By Stelios Toromanidis/ info@eurohoops.net
Who are the leading rebounders in Europe in the season that just ended? Which ones had the highest average of rebounds in each of the top championships? Eurohoops has the answers.
Eurohoops continues its tribute to the best players of the top 7 championships of the old continent. Now it’s the turn of the leading rebounders of each league.
A reminder that the championships that are part of the survey are the top seven ones, the Basket League (Greece), ACB (Spain), Lega Basket (Italy), LNB Pro-A (France), VTB League (Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Kazakhstan), BBL (Germany) and Super League (Turkey).
Only the games of the regular period as well as the playoff games are taken under consideration. A prerequisite for a player to be included on the list is for him to have played in more than half of the games of the regular period.
Basket League (Greece)
Dustin Hogue
Team: Nea Kifissia
Games: 28
Rebounds (on average): 8,1 Total: 226
Best rebounding performance: 15 rebounds (Lavrio – Nea Kifissia 74-70), (Nea Kifissia – Aris 65-67)
The American forward had an amazing year with Nea Kifissia in his first season as a professional player. His competitive image as well as his stats, reveal the key role that he played for his team. Even though he’s… short for a power forward (1,98 m.), his jumping ability, his passion and the very good perception of the game that he has, turned him into the best rebounder in the league.
He got 10 double doubles in 28 appearances, while he helped out the team from the northern suburbs of Athens in scoring as well, being the second best scorer of his team with 12,5 points on average.
ACB (Spain)
Ioannis Bourousis
Team: Laboral Kutxa
Games: 39
Rebounds (on average): 7,4 Total: 289
Best rebounding performance: 13 (Laboral Kutxa – Obradoiro 82-75), (Laboral Kutxa – Barcelona 87-79)
Anything one says about the accomplishments of the Greek center in the season that just ended is not enough. He was Laboral’s absolute leader on and off the court, unbeatable close to the rim, while he threatened rival defenses in every possible way.
Bourousis shared his place at the top of the best rebounders of the ACB with Dejan Musli of Manresa, but in contrast to the Serbian center, he appeared in more games because of Laboral’s presence in the playoffs of the tournament.
He finished the season with 15 personal distinctions (!), nine of which are related to the Spanish championship.
Enjoy him:
Lega Basket (Italy)
Dario Hunt (USA)
Team: Caserta
Games: 29
Rebounds (on average): 9,9 Total: 287
Best rebounding performance: 21 (Caserta – Avellino 87-92)
The dynamic center from Colorado was the ruler of the… skies in the Italian league, as he became the top rebounder (9,9 rebounds) and top blocker (1,4 blocks) of the tournament. He was a true pillar for Caserta and he emerged as a protagonist in their effort to avoid relegation.
He got a double double (in points and rebounds) in 13 games, while he roused the almost 7,000 fans that filled the stands of the PalaMaggio quite a few times with his impressive plays. The number of rebounds he collected in the home game against Avellino was an… NBA-like performance.
A small taste of his big abilities:
LNB Pro-A (France)
Mouphtaou Yarou (Benin)
Team: Le Mans
Games: 39
Rebounds (on average): 10,7 Total: 418
Best rebounding performance: 17 (Le Mans – Antibes Sharks 74-67)
Maybe he’s not very widely known, but he’s especially well known to the… big men that he faced in the French championship and is one of the favorite players of Le Mans’ fans. The center from Benin (French-speaking state in western Africa) helped his team greatly, both in their advancement to the semifinals of the French league as well as in winning the third Coupe de France de Basket in their history.
He finished the season with a double-digit average of points (10) and rebounds (10,8), while he executed with a 51% accuracy rate in two-point shooting in his second year as a resident of Le Mans.
VTB League
Jerry Jefferson (USA)
Team: Krasny Oktyabr
Games: 17
Rebounds (on average): 8,8 Total: 149
Best rebounding performance: 15 (Krasny Oktyabr – Astana 106-85)
Even though he signed a contract with Krasny Oktyabr midway through the season, he managed to make a great impression. He had 18,6 points and 8,8 rebounds on average in just over 32 minutes of playing time per game.
Aside from being the leading rebounder, he emerged as the second best scorer behind Keith Langford of UNICS Kazan. Despite all this he wasn’t able to lead his team to the playoffs.
Enjoy two spectacular plays by Jerry Jefferson:
BBL (Germany)
Jon Brockman (USA)
Team: Ludwigsburg
Games: 39
Rebounds (on average): 9,2 Total: 359
Best rebounding performance: 18 (Oldenburg – Ludwigsburg 81-76)
Brockman had an amazing season in Germany, comparable to last year’s, when he had emerged again as the best rebounder in the league.
He was one of the protagonists of his team, who finished in fifth place of the regular period, while they almost subjugated Bayern in the first round of the playoffs (they were knocked out 3-2 by the Bavarians).
Jon Brockman in action:
Basketball Super League (Turkey)
Adrien Moerman
Team: Banvit
Games: 32
Rebounds (on average): 10,1 Total: 324
Best rebounding performance: 20 (Usak Sportif – Banvit 64-80)
The top scorer of the Turkish championship is also the top rebounder! Adrien Moerman had an excellent season, achieving something truly rare in the best championship in Europe.
The French forward is a threat inside and outside of the key (45,7% in three-point shooting in the 2015-16 season), collects a lot of rebounds and passes quite well for a big man (1,8 assists per game). His best appearance was the 26 points and 20 rebounds against Usak.
Adrien Moerman with a near buzzer beater: