In 2022, JL Bourg had unearthed a young position 4 in the ranks of a German mid-table club. His name was Isiaha Mike and he is now heading to the EuroLeague, probably to Partizan Belgrade. Two years later, when it was time to find its replacement, the Bressan club reused the same recipes by enlisting Adrian Nelson (2.03 m, 24 years old), author of a convincing rookie season in Bamberg, former fallen superpower of German basketball (11th).
Trained on position 5 between Northern Kentucky (where he rubbed shoulders with 3×3 international Paul Djoko) and Youngstown State, gaining an interesting stature during his senior season after a change of university (13.4 points to 51 %, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 interceptions), he has acclimatized to European basketball in recent months in Bavaria, switching to position 4, notably developing a 3-point shot that he did not have at all previously (0/3 in his 148 NCAA matches, 35/103 in Germany). Strong rebounder (9.96 average in 2020/21), particularly intense, rather complete attacker, the Ohio native completed his first professional experience with a record of 12.9 points at 54%, 5.9 rebounds and 1 assist for 14 ratings in 26 minutes.
His signing in Bourg-en-Bresse thus confirms one of the new recruitment trends of the Jeu since the beginning of the François Lamy – Frédéric Fauthoux era: go shopping in the Bundesliga. The German pool has already offered the JL one of the strongest players in its history with Isiaha Mike but has also served on two other occasions, with Frantz Massenat and Jeremy Morgan, another successful pick, who however refused to extend. And this would also confirm the new vocation of springboard club for the JL, which has gained notoriety thanks to its formidable run in the EuroCup: Adrian Nelson has the same profile as the other recruits Xavier Castaneda and Jordan Usher, without experience in the European Cup but eager to move up to the next level after successful first steps as a pro.
The JL Bourg squad version 2024/25:
- Hugo Benitez and Mehdy Ngouama
- Joel Ayayi, Xavier Castaneda, NJFL, Jordan Usher et Maxime Courby
- Maksim Salash, Adrian Nelson, Kevin Kokila and Jean-Marc Pansa
