Basketball Champions League 2024-25

    Morning After: Jayvon Graves gets closer to Joe Ragland's record

    4 min to read
    Short Read

    Last night was too hectic and things got out of hand? Don't worry, the Morning After saves the day, as we take you through the main talking points of the night before.

    Author
    Igor Curkovic

    MIES (Switzerland) - Week 3 action in the 2024-25 Basketball Champions League Regular Season concluded on Wednesday, and there were plenty of highlights on a four-game evening. This is what we learned last night.

    Everybody is an all-rounder in Vilnius

    Rytas Vilnius won the Lithuanian League last season, and figured out ways to get better this season. Instead of going with old-school, one-position specialists, they are now a team with plenty of guys who do a bit of everything.

    That's probably why they opted for Jayvon Graves after his stellar season with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in 2023-24.

    He is, however, struggling for consistency with Rytas this season, failing to register back-to-back games in double digits, going for 5 points against Neptunas, then 11 against Juventus, back to single digits with 7 against Pallacanestro Reggiana, then getting 12 against Zalgiris and 8 against Lietkabelis, before finally playing his best game of the season on Wednesday.

    Graves had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, which immediately felt like genuine Jayvon Graves numbers from his Ludwigsburg days, and the search through the record books confirmed it.

    This was his eighth game with 15-5-5 or better in terms of points-rebounds-assists. Only one player has more such games, Joe Ragland with nine.

    If he uses this game as the blueprint for the rest of the season, he could have the record in sole possession by the end of the Regular Season. And Rytas would be happy to see him reach double digits in points regularly, because they are 3-0 when Graves scores 10+ points, and just 1-2 when he's under the 10-point mark in all competitions.

    Meanwhile, the other all-rounders are also feeling well. Gytis Radzevicius posted his new BCL career-high with 23 points, while also grabbing 9 rebounds, with 2 assists, a steal and a block, and Azuolas Tubelis finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block.

    If you want to see the content, you need to accept Targeting Cookies

    That's the path Rytas decided to take. Instead of one guy tormenting the opponent with 30+ points, they have a batch of guys capable of scoring, rebounding and passing.

    They're team-first oriented. Their next two games against unbeaten Falco-Vulcano Szomabethely could propel them towards pole position in the group standings for the direct berth into the Round of 16.

    Eternal Giorgi

    Elsewhere, Giorgi Shermadini became on Wednesday the fifth player with 60 wins in the BCL, joining his teammates Tim Abromaitis, Bruno Fitipaldo, Aaron Doornekamp and Marcelinho Huertas.

    If you want to see the content, you need to accept Targeting Cookies

    Not only is he among the leaders there, he is now just one game away from becoming the first player to score 15 or more points in 40 BCL games. Just for comparison's sake, Rytas legend Gytis Radzevicius only played his 41st BCL game last night.

    Shermadini's lead in the 15-point game department is safe for now, as the runner up there is Vojtech Hruban, with 33 such games. Hruban just moved to Scafati earlier this month, beginning his Italian Lega Basket Serie A adventure.

    Quick notes

    • Rytas Vilnius scored 98 points against WKS Slask Wroclaw, the second most ever for them in a BCL game (99pts v Opava in November 2023).

    • Falco-Vulcano Szombathely made only three three-pointers against Pallacanestro Reggiana, the fewest for them in a BCL game since March 2022 when they made two against La Laguna Tenerife; this is the first time that Falco-Vulcano Szombathely have won a BCL game despite making fewer than four three-pointers.

    • NINERS Chemnitz scored 103 in Wednesday’s game, the most by any German team in a BCL game since Brose Bamberg scored 117 against Casademont Zaragoza in March 2021.

    • Zoltan Perl of Falco-Vulcano Szombathely scored 20 points against Reggiana. This is his ninth game scoring 20 or more points off the bench, while no other player has had more than six such games in the BCL history

    • Reggie Lynch of WKS Slask Wroclaw became only the second player in BCL history to block 4 or more shots in each of his first two games in the competition, after Ismael Kamagate earlier this week. Just like Kamagate, Lynch also has blocked exactly 5 shots in each of his two first appearances in the BCL.

    • Aher Uguak of NINERS Chemnitz became only the second player in BCL history to have dished more than 15 assists while only commiting 1 turnover in his first two games in the competition (Nanterre’s Milan Barbitch has 18 assists and 1 turnover this season)

    Visit the BCL website

    here

    Basketball Champions League 2024-25

    Morning After: The best offense of 2024 on display

    WATCH: 19 points in three minutes

    Recap: Galatasaray complete sweep of Promitheas; Nymburk stay perfect

    Join for an enhanced experience and custom features
    Social Media
    FIBA Partners
    Global Supplier
    © Copyright FIBA All rights reserved. No portion of FIBA.basketball may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. By accessing FIBA.basketball pages, you agree to abide by FIBA.basketball terms and conditions