By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Their stats lines may go overlooked, but at the end of the day, coaches will give them extra praise for successfully doing key jobs without which their teams cannot thrive.
These guys may be considered as supporting cast members most night, but as in a film, the protagonists need them in order to shine. These are some of the Unsung Heroes of EuroLeague this season.
The players are mentioned in alphabetical order.
Dogus Balbay (Anadolu Efes Istanbul)
You might wonder: How can the captain of the team be unsung? Well, considering that other Efes players usually receive the bulk of the attention, in the case of Dogus Balbay, it can happen. The energy Balbay brings on the court, especially on defense, is inspiring for his teammates. He has also made 12 three-pointers on 19 attempts this season, which is more than all his previous EuroLeague seasons combined. He even opened the season with a game-winning triple vs. Khimki.
Balbay is one of those players who will any kind of “dirty work” on the court without complaining or second-guessing it, and you can easily understand why coach Ergin Ataman appreciates him so much.
Jeff Brooks (AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan)
You won’t hear many people talking about what Jeff Brooks does this season with Milano, but he has the team’s fourth-highest plus/minus rating. The American forward provides more than the 5.7 points and 5.4 rebounds he averages, although the latter is a pretty fine number, ranking him 11th in the entire competition.
Brooks’s athleticism has been a key part of Milan’s success this season, especially the way he uses it on defense, as either a one-on-one or help defender. His most notable defensive outing was arguably holding All-EuroLeague forward Tornike Shengelia to a then season-low 8 points in Milan’s Round 8 home win over Baskonia. No small feat, eh?
In his second season with Fenerbahce, Marko Guduric is the epitome of effectiveness given the role he has on the team. While having the fourth-lowest usage on Fenerbahce (33%), Guduric is greasing the wheels of perhaps the most well-oiled offense in the competition with some top notch shooting (65.4% on two-pointers, 54% on 50 three-point attempts), plus a splash of facilitation (2.3 assists) for his teammates. Zeljko Obradovic wouldn’t trust him so much if he didn’t hold his ground on defense, though. Indeed, on the top defensive team in the competition, Guduric is ranked second among steady rotation players with a 94.2 defensive rating. Maybe his praises need to be “sung” more.
Nikita Kurbanov (CSKA Moscow)
Nikita Kurbanov is the only EuroLeague player that leads his team in both offensive and defensive rating, with 109.7 and 92.7 respectively. That pretty much says everything there is to say regarding the impact that the Russian forward brings to the court for CSKA Moscow. On a team with an illustrious roster of superstars, Kurbanov stands out as the needle that sews together the threads that tighten his squad’s game. The effect will be visible where it matters: in the final outcome. And if he’s needed to bring a direct game-winning impact, Kurbanov will deliver, too, as he did with his 17-point output vs. Barcelona in Spain.
Vladimir Lucic (Bayern Munich)
You might find it weird that a player who averages 10.3 points and 3.8 rebounds is considered “unsung” but Vladimir Lucic doesn’t get enough credit for how impactful he’s been for Bayern Munich. While Derrick Williams deservedly gets the spotlight for his MVP-candidate season and Stefan Jovic once again dazzles EuroLeague fans with his passing skills, Lucic puts in an important workload to make things happen for the Bavarian side. He’s been one of head coach Dejan Radonjic’s most important assets, making an immense two-way contribution thanks to his high motor and solid reading of the game. If Bayern advances to the playoffs, he’ll deserve heaps of credit.
Pierre Oriola (Barcelona)
One common characteristic of “unsung heroes” is that they are fighters through and through. When they step on the court, they make every second count. They will compete as hard as they can and exude crazy amounts of passion to harass any opponent.
Oriola’s game paints an accurate picture of all the above and his punch has been quite useful in helping Barcelona become playoff material once again. Barcelona coach Svetislav Pesic has used Oriola several times in order to improve his defense and shake up things to game-winning effect, most notably in the comeback win at home over Efes. While the Spanish center will rush to grab every loose board and apply physical pressure on opposing bigs, he will also run some nifty pick-and-roll action on the other end when needed.
Jeff Taylor (Real Madrid)
“I value everything he does,” Real head coach Pablo Laso has said. Who are we to argue with him? Taylor will carry out every “mission impossible” that his coach requires from him, and it’s a small wonder that you usually see him in the starting lineup in this, his fourth consecutive season with the defending champs. Taylor is often tasked with the assignment of hounding the rival team’s top perimeter scorer.
While taking care of business on the defensive end, either by suffocating his opponent or recovering when he’s needed to help, Taylor also more than earns his keep on offense, primarily as a weak-side shooter who has made 44.2% of his 43 three-point attempts so far this season.
Yovel Zoosman (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
After a bad first leg in the EuroLeague Regular Season, Maccabi is making a case for returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. And this Israeli player has put his piece into this turnaround.
With Giannis Sfairopoulos’s arrival – and especially in the last six games – Yovel Zoosman’s playing time saw a considerable increase, from approximately 11 to 21 minutes per game. Consequently, his duties multiplied. Zoosman has been entrusted with guarding the most dangerous opponents. He could be seen defending CSKA guard Nando De Colo and Panathinaikos guard Nick Calathes in two huge wins by Maccabi.
On the other end, the young wing has helped plenty with his shooting and his passing, the highlight of the latter being his 5 assists in the win over Panathinaikos. He helps the Maccabi offense run so smoothly that he has a team-high 107.4 offensive rating. Not bad for a 20-year-old.
Statistics courtesy of EuroLeague.net/Overbasket.com