By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Basketball Champions League Season 8 entered its 2024 segment with an intense month of Play-Ins and Round of 16 action, in which a host of players put on magnificent performances. Only five players, though, can make it on the Team of the Month for January.
Lenovo Tenerife’s Marcelinho Huertas, Promitheas Patras’ Hunter Hale, Cholet Basket’s Craig Randall II, Hapoel Holon’s Justin Smith, and Austin Wiley of Tofas Bursa made it to the ideal five after some impressive performances during the first month of 2024.
The point guard position belongs to Marcelinho Huertas. Lenovo Tenerife’s leader has been unstoppable, propelling the two-time champions to a 2-0 record in the Round of 16 and posting the second-ever 15-point, 15-assist game in BCL history.
Huertas is flanked by two lefty shooters on the Team of the Month. Hunter Hale led Promitheas Patras to the Round of 16 and flipped the script since the start of 2024, going off for 22.8 points per game since the Play-Ins tipped off.
Craig Randall II created a similar storyline in January, with a memorable 30-point elimination game on the road in Sassari for his Cholet Basket to stay alive.
Inside, Justin Smith and Austin Wiley have been outstanding. Smith scored in double figures in all five games, with a 28-point explosion in Game 3 against Oostende for his team to reach the Round of 16.
Wiley pulled down a couple of massive double-doubles for Tofas Bursa – a 23 points and 16 rebounds performance in Game 2 against PAOK mateco in the Play-Ins and followed up with 11 points and 17 rebounds in the series decider.
One of these five will also be named the January MVP on Friday, February 2nd.