One of the most dominant big men in European basketball switched Eurocup teams on Friday, when Besiktas Cola Turka announced that center Mario Austin inked a one-year deal with his new club. Austin (206, 26) arrives from Benetton Treviso, wher he averaged 14 points and 6.7 rebounds in 12 ULEB Cup games last season. He was the ULEB Cup MVP in the 2005-06 season, averaging 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 14 games playing for Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem. Austin is the all-time best defensive rebounder (241) and ranks third in total boards (345) in Europe's second club competition. He has also played for Lauretana Biella in Italy and the Jackson Rage in the WBA. Austin helped Hapoel to win the Israeli Cup in 2007, as well as reaching the ULEB Cup semifinals in 2006.
Mire Chatman joins Besiktas Cola Turka
Besiktas Cola Turka has announced that arrival of playmaker Mire Chatman, who inked a a one-year deal with a team option to extend it until the end of the 2009-10 season. Chatman (187, 30) arrives from Triumph Lyubertsy, where he averaged 12.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 11 ULEB Cup games. He won the 2006 ULEB Cup title with Dynamo Moscow, averaging 19 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.8 steals in 14 ULEB Cup games. Chatman averaged 22.5 points in 6 elimination round games to make Dynamo reach the final unbeaten that season. He has also played for Lottomatica Roma in Italy, Ventspils in Latvia and Pau-Orthez in France. Chatman helped Ventspils to win consecutive Latvian League titles in 2003 and 2004. Chatman ranks 5th in steals (90), 15th in assists (109) and is the 10th all-time top scorer (593) in Europe's second club competition.
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