By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
The battle of the leading scorer in the Euroleague is this season harder than ever. Andrew Goudelock and Vassilis Spanoulis will fight for it and Eurohoops predicts the winner.
We must clarify that the winner of the “Alphonso Ford” trophy in the Euroleague is the player who has the highest scoring average before the Final Four and not the one who has scored more points in total. Of course, there is a minimum of games played, so if a player played only in the regular season is not eligible for the trophy.
So, the ultimate favorite for the “Alphonso Ford” trophy is Taylor Rochestie. The American guard of Nizhny is already far away from his rivals and is unlikely to lose the award even if he will not play in the playoffs. Although it’s interesting to find out who will be the leading scorer in the end of the season with Andrew Goudelock and Vassilis Spanoulis fighting about it.
Andrew Goudelock
The American guard was the leading scorer in the Eurocup last season with Unics. This season he has a similar role in Fenerbahce and only in the last three games he attempts less shots. His average is 15,3 shots per game (having absolute balance between 2ps and 3ps with 146 attempts in each category) and because of that he can increase easier his average and total scoring.
Vassilis Spanoulis
The captain of Olympiacos scored twice in his career, more than any other player in a Euroleague season. Vassilis Spanoulis was the leading scorer in 2012 and 2013, when he won also the Euroleague title and the Final Four MVP award. He attempts 11,3 shots per game but in the crucial moments he always takes the responsibility and scores more than in the regular season.
Our choice: Whoever plays more games
Both of them have killing instinct and can score a lot in any given game. But it’s obvious that the differences are small and the winner will be decided in the number of the games player. If for example Fenerbahce plays three games in the playoffs and Olympiacos five, Spanoulis will have an advantage. And of course it stands also the opposite. Eventually, the only who can doubt Goudelock’s or Spanoulis’ win are Devin Smith, Nando De Colo and Jeremy Pargo who have also future in the competition but are back.
The leading scorers after 19 weeks
| Player | Team | Points in total | Average points |
| Taylor Rochestie | Nizhny | 330 | 19,4 |
| Andrew Goudelock | Fenerbahce | 315 | 16,6 |
| Boban Marjanovic | Crvena Zvezda | 308 | 16,2 |
| Vassilis Spanoulis | Olympiacos | 304 | 16 |
| Trey Thompkins | Nizhny | 277 | 14,6 |
| Zoran Erceg | Galatasaray | 276 | 15,3 |
| James Anderson | Zalgiris | 273 | 14,4 |
| Devin Smith | Maccabi | 261 | 15,4 |
| Nando DeColo | CSKA Moscow | 259 | 15,2 |
| Jeremy Pargo | Maccabi | 245 | 12,9 |
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