By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Here are the players from the eliminated sides who produced the most points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, and the best shooting percentages in two-pointers, three-pointers, and free throws.
ELIE OKOBO
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | Guard | October 23, 1997 | France
A EuroLeague rookie normally does not look like Elie Okobo. He was brilliant in leading LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne to a great start through the first 13 games of the season. From that point, it was a different story for the team. However, Okobo will end up among the best scorers.
Shooting 51.6% on two-pointers, 37.2% on three-pointers, and 82.4% on free throws, he sits sixth with 14.8 points per game. Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes leads the competition with 18.1 points per game.
GIORGOS PAPAGIANNIS
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens | Center | July 3, 1997 |Greece
Despite the career-best campaign displayed by Giorgos Papagiannis, Panathinaikos was knocked out of contention relatively early.
Grabbing 8.1 rebounds per game, he leads the standings ahead of Real Madrid‘s Edy Tavares and his 8.0 rebounds per game. A similar margin exists in favor of the Real Madrid center with 1.7 versus 1.6 blocks per contest. In addition, Big Papa holds the highest PIR among all players on the eliminated teams. Overall, he ranks seventh with 17.1 per game, not far behind Nikola Mirotic of FC Barcelona, who leads the competition with 20.0 per game.
WADE BALDWIN IV
Bitci Baskonia | Guard | March 29, 1996 | USA
Baskonia bowed out, but not without a late push and eventually fell short of a playoff berth. Wade Baldwin IV was influential down the stretch of the regular season. He had plenty of stat-filling outings, including nearing a triple-double (16-7-10) in the 85-68 victory over ALBA Berlin.
His 4.4 assists per contest rank him sixth overall. Lorenzo Brown of UNICS Kazan tops the list powered by 6.1 assists per game.
PIERRIA HENRY
Fenerbahce Beko | Guard | January 20, 1993 | USA
Moving to Fenerbahce Beko, Henry was handed playmaking responsibilities, but he has gone far beyond that role. His defensive abilities helped Fener hold its opponents to 74.3 points per contest.
Henry enjoys the view from second place on the list of players with the most steals. His 1.7 steals per game fall shy only of John Brown’s 2.8 steals per contest.
CHRIST KOUMADJE
ALBA Berlin | Center | July 7, 1996 | Chad
It’s not a widely known fact, but Christ Koumadje is actually the tallest EuroLeague player. Players dealing with ALBA Berlin and his 2.23 meters became firsthand witnesses.
Making 72.2% of his two-point attempts put him in second place on that list. Donta Hall of AS Monaco is on top with 76.1%.
WILLIAM HOWARD
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | Forward | October 25, 1993 | France
That crazy long-range game-winning buzzer-beater sending ASVEL to a road win over Monaco, 85-84, back in November actually helped William Howard earn a spot among the most effective three-point shooters of the season.
Among the 26 players making at least 40% of their long-range shots, his 45.2% is good enough for the fifth spot. Marco Spissu of UNICS Kazan, the only player to convert more than half of his attempts, sits first at 52.9%.
NIELS GIFFEY
Zalgiris Kaunas | Forward | June 8, 1991 | Germany
The free-throw line, also known as the charity stripe, is an easy way to score points. But the player earning free throws still has to sink the shots. Niels Giffey kept on making them all year round for Zalgiris Kaunas.
His career-high percentage set at 88.2% landed him at the bottom end of the top 10 of the season. Kruno Simon of Anadolu Efes leads the league with his success generating an unbelievable 95.8%.