By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
The season gets under way in a few days and the time has come for the top 100 Euroleague Rankings. A difficult concept, subjective, one that – by nature – creates differing opinions and disagreements!
Eurohoops begins the presentation from the bottom up and the main thing that has to be made clear is that our Rankings are not made based on those that are published about NBA players in the USA. It’s true that the individual element is very important, but we equally evaluate the team’s dynamics and potential.
Criteria
1. PLAYER’S VALUE: The overall competitive evaluation of players. The characteristics of their game, their worth, their leadership skills, their quality as a unit independent of the team they play for.
2. PLAYER’S ROLE: The importance of a player for their team as we evaluate and predict it for the new season.
3. TEAM’S WORTH: The team the player we choose plays for, its apparent value in the league in the long term and the potential it has. How far the player’s team that is chosen for the new Euroleague season can go.
4. INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL: The individual potential of the player, exclusively. The extent to which they can grow and improve, how high they can go based on their value, talent and age.
5. THE NUMBERS: The statistics we speculate the player can tally on average, when their team’s run in the Euroleague is completed. This is definitely an important criterion but the last priority for our choices, since it depends directly on the quality of the team they play for and their role in the team.
These are the 5 criteria that we factor in in order to reach an overall assessment of every player individually and from that point to draw the Top 100 Ranks. If you consider that around 360 players are registered on the rosters of the Euroleague, you will comprehend how hard and tortuous it was to make these selections!
So many players of value that we respect infinitely for whom there was not enough space and, really, from a total of 150 players, the list of the 100 was drawn up with great difficulty. Especially in the bottom 20 slots, there could be any name from the 50 that were necessarily not included and we ask for your understanding for this in advance.
#100 Jeff Ayres 1987 2m.06 C CSKA Moscow
The only reason he’s at number 100 is the nature of the contract he signed, since we don’t know if he’s going to stay in Moscow for the entire season. In Europe he can deliver in the ‘5’ position, he knows the basics of the sport well and he can help out in all areas. His coexistence with such creative guards can help him make his presence instantly felt in offense and he’s one of the players that’s worth watching in this year’s competition.
#99 Paulius Jankunas 1984 2m.03 F Zalgiris Kaunas
We wish more players from teams like Zalgiris and UNICS could fit in this list. One of the main criteria is the quality of the team and that’s where a lot of quality players lose their spot in the Top 100. But not Jankunas. Zalgiris’s totem is going to start his 13th season with the team of his heart from where he was away for only one season, when he played for Khimki. The leader of this team, a prolific forward that can do everything on the court. Hi stats last year were noteworthy but there are many more things – like the help he provides in defense – that are not reflected in numbers!
#98 Ioannis Papapetrou 1994 2m.03 F Olympiacos
Last season doesn’t necessarily justify his presence in the Top 100, but now he’s fit and enough time has gone by for his performance to be stabilized at high levels. We’re going to see him play in the ‘4’ position often, and as a Stretch 4 he can open up the court, help in transition situations and score from the three-point line. He’s also very strong in his positioning defensively, has the ability to cope after switches on the screens with bigger opponents and rival guards.
#97 Adrien Moerman 1988 2m.01 F Darussafaka
He’s coming off a very productive season with Banvit, but this year he has to prove that he can contribute consistently to a club that wants to be a championship team. A strong frame, improved in terms of technique, aside from rebounding and pushing in the key, he has an excellent touch with the basket and in the last two years he has visibly improved his effectiveness from the three-point line, which makes him more complete and more dangerous for rival defenses.
#96 Antonis Fotsis 1981 2m.09 F Panathinaikos
One of the most experienced forwards in the entire league. He had previously played first fiddle but now his role is more limited because of his age, but also because the ‘greens’ have players like Gist, Nichols, and Singleton. Coach Pedoulakis is expecting some quality minutes from him, with good defenses following switches on the screens, contribution in rebounding and his favorite shots from the perimeter.
#95 James Nunnally 1990 2m.01 F Fenerbahce
The MVP of the Italian league was rewarded with a transfer to the Turkish champions and Euroleague finalists! He is expected to have a complementary role in his first season, his responsibilities being good defense and rebounding, contribution in transition situations and his good shooting from the perimeter. It’s a great opportunity for him to get established at the top level through the team’s system and with room for action, since Fener features multiple threats in their offensive game.
#94 Luke Harangody 1998 2m.03 F Darussafaka
He kept his place on the roster and David Blatt is expecting specific things from the American. Toughness, defense, helping out in rebounds, but most of all his points in offense and maintaining his percentage from the 6m.75 line close to or even over 40%. His technique might be strange, but Harangody is one of the most consistent long-range shooters in the league from the ‘4’ position!
#93 Daniel Theis 1992 2m.06 C Bamberg
A modern big man, with lots of room for improvement in his game. Fast, with a good jumping ability, with a good sense of the basket and range in his shooting, even from outside the three-point line. One of the most important prospects in Germany, it’s a fact that Andrea Trinchieri is expecting him to jack up his numbers and even more so his contribution to the German champions’ progress this year.
#92 Alex Tyus 1988 2m.03 C Galatasaray
His last season with Anadolu Efes was average and the reason the American center and European champion in 2014 with Maccabi is not higher on our list is the lack of consistency in his game. He remains a very useful pick-and-roll player defensively as well as offensively, with great explosiveness and athletic qualities. What he needs is duration in performing well and not just a few outbursts. He has proven that he can do the job.
#91 Colton Iverson 1989 2m.13 C Maccabi Tel Aviv
A big frame, with good moves in the post and an ability to finish plays with both hands. He can do better in rebounding with the height he has and in a team with Maccabi’s style, but also the roster they’ve put together this year, there’s a question mark as to the extent he can fit in and chiefly the extent the guards will utilize him, as they are mostly executioners and not so much creators and pick-and-roll players.