Tofas won’t make too much noise this season
Tofas won’t make too much noise this season
Last year, Tofas Bursa managed to finish on 3rd place in the regular season, right after big Turkish powers, Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce Istanbul. In the first round of the playoffs, they smashed Besiktas and won the tie by 2-0. But in the semifinals, they were eliminated by Fenerbahce 3-0.
From last year, the only foreign player kept is Sammy Mejia (36 years-old, 1.99m, G), an old and experienced guard. All other foreign players left: Frank Elegar (Unicaja – ESP), Kyle Weems (Bologna – ITA), Travis Trice II (Strasbourg – FRA) and Kenny Kadji. Alongside them, Arslan Yigit was the only Turkish player left, for Galatasaray.
In exchange, Tofas added four new foreign players. The first player was Matt Lojeski (34 years-old, 1.98m, SF). He played last six seasons in Greece for Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. Last season he averaged 6.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in Euroleague. He has a lot of experience and good percentages to the 3-point line, 42.6% in the last six Euroleague seasons. Next player brought was a playmaker, Tarik Phillip (26 years-old, 1.90m, G). He spent the last season with Memphis team in G-League where he put some impressive numbers: 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He signed a 1+1 year contract.
Tofas strengthened its frontcourt options with the addition of Devin Williams (25 years-old, 2.06m, C). They bring back the big man in Turkey because in the first part of last year he played for Buyukcekmece. He averaged 18.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, leading TBL in rebounds. In February he moved to Buducnost but played in only six Euroleague games with limited minutes. And the last American player added was D.J. White (32 years-old, 2.06m, PF/C). He spent last season in Bahcesehir where he averaged 14.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 28 TBL games.
Tofas continue also to promote some young Turkish players through their ranks and help them develop, alongside with the veteran guard Baris Ermis. The only decent local product signed this summer is Berk Ugurlu who is coming after a good season with Pinar Karsiaka. The roster is not bad, but I don`t see Tofas making too much noise next season. They have some decent players, but 3 of them will be soon over 35 years old, and from the bench, I don’t see so much support coming. It`s gonna be a transitional season for Tofas, without big expectations in Eurocup or in the Turkish league.
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
