By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops presents the Top 100 EuroLeague Players ahead of the 2019-2020 season. A list of players compiled with some specific criteria with the purpose of tracing and ranking those hoopers that are expected to define the upcoming EuroLeague season.
While there are some objective and factual elements/data that were taken into consideration when choosing the 100 players and then ranking them, the final result is, inevitably, subjective.
As always, there was a calculated risk with EuroLeague newcomers, especially those who are completely unfamiliar with European basketball. Hence why some players who will now take their first steps in EuroLeague have been omitted from the list or where placed in lower positions in comparison with “rookies” that already have considerable experience at a competitive level of European basketball. Experience in this level and type of game matters since we’ve seen no few quality players, even established NBAers, immensely struggle in their new surroundings simply because of their unfamiliarity with everything that European basketball encompasses.
What should be noted is that a player of a team that is a title or Final Four contender automatically got a relative priority over another with possibly similar or equal, maybe even superior individual strengths. This is why you will find that there is an increased number of players from well-known powerhouses. Of course, there’s also the fact that these teams usually sign a lot of top talent.
It goes without saying that injuries also played a part in picking and ranking the players.
This year there is a slight change in the usual Eurohoops Top 100 Players ranking criteria. Past achievements (individual awards/team titles) are no longer considered or taken into account with the same gravity they used to carry in previous Top 100 features.
It should also be noted that the place an “x player” gets in the list doesn’t necessarily mean that he is overall “better” than another player since there’s a multitude of factors that determine the ranking.
The most important ones are the following:
1) The individual quality of each player in combination with the prospect he carries for 2019-2020, plus the role and playing time we anticipate he will get with his team.
2) The strength of the club the player belongs to. The players of the teams that are usually playoff staples and are considered among the title contenders always have the edge because they combine individual quality with the club’s high aspirations.
3) Prior experience in EuroLeague/European basketball.
4) How the player performed in 2018-2019 and his contribution to his team reaching its goals.
Here are the picks from 100 to 91, 90 to 81, 80 to 71 and 70 – 61.
60. Ioannis Papapetrou (Panathinaikos)
Year of birth: 1994
Position: Forward
Height: 2.05 m.
2018-2019 stats: 9.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals in 25:30 minutes over 28 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos.
Ioannis Papapetrou saw his playing time increasing and thus his averages getting a pump upwards in his debut season with Panathinaikos. He was a starter in 22 out of the 28 games he participated and had a set of key performances in the second leg of the season to help his team get four straight valuable wins that steered the “Greens'” course towards making the playoffs.
While Papapetrou provided the most when moving closer to the basket, especially at the low post, his 3-point shooting (33.3% on 78 attempts) was unstable, albeit better than 2017-2028 (28.6% on 84 attempts) His team needs him to establish a shooting consistency, something that will also propel him to the next level individually.
59. Kevin Pangos (Barcelona)
(Note: The Top 100 list was written before the player’s injury that will keep him out for four to six weeks)
Year of birth: 1993
Position: Guard
Height: 1.86 m.
2018-2019 stats: 7.0 points, 3.2 assists, 1.1 rebounds in 20:20 minutes over 35 Euroleague games with Barcelona.
This is the biggest dip in our Top 100 rankings. Kevin Pangos entered 2018-2019 as a member of the All-EuroLeague Second Team after leading Zalgiris Kaunas to the Final Four and was placed at the No. 10 spot. However, his debut season with Barcelona didn’t meet expectations.
Pangos struggled to get his rhythm going within the system of the Blaugrana. He had nights where he put his playmaking skills to fantastic use, but there were times where his presence on the court was hardly noticeable. There were also some big shooting struggles since he finished the season with a poor 31.7% on 104 attempts. He had 47.5% on 108 attempts in 2017-2018.
It remains to be seen how Pangos will rediscover his touch on a star-packed Barcelona squad this season.
58. Kostas Koufos (CSKA Moscow)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Center
Height: 2.13 m.
2018-2019 stats: 3.7 points, 4.2 rebounds in 12:00 minutes over 42 NBA games with the Sacramento Kings.
We’re going to have to wait a bit to see Kostas Koufos making his first official appearance outside the NBA since CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis said that the Greek center will be back in a couple of weeks.
After spending the first 11 years n the NBA, Koufos signed with CSKA to play outside the league for the first time in his career. He essentially arrived to replace Othello Hunter on the roster of the Russian squad and share the “5” with Kyle Hines.
Koufos will make the jump from being a role player and mostly a backup center to a potential protagonist on CSKA, the defending EL champion. It will be a challenge, especially given that although he has experience in FIBA basketball from the tournaments he’s participated with Greece, EuroLeague competition can be tricky for a newcomer.
57. Charles Jenkins (Crvena Zvezda)
Year of birth: 1989
Position: Guard
Height: 1.91 m.
2018-2019 stats: 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steals in 24:26 minutes over 29 EuroLeague games with Khimki Moscow.
Home is where the heart is. When it comes to basketball, for Charles Jenkins that’s Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda. Something more than a simple “fan favorite” among Red Star supporters, Jenkins is back on the team following a two-year stint with Khimki Moscow.
Usually, you see the “3-and-D” characterization being used to describe wings but Jenkins is the epitome of it as a guard: One of the sturdiest, tough-to-play-against defenders in EuroLeague and, at the same time, a spot shooter no defense can afford leaving him wide open (a career 43.1% 3-point shooter in EuroLeague).
56. Wesley Johnson (Panathinaikos)
Year of birth: 1987
Position: Forward
Height: 2.01 m.
2018-2019 stats: 3.7 points, 2.1 rebounds in 14:50 minutes over 26 NBA regular-season games with the New Orleans Pelicans, 2.8 points, 1.5 rebounds in 13:1 minutes over 12 games with the Washington Wizards.
Panathinaikos coach Argiris Pedoulakis loves those athletic and long defenders and Wesley Johnson is both. An NBA veteran of eight seasons and 618 games in the league who, like many in our Top 100, dives into the European basketball waters for the first time.
Johnson is expected to be a multi-tool on the floor for Panathinaikos, especially on defense. On offense, his career 33.7% from deep isn’t particularly pretty for a small forward, but the 3-point range in Europe may be friendlier to him. He should also take advantage of sharing the court with a passer like Nick Calathes who can easily find Johnson when the latter makes fast cuts to the basket.