By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Although experience is important and many times crucial in a competition like Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, sometimes ‘fresh blood’ is necessary to push a team further and the 2017-2018 campaign had more than enough.
Here is the list of Top 10 debutants in the 2017-2018 EuroLeague, according to the official website of the competition:
Per EuroLeague.net:
10. Janis Timma, KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz
After proving himself as a force in the 7DAYS EuroCup both in the paint and from the perimeter, Janis Timma made a big impact for Baskonia in his first EuroLeague campaign with averages of 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He ranked third in the competition by making 67.4% of his two-point attempts and knocked down 41.2% of his triples. Timma flaunted his scoring ability with 24 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting in a Round 11 victory over Unicaja Malaga and delivered an excellent all-around showing with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in a Round 29 win at FC Barcelona Lassa. The fact that he started 27 games and played the second-most minutes (22:45) on Baskonia speaks volumes of how valuable he was in the team’s run to another playoff appearance.
9. Dorell Wright, Brose Bamberg
Veteran forward Dorell Wright made his EuroLeague debut just weeks before he turned 32 years old and immediately proved to be a difference-maker. Wright joined the team in late October, came off the bench in Round 4 and posted 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. He did not miss a game the rest of the way and even started 22 times. Wright scored at least 20 points on five occasions, 15 times in double figures and was second on the team in both scoring (11.6 ppg.) and rebounding (5.4 rpg.). In fact, Wright’s 4.6 defensive rebounds per game were second-most in the league. He was the Round 23 MVP after shining with 21 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for a performance index rating of 29 in a rout of Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade.
8. Johan Bolden, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
Maccabi relied on Jonah Bolden at power forward for his tremendous defensive presence and ability to stretch the floor with effective three-point shooting and the big Aussie did not disappoint. Bolden was the only player in the league this season ranked among the top 10 in steals (eighth, 1.2 spg.) and blocks (seventh, 0.9 bpg.). He also led Maccabi with 5.5 rebounds per game and averaged 6.9 points. Bolden showed off his wide array of skills with 6 points, 10 boards, 4 assists, 5 steals and 4 blocks in Round 10 against Zalgiris Kaunas and produced a double-double in a Round 17 victory over Brose Bamberg. Bolden was Maccabi’s youngest regular in the rotation and is the youngest player on this list.
7. Kaleb Tarczewski, AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
Even though Kaleb Tarczewski first joined Milan last spring, he only made his EuroLeague debut this season. Tarczewski was one of only two Milan players to appear in all 30 regular season games and he started all but one of them. The 25-year old center was a fixture on weekly highlight-reels and dunked his way to 6.7 points per season. Moreover, his 64.4% shooting percentage was sixth-best in the competition and, despite averaging just under 20 minutes per game, Tarczewski ranked eighth among all qualified players with 5.7 rebounds per contest. However, his banging style of play came with a price; Tarczewski fouled out nine times and his 3.4 fouls committed per game were second most in the competition.