By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Eight rounds into the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup and the first break of the regular season is here.
It seems like a fitting time to note the players who have stood out so far in the current campaign and give them their flowers.
And that’s why the MVP favorite is over and above our first and second All-EuroCup team, since there’s a lot of talent that needs to be rewarded.
MVP
Jared Harper – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
Not only is Jared Harper arguably the most offensively dominant player in the EuroCup right now, but his team is also collecting one victory after the other. Hapoel Jerusalem currently stands second in Group B at 6-2, second only to the one undefeated team in the competition, Valencia Basket, Harper’s ex-team.
Harper is generating points in abundance for him and his teammates. He’s the EuroCup leading scorer with 21.4 points – the only one among his peers above the 20.0 ppg. mark – while dishing out 6.9 assists, the third-best average in the competition. This lethal combination of skills has seen him cause plenty of headaches for his team’s opponents. Indeed, Harper is more or less the definition of unstoppable, winning a league-high 8.4 fouls per game.
First Team
Zavier Simpson – U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Zavier Simpson is the only other player apart from Harper with a presence in the top three in both points and assists with 18.6 and 6.9, respectively. In fact, he could’ve had the MVP spot in this article, but Cluj is currently 4-4.
Fresh off his most spectacular outing so far with 32 points and 5 rebounds, which saw him earn MVP of the Round honors, “Captain Hook” Simpson looks quite impressive in his first-ever season in Europe.
Anthony Brown – Turk Telekom Ankara
He turned some heads with the most sizzling performance of the campaign so far when he netted 39 points on 8-of-10 triples in a win over Cluj. Sure, Anthony Brown has “bucket” written all over him with 18.9 points per night but he’s also much more than, providing 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists for a rarely diverse output for Turk Telekom.
Semi Ojeleye – Valencia Basket
There are several reasons behind Valencia’s spotless record and one major factor has to do with Semi Ojeleye’s performances. He has a team-high 15.1 points, as well as 5.0 rebounds and some solid perimeter shooting with 16-of-36 triples made in total.
Mfiondou Kabengele – Umana Reyer Venice
Eight rounds into his debut EuroCup season, Mfiondou Kabengele is the one player who’s averaging a double-double with 12.3 points and 10.4 rebounds in just 25:48 minutes. It’s quite the productive output for the Canadian big man, enough to put him on our First Team despite Venezia’s 3-5 record.
Ante Tomic – Joventut Badalona
Numbers-wise, Ante Tomic has had one of the strongest seasons of his career with 14.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists, playing top-notch basketball despite closing in on 38 years of age. He may have a strong MVP case, too, if Joventut digs itself out of its current 3-5 hole and moves to a winning record.
Second Team
Anthony Cowan Jr. – Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius
Anthony Cowan is one of the three Wolves players who score in double figures (together with Tre’Shawn Thurman and Andrew Andrews), dropping 14.5 points to go along with his team-high 5.2 assists. He’s been crucial in the team’s current 5-0 run, initiating the turnaround with a 26-point night in the win at Joventut Badalona.
Jordan Ford – Dolomiti Energia Trento
Sure, Trento has had its fair share of ups and downs at 3-5, but we can’t overlook Jordan Ford’s performances. He registers 17.1 points (top five in scoring among players still in the competition) and 2.4 assists so far this season in just 25:11 minutes on the floor.
Patrick Beverley – Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Once a former EuroCup MVP in 2012 before a long NBA career, Patrick Beverley is back and making a significant difference for an ambitious Hapoel Tel Aviv team. As expected, he brings an all-around package on the floor with 11.9 points, 5.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds, now – and after Johnathan Motley’s departure – leading the team in boards apart from dimes.
Devin Robinson – Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Cedevita Olimpija looks to be back in business this season and Devin Robinson has played a key role in this. The American forward is pacing the team with 15.2 points along with 4.8 rebounds while being fairly consistent since he has scored at least 15 points in six of the team’s eight games.
Tai Odiase – Bahcesehir College Istanbul
EuroCup newcomer Bahcesehir has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in its debut season in the competition, with the team enjoying plenty of contribution from Tai Odiase on both ends. His squad is 7-1 and he’s dropping a team-high 13.8 points on 64.5 percent from the field while collecting 5.4 rebounds and blocking 1.1 shots per game.
Rising Star
Jean Montero – Valencia Basket
There’s a really interesting pool of youngsters and NBA prospects in this season’s EuroCup, with some prominent names being ratiopharm Ulm duo Ben Saraf and Noa Essengue. As of now, we must give this award to Jean Montero, who has been Valencia’s lead playmaker with 6.2 assists to go with his 10.8 points, while committing just 1.8 turnovers. It’s no small matter to get this number of dimes while making so few mistakes at a high level at just 21 years of age.
Best Coach
It’s hard to argue with the cold, hard facts of results. Valencia has the best offense with 95.4 points, delivers the most assists with 23.1 and is the only team with a perfect record so far. A former EuroCup Coach of the Year in 2017, Pedro Martinez could be adding the same piece of silverware to his trophy case while the Taronja are aiming for the grand prize that will grant them a EuroLeague return.