By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Anwil Wloclawek didn’t make it past the regular season in their first Basketball Champions League campaign (2018-19) but they’ve come back stronger this time around.
They’ve changed the roster quite a bit and have also added two former NBAers in Ricky Ledo and Tony Wroten.
Wroten was the one to hand Anwil their first win this season in BCL with 23 points on 9-11 shooting against EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez. He also dished four assists and stole the ball twice.
This is Wroten’s second year in Europe and he’s averaging 17.3 points for Anwil which holds a 4-1 record in Polish League and 1-2 in Basketball Champions League. It’s still early but Wroten is satisfied with his time in Europe so far and although his goal is getting back to the NBA, the 26-year-old is focused on the moment:
“Love my transition in Europe. It’s going great. I have the best teammates and coaches in Anwil. Of course, I wanna get back to the NBA in the future but all I’m focused on right now is doing whatever I gotta do to help Anwil win games. I love our fans, best in Europe”, Wroten told Eurohoops.
THE Freshman
Wroten started off at Garfield High School where he was named to the 2009 All-Washington State Class 4A first team in his first year, becoming the first-ever freshman to be named to the first team.
He missed the junior season due to an ACL injury but came back strong as a senior averaging 25 points which led him to the Washington Huskies. He posted 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game getting named to the All-Pac-12 first team as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
After just one college year, Wroten decided on entering the NBA Draft and was picked up by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2012 as the 25th overall pick.
A strong NBA start cut short by an ACL injury
During his first year in the NBA, Wroten played 35 games with the Grizzlies and 11 with the Reno Bighorns. He averaged 17 points with the latter.
He wasn’t getting a significant role in Memphis but that changed next season after he got traded to the Sixers. In his first career start, Wroten recorded his first triple-double with 18 points, ten rebounds, and 11 assists. That was the first time a player logged a triple-double in first career start.
Wroten was having a great start to the season logging career-high 31 points vs. the Bulls as well as averaging career-high 16.9 points, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals in the first 30 games. However, he was forced to cut the season short due to a partially torn ACL in his right knee.
Getting back up again
He played just eight games the following season and was waived by the Sixers. He got signed by the Knicks and the Grizzlies in 2016 but got waived by both without playing a single game. Wroten played the following two seasons with the Texas Legends and Rio Grande Valley Vipers averaging 12.6 and 11 points.
After getting waived by the Vipers, Wroten went to Europe for the first time and continued his career with the Estonian team Kalev/Cramo. He averaged 10.5 points as the squad reached VTB League playoffs for the first time in club history. He also tied career-high 31 points and had an amazing 22-assist game that season.
The path led Wroten to this season and Anwil. He has been improving together with the whole squad. They’ve got the potential to get much better and if they manage to do so, no squad in the Basketball Champions League is safe against them.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League