Besiktas loading up with experience
We stay in Turkiye with Besiktas Istanbul, a returnee to the competition after a seven-year hiatus. In this early period of the summer, Besiktas opted for somewhat familiar faces, all coming from the fellow Turkish clubs. Besiktas put coach Dusan Alimpijevic in charge of the bench. The 2021-22 EuroCup Coach of the Year who guided Frutti Extra Bursaspor to a magical run to the finals that season, has now taken the charge of Besiktas. With him he will have his on-court right-hand man from the previous club, former All-EuroCup First Team point guard Derek Needham to run Besiktas offense. The club also continued digging for Turkish talent, and inked two former EuroLeague champs who helped Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul win continental crown in 2017, Berk Ugurlu and Egehan Arna, the latter of which returns to Besiktas after a season away. All that experience of playing at the highest level will be much-needed for Besiktas in its return to the competition.
Teams make decisions on head coaches
There have been couple more teams that have found new coaches. Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana has done it by appointing Simone Pianigiani almost a month ago, while last week Paris Basketball hired Tuomas Iisalo, one of the most sought-after coaching minds in Europe. A former shooting guard as a player, earned German League Coach of the Year honors in each of the past two seasons, and now is set to make his EuroCup debut with an exciting team that has relied heavily on young talent in the past.
Meanwhile, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, Veolia Towers Hamburg and competition newcomer Wolves Vilnius all signed new contracts with the men who sat on their respective benches late last season. Kestutis Kemzura remains on the Wolves' bench, which he took over last March. He returns to the competition for the first time since 2015, and with a 32-27 career record. Petar Mijovic, who took over Buducnost bench in April, will take his 9-11 record into the new season. It is his third stint with the club from the Montenegrin capital. Meanwhile, Benka Barloschky, a 35-year old who was promoted from assistant coach to head coach back in January, has signed a two-year deal with Hamburg.
All-EuroCup boosts for Reyer and Gran Canaria
All-EuroCup center Bruno Caboclo was on a radar of many European teams, but it was Umana Reyer Venice that signed the uber-productive center. The big man ranked second in the EuroCup last season with an average PIR of 19.6, also ranked second in blocks (1.5 bpg.) and two-pointers made (5.2), fifth in points (17.4 ppg.), sixth in rebounds (7.8 rpg.) and seventh in offensive rebounds (2.5 orpg.). Caboclo not only helped ratiopharm Ulm reach the EuroCup quarterfinals, but also win its first-ever German League crown.
Caboclo will be a huge addition for Reyer under the rims, as much as John Shurna extending with Dreamland Gran Canaria will be meaningful for the defending champs. Shurna was chosen to the All-EuroCup First Team last season, as he averaged of 11.7 points on 48.5% three-point shooting, then led Gran Canaria to its first EuroCup crown and was named Finals MVP after scoring 18 points in the championship game against Turk Telekom. Shurna already spent three years with the club, and the veteran forward will now remain the cornerstone of all Gran Canaria plans moving forward – including an attempt to become the first-ever team to defend EuroCup title.
