After the arrival this summer of David Cubillán to be the conductor of Levitec Huesca, now it is the turn of another Venezuelan star as he is Michael Carrera (1993/196 cm). Pedigree player in his country, he has added several experiences in important leagues.
Carrera was formed in High School in the United States, being recruited by South Carolina, where he remained for four years (12-16), standing out in his senior year (14.5 pt, 7.7 d) with good numbers in the PIT pre-Draft tournament ( 15.3 pt, 8.8 d), which led to him playing in the NBA summer leagues. His first professional assignment was Russia, landing at Avtodor Satatov of the VTB League (7 pt, 4 re). On 17/18 he arrived in Australia to play a few games in the NBL, but injuries prevented him from having continuity and he ended up making the jump to the G-League (12 pa, 6 pt, 4 re) to finish the course in Mexico.
He started 18/19 without a team, but he signed in Chile, although he did not debut and ended up signing at the end of the year in Argentina (Works: 17 pa, 5.8 pt, 4.4 re). The 19/20 reached Germany, signing for none other than Bamberg (8 dc, 6.5 pt, 3.3 re), leaving in the direction of Hamburg, where he was at a good level (11 pa, 13.3 pt, 5.5 re). In the summer he pointed out that he had had offers from Israel and France, indicating that he would like to play in the ACB. In addition, in the summer he had been playing in the Venezuelan league, which is where he has recently played in the country’s new competition, with the Miranda Jetsons (13.5 pt, 5.8 d), where he was under the command of Spanish coach Manolo Povea.
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Without a doubt, Carrera’s career is full of ups and downs and it has been difficult for him to find that continuity, perhaps due to adaptation, perhaps due to mentality, but the reality is that he has accumulated teams and countries with different brilliance. Perhaps the best definition of Carrera was in Bamberg: after discreet numbers after a great World Cup with Venezuela, the German team’s sports director pointed out that the Venezuelan had been a victim of the team’s structure, that he needed a power forward with more shooting than could also help the ‘five’.
Perhaps being so versatile has slowed him down to reach the level top. Comfortable in the ‘four’ position, strong upper body despite his height, very intense, aggressive facing the rim and very incisive on the rebound. Able to play the pop and score from the triple in the front position, he knows how to play without the ball and in the ‘three’ he is able to play the post against physically inferior rivals. Active in defense, he suffers as a forward against fast players and as a power forward against modern big fours. It may be that he is more mature, has not progressed at the expected pace and still lacks game with his left hand and better read situations.
Daniel Merida, alma mater of that spectacular website called Latin court, gives us these touches on him: “Physical player, very intense, sometimes over-accelerated. He started his career as a 3, but his irregular outside shot has made him move to a more interior game, even playing 4 despite his 1.96 meters. It needs to find its place after passing through Russia, Australia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina or Venezuela without being able to finish exploding ”.
Pedigree signing of ICG Força Lleida by curriculum, but it will be necessary to see how it adapts, because last year Holmes and Riley came to the league and they didn’t even make a difference. It is clear that Carrera is not in its decline, but the other way around: it needs a place to feel comfortable and perform. The structure of ilerdense does not hurt him and his game can go along the line that Hester contributed, with the hinge that is Marcus Toledo to exchange positions between ‘three’ and ‘four’. The Venezuelan can be that player who makes a difference … Or perhaps the LEB Oro is another stage in his curriculum … What cannot be doubted is that it is always positive that players of this caliber arrive at our beloved Gold.
