MUNICH (Germany) – The FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season saw many explosive performances as the competition is now wilted down to 16 teams.
But who was consistent throughout the last six weeks of action? Let's examine the players who stood out across the various categories.
Efficiency - Jeriah Horne
After helping Alba Fehervar qualify for the Regular Season via the Qualifiers, Jeriah Horne has been the lynchpin throughout the Hungarian side's campaign. His numbers don't lie, scoring an overall efficiency rating of 26.7.
The American averaged 18.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in the FIBA Europe Cup this season, with his most impressive performance being a 31-point, 6-rebound performance against ESSM Le Portel, in which he went 11-of-14 from the floor, along with 2 steals and a block.
BC Kutaisi 2010 forward George Korsantia, who posted double-doubles in five of his side's six games in the regular season, averaged 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds to rank second in efficiency with 23.8. Josh Hagins of Keravnos BC takes third with an efficiency rating of 23.0.
Points - Josh Hagins
Josh Hagins was on an offensive burst throughout the Regular Season with the American point guard managing 17 points or more in five games, including a high of 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting against Tofas Bursa.
Hagins averaged 20.6 points; shooting 53.8 percent from the field, along with 6.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Following close behind is Jeriah Horne, who posted 20.5 points on 63.6 percent shooting.
Maroussi BC's Cameron Reynolds and Hagins' teammate Landrius Norton of Keravnos BC round out the top three, both averaging 19.7 points. Taveion Hollingsworth of AEK Petrolina completes a clean sweep of Americans in the top five for scoring.
Rebounds - Fardaws Aimaq
A rebounding machine for Hungarian side NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz in the Regular Season, Canadian big man Fardaws Aimaq pulled down 11 or more rebounds in five of his six Regular Season games to land the top spot. He averaged 12.7 rebounds per game, with 4.7 on average on the offensive glass.
Aimaq averaged a double-double; amassing 15.7 points to his impressive tally. Meanwhile, Jesse Hunt of AEK Petrolina pulled down 12.0 rebounds per game – despite only featuring in four games, with Konsantia rounding off the podium with 10.8 rebounds.
BC Sabah's Klavs Cavars and BC Prievidza's Hunter Dean complete the top five, pulling down 10.3 and 10.2 rebounds per contest, respectively.
Assists
C.J. Jackson has been handing out assists like candy at Halloween for BC Prievidza during the Regular Season. The nippy point guard dished out 8.0 assists with a phenomenal 16 assists against BC Kutaisi 2010 the highlight.
Nathan De Sousa has been quietly doing his business for Cholet Basket this season and lands himself in second place, averaging 7.5 assists a contest from the French side with two 10-assist games included.
Lithuanian playmaker Arnas Velicka makes the top three, dishing 7.3 dimes for Basketball Lowen Braunschweig, narrowly beating Alba Fehervar's David Nichols to the top three, with Nichols averaging 7.2 assists, alongside Elvar Fridriksson of Maroussi BC and Alex Perez of Tofas Bursa.
Steals
Like a thief in the night, Eric Nottage took what's his during the Regular Season. He led Fribourg Olympic to the Second Round and got 3.3 steals per game in the process, including a personal high of 7 takeaways against CSM Constanta on Gameday 5.
Equally as tenacious on the defensive end is Chavares Flanigan of Basketball Lowen Braunschweig, who averaged 2.8 steals, with MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg's Justin Simon close behind with 2.5 takeaways.
Kevaughn Allen and statsheet stuffer Jeriah Horne round out the top five.
Blocks
Klavs Cavars has been breaking records, constantly telling people to talk to the hand during the Regular Season. The Latvian swatted away 8 Maroussi attempts on Gameday 5 - setting a new tournament single-game high - and leading to an average of 3.0 blocks per game.
Another player protecting the paint during the Regular Season is Arnaud Cotture of Fribourg Olympic, deflecting shots at an average of 2.3 per game, with Nate Renfro of Banco di Sardegna Sassari and Josh Sharma of Bursaspor posting 2.3 rejections per contest.
Zachary Smith completes the top five with an average of 2.2 blocks per game for Fotbal Club Arges.
FIBA