Happy Casa Brindisi Transfer News
Happy Casa Brindisi are going through the fourth year of head coach Francesco 'Frank' Vitucci's tenure but in a way the past summer marked the end of an era at the Puglia club as team captain and last season's Serie A top scorer Adrian Banks decided to leave Brindisi after five years and join fellow Italian BCL participants Fortitudo Bologna.
ECCO JOSH BOSTIC ⚪🔵
— HappyCasaNBB (@HappycasaNBB) February 22, 2021
Career high @LegaBasketA 🆚 Brindisi nel 2018: 2⃣6⃣ punti
Season high #LBA 20/21 🆚 Brindisi: 2⃣2⃣ punti
ORA È DEI NOSTRI: WELCOME @MrBoomBostic22 💪 #ForzaBrindisi
➡ https://t.co/jhWWJQGOq3 pic.twitter.com/YHvFjJ86Nd
The Puglia club completed their roster by early August but on February 22nd they made one late addition, in the form of veteran wing Josh Bostic. The 33-year-old had started the season at Reggio Emilia and averaged 13.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in the Italian Serie A.
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The shooting guard who assumed the tough task of replacing Adrian Banks was D’Angelo Harrison, who arrived to Brindisi fresh off turning heads around Europe with his spectacular play in the Israeli Winner League in July.
Harrison played for Maccabi Rishon Le Zion for the Israeli league's restart and averaged 24.8 points per game as the top scorer in the play-offs to lead Rishon to the final, where they fell to Maccabi Tel Aviv despite his stellar 38-point display.
The 27-year-old American had spent the 2019-20 season u until the stoppage due to the pandemic with Le Portel, averaging 15.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in the French Jeep Elite league.
📣 'MR. DOPPIA-DOPPIA' TORNA IN ITALIA 🇮🇹🔙
— HappyCasaNBB (@HappycasaNBB) July 22, 2020
▶ https://t.co/nVwJ8Lhrro
🔟 doppie-doppie in @LegaBasketA
🥉 miglior rimbalzista LBA 2018/19
🔝 26pt+15rmb high career Lega A
🏆 MVP Slovenian League e A2
Welcome @OusjuiceATL ⚪🔵 #ForzaBrindisi pic.twitter.com/JhOqc2ahV1
Brindisi decided to put together a new-look roster and have gone on a shopping spree which started with the recruitment of James Bell, who had helped Brindisi's Group C opponents Darussafaka conquer the EuroCup title back in 2018.
The 28-year-old small forward sat out the first part of the 2019-20 season and joined Greek side Promitheas shortly before the coronavirus-induced season stoppage, so he only got to play in two Greek Basket League games all year.
Leadership ed esperienza: ecco @JamesMB_0731 ⚪🔵https://t.co/17qigbvqDp pic.twitter.com/93VaQZvvR4
— HappyCasaNBB (@HappycasaNBB) July 20, 2020
The Italian club have bolstered the frontcourt with Derek Willis, who spent the 2019-20 season at ratiopharm Ulm and with Ousman Krubally, who played for Le Portel.
"Ciao Happy Casa Brindisi": la storia di @derekxwillis ⚪🔵
— HappyCasaNBB (@HappycasaNBB) July 18, 2020
📜✍ https://t.co/A3M0BqUIqM pic.twitter.com/SJGW152qkf
The 25-year-old Willis averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in the German easyCredit BBL while Krubally averaged 9.2 points and 6.5 boards per game in the French Jeep Elite league. The 32-year-old Krubally is a connoisseur of Italian hoops since he played for Pistoia in 2018-19, earning the 'Mr. double-double' nickname.
📣 RICCARDO VISCONTI SPOSA IL PROGETTO HAPPY CASA BRINDISI ⚪🔵
— HappyCasaNBB (@HappycasaNBB) July 21, 2020
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Enfant prodige, 22 anni ancora da compiere: @visco_9 sarà un nostro giocatore per i prossimi 2 anni 🦌💙
Benvenuto Riccardo! #ForzaBrindisi pic.twitter.com/RIA3g4yIT5
Brindisi have also strengthened the Italian core of their roster by bringing in guard Riccardo Visconti and forward Mattia James Udom from Serie A2 clubs Mantova and Verona, respectively.
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The latest addition to the 2020-21 roster was 24-year-old Nick Perkins, a newcomer to European hoops. The American center spent last season at Niigata Albirex, averaging an impressive double-double of 20.4 points and 10 rebounds in the Japanese league.