Tag Archives: Edgar Sosa

Lega Basket Serie A: Jerome Dyson and Dinamo Sassari advance to Semifinals

dinamobasket.it

dinamobasket.it

Jerome Dyson and #5 Dinamo Sassari have advanced to the Lega Basket Serie A semifinals upsetting #4 seed Trento 3-1. After dropping Game 1, Dyson and company rode a three game winning streak to keep their Championship hopes alive. Series MVP David Logan led the way for Dinamo, dropping 27 points in the Game 4 clincher. Dyson struggled to find his shot in the series but still found other ways to contribute, dishing out 6 assists in the final game.

As I discussed in my quarterfinal preview, Dinamo’s keys to the series included:

  1. Contain League MVP Tony Mitchell
  2. Post-production
  3. Find shooting touch

Following the Game 1 loss, let’s see how Dinamo responded to each key.

Game 1: Trento 81, Dinamo 70

Game 2: Dinamo 88, Trento 79

  1. Mitchell: 6-18, 6 TO
  2. Rebound Margin: Even
    1. Shane Lawal: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block
    2. Jeff Brooks: 13 points, 9 rebounds
  3. 66% from the field
    1. Edgar Sosa: 21 points

Game 3: Dinamo 103, Trento 78

  1. Mitchell: 2-12, 9 TO
  2. Rebound Margin: -1
    1. Shane Lawal: 8 points, 7 rebounds
    2. Jeff Brooks: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
  3. 76% from the field
    1. 103 points scored
    2. Edgar Sosa: 23 points, 4-7 3P

Game 4: Dinamo 84, Trento 80

  1. Mitchell: 5-15, 6 TO
  2. Rebound Margin: -9
    1. Shane Lawal: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks
    2. Jeff Brooks: 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
  3. 61% from the field
    1. David Logan: 27 points, 3-5 3P

Mitchell, a player who had caused problems for Dinamo in the past, was harassed into a woeful performance- managing only 29% from the field and commiting 7 TO per game- during the final three games of the series. Dinamo received the post-production they desperately lacked in previous battles with Trento, as forward Jeff Brooks provided extra strength inside to complement center Shane Lawal. However, the most impressive statistic of the series is the 68% Dinamo shot from the field in the final three games, including a 103 point explosion in Game 3. When you shoot the ball at such a high mark, it becomes almost impossible to lose. Here is a look ahead at Dinamo’s semifinal matchup.

legabasket.it

legabasket.it

Semifinals

Dinamo has reached its third semifinals in only five years of Serie A play, drawing a matchup with #1 seeded Milan- fresh off a 3-0 sweep of #8 Granarolo. The clubs split the season series 2-2, though Dinamo came out victorious in the most important games, defeating Milan in both the Italian SuperCup at the beginning of the year as well as the Italian Cup in February. It comes as no surprise that the winner of this series is the favorite to take the Serie A crown. Below is an inside look at the Italian Cup Finals matchup in February to give some perspective on the history of these two clubs.

This star-studded matchup features numerous former NBA players on the Milano side including MarShon Brooks (LA Lakers), Linas Kleiza (Toronto Raptors), Alessandro Gentile (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Samardo Samuels (Cleveland Cavaliers). Though Milano is favored and equipped with a deep bench, Dinamo possesses both the athleticism and momentum to eliminate the #1 seed for the third time this season. Here is a look at the probable starters for each team.

#5 Dinamo Sassari

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG David Logan USA/Poland Indianapolis ‘05 16.5 2.8 3.0
SG Jerome Dyson USA UConn ‘10 16.1 3.9 4.2
SF Rakim Sanders USA BC/Fairfield ‘12 12.0 3.5 1.2
PF Jeff Brooks USA Penn State ‘11 8.6 7.2 1.3
C Shane Lawal Nigeria Oakland/Wayne St ‘09 10.8 9.2 1.2
Notable Bench Players
G Edgar Sosa Dominican Louisville ‘10 11.9 1.7 3.2

#1 Milano

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG Joe Ragland USA/Liberia Wichita State ’12 12.1 3.2 3.4
SG MarShon Brooks USA Providence ’11 14.7 3.5 2.2
SF Alessandro Gentile Italy Timberwolves (NBA) 12.7 4.6 1.9
PF Linas Kleiza Lithuania Ulker (Turkey) 9.4 3.7 0.7
C Samardo Samuels Jamaica Louisville ‘10 13.3 5.7 1.9
Notable Bench Players
G Daniel Hackett USA/Italy USC ‘09 8.9 3.3 4.1

The series tips off tomorrow with two games in Milan before returning to Sassari on June 2nd for the final two games. Television information is unavailable at the time but the games should be available by following Lega Basket Serie A on the Twitter app Periscope. Best of luck to Sassari in their quest for a third trophy!

Lega Basket Serie A: Jerome Dyson Quarterfinal Playoff Update

dinamobasket.com

dinamobasket.com

Jerome Dyson and Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari (Dinamo Sassari for short) enter the 2015 Lega Basket Serie A Playoffs with the #5 seed thanks to a 19-11 mark in league play. The club has already strung together an impressive year, competing in both Euroleague and EuroCup play, in addition to winning their second consecutive Italian Cup Championship in February. The Lega Basket Serie A is the first-tier level club competition league in Italy, with a home-and-away schedule comprised of 30 games followed by a playoff round featuring the top eight teams. The quarterfinals and semifinal series are conducted as best-of-five matchups leading into a best-of-seven finals. Lega Basket Serie A has become a popular destination for the stars of Big East past, with at least 16 players having suited up at some point this season- including former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace.

  • UCONN: Jerome Dyson
  • Georgetown: Austin Freeman, Chris Wright
  • Louisville: Edgar Sosa, Samardo Samuels
  • Marquette: Darius Johnson-Odom
  • Pittsburgh: Gilbert Brown, Sam Young
  • Providence: MarShon Brooks
  • Seton Hall: Jeremy Hazell
  • St. John’s: Metta World Peace aka Ron Artest
  • Syracuse: Andy Rautins, Brandon Triche
  • Villanova: Allan Ray, Isaiah Armwood, James Bell

With that in mind, here is a look at the 2015 playoff bracket:

legabasket.it

legabasket.it

Quarterfinals

Dyson and Dinamo already find themselves in an 0-1 hole after losing the first game of the series to #4 Trento yesterday. Trento, led by league MVP Tony Mitchell’s (Alabama/Detroit Pistons) 16 points/11 rebounds, dominated the glass (55 to 28) en route to an 81-70 home victory. Dinamo struggled shooting the ball, finishing just 8-31 from deep and 18-41 from the field. Dinamo was led by Jerome Dyson’s 14 points and 7 steals with Edgar Sosa adding 11 points in the losing effort. Imposing center Davide Pascolo (Italy) had a monster game for Trento with 15 points and 14 rebounds. As two of the highest scoring teams in the league (Dinamo 85.0, Trento 81.3) boasting numerous high-flyers, the first game certainly did not disappoint the highlight reel (below). If you have been following my blog it should be no surprise who came in at #1…

Game 2 Preview

Dyson and company hit the hardwood tomorrow for Game 2 at Trento. Here is a look at probable starters for both sides as well as season statistics:

#5 Dinamo Sassari

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG David Logan USA/Poland Indianapolis ‘05 16.5 2.8 3.0
SG Jerome Dyson USA UConn ‘10 16.1 3.9 4.2
SF Rakim Sanders USA BC/Fairfield ‘12 12.0 3.5 1.2
PF Jeff Brooks USA Penn State ‘11 8.6 7.2 1.3
C Shane Lawal Nigeria Oakland/Wayne St ‘09 10.8 9.2 1.2
Notable Bench Players
G Edgar Sosa Dominican Louisville ‘10 11.9 1.7 3.2

#4 Trento

Pos Name Nationality College/Former Club PPG RPG APG
PG Andres Forray Argentina/Italy Forli (Italy) 5.3 2.6 2.5
SG Jamarr Sanders USA UAB ‘11 8.5 3.9 2.4
SF Tony Mitchell USA Alabama ‘12 21.1 5.7 2.7
PF Davide Pascolo Italy Udinese (Italy) 12.0 7.4 1.6
C Josh Owens USA Stanford ‘12 13.3 6.3 1.1
Notable Bench Players
G Keaton Grant USA Purdue ‘10 7.7 2.3 1.2

Keys to the Series

Contain Tony Mitchell

In two regular season matchups the league MVP torched Sassari for 31 and 24 points respectively. The 6’9 wing presents a matchup nightmare due to his versatility and freakish athletic ability. Game 1 was a move in the right direction for Dinamo as Mitchell was held to only 16 points on 3-12 shooting- though he did still manage to collect 11 rebounds and dish out 7 assists. For Dinamo to advance, Mitchell must be slowed down.

Post Production

Rebounding is not the only worry for the undersized Sassari squad. In the two regular season matchups, Trento scored an average of 63% of their points in the paint (compared to 37% from Sassari) including an insane 65% in a matchup back in December. The closer you are to the basket, the higher percentage the shot- an idea clearly translated in the field goal percentages for both teams. Through three games (including yesterday) Trento is shooting the ball at a 60% mark while Sassari checks in at 47%. League-leading shot blocker Shane Lawal will need to keep Trento’s bigs off the glass and out of the box score.

Three-Point Shooting

When post scoring is limited, points must come from elsewhere- specifically the three ball. For a team that averaged 35 three’s per game and had 4 players shoot over 100 three’s on the season (compared to two for Trento), the 8-31 mark (26%) Dinamo put up in the first game won’t cut it. Between sharpshooters Dyson, David Logan and Rakim Sanders- someone needs to get hot.

Best of luck to Dinamo Sassari and be sure to stay tuned for more updates!

Jerome Dyson: Beko Final Eight 2015 Top 10 Plays

Dinamo Sassari dominates the 2015 Beko Final Eight Top 10 plays including two from Jerome Dyson. Also of note- though the smallest state in the United States, Rhode Island produced #1 and #2 in the countdown, MarShon Brooks (Providence College) and Rakim Sanders (Pawtucket).

Dyson and Sassari return to action February 28th when they battle Cantu.

UConn in Europe: Jerome Dyson and Marcus Williams

euroleague.net

euroleague.net

Marcus Williams

Club: Crvena Zvezda Telekom

Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Leagues: Adriactic League, EuroLeague

Marcus Williams is enjoying a great year taking over for DeMarcus Nelson (Duke) as point guard for Crvena Zvezda, a Serbian team competing in both the Adriatic League (ABA) and Euroleague (top level in Europe). The ABA is a regional professional league that features clubs from the former Yugoslavia including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia as well as Israel and Hungary. The league was founded in the years after the Yugoslav Wars and has featured American players such as Adam Morrison (Gonzaga), Jordan Farmar (UCLA) and Scoonie Penn (Ohio State). Williams has partnered this season with 2011 Golden State Warrior’s draft pick Charles Jenkins to lead Zvezda to a perfect 8-0 record, good for first in the ABA. Always a pass first point guard, Williams’ 6.8 APG are good for fourth in the league. Here’s a look at his complete stat line:

ADRIATIC G MIN FG-FGA FG% 3PM-A 3P% REB AS PTS EFF
M. Williams 8 22.5 13-39 33% 16-36 44% 2.4 6.8 10.5 10.8

As one of the premier clubs in European basketball, Zvezda also competes in Group D of the Euroleague, which, as I mentioned earlier, is the equivalent to the European NBA. The Euroleague regular season runs from October 16th to December 19th, with 24 teams divided into 4 groups (A, B, C, D). Each team plays 10 games within the group, in a round robin format, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the Top 16. The Top 16 divides clubs into two additional 8 club groups (E, F), where teams play a 14 game round robin season spanning December 30th, 2014 to April 10th, 2015. The top 4 teams from Groups E and F then advance to a best-of-five series with the series winners advancing to the Final Four. The 2015 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four will be held in Madrid, Spain from May 15th to 17th on a single elimination basis. Also competing in the Euroleague for UConn this season is Jerome Dyson (Banco di Sardegna, Italy, Group A) and Niels Giffey (ALBA Berlin, Germany, Group B).

Currently, Zvezda sits at #2 in Group D with a record of 3-3. Williams has put together an impressive season thus far, setting a Euroleague record with 17 assists in his last outing. Overall, his 8.0 APG lead the league through six games. Here is a complete statline below:

EURO G MIN FG-FGA FG% 3PM-A 3P% REB AS PTS EFF
M. Williams 6 30 13-38 34% 13-43 30% 4.2 8.0 13.5 14.7

Euroleague Assist of the Night:

Marcus Williams Zvezda Highlights:

 

Jerome Dyson

Club: Dinamo Banco Di Sardegna Sassari

Location: Sardinia, Italy

Leagues: Lega Basket A, EuroLeague

euroleague.net

euroleague.net

 

Jerome Dyson comes to Sassari after one year with Enel Brindisi of the Italian National League (Lega Basket A) and has made an immediate impact. Dyson was named MVP of the Italian SuperCup, a yearly preseason competition that takes place between winners of the Italian Championship and Italian Cup from the previous year. It comes as no surprise Sassari is a great fit for Dyson- the team’s offensive philosophy is similar to Coach Calhoun’s at UConn, a run and gun that emphasizes getting out in transition and pushing the tempo. Dyson, along with Edgar Sosa (Louisville), Rakim Sanders (BC/Fairfield) and Jeff Brooks (Penn State) have led Sassari to a 5-1 record, good for second in a league widely considered one of the best in Europe. A quick search through the rosters seems to support this claim as former Big East stars Austin Freeman (Georgetown), Allan Ray (Villanova), Samardo Samuels (Louisville), Sam Young (Pittsburgh), MarShon Brooks (Providence) and Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette) all participate. True to his UConn days, Dyson is first in the league with 2.7 steals per game. Here is a complete stat line below:

ITALY A G MIN FG-FGA FG% 3PM-A 3P% REB AS ST PTS EFF
J. Dyson 6 28.7 14-32 44% 11-33 33% 3.2 4.8 2.7 14.7 16.8

Following a 2013-14 campaign that saw Sassari win the coveted Italian Cup, the club earned a chance to compete in the Euroleague. The adjustment has been difficult as Sassari currently sits in last place in Group A with a record of 1-5, a group that includes European powerhouse Real Madrid. The team struggles have not  stopped Dyson’s individual performance however, as he continues to fill up the box score on a nightly basis. Here is a complete Euroleague statline:

EURO G MIN FG-FGA FG% 3PM-A 3P% REB AS ST PTS EFF
J. Dyson 5 29 15-37 41% 12-29 41% 3.0 3.8 2.0 14.4 9.0

Dyson interview on Euroleague Media Day:

Highlights from 2013/14 season (low quality):

CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK FOR AN UPDATE ON NIELS GIFFEY / ENOSCH WOLF…