After a 2-4 2021 season, the Aliens took an approach to team-building never before seen in the BIG3. Captain Dusan Bulut and Co-Captains Karlis Lasmanis and Tomislav Ivosev are all veterans of the FIBA 3×3 circuit, and all of them have been extremely successful at the highest level of 3-on-3 basketball that can be found internationally. Rounding out the roster were hyper-athletic big man Deshawn Stephens and swingman Adam Drexler.
The questions were obvious: Would their success carry over to FIREBALL3? Would this challenge to the status quo of the BIG3 be successful? As it turns out, the answers were yes and yes.
The team brought a level of ball movement and man movement never before seen in FIREBALL3, and it took the rest of the league a few games to catch up. Once they adjusted, the Aliens found success playing a more “traditional” brand of FIREBALL3 largely because of the stellar play of DeShawn Stephens, who had a breakout season and was one of the most impactful bigs in the league on both ends of the floor.
Coming into 2023, the team is keeping its European flavor. Stephens has gone to Tri State, and in his place will be Latvian swingman Janis Timma. BIG3 veterans Will Bynum and Tony Criswell will round out the roster.
Coach Rick Mahorn bet on this new direction last season, and he won big. This season, will the Aliens be able to make it all the way to the top of the BIG3 mountain? Time will tell.
Aliens.
After a 2-4 2021 season, the Aliens took an approach to team-building never before seen in the BIG3. Captain Dusan Bulut and Co-Captains Karlis Lasmanis and Tomislav Ivosev are all veterans of the FIBA 3×3 circuit, and all of them have been extremely successful at the highest level of 3-on-3 basketball that can be found internationally. Rounding out the roster were hyper-athletic big man Deshawn Stephens and swingman Adam Drexler.
The questions were obvious: Would their success carry over to FIREBALL3? Would this challenge to the status quo of the BIG3 be successful? As it turns out, the answers were yes and yes.
The team brought a level of ball movement and man movement never before seen in FIREBALL3, and it took the rest of the league a few games to catch up. Once they adjusted, the Aliens found success playing a more “traditional” brand of FIREBALL3 largely because of the stellar play of DeShawn Stephens, who had a breakout season and was one of the most impactful bigs in the league on both ends of the floor.
Coming into 2023, the team is keeping its European flavor. Stephens has gone to Tri State, and in his place will be Latvian swingman Janis Timma. BIG3 veterans Will Bynum and Tony Criswell will round out the roster.
Coach Rick Mahorn bet on this new direction last season, and he won big. This season, will the Aliens be able to make it all the way to the top of the BIG3 mountain? Time will tell.
