Center Nenad Krstic (27 years, 212 cm) signed the contract with our club until the end of 2012-13 season. Serbian National Team captain joined CSKA after almost 7 years in NBA.
Krstic started his pro career in Partizan Belgrade earning the first round draft choice in 2002. He went overseas in 2004 and played for New Jersey for 4 seasons. Nenad started 2008-09 season in Triumph Lyubertsy, but his tint in Russia came to end in December, when he got back to America. Krstic played for Oklahoma-City until the February 2011 and was traded to Boston.
Krstic averages in NBA: 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes in 419 regular championship games, 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds in 25.2 minutes in playoff games.
Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
Nenad is a veteran player with the experience of European and American basketball. I used to meet him in the National Team games last years, I know him well for his play in Eurobaskets and World Championship. We need his experience, his strength under the basket, we need a center who can score from the distance not only from the paint. Krstic is exactly that kind of player.
Guard/forward Sammy Mejia (28 years, 197 cm) joined our team today. Dominican-American player signed 2-year contract with CSKA.
Mejia’s career has started from modest DePaul University, second round draft choice, NBDL and small European clubs. New York native was improving year-by-year statistically. Two seasons in Cholet made everyone serious about Sammy. He won the French League in his first year qualifying for the Euroleague. On second year he earned the Euroleague Game 5 MVP award and was named Foreign MVP in France.
Mejia’s averages for the last season: Euroleague – 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals in 32.4 minutes in 10 games, French regular championship – 18.0 points, 5.1 points, 4.0 assists, 1.0
33.2 minutes in 30 games, French playoffs – 18.0 points, 5.4 points, 1.8 assists, 0.8 перехвата за 32.6 minutes в 5 games.
Jonas Kazlauskas, CSKA head coach:
Mejia plays 2 and 3 positions, he is good on pick-n-roll’s, able to find the teammates, knows how to score. We needed one more player who can attack the basket himself, who can link the partners. Mejia was a best foreign player in France, and that means a lot. You know that Lietuvos Rytas signed Eidson from France one day, and many people questioned that decision. But life proved them wrong. We hope that Sammy will show himself in a big club, that he will remain as valuable and good as he was in Cholet.
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