By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Years ago, the USSR was the biggest powerhouse in European basketball. And this legacy lives on. Russian teams are Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup contenders, while two Russian gunners — Alexey Shved in the EuroLeague and Sergey Karasev in the EuroCup — are currently the top scorers of the two competitions.
If this is business as usual for Shved, who is considered one of the biggest EuroLeague stars, the 25-year-old Karasev is another, pretty interesting story. The son of one of the greatest Russian point guards, Vasili Karasev, is four years younger than Shved, but he went to the United States just one season after Shved back in 2013. He was already a member of the senior national team in 2012, he won a bronze medal in the London Olympics, and he was also a first-round NBA draft pick.
Now, Karasev is finally emerging as a bonified star. Playing under his father for Zenit St. Petersburg during the last three seasons, his progress is undeniable and proven by the numbers.
Karasev is averaging 19.7 points in six EuroCup games so far this season. And while Zenit has had its ups and downs so far, with a 4-4 record and the departure of Brandon Jennings providing a somewhat unnecessary drama, the improvement of the young Russian scorer is evident.
He is more mature and more efficient than ever, having boosted his scoring from 12.8 points per game back in the 2016-17 season with Zenit, in his first year back from the NBA to 15.5 points per game last season. Now, he is working on a career high while shooting 53.2% on two-pointers, 39.4% on threes and 96.7% on free throws, missing just once so far in 30 attempts.
Karasev was a teenage standout in junior tournaments with the Russian national team due to his scoring ability. Until now, however, that had not been translated yet to the senior level in the way that everyone had expected. Karasev was a respectable opponent, but not a player feared by everyone. After all, despite reaching the EuroCup quarterfinals the past two seasons, Zenit couldn’t do much more. Zenit fell to Lokomotiv Kuban in 2017 and to Reggio Emilia in 2018, having a total 1-4 record to knock out games.
To be exact, Zenit lost the chance to qualify to the semifinals last season by losing on the road to the Italians in a historic game. The final score was 105-99 and the 204 combined points made it the highest-scoring quarterfinal game in competition history. Those were also the most points scored in any non-overtime elimination round game. And in that game, Sergey Karasev was missing due to injury.
Don’t be fooled by Zenit’s slow start. The Russians are coming, Sergey Karasev is playing his best basketball yet and he has a chip on his shoulder from last season. So, be aware…
Photo credit: EuroCup/ Zenit