By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Tel Aviv made one of the most resounding transfers of the summer, by signing Andrew Goudelock. Wherever he has played, at whatever level, he was always a great scorer, with his ability to shoot and score in many situations being his weapons!
His size and the fact that he still hasn’t proven that he can contribute a lot in other areas besides scoring are the main reasons he hasn’t managed to get established in the NBA.
For the level of the Euroleague he is without a doubt a great scorer, something that he proved as a Fenerbahce player in the 2014-15 season. Maccabi’s style fits him like a glove, he’ll definitely register good numbers and give us nights of great offensive performances, but everything will be judged in the end by what’s left in the register and the titles that Maccabi is going to win or… not win! Let’s take a look at his profile!
Who he is
Goudelock was born in December of 1988 in Georgia, USA, and played college basketball with success in Charleston with the Cougars. In his 4 years in the NCAA he proved that he’s a great scorer and, on a good night, unstoppable. Overall, he completed his four-year term with an average of 18.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 140 appearances.
In the summer of 2011 he was selected in the second round of the draft by the Los Angeles Lakers with the number 46. He played for one season with the Lakers. He played there for another two short periods until he was dismissed in the summer of 2012, and in 2013 he became the MVP of the NBDL as a result of his performances with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
In the summer of 2013 he signed with UNICS Kazan and made his first appearance in Europe at the age of 26! He had the best season of his professional career up to that point and emerged as the MVP in the Eurocup, creating an excellent duo with the Greek guard, Nikos Zisis. He completed the season with an average of 18.8 points, 3.1 assists, and 2 rebounds.
In the summer of 2014 he signed a two-year contract with Fenerbahce and as a member of Obradovic’s team he had another impressive season individually, with regard to his rates in offense.
In his first appearance in the Euroleague the meter registered 17 points along with 2.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds, and he was the top scorer of Fenerbahce, who qualified to the final four for the first time in their history. Despite this, the club decided to release him in the summer of 2015…
The decision was a hard one and it was based on two things. Zoc thought that his style of playing did not help his team and teammates become better and the second reason was some signs of his attitude and an incident during the semifinal series against Karsiyaka in the Turkish playoffs when Fenerbahce, even though having the home court advantage, were… royally knocked out by the subsequent champions.
Goudelock decided to cash in his good season with a big contract in China and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. He played there until March. In March he got a contract with the Houston Rockets. He played very few minutes, he was dismissed in July and on August 2 Maccabi made the announcement!
What he can offer
Score, score, score! Quite possibly and until proven otherwise, the 28-year-old American shooting guard is the most charismatic player offensively in the new era of the Euroleague with the 16 clubs and the 30 games of the regular period.
He’s a venomous three-point shooter and at the same time it’s very hard for any defender to stop him. Because he can shoot both as a receiver of the ball as a spot shooter, but even more so create his own shots after a dribble and… “bomb” from everywhere. He has many ways, angles and distances from which he can execute and the way he does it is extremely fast.
He’s a constant threat from long-range and the fact that he scored 10 three-pointers in one night against Bayern in Fenerbahce’s colors is no coincidence!
His repertoire is not limited to his shot from the perimeter. He knows how to read the defense in his favor and when that defense is stuck on him he can create rifts and get to the lay up or score with a floater, which he has worked on and does with great effectiveness.
When he’s in a good rhythm he executes with high percentages from mid-range as well. In other words, he can score in any way, no matter how good the defense is! Individually, considering the level of the Euroleague, he is a “nuclear weapon,” either through isolation situations or through ball movement and team collaborations.
Time to move on to the drawbacks… He’s not a consistent facilitator, not so much because he doesn’t have a talent for passing the ball, but mostly because in his mind the first choice is always scoring, even if opponents double and triple team him.
He doesn’t “run” the pick-and-roll consistently as a creator and in order for him to score 30 points in one night in the way he plays, it’s very possible that the team will not be functioning properly offensively and that the rest of the talented players are switched off, “cold” and out of rhythm.
In defense, thanks to his size, the lack of strength in his body and often of attitude and commitment, he’s always one of those players that opposing offenses take aim at. He certainly has an obvious weakness in mismatches in the low post with bigger opponents, either following switching defenses or even when facing players who play in the same position as him.
He’s not particularly effective either in one-on-one marking along the perimeter, or pressing on the ball. The same goes for covering for the team, either in turns or close out situations.
Sometimes he produces some good plays, mostly steals after reading the play. Overall, though, he’s one of those players that a coach wants to “hide” in defense, to protect them while at the same time protecting his team’s effectiveness and let them consume most of their energy in offense.
The magnitude of the success of Andrew Goudelock’s signing by Maccabi will be judged by the team’s progress next season and of course by the way he’s going to click with the rest of the group and the chemistry that Erez Edelstein has to create.
There are enough players with offensive gifts (Sonny Weems, Devin Smith, Sylven Landesberg, Yogev Ohayon, Gal Mekel, Taylor Rochestie if he doesn’t find a team and stays with his contract after all) and it’s a very crucial challenge whether Goudelock will be able to provide that extra something in offense without this negatively affecting the rhythm and productivity of the rest of the players.
Even though modern basketball in Europe is heading full steam towards athleticism, aggressiveness and players who are good at the one-on-one, it requires chemistry, harmony, distinct roles and of course controlling the rhythm, which often depends on the defense and not the offense.