After a historic Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign in which it reached its first-ever Final Four and finished in third place, AS Monaco is back and it is not hiding it aims to take things it even further in the upcoming season. In order to do so, Monaco kept all of its most important pieces from last season, and to such intact core, the club made summer splashes, adding a quarter of newcomers who are poised to make both an immediate and sustained impact.
New faces
Monaco held nothing back and made its aspiration clear with the addition of guard Kemba Walker, a four-time NBA All-Star who averaged 19.3 points during his 12-year NBA career. All eyes will certainly be on Walker, watching to see how will a 33-year old veteran adjust to the game on this side on the Pond.
In addition, Monaco boosted its frontcourt with a former EuroCup MVP Mam Jaiteh, and big man Petr Cornelie who is coming off winning EuroLeague title with Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Terry Tarpey is 29-year old EuroLeague rookie who has been a glue guy throughout his career, and might be just what the doctor prescribed for Coach Sasa Obradovic squad.
Strength on strength
Monaco's backcourt was team's major strength last season, and has become even more so with the arrival of Walker, and the trio of Mike James, Jordan Loyd and Elie Okobo all remaining in Monaco uniform. Team's success might heavily depend on this group once again, but Monaco's front line is impressive and deep in its own, with Jaiteh and Cornelie joining John Brown, Donta Hall and Donatas Motiejunas. In a tough regular season, such depth could be the key.