Miikka Muurinen was one of the great sensations of the last Eurobasket and his signing for Partizan raised expectations. A young man from 18 years with extraordinary physical conditions, he placed himself under the orders of Zeljko Obradovicthe most successful coach in continental basketball with nine European Cupsa specialist in bringing out the best in his players. It sounded good, but the first professional adventure of the Finnish talent is being a complete fiasco. A lost season for the great disappointment of the Euroleague.
The forward of 2.10 meters and 2.20 wingspan who at the age of 15 joined Zentro Basket, a training club in Madrid, has not adapted at all. He played little with Obradovic. After the resignation of the myth of the benches, he did not do so with the interim either. Mirko Ocokoljic. with spanish Joan Peñarroyaless. His statistics in the Euroleague are on a spectrum: six games in which he has accumulated 10:57 minutes. His best, the 3:35 he played against Kosner Baskonia.
Miikka Muurinen, tras un Partido del Partizan.
In the entire European course he has added one pointmissing his only field goal, one of the two free kicks he took and keeping to zero the column of rebounds, assists, recoveries, losses, blocks for and against… The most absolute inconsequentiality. This Friday, against Real Madrid, it would be surprising to see him.
Muurinen has the capabilities to be a top player, but you have to have a good mentality to listen, to learn…
If three different coaches do not give confidence to a player throughout the same season, it is probably not the fault of those sitting on the bench. Peñarroya gives his version: “Muurinen has the capabilities to be top. He has enormous conditions to be a great basketball player, but that is not enough. “With highlights you don’t become a player.”.
viral dunks
The Spanish technician refers to the brutal dunks that the Finn left during the Eurobasketactions that went viral and elevated the young man long before his time. With your selection, Despite being the youngest player in the tournament, he did have more relevance in Finland’s fourth place. He played eight games with 11.1 minutes on the track, 6.6 points and as many rating credits.
Miikka Muurinen prepares to make a dunk in the game against Great Britain.
Peñarroya, in words to Mondo.rs, delves into Muurinen’s game and assures that “he has not played professionally and does not know the game at a tactical level. Playing in the Euroleague is difficult. There are NBA players who don’t adapt. You have to have a good mentality to listen, to learn… To improve, a young player is going to make mistakes, but those things are accepted if you train one hundred percent. “There is a part of basketball that he is not understanding right now.”.
Professionalism in question
The professionalism of the Finnish prodigy is in question. The Serbian press published a significant event weeks ago. After having played little all season, Muurinen was set to get minutes in an ABA game due to an injury to teammate Aleksei Pokusevski. Finally, it was discarded. A tattoo shop account had posted a recent photo of him getting one. Playing (and sweating) shortly after getting a tattoo is counterproductive.
I’m not here to wait for a guy who is thinking about returning to the United States. I am here for Partizan to play well
The forward signed for Partizan for three seasons, although it was already assumed that he would not fulfill his contract. In the NCAA, where they offered him millions, they were raffling it off: Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky… And there, or even in the NBA, is where he has his sights set.according to Peñarroya. “I think that He is thinking about returning to the United States and I am not here to wait for a boy who is thinking about that. “I’m here for Partizan to play well.”.
date: 2026-02-12 01:45:00