The future is now: Who will claim the EuroLeague Women Young Player of the Year award?
MUNICH (Germany) - With the voting for the EuroLeague Women Awards now well underway, a selection of rising stars are fighting it out to be crowned the Young Player of the Year.
There are five options to choose from in the fan voting and here are some reasons you might want to make your selection.
Pauline Astier - Bourges Basket
SHOOTING GUARD
1.78m / 2002
Statistics: 2.2PPG; 60% FG; 5.1 MPG
While the amount of court time handed to the teenager during the season was modest, Astier certainly made the most of her opportunities. She made great shot selections and because of her fearless nature, it gave her the confidence to make shots when chances arose. Energetic and smart, she is also not afraid of making mistakes. Credit is due to the club's youth coaches, who've worked with her in the past three years or so since she arrived.
Kendra Chery - Basket Landes
SMALL FORWARD
1.85m / 2001
Statistics: 5.2 PPG; 2.8 RPG; 1.2 SPG; 18.1 MPG
Even if Basket Landes finished the campaign on a disappointing losing streak, Chery can be hugely proud of her contributions, having shown impressive maturity and having firmly established herself as a part of the core rotation. Her athleticism was a terrific weapon for Landes at the defensive end, while the winger also shot the ball reasonably well too. All of that combined to more than 18 minutes per game which speaks volumes for her efforts.
Marine Fauthoux - LDLC ASVEL Feminin
POINT GUARD
1.76m / 2001
Statistics: 4.3 PPG; 1.5 APG; 16.7 MPG
Fauthoux took a major step forward during the campaign with some excellent shows for LDLC ASVEL Feminin that resulted in her playing more than 16 minutes per game. Considering she is a point guard, that is quite a feat for a team that made the Quarter-Finals. Controlled, smart and someone who has already made an impression at the national team level with France, the playmaker has continued to impress in a big way at club level.
Iliana Rupert - Bourges Basket
CENTER
1.94m / 2001
Statistics: 9.3 PPG; 67% FG; 2.7 RPG; 1.3 SPG; 20.8 MPG
Bourges started the campaign 0-3 without the injured Rupert and once their rising star was back to fitness, they managed to collect 2 wins from 3 games. While it was obviously not all down to her, it underlined the value of a player who has a huge future in the competition, most likely the WNBA and also with France. She was crowned Young Player of the Year last season and has every chance to make it back-to-back awards with her numbers this time around.
Sude Yilmaz - Galatasaray
SMALL FORWARD
1.82m / 2002
Statistics: 1.5 PPG; 8.8 MPG
The teenager certainly made strides with a Galatasaray team that came close to qualifying for the Final Four and the fact that Yilmaz was able to access almost 10 minutes per game is a huge indication of her capabilities. There will be more to come during these next years and especially if she can get her perimeter game firing, which didn't quite happen in this past season. Nevertheless, she's a big talent and is already becoming a favorite with Galatasaray fans.
You can vote for the EuroLeague Women Awards here.
FIBA