The season of Euroleague has already reached the credits for the Italian teams.
Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna did not gain access to the play-offs, as did Alba Berlin’s Gabriele Procida. The blue, however, is among the candidates for the Euroleague Rising Star award, as well as Nico Mannion of Virtus.
Two important pieces for the Italian national basketball team, also in view of the World Cup 2023capable of carving out important minutes on a continental level.
But they are certainly not the only pillars for the future of coach Pozzecco’s team: waiting to see if Paolo Banchero whether or not he will be an integral part of the group, there is an entire generation of young people who are eager to wear the blue shirt.
Find out below which young Italians are showing off in Serie A and around the world.
The European season of Niccolo Mannion was not very brilliant – 5.9 points per game with 37.9% shooting in 19 appearances and 3 starts in the starting lineup – but the playmaker of the The power of Bologna wants to continue the streak of successes with the black V in the national arena.
He already has one on his bulletin board Eurocup conquered last season and won twice in a row Italian Super Cup. Your Virtus are currently leaders in Serie A and have the goal of redeeming the final lost last year againstOlympia Milan.
Mannion’s contribution, in the league, is decidedly more concrete: he averaged 10.9 points with 45.4% shooting and 3.5 assists per game, with a 27-point performance last March 12 in the external blitz in Venice (68-83 for the Bolognese).
Not even a month before, the son of art (dad Pace Mannion played in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks before moving to Italy) had updated his career high of points made with theItalia: one more than what was done with Virtus, 28 points in the blue success against Ukraine in Livorno.
In the 2022 NBA Draft, Italy also celebrated for Gabriele Procidaselected in the second round by Portland TrailBlazers and immediately turned to Detroit Pistons.
Before landing in the USA, however, the first test bench in Europe arrived for Procida. With the’Dawn Berlinthe Euroleague season ended prematurely and with little chance of competing to finish in the top eight.
On the other hand, in Germany, it commands the ranking of Bundesliga (26 wins and 2 losses) and already has the certainty of qualifying for the play-offs, where Procida can continue to be useful from the bench: so far in the league he has started in the starting line-up on 7 occasions and plays 16 minutes per game on average.
Euroleague 2022-2023: all candidates for the Rising Star award
I’m not alone Nico Mannion e Gabriele Procida in the running for the prize reserved for the best youngster (born after 1 July 2000) of Euroleague.
candidates forEuroleague Rising Star there are six in all:
- Rokas Jokubaitis (LTU, 2000), Barcellona
- Yam Madar (ISR, 2000), Partizan
- Nico Mannion (ITA, 2001), Virtus Bologna
- Jaime Pradilla (ESP, 2001), Valencia
- Gabriele Procida (ITA, 2002), Alba Berlin
- Alen Smailagic (SRB, 2000), Partizan
Lithuanian Rokas Jokubaitisguard of Barcelona, has already obtained this recognition last season and could become the fourth ever to win it twice (as Nikola Mirotic, Bogdan Bogdanovic e Luka Doncic). In just over 14 minutes per game, this Euroleague season, the class of 2000 has an average of 5 points with 43% from three.
Same story, same place, same… Draft.
Banchero at 1, Procida at 36 and going further, always on the second lap, 2022 was also the year of Matthew Spanishselected with the 50th pick from The Minnesota Timberwolves.
After the Summer League, the blue remained in the ownership of Real Madrid, club of which he was the first Italian ever in their nursery. The You meringues they shot it in earlyTrento Eagle and in the last few months his performances have been rising in tone, with the Trentino side in full play-off zone in Serie A.
Only in March and April, the Spaniard’s calendar reads: 23 points (the maximum in Serie A) in the victory against Brescia, 20 points the following week at Treviso and another 19 points in the home success against Trieste. In addition, he is fourth for fouls received in the whole league and has been awarded as best Under 22 of the Italian Cup Final Eight.
The best way to recover from the problem that kept him out of the last round of international call-ups. But the class of 2003, the third-youngest ever to make his debut for the Azzurriin Pozzecco’s future – and present – plans there is for sure.
Becoming a certainty at 21 years old. For Momo Diouf, it wasn’t a problem at all. Even in a difficult season like the one currently underway.
Reggio Emilia fight for salvation, it’s true, but in the long class of 2001 he found something more than just a young man on the launch pad. The last few races prove it, in which he has become a permanent presence in the quintet.
Result: four victories in the last five games, with heavy victories against Napoli, Trieste and Scafati precisely with a view to staying in Serie A.
Diouf, who in an interview on the Legabasket website has indicated as idols two Olympic gold medalists of the caliber of Kevin Garnett e Kevin Durantreturned to the blue group a year and a half after his debut with the Italian national team, taking part in the success in Caceres against Spain in the last round of World Cup qualifying.
No, give me sarr he’s not like the other players on the list. And certainly not because he plays at Barcelona.
When i blaugrana they throw you into the fray a 16 years, 7 months and 18 days, it can’t not be something extraordinary. Not by chance, he is the second youngest ever in the history of Barca.
The guard born in Oderzo in 2006 made his debut in the first team in the success against Bilbao in January. Since then coach Saruns Jasikevicius he preferred to “protect” his talent, making it grow in Barça Atletic.
In all this, the blue would certainly not be new for him: he was part of the Under 16 national team which came sixth at the last European Championships, closing the tournament as the best scorer of theItalia with 14.4 points on average.
For the leap among the greats, he doesn’t lack time. Meanwhile, this season, give me sarr he has already had a taste of the stage that awaits him.
When the blue delegation left for the USA at the end of 2022, there was not only a meeting with Paolo Banchero. Because if there are talents to be found across the ocean, it’s also worth looking in the NCAA.
For the class of 2002 Abramo Canka was an acclimatization season at UCLA, while Matthew Picarelli (2001) completed his most sophomore playing time averaging 10.1 points on 39.4% from three-point range at UMBC, mostly coming off the bench.
In addition to those of the two guards, however, the name to keep an eye on also from a blue perspective is mainly one: Grant Basile.
Wing of 2.06m, in the last collegiate tournament with Virginia Tech he averaged 16.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, shooting 52%.
In his case, like many Italian Americans (he was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin), the class of 2000 also had to start the process to obtain a passport. And according to what his father Michael published on Twitter, Italian citizenship has already been obtained: the confirmation also comes from DerthonaThat hired him through 2026 (even if he can’t play in Serie A yet). A surprise face for theItalia what will come?
2023-04-14 16:46:39
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