3-Pointers

1) Sam Iorio was a relative unknown last season when he joined Hapoel Beer Sheva and that continued into this year as well as the naturalized American received very few minutes to show his wares on the basketball courts across Israel.

The 26-year old Iorio attended a trio of colleges from American University to South Alabama and finally Niagara where he spent his final two years of college eligibility and began to make his mark as a power forward averaging roughly 8 points and 6 boards a game.

In the summer of 2022, Iorio was part of the United States Maccabiah team coached by Doug Gottlieb that took home the gold medal where he had plenty of Israeli basketball eyes on him which led to him inking a deal with Beer Sheva following his last year with Niagara.

“Sam is a very talented and versatile scorer,” Gottlieb said of Iorio after joining Beer Sheva. “He is an incredibly passionate young man who loves his team and teammates, he works incredibly hard at his craft and his intense focus on basketball is virtually unmatched. Sam Iorio will be very productive in Israel.

Daniel Ravitz, the club’s sporting director said at the time of his signing, “Sam has the potential to develop into a very good domestic player in Israel. We are very happy that we were able to sign him on a long-term contract and we are sure that all parties will benefit from this.”

Under the southern reds previous head coach Oren Aharoni, the 6”7 Iorio was given a small role which saw him play about 10 minutes per game in 13 contests while averaging just 1.5 points. That continued into this campaign as he played way under 10 minutes per game until Rami Hadar, who had been coaching in Kosovo over the past few years returned to take over the reins of the club he had become synonymous with between 2018-2022.

With the return of one of Israeli basketball’s veteran tacticians, Iorio’s playing time started to soar to the tune of just over 20 minutes per game while scoring 13 points in each of his last two games while giving Hadar and his squad solid defense and drive from the beginning to end of each matchup.

“When I came here, Sam was in his second season with the team,” Hadar began. “He didn’t play much. First of all, when I arrived, other than Sam, there weren’t any power forwards on the team. The first thing I did was try him out and give him a chance to play and I wasn’t disappointed. Sam has progressed, he is a professional, always plays hard, puts in effort and can shoot as well. He also knows how to switch on defense, especially on the pick and roll, which is rare for big men to be able to do. Overall, I am really enjoy coaching him.”

After Beer Sheva’s last game, Iorio, who scored 13 points against Maccabi Tel Aviv spoke about the trust Hadar has put in him, “I appreciate that he has faith in me and he demands a standard. When you’re held to that standard and push yourself everyday there is no choice but to be better. I am trusting the process and we have a great group of guys and we have a great staff.”

“You’ve got to just trust that process,” Iorio continued. “We have to try to stay the course and we have a great team that is coming together, we are figuring it out and we have been figuring it out. I’m here to do whatever I can do to help and share my influence while helping the team win.”

Over the years, Hapoel Beer Sheva has featured a number of former Maccabiah participants, including Spencer Weisz who has been playing in Israel since featuring for the United States gold medal team back in 2017. Iorio, is yet another Maccabiah graduate that has a chance to carve out a significant career in the Holy Land and that is also true for future participants with the next group slated to play this summer in Israel.

“It’s exciting and that was something that I was hesitant to do,” Iorio explained about playing in the Maccabiah. “I was kind of talked into doing it and it was one of the best decisions of my life. It’s a great experience first and foremost and anything beyond that is just extra. The two years that I did it were some of the best memories that I have and some of the most special relationships that I have. It’s kind of crazy how close you can get to the guys in 2 weeks to a month. It’s definitely a great experience and I think that no matter what it was really worth it.”

There is no doubt that the Allentown, Pennsylvania native didn’t know what was in store when he played in the 2019 Budapest Maccabiah and then the big games back in Israel in 2022. But what is clear is that he is starting to make a real impact in Israel and is seeing his professional career taking off thanks to his hard work, dedication as well as getting the chance to show what he can truly do once Rami Hadar was back in the saddle.

Next up for Iorio and Beer Sheva is yet another tough challenge in Hapoel Tel Aviv to mark back-to-back games against the country’s finest. But if last game was any indication, Iorio will once again rise to the occasion as he did this past week against Maccabi Tel Aviv as he continues to develop into a true blue Israeli hoopster.

2) Gur Lavie is developing into one helluva Israeli hoopster as he keeps piling up the numbers with Hapoel Gilboa Galil. All season long, the forward has been starring for the Sharon Avrahami’s team and has surprised many with his play, but what is even more impressive now is how he is also benefitting from the play of point guard Niv Misgav who joined the team a couple of months ago.

Lavie, is scoring 16.1 points and grabbing 7.8 rebounds per game to go along with 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals as he is blowing away the competition for Israeli player of the season. It’s not even close as he has an efficiency rating of 20.6 and the next player is Lukas Goldenberg with 15.3.
Prior to joining Gilboa Galil, Lavie played for three seasons with Hapoel Haifa and last year averaged less than half of the points he is scoring this year. And get this, he is only 23 years old!

It’s been quite some time that a player like Lavie took these types of steps in the top league, but yet he had done just that. This past week of games saw him score 26 points in a road win at his former club and he is just getting better and better by the game.

It’s amazing to see how good Lavie is and how he is developing so nicely under Avrahami who believes that he can make it to the top level of Israeli basketball.

“I really believe in Gur and that within two seasons he can make it to one of the big teams. He’s very smart and makes good decisions. Of course, he has where to improve but he is having a wonderful season and I really believe that he can be a leading player on the Israel National Team.”

Interestingly enough, Avrahami compares Lavie to not only one of country’s best players but also to the Israel National Team captain while also not wanting him to rush into one of the bigger teams where if he would make a mistake that would cost him playing time.

“I had the privilege to coach Tomer Ginat and brought him to Hapoel Tel Aviv from Kiryat Ata and Gur within two years can be a top player on a big team but it’s important for him to do that and not go to a big team just to go because he can make a mistake and then not play.”

Avrahami also spoke about how Lavie can benefit by playing with a point guard like Niv Misgav and added how for the first time he’s doing something new.

“The combination with Niv is excellent. He’s a point guard with the highest IQ in the league and he will make Gur better as well as Ben Moore. Gur is in a good spot right now and is also playing the small forward position for the first time in his career and he’s starting games at the 3 which is yet another aspect that he is improving on.”

3) Gotta give Netanya a HUGE amount of credit for their big road win on Kyler Edwards last second heave to down Bnei Herzliya. Forget about the actual basket which was phenomenal and super exciting, but look at how Idan Avshalom’s team fought tooth and nail to take the win.

It looked like Netanya was headed for another loss as they were down quickly 32-18 after the opening quarter, but very quickly, Bryce Washington, Itay Moskovitz and Kyler Edwards came storming back with a 34-16 quarter of their own to take a 52-48 lead at halftime. Washington ended fouling out early on in the second half and Carlos Marshall was injured, but no matter, Moskovitz and Edwards just out willed and outplayed Yehu Orland’s team in a loss that left the bench boss shaking his head and one could see that he was not happy after his players didn’t foul after he had asked them to.

Herzliya has had its ups and downs this season, beating Holon last week in the Cup was an up whole falling here was a down as was the loss to Ramat Gan earlier in the month on the road. There is some inconsistency that Orland is trying to work through without a question with his players and when they are all on board they are unstoppable, however, that hasn’t been the case.

For Netanya, a 4th win moves them above the red line just ahead of Kiryat Ata and for Avshalom that is what is most important right now; wins are the name of the game and he knows he needs a bunch to stay in the league with a superb arena.

Loose Balls

Hapoel Tel Aviv & Kiryat Ata – You don’t want to see the off-court extracurricular activities that took place in Kiryat Ata where both the visiting coach Dimitrios Itoudis and the host’s bench boss were “sent to the showers” after picking up second technicals. In truth, both were managing the game from the tunnel to the locker-rooms, sending messages to their respective benches via phone or messenger. It was pathetic in fact. The referee crew that was in charge of this game was weak to say the least and that was the sentiment around the league for a game that needed a bit more authority. Hopefully next time the Basketball Association will make better assignments especially for this type of game that needed it.

Hapoel Jerusalem – Khadeen Carrington has really turned it on the past month as the naturalized Israeli has been superb scoring 21, 26 and 17 points in three league games in January. When he was asked by The Sports Rabbi’s Moshe Halickman if he is the best Israeli in the league, he responded very concisely, “That’s for you to decide.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv – It’s no secret that the Yellow & Blue have struggled in Europe this season, but one player who has really found his spot in continental competition is Levi Randolph. After many years as a professional, the Alabama product is in his first season in the Euroleague and he has not looked out of place whatsoever. Following Maccabi’s win at Beer Sheva, Randolph was asked what his thoughts are extending his contract with the club by TSR’s Moshe Halickman to which he said, “I feel very comfortable and I’ve been in Israel for three years. I feel like I am part of the culture and I feel very welcome at Maccabi and I appreciate that. I’m not young but I’m also not old and I have a lot that I can show and help out the team with.”

Hapoel Holon – This is has not been a kind couple of weeks for the Purples, being ousted from both the Israel State Cup and the Basketball Champions League plus seeing head coach Guy Goodes and the club parting ways leaving Guy Kaplan in charge. What could go wrong, went wrong for Holon and their supporters. Add to that a loss to Hapoel Jerusalem in Kaplan’s first game as the team’s bench boss and well, it couldn’t have been any worse. After the defeat at the hands of Jerusalem, Netanel Artzi sat at the podium and spoke about Goodes’s departure as if he had lost his best friend, it was heartbreaking actually. But he was able to put it together and say something that will no doubt resonate with every purple fan, “Holon has not said the last word.” Amen.

3 Stars