By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Besiktas got back on the Basketball Champions League’s win column and mainly have Jason Rich to thank. The 32-year-old American guard is no stranger to scoring achievements. However his game-high 22 points against Neptunas Klaipeda last Tuesday were of extra importance. He was 9/16 from the field and put the Turkish club back on the Playoffs route, even though much more wins are needed in order for Besiktas to advance.
“It was a really good win for us. It was a really important game for our Champions League season. We really needed to win this game” he mentioned during the Press Conference following the home match against the Lithuanian team.
After his BCL season-high and his sixth straight double-digit performance, Rich is averaging 13.4 points per game. He also has poured 11.6 points per match in the Turkish BSL Regular Season, which is highlighted by his game-high 27 points in December 4th’s big derby win against Anadolu Efes. When it matters most, the American guard helps out his team with his massive European experience and his unique scoring touch.
He’s now a European regular, but it all started in the NCAA with Florida State. Rich was the Seminoles’ floor general from 2004 until 2008. He led his team to the NIT tournament twice, with 10 points per game in the 2005-06 season and 10.3 points per match in the 2006-07 season playing alongside Toney Douglas. He finished up his NCAA career averaging 14.3 points in the 2007-08 campaign.
He later moved his talents to Europe. Israel, Italy, Belgium, Russia and France were his first stops before Besiktas and his first Turkish experience. Expectations were and are high after his Scoring Champion honors in Italy as a Sidigas Avellino player last year and his second place in the French scoring table with Levallois Metropolitans in the 2016-17 season. However, he’s already managing to showcase his scoring abilities and get the Besiktas’ fans ready for much more explosive games.
His 51.9% from two-point range and 40.9% from three-point range in the first nine Champions League Gamedays prove his shooting accuracy is at its prime. Rich is using his experience to keep Dusko Ivanovic’s team within its season goals range, which are really high both in the European competition level and in the Turkish League.
Jason Rich put up 22PTS to help @BJK_Basketbol improve to 4-5 in Group D of the #BasketballCL! pic.twitter.com/TLKSCqqwuh
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) December 21, 2018
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League