It will not happen unless things change a lot, but we have been very close to seeing one of the bombs of the season in European basketball. In a talk on the Italian Twitch channel Area 52, Sergio Scariolo confirmed that he had spoken with Marc Gasol to join the Virtus of Bologna, where he has been a coach since this season. The signing would replace the long-term absence of Ekpe Udoh.
The question was direct: “Coach, have you called Pau or Marc after Udoh’s injury?”. The answer, as is usual in Scariolo, did not beat around the bush: “I knew that Pau was retiring, but I wrote to Marc. He answered me in a friendly way”, explained the Spanish coach to say that the pivot “elegantly rejected the proposal” in the words of the American journalist Marc Stein, which echoed the conversation.
Udoh, one of the star signings by name last summer at Virtus, he was seriously injured last September. It was in the Italian Super Cup, when in a defensive action, when resting the leg on the ground broke the patellar tendon in his left knee and everything indicates that he will not play again for the remainder of the course. Udoh has gone through four NBA franchises (Warriors, Bucks, Clippers and Jazz), although his moment of greatest sporting success was lived in the course of two years that he had between the last two teams mentioned above. It was then that He signed for Fenerbahçe, with whom he played two Euroleague finals, winning the 2017 one and being named Final Four MVP. His return to the NBA via Utah was not as expected and the last two seasons he had played in the Chinese league.
What a bad luck. In this action, Ekpe Udoh (Virtus) seriously injured his knee and may miss the entire season. Much encouragementpic.twitter.com/9nLu1U7lB4
– Giants of Basket (@GIGANTESbasket) September 19, 2021
No news from Marc
As for the other part of the story, little news to say nothing. Marc Gasol has been free to sign for the club of his choice for more than a month. It was on September 15 when the Memphis Grizzlies cut him after receiving him in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. There has been a lot of speculation about the future of the Spanish pivot since then: last dance in the NBA, return to Barça, roll up his sleeves in the Leb ORO with Girona (the team he owns), retire … At the moment they are all theories, because the maximum implicated in all this, Marc himself, has not said a word on the subject. The last time he was seen in public, although he did not make any statements, it was in the act of farewell to his brother Pau. The season is long and there are still many months of competition to go, but Marc turns 37 in January and the clock is ticking.
#bomb #Scariolo #Marc #Gasol