Will a youthful ZVVZ USK Prague overcome a loss of valuable experience?
PRAGUE (EuroLeague Women) – We land in the Czech capital to assess the prospects of ZVVZ USK Prague whose run of EuroLeague Women Final Four appearances will only be continued if their young guns can step up this season.
History: The past few years have been sensational for the club who won their first-ever EuroLeague Women title in April 2015 and then subsequently made it a trio of Final Four places by booking a spot in Istanbul during 2016 and Ekaterinburg earlier this year.
Major arrivals: Leticia Romero, Amanda Zahui, Marija Rezan, DeWanna Bonner
Major departures: Sonja Petrovic, Laia Palau, Kia Vaughn, Ilona Burgrova, Candice Dupree, Anete Steinberga.
Players to watch: Much is going to hinge on Marta Xargay who suddenly looks a veteran and her steely attitude and smarts will have to rise even more prominently to the fore as she becomes even more of a leader.
Ultimately, if Romero can prove she can do it at the elite level on a consistent basis and Zahui builds on a promising first year in the competition at Nadezhda, then Prague might avoid a sudden drop-off in results. This will especially be the case if their main homegrown duo of Katerina Elhotova and Alena Hanusova are solid and increase production.
However, the late addition of Bonner will transform their prospects hugely. She is a class player and was the star of EuroLeague Women 2015-16.
Flashback: That glorious night in the Czech capital, which was made even sweeter by the fact they took the silverware on their home floor and in front of their own fans.
Outlook: It’s tough to envisage any club in the world not being impacted severely by the loss of two European greats in Sonja Petrovic and the legendary Laia Palau. Having also seen the additional experience of Vaughn and Burgrova drain away, Prague look as inexperienced as they have been in recent memory.
That will test the skills of their irrepressible veteran coach Natalia Hejkova, who will do well to keep them competitive without that hard-nosed edge of past seasons – even if they have a potentially exciting starting five. Defensively, they will really have to stand up. Thankfully for them, the arrival of Bonner helps to fill what was looking like a worrying void.
FIBA
