By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League announced the Team of the Month for December Thursday.
Telekom Basket Bonn’s T.J. Shorts II, Filou Oostende’s Breein Tyree, Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya’s Maurice Kemp, Limoges CSP’s Desi Rodriguez, and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem’s Zach Hankins shaped the list equivalent of the candidates for the December MVP award.
Per the press release: “December saw all the Round of 16 and Play-In tickets handed out, which made it the most important month of the season. Five players were rewarded with a spot on the last Team of the Month in the Basketball Champions League in 2022.
TJ Shorts led Telekom Baskets Bonn to first place in Group B, dubbed “group of death” after the draw, as Bonn were next to 2018 winners and 2020 finalists AEK, 2021 finalists Pinar Karsiyaka and 2022 FIBA Europe Cup runners up UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia.
However, Shorts made sure Bonn won the group with a game in hand, getting 26 points and 9 assists on the road at Pinar Karsiyaka, and followed it up with a 12-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist game against Reggiana on the last Gameday. He is averaging 24.2 points and 6.7 assists per game, leading the MVP Race for the season, too.
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Shorts is sharing the Team of the Month backcourt with Breein Tyree. Filou Oostende’s rookie did his part in two sensational wins, over Galatasaray Nef and Hapoel Atsmon Holon, picking up 43 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in December.
Oostende were on the brink of elimination when they lost their home game to Legia Warszawa, but bounced back by going 2-0 against teams that finished first and second in the group. Tyree is the biggest reason why, Oostende were +28 in his 31 minutes against Holon.
Maurice Kemp takes one of the forward spots with a sublime personal December. The 31-year-old Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya scorer became the first player with consecutive 30+ point games in BCL history, getting 33 against Rytas Vilnius and 32 against Peristeri bwin.
Kemp shot 25-of-39 from the field in December, with 20 rebounds and 5 assists in those two games, but even those crazy numbers weren’t enough to keep Herzliya alive. They swept Rytas Vilnius, but Peristeri bwin did the same to them on the last Gameday, ending the Israeli State Cup winners’ season early.
Limoges CSP were also in danger of elimination in their group, but they had a strong finish to the Regular Season, connecting three straight wins, over VEF Riga, BAXI Manresa and SL Benfica. The French juggernauts had Desi Rodriguez to thank for the 3-3 record.
The power forward connected on back-to-back 20-point games in December, with 13 rebounds against Manresa and Benfica, while not turning the ball over at all, and shooting 14-of-23 from the field, 12-of-13 from the charity stripe during this month.
Finally, the center position belongs to Zach Hankins. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem erased their early season defeat at home to MHP RIESEN to finish the Regular Season at the top of their group and advance straight to the Round of 16, and their center was the most efficient on the team.
Hankins had 19 points against MHP RIESEN in Germany, then followed it up with 18 against Darussafaka in just 22 minutes of action, shooting 16-of-23 from the field during that span. Perhaps the most important stat for the 26-year-old: Jerusalem were +21 and +20 with him on the floor against MHP RIESEN and Darussafaka, respectively.
The MVP of December will be announced on Friday.”
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League