Varese Basketball (Instagram photo Varese Basketball)
Last year the match between Pallacanestro Varese and Sassari was the start of a memorable season for the red and whites. This year, however, the meeting between the two teams has become a key moment of the season for both. In fact, both Openjobmetis and Dinamo come into this match with only two points earned after five games played. The atmosphere in Sardinia is tense, with some players already under pressure. It will certainly be decisive who manages to bring home the two points at the Itelyum Arenaas he could have greater security and fewer doubts about the continuation of the season.
Varese Basketball against Sassari: what to expect
The Sardinian team is led by an expert coach like Piero Bucchi, who boasts 645 games in Serie A and 101 in the playoffs. In the control room are the former Verona player, Cappelletti, and the American Whittaker.
The latter had an exceptional season in the Bundesliga with Wurzburg, averaging 18 points and providing 5 assists per game, with a 40% three-point percentage. He is considered one of the best players in the German league based on advanced statistics. He is a constantly improving player, with great ability to handle the ball, a good sense of the basket and excellent shooting mechanics.
As regards the guards of Sassari, Kruslin and Gentile are confirmed, together with the American Tyree. Kruslin is an experienced player who has found his second home in the Sardinian team after spending most of his career in his homeland. He is a 198cm tall winger who can also play as a small forward, with excellent shooting and defensive skills. Stefano Gentile is now a Serie A veteran, with 386 matches played in the top Italian league and the ability to always make the right decisions in difficult moments.
Varese Basketball (Instagram photo Varese Basketball)
The Sardinian team
Tyree, on the other hand, is in his second year in Europe after playing with the Belgians from Ostend last season. He averaged 15 points and 2.5 assists in league play and 17 points in Basketball Champions League. During his college career at Ole Miss University, he averaged 20 points per game on 36% from three-point range. Despite being an offensive threat, he could suffer in defense against more physically structured opponents.
As wingers, Sassari counts on Alfonzo McKinnie, who arrived as a replacement due to injuries to Charalampopoulos and Bendzius. McKinnie is a highly appreciated player, who started from the Luxembourg A2 with the East Side Pirates and went on to play in the 2018/19 NBA finals with the Golden State Warriors. So far, he’s averaging 10.6 points with a 45.5% three-point percentage. Furthermore, there is also Charalampopoulos, always a very good performer when he meets Varese, and Treier, who is playing his fourth season in Sardinia and who this year averages 5.6 points in 18 minutes of play.
Under the basket, the Sardinian team has Diop, currently injured meniscus, and the Frenchman Stephane Gombauld. The latter is a 205cm big man from Nancy, where he won the French A2 MVP award in the last two seasons and finished last season with averages of 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Gombauld is an excellent defender and setter, capable of playing both one-on-one near the basket and in the low post attacking from the jump.
Finally, the roster is completed by winger Tommaso Raspino and former player Luca Gandini, who should play the role of sparring partner during training.
2023-11-06 15:49:36
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