It was another exciting week of European basketball, with the Euroleague and Eurocup’s “regular season” stage hitting their halfway points, before both competitions shed some dead weight going into the next stage of the season.
This week, we had an ex-Laker absolutely dominate as he continues his climb to the top of the European ranks, while a couple of young draft prospects make their first splashes in Euroleague waters, all below in this weeks EuroHoops update.
Andrew Goudelock breaks Euroleague record with 10 3s against Bayern
Courtesy of http://www.euroleague.net
The man who Kobe Bryant once dubbed “Mini Mamba” tore apart Bayern Munich of Germany in this week’s Euroleague competition, going off for 34 points with a record-setting 10 3-pointers, to go along with 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal, as Fenerbahce Ulker took the win, 93-86. After this performance, Goudelock is the Euroleague’s leading scorer at 21 PPG, shooting a blistering 59.5% from 2PT and 45.7% from 3PT on 7 attempts, and has proven himself to be one of the deadliest scorers on the continent.
Opting to take his talents to Europe last season after failing to establish himself as a steady rotation player over his first two NBA seasons, Goudelock burst onto the scene with Unic Kazan in Russia, where he was the best guard in both the VTB and Eurocup competitions. Playing this season for Fenerbahce under coach Zeljko Obradovic, Goudelock has a good chance to supplant Bo McCalebb and Keith Langford as the top American guard in Euroleague.
There is no question that Goudelock can be an impact player if he decided to return to the NBA, but with such a strong reputation overseas, it will likely take at least the mid-level exception for Goudelock to responsibly consider a return stateside.
17-year-old Marinkovic breaks out for Partizan Belgrade
Courtesy of http://www.fibaeurope.com
Vanja Marinkovic, a 1997 born shooting guard had a breakout week for Partizan Belgrade, scoring 20 points (4/7 3PT) against MZT Skopje in the Adriatic League, and 19 points (4/5 3PT) against the Romanian Ploiesti in Eurocup competition. The hard-working 6’6” shooting guard was recently quoted saying, “I shoot 700-800 3-pointers at every practice. It simply has to go in during the games too.”
These past two performances were Marinkovic’s first two outings as a professional receiving more than 20 minutes (he played 28 in both games), and the results speak for themselves. With more opportunities certain to come, Marinkovic could develop into a strong prospect for the 2016 NBA draft.
Anadolu Efes edges Real Madrid on a last second tip by Matt Janning, Cedi Osman stands out
Anadolu Efes Istanbul narrowly defeated the Spanish side Real Madrid, 75-73 on a buzzer beating tip in by former Northeastern SG Matt Janning, putting both squads in a tie at 4-1 for 1st place in Group A of the Euroleague.
2015 NBA Draft prospect Cedi Osman, was fantastic for Efes, going off for 16 points and 7 rebounds. This was the 19 year old’s first impact performance at the Euroleague level, against one of the top clubs in EL no less, and should raise the eyebrows of scouts in the early part of the season.
The Sixers draft and stash prospect, Dario Saric, continued his solid play as of late, with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists for the winning side. Saric has been seeing an increase in minutes due to the injury of Nenad Krstic, and so far he has been doing what he needs to do to establish him as a regular part of Anadolu Efes’s rotation.
Spanish guard Segio Llull led the losing side with 20 points on 5/10 shooting from outside. Llull is one of the best true point guards in Europe, and although the Houston Rockets own the 27 year old’s draft rights, it’s unlikely we will ever see Llull in an NBA uniform unless someone is willing to unload their wallet for him.
Ante Tomic has double-double in Barcelona’s win over Panathinaikos
Croatian center Ante Tomic had an outstanding performance for Regal Barcelona, as they breezed by Dimitris Diamantitis’s Panathinaikos squad, 78-59 remaining in first place of Group C at 5-0. Tomic was perfect from the field, going 8/8 from 2PT, on his way to 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Tomic was a 2nd round pick for the Jazz in 2008, and while it initially seemed as though the center was going to spend only a couple of years seasoning overseas, Tomic has become a star in the Spanish league, in his third season for Barcelona after two seasons with Real Madrid. Unquestionably one of the top European big men, making the All-Euroleague first team the past two seasons and in the last season of his 3-year deal with Barcelona, Tomic could be headed to the NBA this summer. Could Tomic, in his prime, have the same type of impact as Tiago Splitter in the league next season?
5’9” guard Erving Walker exploding in France, the next Earl Boykins?
Courtesy of http://www.eurocupbasketball.com
After a standout career at the University of Florida, many believed Erving Walker to be too small for the high levels of Europe, let alone the NBA. Listed generously as 5’9” Walker is playing excellent basketball for JDA Dijon Bourgogne in both the French league (17.6 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3 RPG) and the Eurocup (18.6 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3 RPG), showing that despite his small stature he is still a force to be reckoned with.
With a deadly first step, and a lights out shot from outside, Walker has shown the same type of scrappiness that Earl Boykins showed a decade ago that earned him a nice career in the league.
The 24-year-old Walker clearly doesn’t have the size for the NBA, but you can’t question the drive and dedication it takes to play at such a high level with such a substantial size disadvantage and this type of character certainly comes into play with roster decisions. While the odds are stacked against Walker, if he continues at this pace, look for him to get some looks over summer league as a possible minimum level free agent for next season.
AJ Mitnick is an American living in Israel and working as an assistant coach in the Israeli Basketball Winner League. A graduate of IDC Herzliya, Mitnick is an assistant coach with Bnei Herzliya, following three seasons with Maccabi Rishon-Lezion . Follow him on Twitter.