Meet Arizona Basketball's International Stars, 'EuroCon'

The game of basketball has certainly progressed the past few decades, and as Arizona Basketball has gone more international, we have now found our ‘EuroCon.’

Basketball is becoming more of an international sport, and as we’re witnessing this season, the overseas have come all the way to the desert, forming our very own ‘EuroCon.’

If you haven’t been paying attention much, something very special is happening in Tucson. Amidst the rather unfortunate start to the season, especially from an injury standpoint, the Arizona Wildcats are still playing well, due in large part to a few people.

Arizona has been reliant upon a few of their freshmen so far, but perhaps none have been more instrumental than Finnish big-man, Lauri Markkanen. Through nine games, he is averaging nearly 18 points per game, to go along with just over seven rebounds.

Certainly an impressive start for a kid who many did not know too much about, entering into his college career.

In addition to Markkanen, the junior big-man Dusan Ristic from Serbia has also been a pleasant surprise, as he has seemingly been much improved over his past two seasons with the Wildcats. Also through nine games, Ristic is averaging nearly ten points and just over six rebounds.

That sort of production has increased this year from Ristic, and especially as of recent as the Wildcats are still without Allonzo Trier, and now Parker Jackson-Cartwright as well. In fact, through his last three games, Ristic is averaging just over 13 points and seven rebounds per game.

Tuesday night, the tandem displayed their dominance, as the two aptly named themselves as ‘EuroCon’ (The European Connection) combined for 36 points on 15 of 21 shooting (71 percent). Additionally, the ‘EuroCon’ grabbed 14 rebounds.

Post-game #UCIvsAZ #EuroCon Ristic & Markkaneen, the European Connection join @uaryno https://t.co/9bUVl79JE0 #EuroCon #APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/qeVqcvweBH

— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) December 7, 2016

Their performance on Tuesday, of course, paced the Wildcats to a resounding 79-57 victory over visiting UC Irvine. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 7-2 on the season and got this win on the heels of a heartbreaking loss to Top-10 ranked Gonzaga.

Dec 3, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Lauri Markkanen (10) blocks a shot by Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Killian Tillie (33) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

That kind of production is going to be needed and is greatly welcomed from these two and is extra necessary so long as Trier is still out. On top of that Kadeem Allen is taking over PJC’s duties while he is still recovering from his high ankle sprain.

Arizona is off to a decent start so far this year, and these two have been a big part of the Wildcats’ early success.

The early emergence of Markkanen and the consistent development from Ristic has shown the amount of growth that has happened in International basketball, and Arizona has certainly been no stranger to foreign players.

Dusan’s current ranking for 2016 per DraftExpress:

Lauri’s current ranking for 2016 per DraftExpress:

Even since the Lute days, we have seen some of our fair share international players, and it seems head coach Sean Miller is looking to tap into the talent pool as well.

Over the years, the Wildcats have seen players like; Ivan Radenovic, Kyryl Natyazhko, Daniel Dillon and Mohamed Tangara among others.

It is worth noting; Arizona has three international players currently on their roster. Markkanen and Ristic are of course the most notable, but Keanu Pinder has been a solid role player for the Cats as well.

Pinder who hails from Perth, Australia, is averaging just over four points and four rebounds per game for the Wildcats so far, but it’s his defensive presence that has helped the Wildcats win seven games coming off the bench. He was recruited out of Hutchinson Community College in Kansas (Kadeem Allen’s alma mater coincidentally) and appears to be exactly what Miller recruited him for, high energy, high effort guy who comes in when the Wildcats need a bit the of that spark.

At Zona Zealots, we are pleasantly surprised to see the emergence of our two big men, and are excited to see their increased production! We love the integration of international players here in Tucson and certainly welcome it as well! We are witnessing the birth of EUROCON, BearDown, Arizona!