News
Article
2023-24 Roster Rundown: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

2023-24 Roster Rundown: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

Article

8 September 20236 mins read

2023-24 Roster Rundown: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

The 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season did not go the way EA7 Emporio Armani Milan planned, so the Italian champs are back with a revamped roster that boasts the type of experience and talent needed to go all the way. Coach Ettore Messina's job will involve making the new pieces fit as soon as possible so that Milan gets off to a strong start. The club has brought in some interesting new names to the roster and among them, one stands out: 2021-22 EuroLeague MVP Nikola Mirotic.

BACKCOURT

In the backcourt, Milan has kept most of its engine. Kevin Pangos will enter his second season with the team, hoping to leave the injuries that slowed him last year in the past. He will be backed by sharpshooter Billy Baron, who averaged 11.0 points in his maiden season in Milan, Devon Hall, who will play his third straight season with the team hoping to boost his numbers to the ones he had in his first, and Stefano Tonut, an experienced Italian guard who made his Milan debut last season.

One of the newcomers in the backcourt is Maodo Lo, a player with seven EuroLeague seasons under his belt with German teams and who will have his first European experience outside that country. Other newcomers to the Milan backcourt include Diego Flaccadori and Giordano Bortolani. Flaccadori brings in five seasons of EuroCup experience plus two more in the EuroLeague with FC Bayern Munich, and he will be expected to provide depth to the Milan rotation. Bortolani is a young addition who will take on a reserve role. He played in the EuroCup with Germani Brescia in 2020-21.

Moving on to small forward, the name that stands the most is Shavon Shields, who will start his sixth EuroLeague season and fourth straight in Milan. An injury early last season prevented him from helping his team and he ended up with just 10 appearances overall. Shields will certainly be willing to make up for that in 2023-24, especially after the contract extension he signed over the summer. Giampaolo Ricci is another forward who extended his agreement with Milan this summer. He will be looking to increase his role on the team as last season he averaged 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 25 appearances.

FRONTCOURT

The frontcourt is where we can find more new additions. The one that stands out the most is, of course, Nikola Mirotic. He arrives from FC Barcelona, which he led to three straight Final Fours. Now, the former MVP will become the main propeller on the Milan team, first to take the team back to the Final Four. Last season, Mirotic averaged 15.4 points and 4.3 rebounds with Barca. Another player to switch EuroLeague teams at power forward was Alex Poythress, who had a strong season with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. After three seasons in the EuroLeague, he should be an important factor in Milan.

Nicolo Melli is ready to take on his eighth EuroLeague season with Milan in his second stint with the club. After the retirement of Luigi Datome, Melli remains the local reference on the team, and he reflects that also on the court as last season he started in 31 of his 32 appearances. He will be the light that will guide this team.

Inside we find another new arrival in center Ismael Kamagate. The big man comes from Paris Basketball, where last season he turned heads in the EuroCup with his physicality and power. He averaged 9.2 points and 8.4 rebounds plus 1.5 blocks to lead that competition. He will be teamed up with the duo of veterans formed by Johannes Voigtmann and Kyle Hines. A four-time EuroLeague champion, Hines is one of the deans in the league and he still brings on quality minutes. At 37 years old he is one of the most experienced players in the league.

Voigtmann will be playing his second year in Milan. Last season he averaged 4.9 points and 4.0 boards in over 15 minutes, so expect him to have a bigger role this season. Finally, Guglielmo Caruso will complete the Milan frontcourt. At age 24, he is set to make his EuroLeague debut this season and will be providing back-up minutes for the most experienced players.

PLAYER TO WATCH

It's no secret that Nikola Mirotic will be drawing most of the attention on this new Milan team. Mirotic was always a determined player, but he never managed to lead Real Madrid or FC Barcelona to the EuroLeague crown, even if he was close a few times. When it was official that he was leaving Barca, the summer market rumors soared and he was placed on many different teams. In the end, Coach Messina convinced Mirotic to join a project that has been built to put Milan back to the top of European basketball. In 2021, Mirotic and his teammates at Barca downed Milan in the Final Four semifinals, but since then, Milan has not returned to the final tournament. The Milan fans will now rely on Mirotic to bring them to Berlin in May. The team has the experience and the talent to do it and with Mirotic's addition, the possibilities increased dramatically.

OUTLOOK

Milan is in a bit of a tough spot this year. Last season, the team had a tough start and it carried on for a few weeks. Too many, in fact, since when it looked like Milan would start recovering it was already too late to gain the necessary momentum to make the playoffs. That is a major sting for the pride of a team that always aspires to be at the top, especially since the new project with Coach Messina started. With a new season comes a new opportunity. The club has made flashy signings and some others that might not catch your eye at first, but they could prove just as valuable in the long run. With them, Milan will try to show everybody that its 2021 Final Four appearance was no fluke.