By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
On a 10th October Umana Reyer Venezia beat Banvit on Day 1 of the Basketball Champions League. It was an exacting drama as a triple-overtime was needed in order to have a winner. Banvit fell short in that game as they lost, but they got their revenge.
On Wednesday night these two teams met again and this time Andy Rautins was on Banvit’s roster. The American-born Canadian made all the difference as he was close to an amazing feat.
Rautins finished the night one assist away from recording a triple-double. Only two players were able to that in the Basketball Champions League. The first one was Chris Kramer of EWE Baskets Oldenburg last season and the second one was Arnas Butkevicius of Neptunas Klaipeda this year.
Andy Rautins had a strong all-around performance with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists in just 26 minutes as Banvit smashes Venezia this time 90-62.
It isn’t uncommon for small forwards or even points guards to make triple-double, but it is for the shooting guards such as Rautins.
The New York days
Andy Rautins was born and raised in New York and he started playing basketball there. He was a member of Jamesville-Dewitt High School Class A state championship squad back in 2004 Rautins led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds in the final game being named first-team all-state and first-team All-CNY.
He didn’t move much as he continues his basketball path in New York attending at well-known basketball program at Syracuse where he spent five years.
And after his college career – guess what – he stayed in New York as Rautins was drafted as the 38th pick by the New York Knicks in the 2010 NBA Draft. He didn’t get many minutes on the floor as a Knick, playing only five games before he was traded to Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
Basketball Family
Andy’s dad Leo Rautins was a great basketball player as well. He also played in Syracuse under the legendary coach Jim Boeheim. Rautins Senior was capable of doing everything on the floor as he recorded a triple-double against St. Peters in the NIT Tournament with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Syracuse.
Leo has also played in the NBA and then in Europe. He was drafted in the first round following his senior year, the 17th pick overall, by the Philadelphia 76’ers. He spent only two years in the NBA due to his knee injury. Later, he built a career in Europe playing for Virtus Bologna and Pau-Orthez among the others European clubs.
The European path
After being traded to Dallas and later waived by the Mavericks, Andy Rautins moved to Spain in 2011. He spent one season playing in Alicante. He tried to make a comeback to the NBA through the D-League as a member of Tulsa 66ers. He was won NBA D-League Showcase Three-Point Shootout champion in 2013, but couldn’t find an NBA team to sign for.
He came to Turkey through Germany (Skyliners Frankfurt) and Italy (Pallacanestro Varese). He spent two seasons as a member of another Basketball Champions League’s team Gaziantep before moving to Banvit.
In the BCL this season Andy Rautins is averaging 7.8 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 4 assists doing all the work for Banvit. The Turkish side is standing on a 5-3 record and after being last season’s finalists, they dream big.
Can they go all the way this time? If 31 years old Rautins continues to play like that, you never know…
Photo Credit: BCL