By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague is full of thrills and every new season becomes even more competitive and bright, and attracts larger masses of people in its basketball embrace! The best teams in Europe, the best athletes from all over the world who play in Europe, all together in an absolutely consuming league of 30 rounds. And all this before we even get to the battles of the playoffs and the climax of the Final Four!
There are many ways you can determine how good a league is. One of those is to look at the players who decide to continue their career in the EuroLeague.
The summer of 2017 was full of new arrivals of excellent players appearing now in the EuroLeague for the first time. Some are coming from a noteworthy career in the NBA, others are extremely talented with important experience in the NCAA, and still others young guys who have all the credentials to attract everyone’s attention in the coming years.
The newcomers who are worth keeping an eye on are truly many! Eurohoops chose to pick out 10 names and presents them to you here!
Ricky Ledo 1992 1m.97 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
A rookie with remarkable offensive talent, speed and athletic qualities. He was the revelation last season in the competitive Turkish League, where he emerged as the top scorer, with 21.2 points on average, while playing for Yesilgiresun Belediye. In two appearances so far for Efes, he has an average of 13 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists. But he can play much better and improve his percentages and effectiveness. He needs to learn how to read the game better, make better decisions and get more experiences at the top level of the EuroLeague. He has the talent to deliver the goods, and after suffering a bad start with a 0-4 record, Efes needs him.
Jordan Theodore 1989 1m.83 AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
The Seton Hall graduate is coming from a breakout season with Banvit BK Bandirma. After wandering around in several leagues in Europe and around the world, he managed to get to the top level! He’s had a great start to his first season in the EuroLeague (10.6 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals) and he looks like he can contribute a lot to Simone Pianigiani’s team. He has creativity, scoring, a will to win, and also character at critical moments of games. His trajectory looks a little like Ali Muhammed’s at Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul, and it remains to be seen how far he can go!
Errick McCollum 1988 1m.98 Anadolu Efes
Yet another notable scorer who, despite being known for his work on European courts, has made his debut in the EuroLeague just this season! Twice the top scorer in the Chinese League, in 2016 McCollum became the MVP and champion of the 7DAYS EuroCup in the colors of Galatasaray Istanbul! He’s had a very strong start, scoring 26 points against Real Madrid and 20 against Valencia Basket, but then didn’t continue accordingly when he went up against Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul and CSKA Moscow. Without a doubt, he’s one of those players who can have great nights on offense, but those need to be combined with positive results for Efes, which is having problems at the start of the season.