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This is what happens when 6-foot-10-inch Italian center Tomas Ress tries to jump with Jerome Dyson:
Dyson has been on fire the last five games in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A, averaging a ridiculous 26.2 points, 6.6 assists, six rebounds and 2.5 steals for Dinamo Basket Sassari. Sassari is also in the Round of 32 in the Eurocup, after failing to reach the last 16 of the 2014-15 Euroleague competition. Winning Eurocup would automatically put Sassari back in Euroleague next season. Essentially, the Eurocup (and lesser regional competitions) is a chance for clubs without the necessary accolades to qualify for Euroleague play automatically through their national leagues, similar to how conference tournaments work with the NCAA tournament. European clubs rely heavily on sponsors who rely heavily on exposure. Better leagues = more exposure = more money = better players.
To gauge the scope of the Eurocup, here is a map of all participating clubs (minus late additions):
Dyson is having a career year for Sassari with his 18.5 points, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game good for fourth, fourth and first respectively in Serie A play. On Jan. 11, Dyson dropped 30 points (6-for-10 from three), dished out eight assists and added four steals. His deep threes in the last two minutes led Sassari to the come-from-behind victory. Follow the link below for highlights (shots come at 2-minute mark):
Sassari returns to action Jan. 20 when they battle Buducnost (Montenegro) in Eurocup play. The matchup pits Dyson against former Big East standout Omar Cook (St. John's). Dyson and his squad will need to finish in the top two of Group H to advance to the last 16 – they currently sit third with a record of 1-1. Other Group H members include Canaria (Spain) and Banvit (Turkey).
We always knew Dyson could make plays like this...
— jerome dyson (@slicenanddice) January 13, 2015
...now he is making winning plays.