Dusan Alimpijevic taking over the reins of Besiktas Emlakjet follows the successful spell at Frutti Extra Bursaspor. The three-year run included the EuroCup Coach of the Year award in 2022, on the heels of reaching the championship game of 7DAYS EuroCup with the Bursa outfit.

Alimpijevic, 37, opened up to Eurohoops in a lengthy interview ahead of the 2023-24 season. Plenty of topics ranging from the circumstances in leaving Bursaspor and the selections for the 2023-24 squad of Besiktas Emlakjet to national teams and more.

The team based in Istanbul is set to participate in the BKT EuroCup and Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi.

“They skipped to say what happened there”

Q: First of all, we have to start with your previous experience. You left Bursaspor but in one of your interviews, you mentioned that it wasn’t told correctly. Can you explain this story from your side? 

C: This is in the past right now. We are not talking too much about the past, we are talking about today and the future. I don’t want to make any comments about these previous things. The only comment that I have is they skipped to say what happened there. I was told by the club via my agent to help them get out of my contract. Derek Needham has the same situation too because we had a guaranteed contract then. They wanted to move on with something else.

At that time, I had some interviews with other clubs, and even with EuroLeague clubs, I had negotiations. To be honest, Besiktas was so concrete about their offer. The team’s GM and some people from the club came to Belgrade to meet with me. They showed the highest level of professionalism. I thought that this was the best option for me. The only thing I can say about the past is that I was a little bit disappointed that no one said anything about what happened. I’m not a person who wants to explain everything. I will let the time say it for myself. Truths will come out and everybody will know what happened there.

“I wanted to change the mindset from the beginning”

Q: Now, Besiktas has a completely different roster. Apart from domestic players, three of your foreign players played in Turkey last year. Does knowing what they are capable of make the difference in deciding to get them? What do you think?

A: Besiktas fought to stay in the league almost until the last round. You can say that there weren’t so many positive thoughts. Even though they were big investments and ideas, something went wrong. This is more question for people before me. What I wanted, what I talked about with my GM was ‘clear everything and start from zero’: Start with a new story, start with new guys, start with a new philosophy, start with a new organization, start with a new approach and energy. I wanted to change the mindset from the beginning. That’s why we chose these 14 warriors. For sure there will be some bad and good days, ups and downs. These things are normal. The season is very long. I wanted a team that never gave up. We will fight on the court till the last second, we will jump for every ball, and we will not go down if something goes wrong. We want to stay focused on our goals till the end of the season. At the end of the season, people will see what we’ve done. That’s why I chose five new foreigners. They are good players with good careers and they had good seasons before. Some of them may have had less success with their club but they had good individual seasons.

We had Derek two years ago and he was the best point guard amongst all EuroCup teams. We have Jonah Mathews who was averaging 11 points in EuroLeague last year. We have Matt Mitchell who was one of the intriguing names on the market this summer. We know what Leyton Hammonds can do. We played against him, I played against him. So, I know how capable he is of creating problems for opposing teams. And of course, we have one of the best big men, the best rebounders from Karsiyaka, Angel Delgado. He is also a national team player.

This is the story that we wanted. Even though the club offered me to go with more foreigners, I wanted to stop at five. Why? Because we have nice, talented domestic players. I like to use all these players. Berk Ugurlu is one of the most experienced and one of the best point guards in the league. He knows how to play and read situations. I think he is one of the best point guards right now for sure. We have Yigit and Ege, two great shooters, and great characters. They want to prove themselves and improve their defense to help the team better. We have Berkan who played very well in Karsiyaka last year. They went to the finals.

We have two kids, Kerem Konan 18 and Samet Yigitoglu 19. These players are not less important. They are for sure two of the biggest, maybe even the biggest prospects of Turkish basketball. Other guys are not too much older too. At practices, more kids join us from junior teams because we have 14-15 players. Our average age is around 22. We have the future. The biggest thing is, I think we can be much better in one month. We will be so much better in December. With these improvements, we will be best in the end.

Q: As you mentioned, you were very active in the domestic player market. We can see that the players who are working with you take a jump in their games and careers. Was this the reason to get them to Besiktas?

A: To be honest, I’m very proud of the fact that now, domestic players come and want to play with me. It is not easy. Everybody knows that I’m not an easy-handled coach. Everybody knows that we are practicing too much. I’m really surprised and have good feelings about everybody wanting to come when I talk to them. When I talked with domestic players two years ago, I was doing everything to convince them to come and play for me. Right now, it is very easy. One conversation, one lunch and then it is done. Also, our GM did a great job in those moments. We chose names that we wanted to be aggressive on. I think this summer, we did a good job on the market.

Q: You already mentioned some names but I have to ask some too. I remember the first Karsiyaka away game in Izmir. Delgado had the highest number of offensive rebounds in one game across all of Europe. Was it the time that you said ‘Okay, at some point I have to get him’?

A: He made a lot of trouble for us even though we prepared for him well. At least we thought that we prepared for him well. He features something different. There are some things in his game that he can still improve. I believe he has the potential to go to the highest level. The best thing about this team and Delgado is, that they are ready to improve and to change themselves for the better. Delgado is one of the best players with his sense of being in the right place at the right time and getting offensive rebounds. I think he was the best rebounder in the league last season. This is something that every team needs. When we watched him, we saw how much he contributed to his team. Okay, when you get rebounds, people will not respect you as much as you get points but we need players who can contribute to our game in this way. This is something that we need.

Q: Jonah Mathews is having a great pre-season. He was a EuroLeague scorer. Was it hard to convince him to come here? I always thought that Matt Mitchell was a EuroLeague player. Do you think the same about him?

A: Absolutely. To be honest, you watch all the players in all the teams in the Turkish League, and all of them are potential player candidates for the EuroLeague. Turkish League is a strong league, the second-best league in Europe. Everybody has respect for some players with good roles and good numbers. And if their team has success, people will respect them more. Teams will chase those players more than others. I think in my team, everybody is a candidate for the highest level. It will depend on only them, how they will treat this season.

Jonah Mathews had some EuroLeague offers on the table before he signed with us. I think in the conversations I had with him, I successfully convinced him to come here for some different reasons. I’m always saying ‘EuroCup is not a bad level’. We can say that it is a great level, especially this year. We have a lot of candidates for the EuroLeague. We have Paris and London and no one is talking about them. But we know that the EuroLeague wants these two cities in the league. There are other great teams too. In this year’s EuroCup, teams are more equal and there are a lot of players who came from the EuroLeague to the EuroCup to have a good role, then return to the EuroLeague with another role. That was the case with Jonah. I think he wanted to show himself with spotlights on him. He wanted to show that he is not just a guy that scores when you pass him. He is a guy who can offer many other things. He can create for others, he can defend. He can contribute in many different ways. He and Matt Mitchell have the quality for another level without a doubt.

“Very interesting how fast the expectations change”

Q: After a very long time, you will play with a deep rotation this year. You can throw almost all the players to the court. How do you feel about that? You haven’t had that chance in Bursa. 

A: I think this is the biggest strength of my team this year. We have 11 players in the rotation, and there are three kids (Yagiz Aksu, Ata Ozbek, and Yigit Coban) who are coming to practice with us and develop themselves. They are also practicing well. They are coming from our basketball school. This is the biggest advantage. When you play in strong competitions like EuroCup and Turkish League, play a game every two or three days, you need all the players in rotation. The season is long, injuries are part of our job. We have to be prepared for all these things. Also, if you want to play with 100% energy on both offense and defense, this is important. It is not possible to play big minutes and have quality every three days in both competitions. This is the thing that I’m proud of. Domestic players, foreign players… All of them contribute a lot to the court.

Q: You set the bar very high in Bursa. I think getting Dusan Alimpijevic to Besiktas created the same vibe. Am I wrong?

A: This is very interesting how fast the expectations change. One year, Besiktas is fighting to stay in the league; now, something very successful is being asked. To be honest, I am also very happy about this. Do you know why? Because if you want to be big, you have to think big. Right now, we think big. We want to make this club stable. We don’t even want to talk about these kinds of things (fighting to stay in the league) anymore. This is a big club, a big community with 20 or more million fans. This club doesn’t deserve to worry about these things like staying in the league. We will go to every game to fight till the end, and try to win as much as possible. I said in the beginning, it is not a secret: We want to get to the playoffs in both competitions, even though in EuroCup this year is more difficult than years before because now six teams will advance instead of eight of 10. You saw the names, the clubs in our group. Who knows? Maybe it is better. I’m not a guy who escapes from these tough games.

Q: As you mentioned earlier, even though the club offered you six foreigners, you will start with five foreigners. Should we expect another move during the season?

A: The club made a good gesture from their side like ‘Hey coach, just know this, if you need, you can tell us’. They didn’t push anything, they just wanted to show that they were serious and they wanted to help me. They told me to talk with them if I need a player. But our scrimmage games showed us that we don’t need right now. We are not thinking about this because there are 11 players in the rotation and they are giving their maximum for the team. To be honest, right now I don’t think about one more foreigner.

Foreign players

Q: We have endless arguments regarding the number of foreign players. One day six foreigners, another day five, another day six again… As a great basketball mind, I want to get your opinion. Is there any correct answer?

A: For me, six.

Q: Why?

A: To help Turkish players. They become very relaxed in other cases. My work ethic is terrible. I’m not talking about my players right now. I’m very satisfied with the approach of my domestic players. I’m very satisfied with their work ethic and behavior. If I’d known that all clubs would have players like I have right now as far as behavior, approach, work ethic, and taking care of their bodies; then five foreigners would do no problem for sure. But, this is my third season here. Four because I’ve had a half-season too. I’m starting my fourth season here.

I’m talking with my colleagues, I know everybody has the same problem. I’m not saying I have this problem right now but the main thing is, players become very comfortable. Players become very tough to work with. They are like ‘Everything is too much, everything is hard, everything is long, we should rest, why so many kilos in the lifting room, I never lifted like this, who cares about the kilos’. Who cares they came fat to the beginning of the season, who cares? When you have five foreigners, they have seven guaranteed places.

If you ask me, prices went up too much. There are unrealistic prices for domestic players. When you have great players, you have to pay for them. I have no problem with this. I have to pay good players, I’m the first one that wants to pay something good. But there are a lot of fake teams. Why? Only because you are a domestic player, only because there is a rule. I know that a lot of players after reading this can comment on me.

One more time, I have to repeat: If I know that I have domestic players with a good approach, and work ethic like right now with my players, I have no problem. But I saw with my own eyes what was happening. If you go with six foreign players, then domestic players have to fight more for their contracts, for their money, for their season. They will not spend their whole summer in Bodrum or Cesme. Maybe they will come a little bit earlier to work with their physical coaches.

Do you know how it is in Serbia? In Serbia, you have players who are coming off of hard seasons. You have a lot of EuroLeague, NBA, EuroCup players. They are hungry even with these big contracts they have because nothing is guaranteed for them. Why? Because they are foreigners in other countries. So, do you know what they do? They are coming, they spend one week with their family, they spend 10 more days with their family on some vacation, then they come back and start to work. Rest of the summer, they are working, all of them. They are working with physical coaches, they are working with basketball coaches.

If you work a little bit, who forbids you from going out or hanging out with your friends? This is something that I always tell my players, maybe I mentioned to you too in one of our interviews: Only hungry dogs go hunting. I think the main problem is, these players are not hungry enough. They think ‘I’m in Denizli, if I have a problem here then I will pick up my stuff and go to Petkim. After Petkim, I’ll go to Turk Telekom. After Turk Telekom, if I have one good season, I will go to Fener for one year. After Fener, I’ll go to Galatasaray, Besiktas, whatever’. They are circling.

National teams

Q: Let’s move to another argument. There were some arguments about naturalized players in the summer like all the summers. Some coaches defend and say ‘You can be only one piece away from success’, some say ‘No, we don’t need any naturalized players’. What is your opinion?

A: I’m not in for naturalizing players. For example, your country has enough good players. Okay, if you are missing only one position, maybe you can make it. But I’m not in favor of giving a lot of passports to foreign players in this country because you are taking something away from these domestic players. Let’s tell the truth. If we talked like that in the question before, then also we have to be honest in the same way about this situation. You have domestic players, you have to work with them and make them better. This is also the coach’s job.

The easiest way is to give someone a passport somehow, then you will have a good player. But we have to do something with these players. We have to invest some knowledge, work, and time and we have to be patient to get something from them. So, I’m not so in about neutralizing players, giving them passports for nothing. This is a country of 84 million people. There are a lot of talented players. We need to change their habits, we need to change their work ethic, and approach. We need to change these as coaches. Right now, I’m going home from my practice fully satisfied because I have no problems. Will we lose sometimes? Of course, we will lose sometimes. But I have a good group of people we will find right away.

Q: The last question is about the Serbian national team. Did you expect this kind of story from them? No Jokic, no Micic, no Kalinic, etc. but they are at the top of the world again. Okay, they lost the final but I don’t care about that. What is important is being there. 

A: If someone says to you that he was expecting something like this, he is lying. This is a big success. Don’t forget that we are not Yugoslavia anymore. We are Serbia and we have seven million people. The market is smaller but we still raise those talents in all sports, not just basketball. For a small country like ours, this is an unbelievable success. They got huge respect after the championship from everybody which is a little bit rude. We should support them more. I’m sticking with this opinion of mine: Chemistry and a good atmosphere in the team brings results.

If you have a group of individuals, it is not a team. The team is something different. A team is made of these individuals who put their egos, arrogance, and selfishness aside and come to play for the national team accepting their roles. They support each other. They played aggressively. One of these guys gave his kidney to the country. This was very emotional for us and our country. I’m not sure we will be better with all these names. Maybe one name could help us too much in the future, we will never find out. But hats off to this national team. I know these relationships because our physical coach this year in Besiktas is the physical coach for the Serbian national team.

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Ranking at the bottom of the table in the preseason ABA Super Cup held in Podgorica, Cedevita Olimpija looking to improve in the next competitions, including the BKT EuroCup, reinforced the squad with D.J. Stewart Jr.

“It’s nice to be a part of Cedevita Olimpija. My wife and son and I arrived in Ljubljana on Wednesday and in a short time we managed to get to know the city, which, like the country, is wonderful. I’m excited, I want to win as much as possible, with the team make it to the playoffs in all competitions and contribute to success from the very beginning,” said the 24-year-old combo guard.

The former Mississippi State standout spent the majority of his first two campaigns of his professional career in the G League, playing for Sioux Falls Skyforce and Austin Spurs. Moving his talents to the Dominican Republic last May, he he averaged 9.8 points per LNB game for Marineros de Puerto Plata. Following up with the NBA 2K24 Summer League, he joined the Washington Wizards in Las Vegas.

The team coached by Simone Pianigiani previously confirmed Mert Akay, Sean Armand, Jaka Blazic, Justin Cobbs, Zoran Dragic, Gregor Glas, Shawn Jones, Jaka Klobucar, Karlo Matkovic, Edo Muric, Nikola Radicevic, Rok Radovic, Luka Scuka, Alexander Shashkov, and Amadou Sow on the 2023-24 squad.

Vyacheslav Bobrov enters Prometey’s roster

After spending the training camp with Prometey, Vyacheslav Bobrov officially joined the club earlier this week. The 31-year-old forward/center entered the squad following Caleb Agada, Ondrej Balvin, Marcus Keene, Arnoldas Kulboka, Oleksandr Lypovyy, Ronald March Jr., Tai Odiase, Viacheslav Petrov, Davon Reed, Issuf Sanon, Illja Sydorov, Ivan Tkachenko, and Andrii Voinalovych.

Photo Credit: YouTube

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After playing in China for the first time in his career, Kyle Wiltjer officially comes back to Europe and to the BKT EuroCup, signing with Reyer Venice to fill the gap left by Bruno Caboclo, who never joined the Italian side.

Averaging 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds with the Zhejiang Lions, the 30-year-old Canadian forward will make his return to the Old Continent, where he already played for Olympiacos, Malaga – averaging 10.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in the 2018-19 EuroCup -, Turk Telekom Ankara, and finally, Lenovo Tenerife, winning the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League.

Best three-point shooter in the 2021-22 ACB with 47.8% from beyond the arc, and NCAA champion with the Kentucky Wildcats in 2012, Kyle Wiltjer went undrafted in 2016 but still eventually joined the Houston Rockets, playing also with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. At the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, he led Canada with 16.4 points per game.

208 centimetri per 109 chilogrammi, l’Umana Reyer firma il miglior tiratore da tre della Liga ACB 2021/22
Benvenuto Kyle Wiltjer!
Il comunicato https://t.co/KjtQrnAWTI#Uniti pic.twitter.com/aNUi9pRCh2

— Reyer Venezia (@REYER1872) September 21, 2023

PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League

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As officially announced by the club on its website, U-BT Cluj-Napoca has added the French Adam Mokoka to its roster, heading to the start of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup.

European champions with the French national team U18 and U16 respectively in 2016 and 2014, the Romanian club is only the last step of already a long and varied career for the Paris native player, who joined Bryce Jones, DJ Seeley, and more in the black-and-white team.

Before moving to Romania, the 25-year-old guard spent time with Reyer Venice – playing only eight games in the LBA with 5.1 points per appearance -, Nanterre 92, Mega Basket, and BCM Gravelines, where he made his professional debut.

Going undrafted in 2019, he then signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls, representing the Windy City Bulls, the Austin Spurs, and finally the Oklahoma Blue in the G-League before coming back to Europe.

In the European competition, U-BT Cluj-Napoca will play in Group B with 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, Aris Thessaloniki, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, Dolomiti Energia Trento, Dreamland Gran Canaria, JL-Bourg-en-Bresse, ratiopharm Ulm, Slask Wroclaw, and Turk Telekom Ankara.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

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Umana Reyer Venice updating the status of Bruno Caboclo sheds some light and further complicates the situation.

Caboclo, 27, communicated with the team on Monday, as detailed by the press release on Wednesday. He confirmed his intentions against playing for Venice citing personal reasons.

The Italian club went on to note the apparent serious violation of the agreement between the involved sides. Reserving the right to take appropriate measures and protect the interests of the team marked the conclusion of the official announcement.

The Brazilian forward has been reportedly linked to other teams and hoping to get a contract in the NBA. However, he signed a contract with Venice, the BKT EuroCup outfit announced in late June.

Caboclo is coming off brilliant showings in the 2023 FIBA World Cup with Brazil and at the bottom end of the 2022-23 season at the club level pushing ratiopharm Ulm to the first domestic league championship in team history. Bouncing back has been the theme of recent months, after previously falling out of favor in the NBA and struggling to get things going outside the league based in North America.

Averaging 16.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 0.8 assists per contest over five appearances in Jakarta, comfortably surpassed his production in previous major international tournaments.

Back in 2014, he was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 20th overall pick of the draft. He logged 107 games played until the 2020-21 NBA season.

Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL

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Building up the team ahead of the 2023-24 edition of BKT EuroCup and domestic competitions in Lithuania, new additions for the Wolves expanded to Vaidas Kariniauskas.

Kariniauskas, 29, signed a two-year contract, the team announced Thursday.

The team based in Vilnius, founded before the 2022-23 season, secured the services of a player from Lithuania’s final squad in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, recently wrapping up in the Philippines. He averaged 4.0 points and 3.1 assists per contest as a reserve point guard. The team coached by Kazys Maksvytis ranked sixth overall.

Earlier international experience includes participating in the 2016 Olympic Games. Kariniauskas also represented Lithuania in the Qualifiers of the 2022 EuroBasket and 2023 World Cup.

The youth product of Zalgiris will debut in EuroCup. He appeared in 14 games of the 2014-15 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign before departing the team based in Kaunas. The following steps stretched to 22 games played in the Basketball Champions League and 16 in the FIBA Europe Cup, besides abroad experience in Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Romania, and Italy.

Wolves teammates are Arnas Berucka, Djordje Gagic, Adas Juskevicius, Vitalijus Kozys, Christian Mekowulu, Regimantas Miniotas, Rasheed Sulaimon, Jeffery Taylor, Tre’Shawn Thurman, Kristupas Zemaitis, and Eigirdas Zukauskas.

Jaka Klobucar returns to Ljubljana

A late addition for Cedevita Olimpija as well. Jaka Klobucar, a former player of Union Olimpija, before the merge with Cedevita, returned to Ljubljana, the team announced Thursday. The swingman is a former international player with Slovenia. His lengthy career includes ten EuroCup appearances with Galatasaray in 2018-19.

Klobucar, 36, was already part of the training camp for the team coached by Simone Pianigiani. The remaining roster consists of Sean Armand, Jaka Blazic, Justin Cobbs, Zoran Dragic, Gregor Glas, Luka Scuka, Shawn Jones, Jan Kosi, Karlo Matkovic, Nikola Radicevic, Rok Radovic, Alexander Shashkov, Amadou Sow, and injured Edo Muric.

Mateusz Zebski joins Slask

Elsewhere in the EuroCup field, Poland representative Slask Wroclaw signed 31-year-old swingman Mateusz Zebski. Jawun Evans, Daniel Golebiowski, Hassani Gravett, Lukasz Kolenda, Saulius Kulvietis, Dusan Miletic, Jakub Niziol, Szymon Nowicki, Artsiom Parakhouski, Michal Sitnik, and Aleksander Wisniewski shape the rest of the roster.

Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL

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After spending the last part of the 2022-23 season on loan to Real Betis Baloncesto, where he was named Best Young Player of the ACB by averaging 17.8 points, 4.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game, Jean Montero should have begun the preparation for the 2023-24 season with Gran Canaria.

However, as announced by the Spanish side in a press release, the Dominican Republic representative hasn’t suited up for them. “Despite the call sent to the player to join the training, on the 11th of this month, along with the rest of the first team members, the player decided not to appear, also expressing his desire to “not continue under the discipline of the Club”, the statement says.

“From our club, and out of respect for the fans, sponsors, and, ultimately, all of us who are part of it, we cannot accept that, unilaterally, and without respecting the terms and conditions that regulate the contractual relationship between the club and the player, it is intended to carry out a separation like the one proposed by our player”, Gran Canaria’s press release continues on Jean Montero.

However, Jaka Lazovic’s team still opens its arms to him. “As it cannot be otherwise, from the club we are going to carry out the necessary actions to redirect this situation, hoping that Mr. Jean Montero immediately rejoins the discipline of the first team and, together, we manage to achieve the greatest sporting successes”, the club also followed.

In the recent 2023 FIBA World Cup, Jean Montero helped the Dominican Republic almost get to the final phase by averaging 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 87.5% at the charity stripe. He had a losing effort of 15 points against Serbia in his last game.

PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA World Cup

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Fast-growing BC Wolves are moving their headquarters to Dubai, the Dubai Media Office announced via X Monday.

The post mentions the city of the United Arab Emirates, UAE, as the ‘headquarters’ for the home games of the Lithuanian club in the BKT EuroCup, adding ‘headquarters for the club’ as well.

Team president Rimantas Kaukenas and team ambassadors Darjus and Ksystof Lavrinovic are featured in the attached video.

#Dubai will be the headquarters for the matches of the Lithuanian team “BC Wolves” in the European Basketball League. Dubai will also be the headquarters for the club, which is considered one of the elite clubs in Lithuania and Europe. @DubaiSC pic.twitter.com/iSR4ba2wQh

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) September 11, 2023

Wolves owner Gediminas Ziemelis, labeled as the richest Lithuanian, lives in Dubai. He founded the team before the 2022-23 season.

The first season in team history combined the domestic competitions, highlighted by the Betsafe LKL, with a short-lived showing in the Qualifiers of the FIBA Europe Cup and also with the European North Basketball League.

Before the launch of the second season and moving to EuroCup, the second-tier club continental competition of Euroleague Basketball, New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas joined the investors of the club.

Further Dubai impact

The Lithuanian club has not publicly commented on a possible development regarding relocation to Dubai. However, team officials consider this a plan for the distant future, according to TV3 Lithuania.

Over recent months, Euroleague Basketball discussed expanding the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with a new team based in Dubai.

“I think we will get there, the problem is now the calendar which we keep talking about, and also the national competition which we also are talking about,” Paulius Motiejunas said in an interview with Eurohoops shortly before switching from the general manager of Zalgiris to acting Chief Executive Officer of Euroleague Basketball.

UPDATE

Euroleague released a statement later in the day announcing that the Wolves did not send any requests to play home games in Dubai. At this moment, all games will be played in Vilnius.

Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL

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Justus Hollatz arrived in Ljubljana this summer but quickly departed Cedevita Olimpija to join Anadolu Efes on a one-season loan. While Leo Westermann was considered an option to replace him in the ranks of the Slovenian champions, the club reportedly opted for Nikola Radicevic, as indicated by Meridian Sport.

It appears that both sides have reached an agreement, with official confirmation pending to finalize the deal.

Radicevic, a former 57th pick in the NBA draft selected by the Denver Nuggets, spent the previous season in Bilbao, averaging 6.2 points and 3.1 assists in the Spanish ACB League.

The 29-year-old point guard has played for Sevilla, Gran Canaria, and Murcia in Spain throughout his career. He has also worn the jerseys of Crvena Zvezda, Aquila Trento, Promitheas Patras, Trefl Sopot, and Lietkabelis.

In addition to Radicevic, Cedevita Olimpija is also signing the talented Turkish international Derin Can Ustun from Bahcesehir. Although he was close to joining Fenerbahce, he ultimately chose the Ljubljana team.

The 16-year-old debuted in the BSL last season and had a great U16 European Championship this summer, averaging 15 points, five assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game.

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While all eyes are on the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup, Hapoel Tel Aviv announced another addition to competing in next year’s BKT EuroCup, incorporating the former Surne Bilbao Basket center Jeff Withey, who joins other arrivals like Braian Angola, Kyle Alexander, and John Holland.

In last year’s Basketball Champions League, the 33-year-old center had 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. In the ACB, instead, he put up 9.0 points and 6.3 boards per game.

Selected with the No.39 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers after coming out of college with the Kansas Jayhawks, he wore the jerseys of the New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz, and Dallas Mavericks before making the jump to Europe.

Moving overseas, he joined Tofas Bursa in 2018, playing later on for Lavrio, Ironi Nes Ziona, Goyang Orions, and finally, from 2021 to 2023, representing Bilbao.

הפועל שלמה ת”א מודיעה על צירופו של הסנטר ג’ף וויטי (33, 2.13). בשנתיים האחרונות שיחק וויטי בבילבאו מהליגה הספרדית, כשבעונה החולפת העמיד ממוצעים של 8.8 נקודות ויותר משישה ריבאונדים למשחק ב-19 דקות. קודם לכן בין היתר בעירוני נס ציונה שם קלע 14.1 נקודות יחד עם.9.9 ריבאונדים. בנוסף… pic.twitter.com/9XjRIJFpGl

— Hapoel Tel Aviv BC (@HapoelTLVBC) August 22, 2023

PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 Basketball Champions League

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Nine years after ending a successful spell with Buducnost VOLI, Vladimir Mihailovic returned to the team based in Podgorica en route to the 2023-24 edition of BKT EuroCup.

Mihailovic, 33, moved his talents from Germany and Belgium to Poland and Belarus before joining Mornar Barsko zlato to return to Montenegro in 2021. Similar to 2010, when he moved from Mornar Bar to Buducnost, he followed the same path.

Carrying the experience of 43 games played in the second-tier club continental competition of Euroleague Basketball from his first stint with Buducnost, he joined Allerik Freeman, Andrija Grbovic, Aleksa Ilic, Marko Jagodic-Kuridza, Marvin Jones, Fletcher Magee, Petar Popovic, Colbey Ross, Andrija Slavkovic, JaCorey Williams, and McKinley Wright IV on the squad for play-caller Petar Mijovic.

Jon Davis joins Lietkabelis

Former Charlotte standout Jon Davis will make his debut in EuroCup. Inking a one-year contract with 7bet-Lietkabelis set him up for continental action. The team located in Panevezys previously confirmed Dovis Bickauskis, Alen Hadzibegovic, Liutauras Lelevicius, Vytenis Lipkevicius, Gabas Maldunas, Gediminas Orelik, Deividas Sirvydis, Dziugas Slavinskas, and Martynas Varnas on the roster with Roberts Stelmahers taking over the head-coaching duties in late June.

Rasheed Sulaimon checks in with the Wolves

Returning to EuroCup following the productive campaign with JL Bourg in 2021-22, Rasheed Sulaimon emerged as the latest addition for the Wolves. Moving his talents to Vilnius on a one-year contract, the 29-year-old guard was placed alongside Arnas Berucka, Djordje Gagic, Adas Juskevicius, Vitalijus Kozys, Christian Mekowulu, Regimantas Miniotas, Jeffery Taylor, Tre’Shawn Thurman, Kristupas Zemaitis, and Eigirdas Zukauskas for the team coached by Kestutis Kemzura.

Lefteris Bochoridis officially returns to Aris

Aris Midea reunited with Lefteris Bochoridis, extending the report of Eurohoops on a deal with the 29-year-old combo guard. Set for a third spell with the team based in Thessaloniki, his new teammates include Manny Bates, Roberts Blumbergs, Marcus Carr, Silvio De Sousa, Ronnie Harrell, Dimitris Katsivelis, Nikos Persidis, Ismael Sanogo, and Diamantis Slaftsakis.

Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL

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After spending three seasons with Panathinaikos in the Euroleague, Lefteris Bochoridis in on the way to return to Aris, following the well-known route again.

Aris has successfully secured his consent, and the two sides have reached a verbal agreement. Everything indicates that only the finalization of the contract and the official announcement are pending to complete the transfer.

Bochoridis grew up and began his professional career in Aris, playing with the yellow and black from 2010 to 2014.

He later transferred to Panathinaikos, where he spent his initial three years in green between 2014 and 2017, before returning to Aris for another three years.

His “journey” between Aris and Panathinaikos continued in 2020 with a new move to Athens and OAKA until his contract expired this summer, and  Greens did not renew their partnership.

As a free agent, Bochoridis garnered interest from Peristeri, among other teams. However, negotiations did not progress, allowing Aris to take advantage of the situation and reach an agreement with him.

Lefteris Bochoridis is currently in the pre-selection for the Greek National Team ahead of the World Cup and is vying for a spot in the final 12.

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The London Lions are hiring former Austin Spurs coach Petar Bozic as a new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Bozic replaces Ryan Schmidt, who recently left to join the Atlanta Hawks organization.

The Serbian coach is best known as a long-time Partizan captain where he won 17 trophies as a player. In 2013 he became a coach, first as an assistant to Dusko Vujosevic, and in 2015 he become the head coach of Partizan but only for a few months before he was let go.

He departed for the USA in 2017 where he worked for the Austin Spurs

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With Paris featuring his brother Amara Sy as the sports director since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Bandja Sy joined the team located in France’s capital as a player.

Sy, 33, inked a two-year contract, the team announced Thursday. His older brother transitioned into the front office in 2022 after spending the last three years of his playing career at the club.

The younger brother carries the experience of 75 games played in the 7DAYS EuroCup into the BKT EuroCup, following the recent sponsor name change. The lengthy run in the second-tier club continental competition of Euroleague Basketball stretched to Metropolitans 92 in 2021-22, MoraBanc Andorra in 2019-20 and 2020-21, Partizan NIS in 2018-19, and SLUC Nancy in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

In 2022-23, Sy stayed with the Mets playing alongside French prodigy Victor Wembanyama. He tallied 6.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists over 45 appearances across all domestic competitions, highlighted by his sixth campaign in the top division of France.

Completing the 2023-24 squad of Paris, the former New Mexico State standout was placed alongside Gauthier Denis, Mohamed Diawara, Sebastian Herrera, Nadir Hifi, Mikael Jantunen, Michael Kessens, Leon Kratzer, Collin Malcolm, Enzo Shahrvin, T.J. Shorts II, and Tyson Ward for new head coach Tuomas Iisalo.

Axel Toupane switches to Metropolitans 92

Prior to the final addition to the roster, Paris released Axel Toupane upon mutual agreement to terminate the contract initially running through the 2023-24 season. The 31-year-old swingman moved to Metropolitans 92.

Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net

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Wolves Vilnius have found another experience player for their BKT EuroCup debut, signing center Djordje Gagic to a one-year deal on Wednesday.

Last season Gagic played in three different countries on two different continents. He split time between Blois Basket in France and Borac Cacak in Serbia. He posted 7.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 15 French League games, before finishing the season posting 10.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 16 Adriatic League games. Gagic last played with Quatar Sports Club Doha where he dominated with 9.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 11.3 assists in four appearances in Qatari Basketball League.

The Serbian big man is a veteran of two Turkish Airline EuroLeague, both with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade between 2012 and 2014, and five EuroCup seasons. In his 54 Eurocup appearances he has career averages of 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. The last time he played in the competition, in 2020-21 in a jersey of a Lithuanian side 7bet-Lietkabelis Paneveyzs, Gagic averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

Gagic has also played for Hemofarm Stada Vrsac in Serbia; Mornar Bar in Montenegro; Tenerife in Spain; Tsmoki Minsk in Belarus; Royal Hali Gaziantep, Yesilgiresun Belediye and Istanbul BB in Turkey; Aris Thessaloniki in Greece, Igokea in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brindisi in Italy. He is a two-time Serbian League champion, won the Serbian Cup twice and the Adriatic League in 2013. Gagic has also been a member of the Serbian national team, with which he won a bronze medal at the 2013 World University Games.

Ronnie Harrell to debut in BKT EuroCup with Aris

Aris Thessaloniki continued building roster for its return to BKT EuroCup with the addition of small forward Ronnie Harrell, who signed a one-year deal on Wednesday.

Harrell arrives from Ironi Nes-Ziona of Israel where he posted 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in the Israeli championship last season.

That was Harrell’s second year in Israel, after playing with Hapoel Galil Gilboa the previous season. He turned pro in 2019, starting his career in Romania with Steaua Bucharest before moving to Luxembourg to play with Etzella Ettelbruck where he dominated with 28.0 points and 9.9 rebounds in seven appearances.

In 2020-21, he played with Palma in the Spanish second division, and ranked second in the league with both 16.1 points and 1.7 steals. Harrell is now set to make his EuroCup debut.

Lietkabelis adds size with Hadzibegovic

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys has continued its preparations for the BKT EuroCup season by inking big man Alen Hadzibegovic.

The versatile big man who can play as both power forward or center, has already gathered plenty of experience in his young career, both in Europe and in Asia. Last season he played with Zastal Zielona Gora in Poland where he averaged 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks in the Polish League action. He finished his season with Al Sadd Sports Club Doha in Qatar.

That was Hadzibegovic’s fourth stint with Qatari League, and he also played on the Asian continent in the 2018-19 campaign with 10 appearances for Gifu Swoops in Japan’s lower division.

The big man also spent two years with Runa Moscow in Russia, and had brief stints with Lovcen and Podgorica in his native Montenegro. Hadzibegovic will be making his EuroCup debut this season for a Lietkabelis team aiming to improve upon last season’s elimination in the last 16.

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Dolomiti Energia Trento became the latest BKT EuroCup participant to complete the roster en route to the 2023-24 season.

Inking deals with 24-year-old Prentiss Hubb and 31-year-old Derek Cooke Jr. surfaced as the last moves of the offseason for the team coached by Paolo Galbiati. Both are newcomers to EuroCup with previous club continental competition experience including the Basketball Champions League. Other players placed on the roster stretch to Davide Alviti, Kamar Baldwin, Paul Biligha, Luca Conti, Quinn Ellis, Toto Forray, Andrejs Grazulis, Maxime Ladurner, Myles Stephens, and Mattia Udom.

Projected to steadily emerge on the senior team, promising prospect Ruben Prey committed until the end of the 2027-28 season through a contract extension with Joventut Badalona. The 2023-24 roster features Miguel Allen, Andrew Andrews, Vladimir Brodziansky, Pep Busquets, Andres Feliz, Yannick Kraag, Zsombor Maronka, Chinanu Onuaku, Pau Ribas, Deshaun Thomas, Ante Tomic, and Guillem Vives.

Gran Canaria tabs Sylven Landesberg

Defending champion Dreamland Gran Canaria announced the addition of Sylven Landesberg. Returning to Europe after four years in China’s CBA, he will add to EuroCup experience alongside Andrew Albicy, Ferran Bassas, Nicolas Brussino, Ethan Happ, Jovan Kljajic, Ben Lammers, Jean Montero, Pierre Pelos, Roko Prkacin, Miquel Salvo, John Shurna, and A.J. Slaughter.

Saulius Kulvietis was the latest addition to Slask Wroclaw. The Lithuanian sharpshooter fit alongside Jawun Evans, Daniel Golebiowski, Hassani Gravett, Lukasz Kolenda, Dusan Miletic, Jakub Niziol, Szymon Nowicki, Artsiom Parakhouski, and Aleksander Wisniewski on the squad heading to the next edition of Euroleague Basketball’s second-tier continental league.

Returning to Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv following his youth spell, Gal Sternberg penned a one-year contract. Kyle Alexander, Braian Angola, Gil Beni, J’Covan Brown, Tomer Ginat, Eyal Harel, Jaylen Hoard, John Holland, Xavier Munford, Yonatan Rabinowitz, Bar Timor, and Idan Zalmanson shape the rest of the current roster.

Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League

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As officially announced by the club, Dreamland Gran Canaria officially added Roko Prkacin, one of the most intriguing European young players available and the second youngest debutant in the Croatian national team’s history.

In his first-ever year in the ACB with Aito Garcia Reneses’ Basquet Girona, alongside a legend like Marc Gasol, the 20-year-old big averaged 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game, running for the award as best young player of the competition.

The Croatian talent arrives after the incorporation of Ethan Happ and Ben Lammers to reinforce Jaka Lakovic’s frontcourt. He previously played for KK Cibona, having his best season so far in the 2020-21 ABA League with 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game.

After winning the International competition in 2022-23 against Turk Telekom Ankara and deciding to forfeit the EuroLeague, Dreamland Gran Canaria will play once more in the BKT EuroCup. The reigning champions were drawn in Group B with Buducnost VOLI, ratiopharm Ulm, JL Bourg-en-Bresse, Turk Telekom, 7bet-Lietkabelis, Aris, Dolomiti Energia Trento, Slask Wroclaw, and U-BT Cluj-Napoca.

OFICIAL | El Dreamland Gran Canaria se hace con los servicios de Roko Prkacin.

El joven interior croata jugará a las órdenes de Jaka Lakovic este próximo curso.

https://t.co/pCuotRBZSB pic.twitter.com/6UysxYp3yb

— Dreamland Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) August 4, 2023

PHOTO CREDIT: ACB

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Euroleague Basketball launched an investigation into the recent bribery allegation of Ukrainian referee Mykola Ambrosov, but surfacing reactions paint a potential picture, including the Secretary General of the Basketball Federation of Ukraine Vladimir Drabikovsky sharing his view on Ambrosov.

“It’s my personal opinion, but I don’t believe it,” he stressed talking to Greek outlet Gazzetta about the Kyiv native’s allegations.

Ambrosov, 42, recently accused fellow referees Boris Ryzhyk and Ilias Koromilas of attempting to bribe him before Finals Game 2 of the 2020-21 edition of EuroCup. Euroleague Basketball followed up announcing an internal investigation and the Hellenic Basketball Federation opted to rule out Koromilas indefinitely.

“He was a EuroLeague referee. I know him well and Boris Ryzhyk and Ilias Koromilas as well, but also the system of EuroLeague referees. It can’t be that way,” continued Drabikovsky in describing Ambrosov and Euroleaugue Basketball’s approach to game officials.

“Ambrosov was my student,” explained the FBU Secretary General, “He was responsible for the referees in the second division and the women’s league. But the federation expelled him for corruption. He demanded money from the referees in order to promote them, sometimes even half their monthly salary. He was expelled for that reason.”

“Since then, he often attacks me, but also Ryzhyk. I don’t know why he chose Ryzhyk at this particular moment, but we didn’t kick him out. It was the board’s decision,” he added, “When he was young, he was a good referee. When he began to take power in his hands, he changed.”

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Dolomiti Energia Trentino announces that it has signed an annual contract with an option for a second year with Myles Stephens.

Stephens has trained academically and basketball-wise at Princeton University, where he played four seasons with the Tigers in the NCAA between 2015 and 2019.

A very physically fit athlete, Myles made his debut in Europe with Oldenburg’s second team before winning the Finnish championship in 2020-21 with Salon Vilpas. The following season he played in Belgium at Kangoeroes Mechelen, while in 2022-23, he returned to Germany, to the Hakro Merlins in Crailsheim, where, between the BBL and the FIBA Europe Cup, in 45 appearances, he averaged 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks.

Aris strengthens backcourt with rookie Marcus Carr

Aris Thessaloniki added another young and talented piece to its backcourt, announcing on Thursday the signing of guard Marcus Carr for the upcoming season.

This will be the first professional season for Carr (1.88 meters, 24 years old), who played at the University of Texas for the last two years.

Carr posted 15.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals, leading Texas to the Elite Eight phase of the NCAA tournament and winning the conference title this past spring.

He played a total of five seasons of college basketball, starting as a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh in 2017-18 before transferring to the University of Minnesota where, in the 2020-21 campaign, he averaged 19.4 points. He is now set to get tested at the professional level and in the BKT EuroCup.

Hapoel brings back homegrown Rabinowitz

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv has a familiar face back on its roster with the return of point guard Yonatan Rabinowitz on a one-year deal the club announced Thursday.

Rabinowitz (1.88 meters, 25 years old) split time with Flyers Wels and Dukes Klostenburg, both from Austria last season. He averaged 3.9 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.8 rebounds over 26 combined Austrian League appearances.

Rabinowitz now returns to the club where he grew up and was a captain of its youth category teams. He also made his professional debut there in the 2015-16 season as a 17-year-old. Since then, he also played with Ramat Hasharon, Hapoel Saba/Shalom, Maccabi Hod Hasharon, Elitzur Kiryat Ata, and Maccabi Ma’ale Adumim, all Israeli lower division teams before moving to play in Austria last season.

Rabinowitz has also been a member of all Israeli youth national teams and won a silver medal at the U20 European championships in 2017. He will now have a chance to make his BKT EuroCup debut.

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Ukrainian referee Mykola Ambrosov, who was a member of the officiating crew in the 2021 Eurocup final between Unics Kazan and Monaco, accused on an interview two of his colleagues of trying to bribe him with 10,000 euros.

More specifically, Ambrosov spoke about what happened on the eve of the second final of the 2021 Eurocup, where Unics Kazan and Monaco faced each other.

According to what Ambrosov claims, a few days before the game, Ukrainian referee Boris Ryzyk told him in a “coded way” that he was offering him 10,000 euros to blow the whistle in favour of Unics with Greek referee Ilias Koromilas being also involved in the alleged transaction.

Ambrosov, according to his statements refused the offer and did not agree to speak with Koromilas himself, stressing that the fact that Monaco prevailed 86-83 in the match presupposes that he was not bribed.

As he said per automatic YouTube translation: “What I am going to say may surprise many, but this is how things happened: three days before the game I receive a call from the most famous referee in Ukraine, Boris Ryzyk.

He tells me that Unics is ​​playing in the final, which has a Greek coach and a Greek assistant. He was approached by Ilias Koromilas, also Greek, who was a Euroleague referee and tried through him to come to an agreement with me. If I agreed, then Koromilas would talk directly with me to “arrange” for Kazan’s victory.

I didn’t say anything to Rizik and he told me to think about it for 24 hours. If I changed my mind and everything went according to plan, I would get 10,000 euros. He even gave me a Viber number to call after the match.

You all know the result though: Monaco won by 3 points…”

Check out the featured excerpt from 37:33 to 40:22 below:

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