By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Let’s get started for another season! A concept established in Europe by Eurohoops.net regarding the top league and which is, by nature, subjective! It can generate disagreements, objections, agreements, and, above all… interest!
In recent seasons, the choices are becoming even harder and more torturous to make! Because all the good players are packed in 16 teams and the top clubs in Europe have greater depth in their rosters in order to manage the new format of the EuroLeague and the levels of energy it requires. Which makes the ranking very difficult and leaves out of the list of the EuroLeague’s Top 100 players, athletes that could have easily been among our choices.
As we wrote last season, there are at least 50 players who could have been objective and subjective choices, especially between 100 and 80, and we ask for your understanding because, unfortunately, there is not enough room for everyone.
However, we promise that after the first 15 rounds, when we will have a substantial sample by the end of the first phase, we will rank the Top 100 players based on their performance up to that point, and so, any possible mistake will be rectified! You are familiar with our criteria from previous seasons. The only footnote is that, some players who are coming back from a long absence due to injury (for example, Zoran Dragic) were not ranked and that this will happen during the season. With the exception of Sergio Lull, who is in a category of his own!
Criteria
- The individual quality of the player IN COMBINATION with the role and playing time we anticipate he will get in his team.
- The strength of the club he plays for. The players of the teams that are in the Top 8 and that are title contenders every season always have an edge because they combine individual quality with their club’s high aspirations.
- What each player has achieved in his career in the EuroLeague combined with the prospects he has for the 2017-18 season
Here the previous picks of the Top100 ranking: 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, 70-61
#60 Marcus Denmon (Panathinaikos)
Year of birth: 1990
Height: 1.91m
Position: G
EuroLeague debut for the University of Missouri graduate! A gifted scorer, he likes to shoot threes more than anything else. It’s a given that he can offer many offensive solutions and last season in Turkey, aside from scoring, he showed improvement in creation as well. The keys for his progress in Panathinaikos will be, on the one hand, how consistent he can be defensively and, on the other, how much he’ll be able to contribute on nights when his shots will not find the target.
#59 Tyler Honeycutt (Khimki)
Year of birth: 1990
Height: 2.03m
Position: F
The season he had last year established him in the EuroLeague! One of the most athletic forwards in the league, great power in rebounding and in battles for possessions, but also on the open court. It’s going to be important to stabilize his shot from the perimeter and to learn how to use his athletic qualities more effectively in the defensive part as well.
#58 Rakim Sanders (Barcelona)
Year of birth 1989
Height: 1.96m
Position: F
#57 Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid)
Year of birth: 1985
Height: 1.96m
Position: F
A great player, a rich talent in offense, he has made history in world basketball. He has problems but his performance is declining. Last season he registered the lowest scoring average in his career and that is one of the question marks ahead of the new season. If Rudy delivers, there’s no discussion about whether he can help and make Real’s offense more effective and unpredictable, something we wish him.
#56 Stefan Markovic (Khimki)
Year of birth: 1988
Height: 1.98m
Position: G
He returns where he belongs, to the elite of European leagues. A controlled and purebred playmaker, excellent at making decisions and creating, in recent seasons he’s consistently more effective in his shooting from the perimeter as well. A devoted and very effective defender. Definitely one of the key players in Khimki’s course this season, a team that will probably be fun to watch.
#55 Ricky Hickman (Brose Bamberg)
Year of birth: 1985
Height: 1.89m
Position: G
A team player and guard who can do everything on the court. He completed last season with a double-digit scoring average (10.1), he always tries to utilize his teammates, plays defense and is effective in transition situations. Together with Nikos Zisis and Daniel Hackett they can make up a backcourt in Freak City that’s going to have everything! Scoring, creation and athleticism.
#54 Malcolm Thomas (Khimki)
Year of birth: 1988
Height: 2.06m
Position: F/C
A very high quality player, he can offer a lot to Khimki this season. A very good scorer from close- and mid-range, a charismatic rebounder, a pretty good blocker and a big man who can generally have a big impact through defense as well. He has energy, explosiveness and all those quality features that make a player constantly excel.
#53 Charles Jenkins (Khimki)
Year of birth: 1989
Height: 1.91m
Position: G
An exuberant package and a high quality combo guard. Exuberant because he does everything on the court. He’s extremely committed in pressing the ball and in individual defense. He can score with a markedly improved shot from the perimeter and is actively involved in every aspect of the game. A player that provides a backcourt with balance and efficiency.
#52 Nikos Zisis (Brose Bamberg)
Year of birth: 1983
Height: 1.97m
Position: G
One of the most experienced, travelled and quality floor managers in the league! He’s going to be Bamberg’s brains and leader for one more season. A high-level creator, he specializes in “reading” defenses and can score as well as play individual defense. Zisis’s impact on the court is easily visible, but what is not so easily reflected is how much better he makes his teammates – and, by extension, his team – both in terms of their game as well as their mentality.
#51 Sinan Guler (Fenerbahce)
Year of birth: 1983
Height: 1.92m
Position: G
He climbed six places in our ranking compared to last season and the reasons are obvious. He’s coming off his best season (10.5 points and 5.6 assists) and signed with the European champions. Definitely the best and most intelligent Turkish player in the league. In Fenerbahce he won’t have a role similar to the one he had in Galatasaray. Obradovic is expecting Guler to provide quality minutes in creation, defense and scoring, and add the ever-needed leadership for championship teams.