By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Those are the five players which turned heads on Day 9 of the Basketball Champions League and the names are not a surprise considering their past performances.
D.J. Kennedy, guard
There was no stopping the Pinar Karsiyaka shooting guard once again, this time in Utena, Lithuania. Having scored 24 points, 30 and 24 in Basketball Champions League games against Unet Holon, UCAM Murcia, and Enisey Krasnoyarsk before getting hurt and missing a couple of contests, 28-year-old Kennedy returned to action and took out his anger on Juventus with an array of moves to the basket. He finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and a +32 efficiency rating in an 82-76 triumph for the Turkish club, its sixth of the season in the competition.
Via basketballCL.com
Jamal Shuler, guard
Uh oh, he’s got that look in his eye again, the “I’m going to put a world of hurt on you” and carry his team on another impressive run in the Basketball Champions League. Shuler made plenty of big plays last season to help AS Monaco reached the Final Four of the Basketball Champions League and now, Mr. Late Game Heroics is doing it again. He had a 23-point, 9-assist effort on Wednesday night for Nanterre. One of his dimes came at the end of the first overtime at Sidigas Avellino to force a second and the French club won it, 106-92. Shuler, who has drilled 40 of his 80 attempts from deep, is now averaging 17.3ppg and 5.3apg.
Ricky Paulding, forward
Can anyone stop the 35-year-old Paulding? The answer, it seems, is a resounding NO! A long-time player at the German club, Paulding is showing no signs of slowing down. Against Dinamo Sassari, he made 9 of 12 shots from the floor, including 3 of 4 from deep, and finished with 25 points and a +28 efficiency mark. Paulding has been phenomenal this season, connecting on 18 of his 36 attempts from long range and averaging 17.7 points per contest. And oh, in case you were wondering, Mr. Paulding’s also got some hops!
Mike Toby, center
Great players show up for the big games. Meet Mike Tobey, the 23-year-old rookie center of Iberostar Tenerife. In a top-of-the-table clash at MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, the former University of Virginia man had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and a swat in an 83-62 triumph for the Canary Islanders.
Edgaras Zelionis, center
How bad do you want to win? Are you going to leave the game with blood, sweat and floor burns? Zelionis, taking on his former team Ventspils, did everything he could to lead Neptunas Klaipeda to a vital win in their Basketball Champions League campaign. The 28-year-old finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal in an 84-69 victory that boosted the Lithuanian club’s chances of a top-four finish in Group B. “Every time you play against your former team, you want to show them they did a bad thing by letting a person go,” Zelionis said afterward with a grin. “I spent a whole year here last year so it was sort of a home game for me.”