AS Monaco trying to stay on top
AS Monaco trying to stay on top
Last season was full with up`s and down`s for AS Monaco. In the French league, they managed to get into the finals, but were beaten by their arch-rivals, ASVEL Lyon, after a game 5 where Monaco`s coach, Sasa Obradovic blame the Lyon`s Arena for being low level, considering the heat that was inside during the entire game was too much for the players. In Eurocup, AS Monaco stopped in Top-16 round, being in a 3rd place in a group with ALBA Berlin, Rytas and Partizan.
After seeing the big changes ASVEL made to their roster, AS Monaco also made a lot of changes in order to be able to compete against them in the French league. From last year, the only players remained are Dee Bost, Eric Buckner and Yakuba Ouattara. They gave up to a lot of players and here we can name: Paul Lacombe, Elmedin Kikanovic, Georgi Joseph, Gerald Robinson, Jarrod Jones, Lazeric Jones or Sergii Gladyr.
This big exodus only made Monaco`s board to move quickly and add some good players. The first player signed was Dylan Ennis (27 years-old, 1.87m, PG) from MoraBanc Andorra. He averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 21 Eurocup games. Then, from the fellow French team, Le Mans, they added Wilfried Yeguete (27 years-old, 2.00m, PF). His last season stats in French league were: 9.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Another point guard added was Anthony Clemmons (25 years-old, 1.86m) from Astana. In 28 VTB games, he averaged 13.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He was thrilled about the opportunity to play for Monaco and be coached by Sasa Obradovic.
Next player added was a Clemmons`s teammate in Astana, J.J O`Brien (27 years-old, 2.00m, F). He had the best scoring in Astana`s team, averaging 15.2 points along with 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Landing Sane (28 years-old, 2.11m, C/PF) was the next big man added. He played last season for three different clubs, Levallois, Mornar Bar, where, in 4 Eurocup games averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, and MoraBanc Andorra. And the last player added, the most experienced of them all, was Kim Tillie (29 years-old, 2.10m, PF/C). He played for Gran Canaria last season and averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 29 Euroleague games. He has a lot of experience in Euroleague and also played for French national team, winning the bronze medal in 2014 FIBA World Cup and competing in 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
For me, AS Monaco strengthens a lot, comparing with the last season. They added some very good and experienced players that will help Coach Sasa Obradovic to compete for some trophies. Alongside with this legendary coach, next year will be a good one for the French side. I can`t wait to see their game against big rivals ASVEL.
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
