Cole Swider was efficient, confident, and exactly what Anadolu Efes wanted when they signed him this summer. Emmet Ryan on how the Euroleague rookie impressed mightily in a breakout game against Olympiacos
It’s doing the simple stuff right that so many new arrivals to Europe struggle with. The environment and style of play is obviously different but so too are the on-floor expectations. In 14 minutes against Olympiacos on Tuesday night, Cole Swider cleared that bar with flying colours.
Before even looking at the boxscore, it was clear that the Euroleague rookie recognised what Anadolu Efes wanted from him. Considering how early it is for him in his maiden season on this side of the Atlantic, the signs are really promising.
Fundamentally smart
Efficiency was at the core of Cole Swider’s performance on Tuesday night. His 20 points came on 6 of 10 shooting from the field while managing to snag 3 rebounds in the process. Relatively speaking, he was quiet off the ball but he was also competent.
At this stage of the season, getting a 0 turnover game from him even without any assists is a plus. Getting a 20 point performance from him off the bench is frankly huge. The smarts of Swider could be summed up in one play in the third quarter.
A fast break slowed slightly, Swider got the ball from PJ Dozier on the left side. Gathering the ball led to both he and Kostas Papanikolaou having to adjust their footing. The Olympiacos man lost his and hit the deck. Swider, realising the look was wrong, passed back to Dozier then quickly set himself. Dozier returned the ball and Swider hit paydirt. It’s about the 4.40 mark in the video below.
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A quick learner
The bulk of Swider’s pro ball has been played in the G League. That can develop all kinds of bad habits for players looking to switch to Europe. It’s not a knock on the G League, it’s asking different things of players.
Players that make the switch have to get used to being less focused on volume shooting, looser play, and the touches they get. The game is tighter here. Like Sir’Jabari Rice at ERA Nymburk, Swider appears to have recognised the adjustments required quickly.
Part of the credit surely goes to his last stint in the NBA. With the Toronto Raptors, Swider had to play a more Euro-style of ball to get on the floor. While he only appeared for them 8 times, clearly learned the job of not being the first option better than anywhere else.
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The ceiling is very high
Considering that Swider played a total of 6 minutes in Euroleague prior to Tuesday’s win over Olympiacos, both he and Anadolu Efes fans should feel really good. He’s not troubling Igor Kokoskov’s final minutes line-up yet but Swider might well be soon.
This is a team with excellent ball handlers so knowing that Shane Larkin, PJ Dozier, Isaia Cordinier, or Rodrigue Beaubois will be feeding him is a huge upside. Efes took a mild risk this summer signing both him and Kai Jones. Adjusting two players to the style over here after NBA focused career arcs is a big ask. So far, likely because of Kokoskov’s experience on both sides of the pond, it’s working very well.
At the top end of basketball in Europe, there will always be a demand for a player that offers why Swider showed on Tuesday night. He didn’t need the ball to always come his way nor did he shirk it. The heavy focus on efficiency coupled with solid ball security could plug him into the top tier here for the next decade if he maintains his focus.
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