Maccabi has signed the Power Forward/Center Diamon Simpson to its EuroLeague roster. Coach Ainars Bagatskis: “He can help us where we are weak: in the painted area”
Simpson has been a good scorer around the basket, great rebounder and shot-blocker throughout his career. “He’s not here to save us but to help us”, said coach Ainars Bagatskis, “He can help in the paint with rebounds and being a boss under the baskets. He’s motivated and wants to do the next step in basketball. He’s here for the Euroleague and later on, depending on the situation with Quincy Miller’s injury, we’ll decide about him in the Israeli league”.
Simpson arrives from Czech club CEZ Nymburk, where he averaged 8.5 points on 60.9% shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks over 14 games this season. He has previously played three seasons in Israel, two with Nes Ziona and one with Maccabi Ashdod. Simpson ranked fourth in the Israeli League in scoring in the 2013-14 season with 16.8 points per game for Nes Ziona. He has also played for Estudiantes Madrid in Spain, Adelaide in Australia, Turk Telekom Ankara in Turkey and Alaska in the Philippines. Before turning pro, the California native attended the Saint Mary’s College of California and played for the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the NCAA’s West Coast Conference (WCC) between 2005 and 2009.
