MIES (Switzerland) - Back in Season 1 of the Basketball Champions League, Aris Thessaloniki introduced a young, determined guard destined to lead his team to new heights.
Fast forward nine years, Will Cummings is still as determined, but now, he's also the experienced leader Galatasaray needed as they attempt to reach the latter stages of the BCL.
The 32-year-old guard was their best player across the three games against Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball in January, earning himself the MVP of the Play-Ins award in Season 9 of the BCL.
It was supposed to be smooth sailing for Galatasaray, at least judging by Game 1 against the French team. Cummings had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a team-high efficiency rating of 22, all done in less than 17 minutes of work as the Turkish club celebrated an 84-63 win.
In Game 2, SQBB fought back for a 90-79 win to send the series back to Istanbul, despite Will's 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists off the bench.
Finally, in Game 3, when Nolan Traore and the French team went off for a gigantic 15-0 run in the last half of the matchup, it seemed the season would be over for Galatasaray.
But Cummings took over in the clutch, making winning plays on both ends, ending the night with his BCL career-high 24 points, and also had 6 rebounds and 4 steals, to get Gala a 75-73 win and a spot in the Round of 16.
The numbers can't describe how much of a leader he was in those tense moments in Game 3.
"Will was telling us to stay solid and keep playing defense, and getting good shots on the offensive and that no matter what - we were going to leave with the W," teammate Otis Livingston described.
"He was just saying to stay positive when they made their runs," James Palmer Jr echoed the same thought.
"Best thing about being his teammate is that he is not selfish. He plays to win and brings that positive mentality," Palmer continued.
Livingston is four years younger than Cummings, but still has plenty to learn from the more experienced guard.
"The best thing about Will as a teammate is that he is passionate about the game and he is consistent with his preparation," he said.
In a team with so much talent, Cummings understood his role, whether he's playing with the ball or without it, and his teammates all sounded proud of him winning this award.
"He is a really good person and an experienced player, really helped us these last few weeks. I enjoy playing with him, we understand each other well on the court," Bugrahan Tuncer offered.
Between Aris in Season 1 and Galatasaray now, Cummings has played a total of 27 BCL games, winning 15 of them. The last two games in the matchup with Saint-Quentin marked the first time he went for back-to-back 20+ point games in this competition.
Unfortunately, he also picked up an injury in that Game 3, and will be sidelined to start the Round of 16.
Galatasaray will play in Group J, alongside the defending champions Unicaja, the Lithuanian champions Rytas Vilnius, and their compatriots Manisa Basket, featuring BCL's top scorer of the season Saben Lee.
Games tip off in this group on Wednesday, with Galatasaray travelling to Lithuania.