ROBERTO VERCELLINO IN NCAA, A NORTHERN COLORADO
La Virtus perde anche Roberto Vercellino. L'ala classe 1997 ha scelto di andare a giocare la prossima stagione NCAA con l'università di Nothern Colorado. L'annuncio è stato dato dal coach di Northern Colorado, Jeff Linder, in conferenza stampa.
Si tratta quindi di un altro giocatore che esce dall'orbita bianconera, dato che in casi come questo la società non può fare molto per trattenere il giocatore.
Ecco il comunicato ufficiale dell'università americana.
GREELEY, Colo. – Men's basketball head coach, Jeff Linder stated in his introductory press conference that the coaching staff would, "go fishing in some different ponds" to find future recruits. He proved that statement to be true with the signing of Roberto Vercellino, who comes to UNC from Torino, Italy.
Vercellino is the third overseas player to sign with the Bears this offseason, joining Kai Edwards (Netherlands) and Kyle Carey (England).
He is currently playing as an amateur on the Virtus Bologna team in the Lega Basket Serie A league. As an amateur, Vercellino is not on contract and can play on Virtus Bologna's U18 team, as well as the professional team.
"We're thrilled to have Roberto join the Bears family after a successful career so far in Italy," Linder said. "Roberto has had ample experience playing at a very high level with the Italian National Team for several years, and with his club in Bologna. He is a highly skilled forward that can do a little bit of everything offensively with his ability to shoot, pass, and dribble. We're very fortunate to add a player of Roberto's caliber and we're excited to have him in our program."
Vercellino stands 6'7" and weighs in at 210 pounds. He primarily has played the small forward position in all of his stops in Italy.
In 2013-14, Vercellino was placed on the U17 Italian Nation Team, ranking him as one of the Top 12 players in the entire country in his age division.
The team qualified for the FIBA World Championships that year and Vercellino helped Italy go 2-1 in Group C, defeated the United Arab Emirates and Spain. The team fell to Puerto Rico in the opening round robin games.
Italy moved out of the opening round and made it all the way to the Round of 16, where they eventually lost to China, 79-67, but finished strong, winning its last three games of the tournament to come in ninth place overall, beating Argentina 66-62.
Vercellino played for the U17 and U18 Italian National Team from 2012-15, before joining the professional ranks as an amateur.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Ranked Top 12 best players in Italy in his age group
Led Italy to a ninth place finish in 2014 FIBA World Championships
Plays as an amateur on Virtus Bologna professional team
Roberto is the son of Marco and Patricia Vercellino. He is still undecided about his major at Northern Colorado.