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The newest production in the Insider Documentary Series created by Euroleague Basketball tracks the personal and professional journeys of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague stars Toko Shengelia and Mike James. As the title attests, the two have "Crossed Paths" on multiple occasions. The film follows CSKA Moscow's 2020-21 EuroLeague season, with Shengelia and James among the team’s stars.

Euroleague Basketball documentary: "Crossed Paths"

Shengelia takes viewers back to his roots in Georgia and shares the path that ultimately took him to Moscow. Along the way family members, childhood friends and current and former teammates and coaches are interviewed to reveal more about Shengelia and his background.

“For me, religion, my country and my family are the three important things in my life,” Shengelia attested. “Believing in God is a way of life for me. I have felt his blessings ever since I was a little kid and ever since then I have felt that God is in my life every day.”

James too sheds light on his childhood in Portland, USA, and his on- and off-court personalities.

“I think I’m a totally different person off the court thank I am on the court. I think off the court I mostly just joke around all day, singing, laughing making fun of people. That’s basically who I am 93 percent of the day," James described himself. “I think in the games a little bit more calm. Sometimes I’m a little bit too emotional."

CSKA signed James in the summer of 2019. The following year, Shengelia joined the team, thus reuniting the pair four years after they had helped Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz reach the 2016 Final Four.

"That was defiantly a special team and it was special to be a part of it. I still keep in touch with a lot of those guys, which still shows how close we are,” James said of that squad.

"I am a big believer in chemistry. We had a group of people that was great people, hard workers, fighters and hungry people. So I believe that this is the ingredient for success," added Shengelia.

Both Shengelia and James are former All-EuroLeague selections and are considered to be among the most talented players in the competition, in no small part due to their work ethics.

"The work ethic is the reason I am where I am right now. This is something I would say is my talent,” Shengelia said. “If you are not working hard, if you are not working more than other people, you are just going to be the same level as anybody else. So if you want to be better than someone, I believe that you have to work harder than anybody in the room."

All the signs pointed towards CSKA model 2020-21 having all the ingredients to go far, just like the last time Shengelia and James had crossed paths. Indeed, despite the struggles of a difficult season, they had CSKA aiming high, but the ending was not at all as the two had expected.

"Crossed Paths" is the latest film in the Insider Documentary Series, which captures the intimacy behind the EuroLeague spotlights and provides full access to the protagonists and the people who know them best.

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ratiopharm Ulm will not lack offensive firepower this season. Get to know the players that Coach Lakovic will rely on to lead his team.

Roster rundown: ratiopharm Ulm

Playing in the competition for the seventh season in a row, ratiopharm Ulm approaches the new 7DAYS EuroCup campaign with ambitions raised. A decade removed from playing in the EuroCup Quarterfinals, Ulm has not finished with a winning record in any of the last six seasons, but is looking to end that negative streak. After rebuilding its roster to be more versatile and offensively potent, Ulm is poised to make a splash in the 2021-22 season.

### BACKCOURT

Ulm's offense will depend a great deal on playmaker Semaj Christon who will be responsible for a lot of scoring, but also for finding his teammates. Christon will be the motor of this offense, though Coach Jaka Lakovic may choose to play often with two point guards. In that scenario, Thomas Klepeisz should play a lot of minutes alongside Christon. Club legend Per Guenther, who announced he is playing his final professional season, will give Ulm a lot of depth at the position. Another go-to guy on the perimeter is swingman Justin Simon, who is not only dangerous offensively, especially attacking the rim, but is also an aggressive defender. One of Europe's biggest teenage talents, 18-year-old Fedor Zugic will look for extended playing time to showcase his great talent, and if he manages to do so, Ulm will have an impressive array of offensive backcourt weapons. Karim Jallow will provide depth as another perimeter player capable of scoring, while playmaker Marius Stoll will look to use any opportunity he can get to gain valuable experience.

### FRONTCOURT

The anchor in Ulm's paint is center Cristiano Felicio. An imposing inside presence and experience of playing at the elite level will make Felicio a matchup problem for any team this season. Jaron Blossomgame is one of Ulm's x-factors as someone who can cover both forward positions. Philipp Herkenhoof is more of a classic stretch-four who will be valuable for Ulm with his ability to spread the floor. Christoph Philipps is not as tall and is less of a downtown threat, but a homegrown forward who is the second longest-tenured player on Ulm's roster and has the strength and hustle that benefits the team. Center Nicolas Bretzel will be coming off the bench behind Felicio, while power forwards Moritz Krimmer and Nat-Sidi Diallo will provide more depth while gaining much-needed experience.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Small forward Jaron Blossomgame figures to be one of the key players for Ulm on both ends of the floor. A small forward by vocation, Blossomgame can play both forward positions and will do so, depending on whether Coach Lakovic wants to play with a big or a small lineup. A dangerous scorer and a great rebounder, Blossomgame troubles opposing defenses, while defensively he has the muscle to battle against bigger players as well as the speed and athleticism to run with the smaller guys. Blossomgame's versatility and production will guarantee him plenty of minutes as one of the key players for Ulm this season.

### OUTLOOK

Ulm will not lack offensive firepower this season. With talents like Christon, Blossomgame and Felicio being able to score in bunches, and surrounded by the likes of Klepeisz and Simon, Coach Lakovic's team will find ways to score often. What should be Ulm's advantage is the versatility of some of its aforementioned key players, who are used to playing multiple positions. In addition, the team has a lot of size and that is something that should play to its advantage. Preseason performances that saw the team battle it out against continental champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul and thrash Partizan NIS Belgrade, before beating FC Bayern Munich in the German League, just show how dangerous Ulm can be and the club is poised to finally win more than what it losses this EuroCup season.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna reached an agreement with swingman Isaia Cordinier to work together until the end of the 2022-23 season, the club announced Wednesday. 

Virtus adds All-EuroCup swingman Cordinier

Cordinier (1.97 meters, 24 years old) arrives from Nanterre 92 and was chosen to the 2020-21 All-EuroCup First Team. He ranked second in average PIR with 19.4 per game. Cordinier finished the season as the competition leader in minutes played, averaging 33:57 per game. He was also tied for sixth this season in steals (1.7 spg.) and ranked eighth in the EuroCup in scoring (15.8 ppg.) while making 44.9% of his shots from long range and shooting 56.8% on two-pointers. He also averaged 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 13 games. Cordinier started his career with Olympique Antibes and played for two other French teams, ALM Evreux Basket and Denain ASC Voltaire, before joining Nanterre in 2019. He has also been a member of the French national team.

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar comes into the season once again with lofty expectations of going deep in the 7DAYS EuroCup. The 2013 champion and 2018 runner-up bounced back last season to reach the quarterfinals – where it fell to UNICS Kazan – after having failed to advance from the regular season in 2019-20 for the first time in seven seasons in the competition. Coach Evgeniy Pashutin is back at the helm and has a loaded roster that will give sleepless nights to opposing teams.


Roster rundown: Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar comes into the season once again with lofty expectations of going deep in the 7DAYS EuroCup. The 2013 champion and 2018 runner-up bounced back last season to reach the quarterfinals – where it fell to UNICS Kazan – after having failed to advance from the regular season in 2019-20 for the first time in seven seasons in the competition. Coach Evgeniy Pashutin is back at the helm and has a loaded roster that will give sleepless nights to opposing teams.

### BACKCOURT
The backcourt features one of the EuroCup’s all-time bests as Errick McCollum joins Lokomotiv from fellow Russian side Khimki Moscow Region. The 33-year-old McCollum is a former EuroCup champion and MVP – in 2016 with Galatasaray Istanbul – and ranks fourth on the all-time EuroCup scoring charts. The main point guard duties will be handled by Darius Thompson, who will be making his EuroCup debut after he helped Italian club Happy Casa Brindisi to new heights last season. The backcourt includes another former EuroCup champ in Stanton Kidd, who won the title with Darussfaka Istanbul in 2018. The heady Kidd provides Pashutin with a reliable scoring option and tough defensive presence on the wings. Small forward Stanislav Ilnitskiy is back for his fifth straight season with the club and coming off his most productive campaign yet. Zakhar Vedishchev is a product of the youth system – and the son of team president Andrey Vedishchev – who rejoined the team this summer after a season of college basketball in the United States. After some time away on loan, Sasha Shcherbenev returns to play a bigger role as a scorer off the bench. Promising Vladislav Emchenko, a 20-year-old point guard whom the club signed on a five-year contract, will get chances, too. The 34-year-old Ivan Paunic is also back to provide experience and toughness where needed.

### FRONTCOURT
There is plenty of punch in Lokomotiv’s frontcourt as well. Greg Whittington will likely be the starting power forward as he returns to Europe after playing in the NBA last season. Whittington will look to build on his strong EuroCup debut in 2019-20 with Galatasaray Istanbul, for which he scored 12.5 points on 48.4% three-point shooting and was among the top 10 in the league with 6.4 rebounds per game. Johnathan Motley brings his elite athleticism to the center spot after he finished top-five in scoring, rebounds and blocks in South Korea last season. Lokomotiv will be excited to welcome back star big man Alan Williams, who was leading the EuroCup in rebounding with 9.4 boards per game last season when he suffered a season-ending knee injury, when he completes his recovery. Veteran forward Vladislav Trushkin is back in the EuroCup after playing last season in the EuroLeague with Zenit St Petersburg. Pashutin also has some young Russian frontcourt players to call upon. Center Andrei Martiuk, 21, started seven games last season. Another home-grown center, 20-year-old Valerii Kalinov, signed a deal with the team until 2025. Kalinov debuted in the EuroCup last season. Forward Sergei Dolinin, 21, has been a part of the extended roster for the past two seasons.

### PLAYER TO WATCH
With all the weapons on this Lokomotiv roster, the key to the season may be Darius Thompson, who will be pulling the strings as the point guard. Thompson helped Brindisi reach the Italian League semifinals for the first time in club history and that came after the team finished a club-best second in the league during the regular season. Thompson also helped Brindisi reach the second group phase of the Basketball Champions League and earned All-BCL Second Team honors. After leading the Dutch League in scoring in 2018-19 with ZZ Leiden - and being named league MVP - Thompson has shown his all-around game, leading the Italian League in steals and finishing third in assists last season. Now in his fourth professional season, Thompson has the keys to a EuroCup powerhouse.

### OUTLOOK
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar must be considered a title contender every season in the EuroCup – if nothing else because of its past history in the competition. But Pashutin has supreme talent all over his roster and significant depth as well. Lokomotiv also has proven winners and will be out to finally add another EuroCup crown to its trophy from 2013.

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar comes into the season once again with lofty expectations of going deep in the 7DAYS EuroCup. 

After coming up short in the 7DAYS EuroCup Semifinals last season, Virtus Segafredo Bologna starts afresh with big goals for 2021-22. There will be a new legendary figure on the sidelines in head coach Sergio Scariolo, who himself makes his return to European club coaching for the first time since 2013-14 with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Scariolo, who led Spain to the gold at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, will have plenty of weapons at his disposal and the club must be considered a favorite for the EuroCup crown.

### BACKCOURT

Scariolo has an embarrassment of riches and his backcourt troops will allow him to do a lot of things style-wise. Milos Teodosic is back and, as always, will set up people - even if they don’t realize they are being set up. The club made a big splash in the backcourt with the addition of Italian national team player Nico Mannion, who will be playing in Europe for the first time. However, Mannion may miss the start of the season. Virtus made major headlines last season when it added Marco Belinelli, and the veteran is back as team captain - and scoring ace to go to whenever the team needs a basket. Shooting guard Ty-Shon Alexander will make his European debut as another serious scoring weapon for the Virtus attack. The backcourt also features Alessandro Pajola, who is an absolute menace on defense. His 4.72 steals per 40 minutes last season was tops in the EuroCup. Point guard Michele Ruzzier and shooting guard Marco Cerron complete the incredibly deep backcourt rotation.

### FRONTCOURT

The team’s frontcourt is also loaded despite the injuries to former All-EuroLeague First Team selection Ekpe Udoh and small forward Awudu Abass. Power forward Kevin Hervey showed last season what he can do in his European debut, helping Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar reach the EuroCup quarterfinals. French big man Mouhammadou Jaiteh led the Turkish league in rebounding last season with Gaziantep Basketbol and will look to dominate the glass in the EuroCup. Amedeo Tessitori and Amar Alibegovic are back to help patrol the proceedings around the basket. Jakarr Sampson was the latest addition. The aggressive big man will make his EuroCup debut after playing parts of six seasons in the NBA. With Abass sidelined, Kyle Weems, who doesn’t seem to be slowing down at 32 years of age, will play most of the minutes at small forward, though it is only natural to expect Virtus to use some three-guard lineups, too.

### PLAYER TO WATCH

Virtus surprised many observers when it announced the signing of Nico Mannion, who shined for Italy at the 2020 Olympics. Mannion will make his debut in Italy, where his father Pace Mannion played for many years and helped Cantu to the 1991 Korac Cup title. After a virus sidelined him for training camp and Mannion lost some weight, he will have an uphill climb to get back to top form. Even then, Mannion might have some early stumbles as he gets used to the European style. But the guard should thrive with his dynamic game - featuring a lethal drive to the basket and ability to finish above the rim. Also working day in, day out with the likes of Milos Teodosic and Marco Belinelli will do wonders for his understanding of the game and his place in the offense. When he gets going, Mannion may be one of the most exciting players to watch this season in the EuroCup.

### OUTLOOK

It’s hard not to think that the mindset for Virtus entering the season is championship - and getting the storied club back to the EuroLeague – or bust. New head coach Sergio Scariolo knows how to win and the likes of Teodosic, Belinelli and Mannion definitely give Virtus the weapons to get it done. This team has loads of offensive firepower and it will be up to the defense to deliver when it matters most. But it seems like a certainty that the club will have a say in who wins the trophy.

Roster rundown: Virtus Segafredo Bologna

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