All the transfers made in the Israeli League before the resumption of the season (part I)
In seven days Israeli Winner League will resume after 3 months break due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Maccabi Tel Aviv is firm favourites to win the league, but there is any chance for Hapoel Jerusalem or other teams to stop them? Let’s see which teams have strengthened their roster and which are the new players from the Israeli League.
Maccabi Tel Aviv – They added only one player, Frederic Bourdillon who played for Maccabi Rishon before and averaged 12.3 points per game in EuroCup. Nate Wolters, Jalen Reynolds and Tarik Black left the team, while John DiBartolomeo is out for the rest of the season after suffering a partial rupture of the Achilles tendon during practice.
Hapoel Jerusalem – They re-signed John Holland and added Jeremy Pargo, a former Maccabi Tel-Aviv player. They also signed Deividas Servydis, a 2019 NBA second-round pick for Detroit Pistons in a long-term contract. He played for Rytas last season and averaged 6.1 points for the Lithuanian team. The last addition is Alon Sapir, who came from the second division Elitzur Ashkelon.
Maccabi Rishon – They lost Frederic Bourdillon, but added Zach Hankins from Nymburk where he averaged 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in Czech NBL and BCL.
Hapoel Holon – They had a busy transfer period since 13th of May. Everything started with the Coach Stefanos Dedas who extended his contract until 2021. Desi Washington (26.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game for Ankara in the second Turkish league), Jimmy Hall (18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game for Maccabi Hod Hasharon in the second Israeli league), Jermaine Love (11.8 points and 4.1 assists per game for Verona in Italian second league) and Uriel Trocki (Raanana) are four guys with big numbers but came from weaker leagues. Shavon Coleman (Kangoeroes – Belgium) is the only player added that played from a first national league.
Maccabi Haifa – Haifa added 5 new interesting players: Speedy Smith from Charleroi, Reggie Upshaw from Reggio Emilia (11 points and 6 rebounds per game), Jerai Grant from AEK Athens, Andrew Andrews from Buyukcekmece and Anthony Fisher from Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Tomorrow we will continue with the second part of the transfers made in the Winners’ League.
Photo: Basketball Champions League
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
