The Top 20 BCL rookies through the first five weeks
MIES (Switzerland) - There has been an influx of exceptional new players in the Basketball Champions League this season, so it comes as little surprise that so many league debutants are high up the statistical tables after the first weeks of action in 2020-21.
This is, of course, a very particular season due to the pandemic and therefore not every BCL rookie has played the same amount of games through the first five weeks.
TLC: A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me.@LimogesCSP: A Scrubb is a guy that get all love from us.#BasketballCL I @PhilScrubb23 pic.twitter.com/Wj1yO6MvX9
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) October 30, 2020
The brief pause in Regular Season action for the November windows of the FIBA continental cup Qualifiers however provides us with a great chance to take a snapshot of the highest-rated debutants at this early stage of the season.
Darussafaka Tekfen guard Andrew Andrews and Phil Scrubb of Limoges CSP are arguably vying for top spot among this class of BCL rookies right now, as Alex Gavrilovic of Nizhny has the highest efficiency rating but has only played one game so far.
🎯🎯🎯 Andrew Andrews with Three Threes in Q3!#BasketballCL I @Dackabasket @Drew_squared pic.twitter.com/yR5nBBiAwS
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) October 28, 2020
Andrews is the second-leading scorer in the league, averaging 23 points per game on an excellent 60 percent shooting from the floor, while Scrubb is in fourth place on the scorers list overall, averaging 21.5 points per game.
The table ranks BCL debutants according to their average efficiency rating so far:
| PLAYER NAME AND TEAM | AVERAGE EFFICIENCY |
1. Alex Gavrilovic (Nizhny Novgorod) |
26.0 (1 game) |
2. Phil Scrubb (Limoges CSP) |
24.5 |
3. Andrew Andrews (Darussafaka Tekfen) |
24.0 |
4. Anthony Clemmons (Igokea) |
23.5 |
5. Alex Renfroe (Hereda San Pablo Burgos) |
22.5 |
6. Kristers Zoriks (VEF Riga) |
21.5 |
7. De'Shawn Stephens (Bakken Bears) |
21.3 |
8. Jerry Boutsiele (Limoges CSP) |
20.5 |
8. Ondrej Balvín (RETAbet Bilbao Basket) |
20.5 |
10. Thomas Welsh (Filou Oostende) |
20.0 |
11. Brock Motum (Galatasaray) |
19.7 |
12. Bonzie Colson (SIG Strasbourg) |
18.5 |
13. Jeremy Simmons (Tofas Bursa) |
18.3 |
14. Martynas Echodas (Rytas Vilnius) |
18.0 (1 game) |
14. Maksim Salash (Tsmoki-Minsk) |
18.0 |
14. Gerry Blakes (Cholet) |
18.0 |
14. Evan Bruinsma (Falco Szombathely) |
18.0 |
18. Sam Dekker (Turk Telekom) |
17.5 |
18. Grant Jerrett (Darussafaka Tekfen) |
17.5 |
20. Jackie Carmichael (Igokea) |
17.0 (1 game) |
Limoges CSP, Darussafaka and Igokea are the only teams that have two players on this list, which speaks wonders of their recruitment process since all three clubs are playing in the BCL for the first time in their history.
Another interesting factor is how young European players who are debuting in the BCL this season, such as 22-year-old Latvian Kristers Zoriks, 23-year-old Lithuanian Martynas Echodas and 24-year-old Belarusian Maksim Salash
It's worth noting that this list will likely undergo big changes in the next weeks, once players have played a more comparable amount of games, and it might look a lot different by the conclusion of the Regular Season.
