Eurocup “newcomers”: Ewe Baskets Oldenburg
Eurocup “newcomers”: Ewe Baskets Oldenburg
EWE Oldenburg is back in EuroCup after a 4-years break. Last season they finished German league regular season in the second position with a 28-6 record, 16-1 at home. In the playoffs, they were eliminated by ALBA Berlin in the semifinals with a 3-0 score. Last year they didn`t participate in any European competition, letting them prepare for this season.
In terms of transfers, Oldenburg did make some changes, but not big ones. First, they lost Will Cummings (Lokomotiv Kuban –RUS), Frantz Massenat (Andorra –ESP), Haris Hujic ( Rostock – GER) and Marko Bacak (Schwenningen – GER). But they also bring four new players. First, Gerry Blakes (25 years-old, 1.93m, G) who came from Cantu. Last season he averaged 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. The second player brought was Braydon Hobbs (30 years-old, 1.96m, G). He played last season for German powerhouse, Bayern Munich and last season he averaged 3.7 points on 48.8% beyond the arc in 18 Euroleague games. He has three EuroCup seasons under his belt, and he averaged 8.2 points on 44.9% three-point shooting in 45 games. He will add some offensive power for Oldenburg, especially with his three-point shooting.
From NCAA, the German club acquired Kevin Mclain (22 years-old, 1.88m, G). In 33 NCAA games, he averaged 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists. His move to Oldenburg starts his professional career and I expect some nice highlights from him, because he wants to prove and improve his game, in order to get some attention from bigger European clubs or even NBA teams. And the last player added is also from Bayern, Robin Amaize (25 years-old, 1.88m, G), who came on loan. He played some games in Euroleague and German league, but very few minutes. However, he managed to make 53.8% of his three-point shots, and that represents good news for his new team.
Oldenburg will continue playing an offensive style because they added some good scorers and shooters. They will enjoy every game from EuroCup and hope they will catch some good wins, at least in front of their fans. Their job will be hard, because they were drawn in the Group D, with Buducnost, Galatasaray, Trento, Unicaja and Asseco Arka. Good luck to them.
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
