
In theory, Hamburg can build on their 6-10 campaign last season and make a step forward this year. Everyone will be watching them – also for the progress of Slovenian 21-years old guard Ziga Samar – however, you can’t really bet on them for something more than making it to the eighthfinals, at least now. Only two players, Seth Hinrichs and Lukas Meisner, return from last season’s roster.
16. 7Bet Lietkabelis Paneverzys
They did make it to the first elimination round last year with a solid 9-7 record against bigger competition. So why are they not ranked higher? Because they lost Gediminas Orelik (15.4 ppg), Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (13 ppg), and Djordje Gagic (10.8), their three top scorers. EuroCup rookie Jamel Morris and former Barcelona and ALBA Berlin guard Stefan Peno will have to replace them, but it will not be easy.
15. London Lions
The English Lions over the German towers? Well, they have most of the best British players – which may not mean much – plus Tomislav Zubcic, Sam Dekker, who had already played in the Eurocup with Lokomotiv Kuban, and former CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos center Kostas Koufos. They have to make it at least until the first elimination round.
14. U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Point guard Jordan Taylor will play for a fifth season in Eurocup – having also a year in the EuroLeague with ASVEL – and will lead newcomers Cluj-Napoca to unknown territories. However, Cluj has a solid home crowd to push them, Brazilian forward Leonardo Meindl as their secret weapon, and the ex-Yugo duo of Stefan Bircevic and Andrija Stipanovic to help. Yes, they are new, but they can make it with ease to the eighthfinals.
13. Bourg-en-Bresse
Frederic Fauthoux, like many others before him, made the jump from a solid point guard to a talented coach, who was associate head coach to TJ Parker in ASVEL last year. So he is the center on a very solid team, which has already turned heads in France with a 3-1 start. There’s also charismatic scorer Jordan Floyd. Bourg seems to be playoffs material, despite last year’s 6-12 season.
12. Ratiopharm Ulm
With Anton Gavel on the bench instead of Jaka Lakovic, Ulm has built a reputation for giving a chance to young players during the last few years. This season, it’s guard Juan Nunez, who left Real Madrid and will get the chance to showcase his talents. Keep an eye, however, also for prolific scorer Matt Mobley, who is expected to carry the team on offense since the departures of Semaj Christon, Jaron Blossomgame, and Sindarius Thornwell.
11. Promitheas Patras
Last season was a letdown for Promitheas (4-14), but this is a team that has a lot more firepower, thanks to Joe Young. A player who averaged 38.3 points in the Chinese CBA in the 2019-20 season has a huge motivation to prove his abilities in Europe. He will be one of the main attractions of the competition, following the legacy of his father, Michael Young, a EuroLeague star and champion with Limoges during the 90s.