Milwaukee Bucks: Achille Polonara joins Summer League team
By Adam McGee
Italian international forward Achille Polonara will reportedly play for the Milwaukee Bucks at Las Vegas Summer League in July.
Although most of the news surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks at the moment is focusing on Thursday’s NBA Draft, we’re just under three weeks until a team takes to the court again representing the franchise.
With the release of the schedule for Las Vegas Summer League last week, we were all reminded of that event’s proximity, and hot on the heels of that, we now have the first news of a player who could be suiting up for the Bucks at that tournament.
Early on Wednesday morning, European basketball site Sportando reported that Lega Basket Serie A forward Achille Polonara will join the Bucks for Summer League.
Italian power forward Achille Polonara will play the NBA Summer League with the Milwaukee Bucks, per source
— Sportando (@Sportando) June 21, 2017
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According to an article that followed shortly after that tweet, E. Carchia noted Polonara was scouted “by the Bucks in March and April and he has been invited to USA for a week of workouts and for the Summer League.”
So, who exactly is Polonara?
A native of Ancona, Italy, Polonara is a 25-year-old combo forward who has been playing professionally in Italy’s top division since the 2011-12 season.
Polonara measures in at 6’7″, which would likely make him more of a small forward if he was ever to have a more extended NBA opportunity, and boasts a well-rounded skill-set that could certainly make him an intriguing talent.
Polonara has been a member of the Italian national squad over the past three years for EuroBasket qualification, EuroBasket, and Olympic qualification respectively. He also was named to the EuroBasket.com Italian Serie A All-Defensive Team in both 2015 and 2016.
Most recently, Polonara signed with Dinamo Sassari, having spent three seasons including the one that recently concluded with fellow Serie A club Pallacanestro Reggiana.
Between a combined 35 games in the League and Cup, Polonara averaged 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks, while shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from deep (on 3.8 triple attempts per game), and 55.8 percent from the free throw line.
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At the very least, Polonara seems like an interesting Summer League addition who is a little bit more adventurous than some of the Bucks’ picks for that spot in years past.
*H/T to Gábor Szabó*