By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Cholet will need to overcome Telenet Giants Antwerp and from there punch in two more wins against teams the likes of Openjobmetis Varese, BG Gottingen, Happy Casa Brindisi, FMP Soccerbet, CSM CSU Oradea, and Heroes den Bosch to reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season. Securing the services of Vojtech Hruban is likely to help in the upcoming challenge.
Hruban, 33, inked a one-year contract and was added to the squad of the French club earlier this week. With 996 points to his name, he is the all-time leading scorer of the BCL. Returning to the league, he will pick up the pace from the Qualifiers hoping to push Cholet in the regular-season field.
The captain of the Czechia senior national team and Prague native enjoyed a long stint at CEZ/ERA Nymburk from 2012 to 2022, including six campaigns in the Champions League, before spending the 2022-23 season with the London Lions.
The team coached by Laurent Vila consisted of Gerald Ayayi, Gerry Blakes, T.J. Campbell, Emmanuel Nzekwesi, Neal Sako, Enzo Goudou-Sinha, and Kim Tillie, before the final addition in the form of Hruban.
Deshawn Stephens joins Promitheas
Promitheas tabbed veteran big Deshawn Stephens for the 2023-24 season. Stephens has been all around Europe for the better part of the last ten years, including 22 appearances in the Champions League. Chris Coffey and Antonis Koniaris were the previous newcomers confirmed for Ilias Papatheodorou’s side. Rebuilding the squad, the Patras outfit is heading for the second BCL run in team history.
UCAM Murcia announcing the addition of Howard Sant-Roos, confirmed the earlier report of Eurohoops. Previous signings for the Universitarios stretched to Simon Birgander, Troy Caupain, Moussa Diagne, Dylan Ennis, and Ludvig Hakanson, while David Jelinek, Thad McFadden, Nemanja Radovic, Jordan Sakho, and head coach Sito Alonso all inked contract extensions.
Busy days
Other recent BCL moves saw Lenovo Tenerife pen Edgar Vicedo to a 1+1 contract, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem tab Brynton Lemar for two years, Hapoel Holon secure the services of Betsafe LKL MVP Ahmad Caver, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg add 26-year-old Jaren Lewis, EWE Baskets Oldenburg bring in British Deane Williams, and experienced center Vitalis Chikoko moving to JDA Dijon on a one-year loan from Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez.
Former James Madison standout Matt Lewis opting to move his talents overseas for the first time signed a one-year contract with Le Mans. The 24-year-old guard spent the first two seasons of his professional career in the G League playing for the Iowa Wolves. In 2022-23, he produced 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per contest.
VEF Riga, Darussafaka, Sassari add to the action
VEF Riga got even more experience with 37-year-old Maris Gulbis running it back to join forces with former NBA and Turkish Airlines EuroLeague player Dairis Bertans. In a similar fashion, Serbian Stefan Pot will be staying at Falco Szombathely. King Wilki Morskie Szczecin recruited rookie Morris Udeze, coming out of New Mexico following a four-year spell with Wichita State. Also, Darussafaka welcomed 27-year-old center Muhsin Nyasa and reunited with 28-year-old forward Berk Demir, before adding 27-year-old forward Todd Withers as well.
Bertram Derthona Tortona checked in a veteran of 53 BCL games in TaShawn Thomas and inked 18-year-old center Lamine Tandia to a three-year deal. Meanwhile, veteran Luca Gandini and youngster Riccardo Pisano both sticking around completed the roster of Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari.
Artem Pustovyi switches to Obradoiro
Back to the Qualifiers bids, Ukrainian center Artem Pustovyi will play for Monbus Obradoiro and Butler product Sean McDermott landed in Varese. In Poland, Raymond Cowels III returned to Legia Warsaw with Christian Vital also joining the team and Aric Holman staying after arriving last February. Elsewhere, Gottingen got both Fedor Zugic and Deondre Burns, Brindisi welcomed Nate Laszewski, Ironi Hai Motors Ness Ziona inked Dusty Hannahs to a two-year contract, FMP added Nate Watson, and Antwerp recruited Asbjorn Midtgaard.
A lasting original of the BCL heading to the Qualifiers, SIG Strasbourg picked up Chaundee Brown Jr. on a one-year contract. The 24-year-old forward had a cup of tea with the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks during the 2021-22 NBA Regular Season but opted for Europe to continue his career. Dan Akin, Phil Booth, Sofiane Briki, Leo Cavaliere, Quinton Hooker, Hugo Invernizzi, Paul Lacombe, and Jean-Baptiste Maille were already placed on the roster for new head coach Massimo Cancellieri.
AEK signs Mindaugas Kuzminskas
AEK Athens announced the signing of the experienced Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas for the upcoming season.
Kuzminskas will once again join forces with coach Joan Plaza, as they previously worked together at Zalgiris in 2013 and later moved together to Unicaja.
Last season, the 33-year-old forward played for Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey, reaching the final of the BSL. He played 22 games, averaging 22 minutes on the court and scoring 13.9 points, grabbing 5.2 rebounds, making 1.2 assists, and achieving a PIR of 14.9.
In the Basketball Champions League, the Lithuanian’s numbers were 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and a PIR of 8.6, all in an average of 29 minutes on the court.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League