By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
The 18 teams had until Wednesday, February 24 at 18:00 CET to strengthen themselves with players who hadn’t played in the EuroLeague yet this season (until January 6 for those who had played in the competition with another team) and more than a few of them seized the opportunity.
Eurohoops presents the additions that were made in 2021, fifteen in number by thirteen different teams.
In chronological order:
ALEX TYUS
Real Madrid | Center | 8 January 1988 | USA
2,8 pts | 2,5 reb | 0,6 ast | 0,4 stl | 0,5 blk | 0,6 tov | 11:20 min | 3,4 PIR | 8 G
The presence of Walter Tavares was already causing terror in the middle, but Real Madrid made sure to make their frontline even scarier with a player with a long tenure in the EuroLeague, Alex Tyus (Jan. 5). The 2014 Champion with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv already counts eight games with the “Los Blancos” and, as time goes by, his role in the rotation grows more and more substantial.
LEO WESTERMANN
FC Barcelona | Guard | 24 July 1992 | France
3,4 pts | 1,6 reb | 1,9 ast | 0,4 stl | 0 blk | 1,5 tov | 12:47 min | 2,4 PIR | 16 G
FC Barcelona made it just in time before the deadline (Jan. 6) set for players who have played in the EuroLeague this season with another team and acquired Leo Westermann from Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Sarunas Jasikevicius knows him well from their years together in Zalgiris Kaunas (2016-17, 2018-19) and didn’t find it difficult to offer him a spot in the backcourt. He has already played in seven games as a Blaugrana (1.7 points, 1.4 assists).
DZANAN MUSA
Anadolu Efes Istanbul | Forward | 8 May 1999 | Bosnia and Herzegovina
0 pts | 0,7 reb | 0,3 ast | 0,3 stl | 0 blk | 0,3 tov | 2:46 min | 0 PIR | 3 G
Dzanan Musa returned to the EuroLeague (Jan. 13) five years after his last stint in the competition (Cedevita Zagreb 2015-16) in order to reinforce Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s effort to finish what they started last season. The team’s full roster hasn’t yet given him the role he would like in the rotation but he’ll definitely get more chances from Ergin Ataman.
TARIK BLACK
Zenit St Petersburg | Center | 22 November 1991 | USA
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
When Zenit St Petersburg needed another option in their frontline they didn’t think twice about offering Tarik Black a contract (Jan. 14). He hasn’t made his debut yet for the Russian team but he’s definitely a player who can provide solutions in the key, as he showed in the previous two seasons with Maccabi (10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds in 37 games in the EuroLeague).
KYLE BRANDON O’QUINN
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul | Center | 26 March 1990 | USA
2,7 pts | 3 reb | 1,3 ast | 0,3 stl | 0,3 blk | 0,3 tov | 7:28 min | 4,3 PIR | 3 G
Until 2021, Kyle Brandon O’Quinn had never played outside of the USA, but Fenerbahce convinced him (Jan. 20) that they’re the right team for his first experience away from home and neither of them has lost so far. He has played in three of the Turkish team’s 10 consecutive wins in the EuroLeague and no one knows where they will stop.
TJ CLINE
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | Forward | 22 July 1994 | USA
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
TJ Cline is the new face in Maccabi’s frontline (Jan. 24). He still hasn’t made his debut in the EuroLeague but he has played in the Israeli Super League and it won’t be long before the moment comes.
ANTON PONKRASHOV
Khimki Moscow Region | Forward | 23 April 1986 | Russia
2 pts | 2 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 0 tov | 14:12 min | 0 PIR | 1 G
Khimki Moscow Region is the fifth team in Anton Ponkrashov’s career in the EuroLeague after CSKA Moscow (2006-07, 2009-10, 2011-13), Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (2013-14), Unics Kazan (2016-17) and Zenit (2019-20). The Russian team turned to him at a difficult time in their history in the competition and he accepted the challenge (Feb. 3).
MICHAEL ERIC
CSKA Moscow | Center | 24 June 1988 | Nigeria
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
Nikola Milutinov’s injury to his right shoulder and the fact that he’s going to miss the rest of the season forced CSKA to move fast and snatch Michael Eric from Turk Telekom Ankara (Feb. 10). The choice was not random as he’s a player with an experience of two seasons and 57 games in the EuroLeague (8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds in Darussafaka Istanbul in 2018-19 and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2019-20). The postponement of the game with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens in Moscow pushed back his reappearance in the competition.
IFFE LUNDBERG
CSKA Moscow | Guard | 4 December 1994 | Denmark
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
CSKA already had a full backcourt, however they moved quickly and acquired Iffe Lundberg from BC Zielona Gora (Feb. 15). Dimitris Itoudis knows him well from their games in the VTB League – and elsewhere – and it won’t be long before he gives him the opportunity to show what he can do in the EuroLeague as well.
JEREMY EVANS
AX Armani Exchange Milan | Forward | 24 October 1987 | USA
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
At noon on February 16, Milan disclosed Zach LeDay’s injury (right thigh) and that same afternoon they disclosed their testing of Jeremy Evans, who has since been signed. The Italian team became the first to offer him a contract after his stint in Khimki last season, which was his second in the EuroLeague after Darussafaka a year earlier (2018-19), with 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in a total of 48 games in the competition.
KOSTA KOUFOS
Olympiacos Piraeus | Center | 24 February 1989 | Greece
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
On the same day they announced the unpleasant news regarding Hassan Martin (meniscus rupture in his right knee), Olympiacos Piraeus announced the acquisition of Kosta Koufos to fill the gap in the paint. He was a free agent after last season’s stint in CSKA with 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17 games in the EuroLeague. His second season in the competition is also the second of his career playing outside of the USA.
MARIO HEZONJA
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens | Forward | 25 February 1995 | Croatia
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
Even from the start of the season, Panathinaikos had found themselves making many changes in the roster, but they kept the best for last. A few hours before the deadline for transfers in the EuroLeague was up, they acquired Mario Hezonja, who returns to the Europe after six years and his stint in Barcelona from 2012 until 2015 with 5.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 38 games in the EuroLeague. The Blaugrana had the right of first refusal but now he’ll be donned in the green of Panathinaikos, where we’ll see him more mature and better than ever.
PAU GASOL
FC Barcelona | Center | 6 July 1980 | Spain
– pts | – reb | – ast | – stl | – blk | – tov | – min | – PIR | – G
Barcelona is at the top of the rankings, they have a roster that can earn them the label of “superteam,” but there’s always room for a little improvement. Enter Pau Gasol. His reencounter with his original club marks his return to the EuroLeague after 20 years, when he was a member of the All-EuroLeague Second Team in 2000-01 (18.5 points, 6 rebounds) and a teammate of Jasikevicius, from whom he will now be taking instructions. He hasn’t played since March 10, 2019 due to an injury to his left ankle, but now he’s fit and ready to help the first professional team of his career return to the top of Europe for the first time since 2010.