By Alex Madrid/ info@eurohoops.net
It’s being a tough season for Gaziantep. The Turks had a breakout year in 2017 finishing in the playoffs spots in their domestic league and getting a place in the Basketball Champions League. Expectations grew after acquiring big names like DJ White or Victor Rudd but the reality is different.
They remain at the bottom of the standings in BSL and despite a great the start in Europe with two wins in the two first games, Gaziantep suffered eight consecutive defeats. That streak ended this week against Neptunas and, suddenly, they are a dangerous team. Victor Rudd was a leader once again and he earned a place in the best five of this week.
Rudd is a “highlight reel” who can make an impressive impact on the game with his outstanding athleticism. He had a physical evolution during the college years that allowed him to be a player who does much more than shoots three-pointers. His transformation made the University of South Florida break a 20-season NCAA tournament drought. They almost achieved the Sweet 16 with Victor Rudd averaging 16.1 points and 6.8 rebounds leading the Bulls.
He finished his college stage on a high note but Rudd couldn’t find a place in the NBA. After spending one season in the NBA D-League with Delaware 87ers, he signed with Nizhny Novgorod. They had a solid campaign and the Russians advanced to the EuroCup quarterfinals, where they fell despite Rudd scored 26 points in the elimination game.
Erez Edelstein, the former assistant coach of legend Pini Gershon, started his project with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2016/2017 season. He dreamed with a team full of talent and athletism and Edelstein thought that Victor Rudd could be one of the new stars of the club. Andrew Goudelock, DJ Seeley, Colton Iverson, Malik Zirbes, Quincy Miller and Sonny Weems completed the acquisitions for the “Dream Team” project.
President Shimon Mizrahi didn’t think about money but neither chemistry. Victor and the group couldn’t find each other and the season ended being a mess, the worst ever in Maccabi‘s history. The soap opera started with just two games played. Edelstein was fired and his assistant Rami Hadar took his place. He felt “unable to transmit the change that this team needs”.
Rudd starred in another weird chapter of that season. During a game in Kazan, the power forward didn’t receive a pass, he got angry and remained completely indifferent to everything that was going on on the court. At least he passed the anti-doping test that Sonny Weems according to Maccabi refused to take…
The club made major changes during the summer and they didn’t offer Rudd a new contract. It was a group of stars who didn’t know their role in the team or didn’t know how to accept not being the main offensive reference for the team.
Now it seems that Victor Rudd found his place in Gaziantep, once again being the leader. He is averaging 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and almost 2 assists in the Basketball Champions League and with DJ White no longer with the team, his numbers will probably increase. The BCL playoffs spots are just two wins away and with three games left, Rudd will try to make the most of this chance.
Photo Credits: BCL