By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
They have already made an impression, some of them are game-changers and all of them are turning heads all over Europe. Eurohoops presents some of the best rookies in the competition.
Here they are, starting from the youngest (24) to the oldest (34).
YOUSSOUPHA FALL
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | Center | January 12, 1995 | Senegal
4.8 pts | 6.5 reb | 0.3 ast | 0.3 stl | 1.8 blk | 2 tov | 18:12 min | 7.5 PIR | 4 G
He spent the first year of his contract with KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on loan to Strasbourg. There probably isn’t going to be another such season for Youssoupha Fall, who, as his playing time shows, has the confidence of Velimir Perasovic. His height of 2.21 meters makes his job under the basket easier and a bit harder from the free throw line, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement for the 24-year-old Senegalese center.
TONYE JEKIRI
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | Center | July 23, 1994 | Nigeria
10.5 pts | 9.8 reb | 2 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 0.3 tov | 23:46 min | 19.8 PIR | 4 G
He had to wait for his fourth season in Europe and his first with LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne to make his debut in the EuroLeague, but the wait was worth it for Tonye Jekiri. The 25-year-old Nigerian center was one of the key players in the consecutive wins over two legendary teams in the competition, Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, as ASVEL returned to the top European club competition after nine years. He continues with the same momentum on both ends of the court with performances that have placed him in the top positions in performance index rating.
LANDRY NNOKO
ALBA Berlin | Center | April 9, 1994 | Cameroon
13.3 pts | 6.5 reb | 0.8 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 2.3 tov | 21:50 min | 13.3 PIR | 4 G
The 25-year-old Cameroonian center is not very well known yet, but ALBA Berlin’s rivals have gotten to know him rather well in a short period of time. He scores on most of his attempts, he keeps alive many of his teammates’ attempts and blocks as many by his opponents, and his presence generally dominates the paint. One could say that he can only be stopped with a foul and they’d be right, since he’s high on the list of players with the most fouls drawn both on the German team as well as in the competition.
PEYTON SIVA
ALBA Berlin | Guard | October 24, 1990 | USA
9.7 pts | 2 reb | 7 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 2.3 tov | 25:32 min | 11 PIR | 3 G
Being on the team since 2016 and, above all, skilled as few are, Peyton Siva has developed into ALBA’s leader. Due to an injury, he didn’t play in the opening night’s win over Zenit St Petersburg in the German team’s return to the EuroLeague after four years, but he’s slowly finding his rhythm. What he lacks in execution he makes up for in creation and he always strives for the best, as his role requires.