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News | Europrobasket | Semi Pro Basketball Tryouts
Oct03
EuroProBasket Player on Tryout in Spain
Ryusei Kunitake, 6’0″ Japanese shooting guard, left on a tryout in Spain over the weekend. The team that invited him on the tryout attended a game in which Ryusei made six 3-pointers, solidifying the teams interest in him. Ryusei Kunitake ...
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Sep28
EuroProBasket Player On Tryout in Valencia, Spain
Wilfried Dossouvi, 6’6″ Power Forward originally from the Ivory Coast is on a tryout this evening with an EBA team in Valencia, Spain. Wilfried grew up playing basketball at the cadet level (U14) in his home country of the Ivory ...
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Sep23
EuroProBasket Female Player on Tryout in Ireland
Deema Fatani, 5’2″ Saudi Arabian point guard, arrived in Ireland for a weekend tryout with two Irish teams. Deema attended EuroProBasket’s Woman’s Program in September of 2022 in order to enter the European basketball market. She has experience playing basketball ...
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Sep19
EuroProBasket Female Player on Tryout in Portugal
EuroProBasket female player Keanna Gary left on a tryout this week with a team in Porto, Portugal. Keanna arrived to EuroProBasket just two weeks ago with ambitions to play professional basketball in Europe. Keanna played collegiate basketball at the highest ...
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Sep15
EuroProBasket Player on Tryout in Porto, Portugal
Jordan Moses, 6’9″ American Center arrived to his destination in Porto, Portugal. After a successful 5 weeks in the EuroProBasket Euro Professional Program, Jordan Received interest and a tryout offer from a team a short flight from Valencia. Jordan came ...
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Sep08
EuroProBasket Player on Tryout in Alicante, Spain
Ryan McAdoo left EuroProBasket to go on a 3-4 day tryout in Alicante, Spain with a team in Liga EBA. He arrived to EuroProBasket just a few days ago following his collegiate career at UNC Ncaa DI. He spent 4 ...
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Sep01
EuroProBasket Player on Tryout in Spain
EuroProBasket player Janis Tomaschek arrived to his 5-6 day tryout with a team in Spain. The opportunity involves practicing and playing games with a team in a starter league in Spain while practicing with a team in LEB Oro (Spain’s ...
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Aug29
Daniel Cubra on Tryout in Valencia, Spain
EuroProBasket European Summer League player Daniel Cubra, 6’10” Serbian/French Power Forward/Center is on a tryout in Valencia, Spain this week. Daniel Cubra attended the Summer League in June of 2022. He was in search of his next team in Spain ...
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Aug29
EuroProBasket Expands to Dubai, UAE
EuroProBasket has joined forces with All In Sports to provide elite basketball training and education to youth in and around Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The new EuroProBasket academy location in Dubai will provide a European basketball curriculum to youth players. ...
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Aug24
EuroProBasket Player on Tryout in Spain
EuroProBasket player Noah Essé Hyvönen left on a tryout with a team in Spain after two weeks in the Euro Professional Program. Noah’s team came to scout players in the first game of the August program. The team has a ...
Europe’s Most Elite Referee Camp EuroProBasket and L’Alqueria del Basket are host to some of Europe’s most prestigious referee’s during the largest senior summer league in Europe. The Lamonica Latisevs Referee Camp presented by EuroProBasket will have two of the ...
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Feb03
EuroProBasket Player Nathan Brieau on a Tryout in Spain
Nathan Brieau, a French point guard that has been living and playing in Switzerland most of his life, left on a tryout this week. The destination is a beautiful, picturesque Mediterranean coastal town with a castle that was used in ...
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Jan26
Basketball Scholarship in Europe – Collaboration with the University of Essex
EuroProBasket started working with the University of Essex to provide their players basketball scholarships in Europe. The University of Essex is located in the UK, one hour from London. EuroProBasket CEO and the University Prep Program players sat down with ...
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Jan04
Importance of a Healthy Player Coach Relationship in Basketball
A healthy relationship between a coach and their player is essential. It could be the key ingredient to become an even better player and also make a better team. It isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Some coaches and ...
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Nov15
Khalifa Ndiaye on an Overseas Basketball Tryout in Spain
Khalifa Ndiaye has a unique basketball background. His love for the game has taken him to 4 different continents with 4 very different styles of basketball. He’s experienced new languages, cultures and ways to play the game. The 4th continent ...
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Nov11
How to Prevent Basketball Injuries
Like it or not, everyone will get injured once in their career. No matter how well you take care of yourself, it is inevitable due to the intensity during practices and games. Let’s be clear, just because it is inevitable ...
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Oct19
How to Get in Shape for a Basketball Season
Have you found yourself training for many hours a week to find that you are still not in Game Shape? Getting in shape for the basketball season can be difficult without the right guidance and information. There are a lot ...
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Oct13
EuroProBasket Player Frank Amoah on Tryout in Spain
Frank Amoah came to EuroProBasket with a goal. That goal in his words is “to make my club a better club more than there are already. And to compete at a higher level to challenge myself.” He now has the ...
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differences from the NBA, trends, features
Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Many basketball bettors single out the Euroleague for themselves. Basketball Euroleague is the largest international tournament in Europe among club teams. The men's tournament has been held annually since 1958. Now the Euroleague is reaching a new level: the number of teams is growing, new technologies are being introduced, and the quality of basketball is seriously improving.
Russian fans will be glad that the strongest domestic teams take part in the tournament. And they do not just take part, but in the case of CSKA they regularly make their way to the Final Four, and even win it. Fans of Euroleague betting will also be pleased: there are many matches here, and therefore there is always plenty to choose from. Let's talk about this tournament in more detail today.
Euroleague basketball format
18 teams take part in the Euroleague: most of them have so-called A licenses - long-term places to participate in the tournament. They are issued to the largest, most popular and titled teams. In addition, the winner of the Eurocup draw, the second most important tournament, plays in the Euroleague, and several more teams receive a wild card from the organizers.
First, all 18 teams play each other in two rounds: one match at home and one away. It turns out a classic smooth championship. As a rule, this is one game per week, but there are several weeks in which teams play two matches. Then the 10 worst teams finish the season, and the top eight play the quarter-final series up to three wins. Teams that performed better in the regular season receive the advantage of their site.
The winners of the quarter-final series advance to the "Final Four". Usually this event takes place on a weekend in one city. Semi-finals are played on Friday, and on Sunday there is a match for third place and the final game. Please note that unlike the NBA and national championships, the winner is not determined by the results of a series of games. Here the best is revealed in one meeting.
Of course, the Euroleague is inferior to the NBA in terms of the class of performers and entertainment (although there have been no less colorful throws from above in recent years), but the main European tournament has its advantages. Fewer timeouts, fewer commercial breaks, making the game more dynamic.
In addition, there are many fundamental historical confrontations in the Euroleague, and there are simply fewer games. This means that there are far fewer passing meetings here, in which the favorites give the stars a rest and deprive the audience of spectacular basketball.
Features of Euroleague Basketball betting
Previously, teams played in two group rounds and there were few sensations. The leaders won routine victories over outsiders, passing the first round without point losses. Now that the championship has become smooth, the number of sensations has increased markedly.
The reason for this is the heavy schedule of the teams and the forced rotation of the staff by the coaches. More matches means more injuries, plus teams are now actively using strategic thinking, often deciding which match to push and which can be played with a little less activity. Therefore, in the Euroleague, sensations are not so rare when a team wins, for which the odds were 7.00–10.00.
Own site factor. There are teams that play very well on their site. No matter what line-up they perform in, no matter what problems they face, the support of the audience does its job. First of all, these teams include Red Star Belgrade and Lithuanian Zalgiris. In addition, the Greek "Panathinaikos" and "Olympiacos", as well as the Israeli "Maccabi" and the Turkish "Fenerbahce" can be noted.
Double match factor. There are several game weeks in the Euroleague when teams play two matches each. Usually it is Tuesday-Wednesday and Thursday-Friday. Considering that the national championship games also fall on the weekend, it is very difficult for the teams to cope with such a load without losing the quality of basketball. Therefore, carefully follow the geography of the teams' flights at this time and who they will play with in the national championship. If there is a derby going on there, and two long flights need to be made in the middle of the week, you can be sure that in the second match of the Euroleague the club will turn on the wide rotation mode and save energy. If the team plays all the games in the week at home, then you can bet on it, even if it is not the favorite of the tournament.
Motivation factor. This is also a very important moment, especially at the end of the regular season. Some of the participants have already secured a place in the playoffs by this moment, some, on the contrary, have lost all chances and are already paying more attention to the fight in the national championships. At this stage of the season, it is quite possible to bet on teams that are just fighting for vacant places in the Top 8. Don't discount this factor.
Physical form of leaders. In the Euroleague, many teams depend on 1-2 top players, be it point guard, center or shooting guard-sniper. It is clear that no one can go through a long season without recessions. Pay attention to when the team leaders are in a slump and try to play against the favorites at that moment.
Euroleague is definitely suitable for bettors. There are quite a few matches that you can bet on. In addition, the tournament, due to its popularity among spectators, has also become popular with bookmakers. The schedule for the top Euroleague matches may well be compared with the schedule for NBA meetings, and bookmakers reduce the margin for these matches to attract additional betting volumes.
For standard games, it is 1-3%, and for large matches, some companies offer promotional bets with zero margin. This means that it becomes easier to beat the bookmaker and win.
Euroleague is a spectacular tournament that is suitable for betting both for beginners and professionals. The main thing here is to approach matches with a cool head and competent analysis. Good luck bidding!
UNICS starts with the strongest squad in club history. But even he does not guarantee anything in the Euroleague
What kind of team did Kazan gather this season.
Today, for the first time since 2017, the Euroleague will return to Kazan. At 19:00 UNICS will host Zenit at the Basket Hall and open the fourth season in the most prestigious tournament of the Old World. Moreover, Kazan will start in the Euroleague with the most representative and solid line-up compared to previous years - it brought together a three-time Euroleague champion, the third number of the NBA draft, the most talented basketball player in Europe of his generation, as well as the finalists of the European Cup. And the team will be led by a coach with 11 years of experience in the Euroleague and the experience of the Final Four.
But even this does not give any guarantees to UNICS - the level of competition in the Euroleague is too high and the team has a too difficult calendar ahead.
John Brown / photo: Sergey Elagin, BUSINESS Online
AGREED WITH PERASOVIC IN THREE DAYS
only a short list of giants who will come to Kazan this season. UNICS is waiting for 34 regular season games, as well as a bright sign and the highest level of competition in each of them. This became possible thanks to the reform that the Euroleague carried out in 2016. Then the tournament management canceled any division into groups in the regular season and introduced a system where everyone plays with everyone. UNICS just became one of the teams that were the first to try out the new format. In the 2016/17 season, Kazan played 30 matches, won eight of them and eventually took the penultimate 15th place. The players were under enormous stress, and few could avoid injury then. So, conducting the selection for this season, UNICS clearly understood what the team would have to go through.
Kazan played their last match last season on 10 June. By this time, other Euroleague clubs have already announced a number of signings. Kazan, on the other hand, could not delve into negotiations with the players, since they still played in the final of the VTB United League with CSKA. Moreover, the question hung with the head coach Dimitris Priftis , who worked in Kazan for three years, and UNICS was ready to continue working with him in the fourth. Still, the Greek specialist helped the team reach two finals in one season and win a ticket to the Euroleague through the European Cup. Immediately after the end of the series with CSKA, the club made an offer to Priftis more financially advantageous compared to last season. Of course, it should be noted that a year earlier, in 2020, the Greek had a pay cut due to the coronavirus, so he could count on an even larger increase. However, no one is ready to offer the coach any more those financial conditions that UNICS offered Priftis. Including Panathinaikos, where the specialist eventually left. The head coach was very pressured that his family had been in Athens all this time, and all other things being equal, he chose the “home” option.
UNICS, of course, could not afford to depend on the decision of Priftis, and it was not from but that the club's management was taken by surprise. On June 26, Dimitris headed Panathinaikos, and on the 29th, UNICS announced a contract with the new head coach Velimir Perasovic .
The 56-year-old Croatian is one of the most experienced professionals on the market. The upcoming season will be his 12th in his career in the Euroleague, where he previously played with the Basque Country, Anadolu Efes, Valencia and Split. He is twice the champion of Croatia, the winner of the Cup of Spain, Turkey and Croatia. His resume also includes the Euroleague Final Four - he went there with the Basque Country in 2016.
Velimir Perasovich / photo: Ira Smolova, VTB United League press service
If you look at Perasovich's basketball evolution, you can see his main difference from Priftis. Dimitris developed in stages: children's team, women's, third division, second, first. He waited for every opportunity in his career and took it only when he felt himself the most ready. He had no background - Priftis did not play professional basketball himself. Perasovich is a completely different story. He was not just a good player, but a superstar. He was the leader in the national team of Yugoslavia, then Croatia, won the “silver” of the Olympics in Barcelona (behind only the American dream team), five times became the best scorer of the Spanish championship. As soon as he announced his intentions to become a coach after the end of his career, he was immediately entrusted with the team of the first league and the next 19For years, he has never “fallen” into the second, although he has already changed four countries.
Perasovich arrived in Kazan in the first half of August. First of all, he held individual meetings with the players and reminded everyone of the difficulties to be faced in the Euroleague. “Each team will go through a series of defeats, including us,” Velimir said in a recent interview with our publication and, perhaps, passed it on to each of the basketball players. This is not surrender without a fight, just a real assessment of the situation. With such a schedule, it is impossible to avoid recessions. Take at least the next game of UNICS. For example, on October 12, the team will play at home with Bayern, in two days it will meet in Istanbul with Fenerbahce, and in three more days in Krasnoyarsk with Yenisei already in the VTB United League. Total: three matches and six flights (there are no direct flights from Istanbul to Krasnoyarsk, of course) in just five days.
At this pace, UNICS will have to play until April. At a certain point in the season, something will go wrong, so the character of the players comes to the fore in Perasovic's understanding, no matter how trite it may sound. The ability to win in spite of. Therefore, the coach most of all valued on the market talented attackers who could create an opportunity out of nothing, score their points even when the rest of the team was not in the game, and come to the forefront in a tense ending. Fortunately, at the time of Perasovich's appointment, UNICS was already completing negotiations with one of these players.
"Hezonja didn't move to UNICS BECAUSE OF MONEY"
Croat Mario Hezonje is only 26 years old, but he managed to live his whole life in basketball. A Barcelona alumnus, he made 38 Euroleague appearances and won two Spanish championships before entering the NBA draft in 2015. There he was chosen at number five - very high for a European. In America, Hezonja played a total of 330 games for teams such as Orlando, New York and Portland. For the love of Kobe Bryant and ability to score in hopeless situations, he quickly became nicknamed European Kobe and Crobe (Croatian Kobe). Of the most striking episodes of Mario's overseas career, which can be easily found on YouTube, one can single out his block shot to the legendary LeBron James and stepping over MVP and champion Giannis Antetokounmpo after the dunk.
In November 2020, Portland traded Hezonja to Memphis, who in turn expelled him. In Oregon, his average time on the court was reduced from 20.8 minutes, which he received in New York, to 16.4. The total number of games (53) was the lowest in an NBA career. So Khezonya, who never hid his desire to play a lot and in leading roles, went to the only place where they were ready to give him all this - to Europe. In February 2021, he signed a contract with Panathinaikos until the end of the season. With Hezonya, the team took a low 16th place for themselves in the Euroleague (however, the Greek fans hardly blamed the Croat for this), but became the champion of Greece.
In the summer, Hezonja was supposed to have a fight among the top clubs, however, because of UNICS, she did not even have time to turn around. As soon as Mario's contract with Panathinaikos came to an end, Kazan had already brought negotiations with his agent to the finish line. UNICS managers were also able to find an approach to Barcelona, which owned the rights to the basketball player. Everything worked like clockwork, and the final chord was the appointment of Perasovich to the team. Here it should be noted not only the fact that they are compatriots, but also the fact that Velimir has a long friendship with his father Mario - Ronald Hesonya , whose voice Mario listens to in matters of continuing his career. It is important to note that UNICS did not offer Hezonja an abnormal salary - it is in line with the market and does not place a heavy burden on the club's payroll. “We have proven that money is not everything. I do not know all the details of the contract, but I can say for sure. that Mario did not come here because of the money,” said Perasovich.
The player himself, not particularly immersed in the details of the negotiations, until the last thought that he would continue his career in Panathinaikos. He liked Athens. However, he calmly reacted to the fact that he would have to change one green jersey for another and play in Kazan, especially under the guidance of a coach with whom he had already worked in 2015 in the Croatian national team. In Kazan, they definitely didn’t see such a player: if talents with experience in the NBA got here, then there was no prospect of returning to America. Hezonja is in his prime and ahead of him, with a successful game, there may be an NBA.
Mario Hezonha / photo: Sergey Yelagin, BUSINESS Online
The young talent surprised UNICS workers at the pre-season training camp: every day after training he stayed at the Basket Hall and quit for an hour. When the season started, he continued to do so after matches. Also, people in the club note how Hezonja is experiencing unsuccessful matches for himself. Moreover, the definition of an unsuccessful game for him, of course, is his own. Take, for example, two meetings with Lokomotiv-Kuban in September. In the VTB United League Super Cup match, Mario scored 27 points and considered his game successful, and in the regular season match - 9points, and with the implementation of 22%. This is already a setback, and after the game, Hezonja shot out of the locker room like a bullet to make another round of shots.
Perasovic considers Hezonja as UNICS's main offensive option, however, he doesn't hesitate to call him down for poor defensive play - and in special cases is ready to put him on the bench. The coach was already engaged in such education during the preseason. Together, he, like the club's management, understands that Mario is still young and needs to fill his bumps, and UNICS basketball should not close on him. Kazan has already gone through this during their last battle in the Euroleague. Keith Langford showed the best basketball of his career, but this did not bring victories to the team - the rivals found an antidote even against such a powerful player.
So UNICS was looking for another strong performer in the attack. Someone who could unload Hezonya and add his 10 - 15 stable points to the team. However, it turned out to be not so easy to solve this problem - a serious struggle unfolded for each such player on the market, and simply cosmic sums went around. So UNICS decided to take a chance and bet on OJ Mayo .
About Jay Mayo / photo: Richard Rodriguez, ZUMAPRESS.com, globallookpress.com
OTHER TEAM: MAYO, BROWN, VORONTSEVICH AND OTHERS
Mayo can be called one of the main Euroleague newcomers this season. The news of his signing quickly spread across all European portals, and Eurohoops agreed to include him in absentia in the ranking of the 100 best basketball players of the tournament. In America, he was considered one of the most talented basketball players of his generation, receiving comparisons from Bryant to Michael Jordan , named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In the league, he spent eight seasons with Memphis, Dallas and Milwaukee and played an important role everywhere. However, this was all in a past life. He last played in the NBA in 2016, and his career ended with a suspension for an anti-doping rule violation.
Since 2018, Mayo began to play in foreign championships, namely Puerto Rico, Taiwan and China. He spent last season for Liaoning, and with his help the team reached the final. Of course, it’s hard to draw serious conclusions from the Chinese championship, but by averaging 20.2 points per game, Mayo at least showed that he was in good shape. He also showed that he had no problems with discipline - otherwise the Chinese, who are especially demanding of their legionnaires, would simply have expelled him and signed another American. After making inquiries about the player and connecting their contacts, UNICS decided to enter into negotiations with him. During a conversation with the management, he assured that he had long wanted to try himself in the Euroleague and was intrigued by the chance to finally play in it. Now Mayo is in the process of applying for a visa and is in the States. It is not worth waiting for him in today's game with Zenit and the next matches. If he can get used to the team and maintain his level in the Euroleague, he can change a lot for UNICS.
Just before the start of the season, the club signed another American - Jarrell Brentley . Although this is definitely a strong player (he spent two seasons with Utah), he was not originally planned to move to the team. Last season, UNICS often experienced problems against teams with strong front lines, which this year the club hoped to strengthen as it should in the fourth/fifth positions. The main center was Tony Jackiri - a massive and at the same time mobile player with extensive experience in the Euroleague. The main fourth was to be the three-time Euroleague champion as part of CSKA Andrei Vorontsevich , also a transfer success of UNICS. A powerful backup for them was supposed to be Will Thomas , who has proven himself well over the past two seasons at Zenit. The club counted on him, but just ten days after the start of the training camp, the player had to leave. Both the club and the player had reasons for breaking off cooperation, but the parties agreed not to disclose them. As a result, Thomas went to Monaco, and UNICS urgently found a replacement for him in America. “Brentley is a different type of player,” compared the newcomer to Tomas Perasovic. - If Will could play the fifth number, then Jarrell - the third. With him, we lost in power, but added in mobility.
Speaking of "big" ones, one cannot but mention John Brown's , which was a real discovery of the last season. Many managed to call him European Dennis Rodman . Brown's peculiarity is that he does not have a set shot, dribbling or anything else, but he bites for every ball and energizes his partners so much that there is hardly a coach who refuses him. So Perasovich agreed with the club that Brown should be kept for this season. The same was done in the case of Isaiah Kanan. The quarterback played in the NBA for seven years and made his European debut last season with UNICS. His performance can not be called a failure, but at the same time outstanding. There was a feeling that Kanan was capable of more. However, Velimir agreed to work with him without hesitation. Moreover, both Kanan and Brown Perasovich gives a certain advance. So far, they have managed to show themselves only in the European Cup, and the Euroleague is a completely different matter.
Lorenzo Brown / photo: Sergey Yelagin, BUSINESS Online
But UNICS chief point guard feels quite comfortable in the Euroleague Lorenzo Brown . He has known Kazan since 2016. Then the Kazan club was close to signing a basketball player, but the deal could not be completed. At that time, Brown was in Kanan status - no one knew yet if he could get used to Europe and European basketball. Now everything is different. Behind Brown - 64 matches in the Euroleague in the "Red Star" and "Fenerbahce", and last season he could not compete with anyone, but with Nando de Colo . Perasovic hopes for Brown and is confident that UNICS will make it easier for him to show his strengths. Lorenzo is one of those players who shows the best basketball in the status of the first player in position. Surely with this idea a selection was carried out this year - the club did not acquire a player who would be ahead of Brown in absentia in terms of level. Kanan is getting used to Europe, and Marco Spiess is comfortable in the role of backup, he does not strive for more. So far, trust in Brown pays off: when Hezonya does not have a game, it is he who takes the initiative.
As for the Russian players, it is worth highlighting Vyacheslav Zaitsev and Evgeny Valiev . Given the shortage of Russians on the market, UNICS would most likely not be able to get them from Khimki. But the Moscow Region club broke up due to financial problems, and UNICS was able to get them as free agents and interest them in a chance to play in the Euroleague. Saved as part Dmitry Uzinsky and Georgiy Zhbanov , which UNICS once acquired from Nizhny Novgorod. Priftis trusted them for a long time, but considered them as role players. Perasovich, on the other hand, has a different attitude towards Russian players: he is also ready to trust them with time, but is not ready to see them exclusively in the role of squires. If there is an opportunity to quit, you must quit - regardless of your citizenship.
EREMIN’S OPINION: “KHEZONYA MUST STILL PROVE ITSELF”
In an interview with our publication, Perasovic assessed the composition of UNICS as corresponding to the level of the Euroleague. “We can fight top teams,” he stressed. Stanislav Eremin agrees with him. "UNICS is well staffed," said the former head coach of Kazan, CSKA and the Russian team. At the same time, Eremin noticed some problems that UNICS faced in the VTB United League matches with Lokomotiv Kuban (96:87) and Zielona Gora (92:63). But all of them can be solved in working order, the expert believes.
“While UNICS is looking for a game, it's playing unevenly,” Eremin is sure. – There are moments when the player seems to have to take the initiative, but instead thinks about how to proceed further on the combination. Tactics play a big role in basketball, but at the same time it's not chess. You can’t program everything, sometimes you need to decide according to the situation. Of the strengths, I note that the team shows character and does a lot of work on defense. It was thanks to the defense that UNICS turned the tide of the game in the first match ( Kazan lost to Loko -21, but bounced back - red . ). As for the attack, as I said, the team is looking for their game. It can be seen that there is a lack of someone who could create an opportunity for himself, take responsibility.
This problem can be solved with Mayo's arrival in Kazan. While the coach is not ready to evaluate the newcomer: “It is very difficult to say something about Mayo now. When it comes to players who have been successful in the NBA but haven't played in Europe, there are many factors to consider. Kazan is a wonderful city, but it may not accept it. Something may go wrong in his relationship with the coach and the team. I hope that everything will turn out well and he will be motivated at least within the framework of his contractual obligations.”
Stanislav Eremin / photo: Alexander Chernykh, Russian Look, globalookpress.com
Eremin also noted that UNICS needs to strengthen the position of the fourth number. Just there, Brentley should play soon. “It looks like there are still problems.
He is now living out his life-long dream of playing in Europe as well as learning the culture and language of Catalonia. What an amazing opportunity.
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Basketball Euroleague is the largest international tournament in Europe among club teams. The men's tournament has been held annually since 1958. Now the Euroleague is reaching a new level: the number of teams is growing, new technologies are being introduced, and the quality of basketball is seriously improving. 
In addition, the winner of the Eurocup draw, the second most important tournament, plays in the Euroleague, and several more teams receive a wild card from the organizers. 
Here the best is revealed in one meeting. 
Now that the championship has become smooth, the number of sensations has increased markedly. 
Usually it is Tuesday-Wednesday and Thursday-Friday. Considering that the national championship games also fall on the weekend, it is very difficult for the teams to cope with such a load without losing the quality of basketball. Therefore, carefully follow the geography of the teams' flights at this time and who they will play with in the national championship. If there is a derby going on there, and two long flights need to be made in the middle of the week, you can be sure that in the second match of the Euroleague the club will turn on the wide rotation mode and save energy. If the team plays all the games in the week at home, then you can bet on it, even if it is not the favorite of the tournament. 
At this stage of the season, it is quite possible to bet on teams that are just fighting for vacant places in the Top 8. Don't discount this factor. 
This means that it becomes easier to beat the bookmaker and win. 
And the team will be led by a coach with 11 years of experience in the Euroleague and the experience of the Final Four. 
The players were under enormous stress, and few could avoid injury then. So, conducting the selection for this season, UNICS clearly understood what the team would have to go through. 
However, no one is ready to offer the coach any more those financial conditions that UNICS offered Priftis. Including Panathinaikos, where the specialist eventually left. The head coach was very pressured that his family had been in Athens all this time, and all other things being equal, he chose the “home” option. 
The ability to win in spite of. Therefore, the coach most of all valued on the market talented attackers who could create an opportunity out of nothing, score their points even when the rest of the team was not in the game, and come to the forefront in a tense ending. Fortunately, at the time of Perasovich's appointment, UNICS was already completing negotiations with one of these players. 
Of the most striking episodes of Mario's overseas career, which can be easily found on YouTube, one can single out his block shot to the legendary LeBron James and stepping over MVP and champion Giannis Antetokounmpo after the dunk. 
With Hezonya, the team took a low 16th place for themselves in the Euroleague (however, the Greek fans hardly blamed the Croat for this), but became the champion of Greece. 
“We have proven that money is not everything. I do not know all the details of the contract, but I can say for sure. that Mario did not come here because of the money,” said Perasovich. 
When the season started, he continued to do so after matches. Also, people in the club note how Hezonja is experiencing unsuccessful matches for himself. Moreover, the definition of an unsuccessful game for him, of course, is his own. Take, for example, two meetings with Lokomotiv-Kuban in September. In the VTB United League Super Cup match, Mario scored 27 points and considered his game successful, and in the regular season match - 9points, and with the implementation of 22%. This is already a setback, and after the game, Hezonja shot out of the locker room like a bullet to make another round of shots. 
Kazan has already gone through this during their last battle in the Euroleague. Keith Langford showed the best basketball of his career, but this did not bring victories to the team - the rivals found an antidote even against such a powerful player. 
In America, he was considered one of the most talented basketball players of his generation, receiving comparisons from Bryant to Michael Jordan , named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In the league, he spent eight seasons with Memphis, Dallas and Milwaukee and played an important role everywhere. However, this was all in a past life. He last played in the NBA in 2016, and his career ended with a suspension for an anti-doping rule violation. 
After making inquiries about the player and connecting their contacts, UNICS decided to enter into negotiations with him. During a conversation with the management, he assured that he had long wanted to try himself in the Euroleague and was intrigued by the chance to finally play in it. Now Mayo is in the process of applying for a visa and is in the States. It is not worth waiting for him in today's game with Zenit and the next matches. If he can get used to the team and maintain his level in the Euroleague, he can change a lot for UNICS. 
The main fourth was to be the three-time Euroleague champion as part of CSKA Andrei Vorontsevich , also a transfer success of UNICS. A powerful backup for them was supposed to be Will Thomas , who has proven himself well over the past two seasons at Zenit. The club counted on him, but just ten days after the start of the training camp, the player had to leave. Both the club and the player had reasons for breaking off cooperation, but the parties agreed not to disclose them. As a result, Thomas went to Monaco, and UNICS urgently found a replacement for him in America. “Brentley is a different type of player,” compared the newcomer to Tomas Perasovic. - If Will could play the fifth number, then Jarrell - the third. With him, we lost in power, but added in mobility. 
Brown's peculiarity is that he does not have a set shot, dribbling or anything else, but he bites for every ball and energizes his partners so much that there is hardly a coach who refuses him. So Perasovich agreed with the club that Brown should be kept for this season. The same was done in the case of Isaiah Kanan. The quarterback played in the NBA for seven years and made his European debut last season with UNICS. His performance can not be called a failure, but at the same time outstanding. There was a feeling that Kanan was capable of more. However, Velimir agreed to work with him without hesitation. Moreover, both Kanan and Brown Perasovich gives a certain advance. So far, they have managed to show themselves only in the European Cup, and the Euroleague is a completely different matter. 
He has known Kazan since 2016. Then the Kazan club was close to signing a basketball player, but the deal could not be completed. At that time, Brown was in Kanan status - no one knew yet if he could get used to Europe and European basketball. Now everything is different. Behind Brown - 64 matches in the Euroleague in the "Red Star" and "Fenerbahce", and last season he could not compete with anyone, but with Nando de Colo . Perasovic hopes for Brown and is confident that UNICS will make it easier for him to show his strengths. Lorenzo is one of those players who shows the best basketball in the status of the first player in position. Surely with this idea a selection was carried out this year - the club did not acquire a player who would be ahead of Brown in absentia in terms of level. Kanan is getting used to Europe, and Marco Spiess is comfortable in the role of backup, he does not strive for more. So far, trust in Brown pays off: when Hezonya does not have a game, it is he who takes the initiative.
“We can fight top teams,” he stressed. Stanislav Eremin agrees with him. "UNICS is well staffed," said the former head coach of Kazan, CSKA and the Russian team. At the same time, Eremin noticed some problems that UNICS faced in the VTB United League matches with Lokomotiv Kuban (96:87) and Zielona Gora (92:63). But all of them can be solved in working order, the expert believes. 
). As for the attack, as I said, the team is looking for their game. It can be seen that there is a lack of someone who could create an opportunity for himself, take responsibility. 
