By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Sixteen games shaped the tipoff of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season last week. Among several highlights turning heads all around Europe, three players blocked five shots each in their debut BCL appearance.
Until Gameday 1 of the new Regular Season, only two players had introduced themselves to the league with five rejections. In a matter of hours, Mouhamed Faye, Ismael Kamagate, and Reggie Lynch upped the total to five.
Fittingly enough, it was a few days after NBA legendary shot-blocker Dikembe Mutombo passed away at 58.
Honoring the legacy!
Mouhamed Faye with Mutombo-like five blocks from last night in the #BasketballCL 👀pic.twitter.com/fCtSipyHfB
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) October 2, 2024
NBA stash in Italy
In 2022, Kamagate was selected with the 46th overall pick of the NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. His NBA rights have been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, and most recently to the Los Angeles Clippers. On loan from EA7 Emporio Armani Milan to Bertram Derthona Tortona, he keeps displaying his talents in style.
Kamagate, 23, tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, and two assists, besides five blocks in a win, 87-81, against Niners Chemnitz in PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris on Wednesday. Adding to spectacular displays early in the new season via Italy’s LBA UnipolSai, he is up to 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 assists per contest over two appearances.
His tremendous reach highlights his skills. Certainly, there is room for additional development. However, he is already a huge asset for the Tortona outfit in the quest to improve from reaching the Play-Ins of the 2023-24 installment of the Champions League.
Another promising upstart
Faye produced five blocks in a win, 77-67, for UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, another team representing Italy.
The 19-year-old Senegalese center punished the Rytas players in PalaBigi. He combined five rejections with 15 points behind 7/9 two-pointers, eight rebounds, and two assists on Tuesday. In addition, he has 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 0.5 steals per game over two LBA contests.
A veteran of two seasons in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament of Euroleague Basketball, he joined Reggio Emilia before the 2023-24 season. Starting his second campaign for the storied Italian club, he immediately set his sights on succeeding Tidjane Salaun as the next Best Young Player of the BCL.
Veteran baller from Minnesota
Several variations separate Lynch from Kamagate and Faye. Apart from his five blocks falling short of a win for WKS Slask Wroclaw opposite Falco-Vulcano Szombathely on Wednesday, he is a well-experienced center with stops in Estonia, Italy, Russia, Greece, Germany, and Lithuania, before landing in Poland during the offseason.
A former center of Minnesota and Illinois State in the NCAA, his seventh campaign in Europe lifted him to the top-tier club competition of FIBA Europe, following 19 features in the 2020-21 installment of 7DAYS EuroCup with Lokomotiv Kuban and ten appearances in the FIBA Europe Cup between Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya and Iraklis.
Similar to the above Italian clubs, the team based in Wroclaw seeks a ticket to the Round of 16. However, falling to 0-1 to trail Reggio Emilia and Szombathely in Group F complicated the task.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League