After more than a month of games in the EuroLeague we have witnessed many surprises, with new protagonists ready to take the scene in European basketball; in this article we talk about 2 players, who until now have been fundamental for their teams and are ready to live a great season until June. Backcourt and frontcourt… in this article we talk about both roles.
Andres Feliz: quality on both sides of the court
He is the new creation of Pedro Martinez; Feliz is a completely different player compared to last season; offensive, defensive and charismatic leader of the team. A PG capable of literally doing everything on a basketball court. The work of the technical staff on his awareness and size in attack is before everyone’s eyes. No one thought he could be a 15 PPG player in EuroLeague… and now it’s just like that. Always having 2 on the court between him Campazzo and Maledon is a great advantage for Los Blancos, because everyone manage the rhythm of the game well, serving an assist to the teammates… but also making a basket. And now everyone knows it: at the end of the game the most decisive players are in the backcourt. Compared to last year we can say that Madrid in the guard position has a much more experienced and decisive player, who has also become a big problem for the opponent’s defenses. His statistics are much better than last season, practically doubled, a sign of important growth on both sides of the court, as well as in the mentality. The next few weeks will be a new test for him: his spot teammates Campazzo and Maledon are both injured… Feliz is called to take the team on his shoulders and be the reference PG. Contract expiring in June 2027; surely Real Madrid will try to move in time trying to keep the player in the capital for more seasons. A guard with different characteristics from the others, but a player in huge growth since his arrival in Madrid.
Thanks to the help of Data4Basket here are some interesting data about the Dominican player: with a Player Rate of 8.7 out of 10, Feliz ranks 3rd overall in the entire EuroLeague in this special ranking. When it comes to lucidity, control and vision of the game, the numbers speak for themselves: he has an excellent assist/loss ratio of 2.6 (79th percentile), and Real Madrid is unbeaten (5-0) in matches in which he finishes with a ratio above 2.5. Another important aspect is its True Shooting %: it stands at 64.2%, a figure that testifies to the extraordinary quality and selection of the shots during the matches so far. All this, moreover, is closely linked to another important fact: his presence on the court translates into an extra gear for Real Madrid in the decisive moments: when the minutes and the keys of the team revolve around him, the team knows how to direct the games to reach victory. Finally, the relationship with his teammates: when Feliz plays with Maledon and Tavares, Real Madrid has a differential in the minutes spent together equal to +34 with both and +42 only with Maledon.
As written before, the next few weeks will be decisive to understand more about this player… at the moment, however, Pedro Martinez and his staff are enjoying one of the most improved guards since last season.
Aliou Diarra: power, muscles and energy in EuroLeague
A new big man in Europe is taking the scene in recent weeks. Aliou Diarra, center of Mali and current player of Virtus Bologna. Arrived in Italy last year, he has proven to be an excellent scouting move so far. Incredible performances this year, playing in a team that on paper does not start among the 10 favourites to get to play the post season in EuroLeague. His room improvement are still very high, but seeing Diarra on the court you love the energy he brings to his team on both sides of the court. In attack he is a very good player on the PnR, but he must learn to play well starting from the low post. In defense there is little to say: he knows how to do everything very well; he covers the basket well, he is very aggressive on the PnR and he can change by defending well even against the opposing guards. Great in blocks and rebounds, excellent PIR considering that he plays less than 20 minutes per game on average. Power, muscles and energy: 3 words to describe Aliou Diarra.
Thanks to the help of Data4Basket here are some interesting data him: with an average of 2.2 blocks per game and a 6.5% Block %, Diarra ranks 1st overall in the entire EuroLeague in this category. He is a rebounding machine, grabbing 7.0 per game (4.4 defensive and 2.6 offensive), placing 4th in the Euroleague and reaching the 99th percentile for rebounding efficiency. Excellent statistics on offense as well: Diarra averages 12.0 points per game in 19.4 minutes, shooting with a 72.4% True Shooting percentage and 77% from inside the paint. The African center’s presence completely changes the face of his team. With him on the court, the team has a positive Net Rating differential (+2.2), which plummets to -8.6 when he is on the bench, for a total team impact of +10.8. Finally, his incredible presence on offensive rebounds is reflected in second-chance points, a category where his performance hits the 95th percentile in Europe.
His contract expires in June 2027, Virtus Bologna will try to renew his contract but if Diarra’s season continues to be so constant and growing he will attract the attention of several top EuroLeague teams, starting with Panathinaikos who has already taken information for him. A dynamic, modern center ready to become one of the reference points in Europe in his role.
We talked about two very interesting players… the season is still very long and there will definitely be other protagonists… this is the EuroLeague guys.
Photo: Real Madrid and Virtus Bologna social profiles
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