After opening the season with Italian club Brescia Leonessa, former Wildcat center Dusan Ristic will finish it with Avtodor Saratov in the VTB United League, the same league of mostly Russian teams that Ristic played in last season while with BC Astana of Kazakhstan.
Ristic signed a three-year deal with the Red Star in Belgrade, Serbia after leaving UA in 2018 but the Serbian club loaned him to Astana last season and he said last summer that Brescia bought out the final year of his contract.
However, Ristic said via WhatsApp on Wednesday that a coaching change in Brescia led to new signings that would have limited his playing time. He said his agent presented an offer from Saratov that he accepted a few days earlier.
Ristic will leave Brescia on a roll. He had 21 points, six rebounds and a block against Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna last Saturday while averaging 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds overall in Serie A, the top level of Italian basketball. He also averaged 9.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocks over 10 Eurocup games.
Avtodor coach Gordy Herbert said in a news release that he was glad to have a player of Ristic's caliber.
"This is a skilled European center who successfully played in the VTB League for Astana last year," Herbert said. "I believe that he has the potential to help us become stronger and add on offense (inside) and rebounds. The most important thing is that Dusan really wants to come and play for Avtodor, and he has great motivation. "
