FICYMIs Dec 17: Partizan's kids shining; Nowitzki's list of top Euros; Mutaf killing LEB Silver
FICYMIs Dec 17: Partizan's kids shining; Nowitzki's list of top Euros; Mutaf killing LEB Silver
Friday In Case You Missed Its: Partizan's youngsters shined in EuroCup, Dirk Nowitzki gives his list of top European players; David Mutaf killing Spanish LEB Silver; American players talk Europe.
Guess what the calendar says … Friday. That means the Friday In Case You Missed Its - when the Taking The Charge substack offers you a glimpse of some of the things on the WWWs that you may have missed. This week, Partizan NIS Belgrade’s youngsters really shined in the 7DAYS EuroCup; Dirk Nowitzki picked his top Europeans playing right now; Turkish youngster David Mutaf is starting to really play well in the Spanish LEB Silver; and a fun video of American players talking about experiences in Europe.
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Youngsters Glas, Trifunovic and Koprivica shine for Partizan
Partizan NIS Belgrade had a major fight in the 7DAYS EuroCup and the team survived 75-73 against Slask Wroclaw thanks to their talented youngsters.
The 2001-born Slovenian Gregor Glas poured in 18 points and dished out 5 assists. It was his fourth EuroCup game this season, and it was the second time he played a big role as he collected 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists against Lietkabelis Panevezys in Round 5. The 2000-born Uros Trifunovic meanwhile added 12 points and 3 rebounds against Slask, and fellow 2000-born Serbian Balsa Koprivica chipped in 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. It’s certainly great to see the youngsters getting a chance to really do their thing for the legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic.
Nowitzki: Doncic is tops right now among Europeans
Former NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki put his former Dallas Mavericks teammate Luka Doncic atop the list of European players currently in the NBA. The German legend picked Doncic mainly because of his age and upside.
"For me, Luka is of course at the top of the list because he is only 22 years old. He still has room for improvement and a lot to learn. Already today there are hardly any gaps in his game, he is creative, can read the game, distribute the ball, score - no matter from which position on the court. And at his age, that's unbelievable,” Nowitzki told Spox.com.
Turkish 2002-born Mutaf playing better and better in Spanish LEB Silver
For those who might not have realized, David Mutaf is back in Europe and he is really starting to find his way with the second team of Herbalife Gran Canaria in Spain’s LEB Silver third division. The 2002-born Turkish wing came up in the Fenerbahce Istanbul system and then played for the University of Minnesota at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
But Mutaf, who helped Turkey take third place at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2018, came back to Europe in February 2021 and signed with Gran Canaria. After playing last summer at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021 in Latvia, Mutaf is spending his second season in the LEB Silver.
He averaged 20.8 points in his first four games this season and hit 51.5 percent on three-pointers to go with 6.0 rebounds. But then he missed more than a month with a sprained knee. Mutaf has been back now for two games and his latest game saw him collect 22 points with 4 three-pointer and 3 rebounds against Menorca.
American players talk about basketball in Europe
As someone who has been following European basketball for some time now, this is a lot of fun. And I absolutely love the James Gist club story …
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