Awudu Abass

Awudu Abass Abass (born 27 January 1993) is an Italian professional basketball player who last played for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) as a small forward.

Awudu Abass
Abass with Olimpia Milano in 2017
No. 3 – Virtus Bologna
PositionSmall forward
Personal information
Born (1993-01-27) 27 January 1993
Como, Italy
NationalityItalian
Listed height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Listed weight100 kg (220 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2015 / Undrafted
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2016Cantù
2016–2018Olimpia Milano
2018–2020Brescia Leonessa
2020–presentVirtus Bologna
Career highlights and awards
  • LBA champion (2018)
  • 3× Italian Super Cup winner (2012, 2016, 2017)
  • 2× LBA All-Star (2013, 2014)
Medals
Men’s basketball
Representing  Italy
European U-20 Championship
2013 Tallinn

Personal life

Awudu Abass Abass father is originally from Ghana whilst his mother is from Nigeria (not Togo as erroneously reported by some sources), they met in Rome where they married before moving to Como where Awudu was born. He obtained Italian citizenship as soon as he could, at the age of 18, having to wait that long as he was born to foreign nationals.[1]

Abass still lived in Como, in 2012, at only 19, he was a candidate for the municipal elections as second on the Amo la Mia Città list, however it obtained only one seat so he was not elected.[2]

Professional career

Abass joined local club Pallacanestro Cantù as a teenager, progressing quickly through the youth ranks to make his debut in 2011 aged only 18. He was too young to make an immediate impact, playing sparingly in his first three seasons, he did however grab minutes, and rebounds, in Europe's top-tier level EuroLeague, playing in two games, one against powerhouse Real Madrid.

The 2013–14 proved to be his breakthrough season, he earned regular minutes in the LBA and European second tier EuroCup, as a youth product he became a fan favourite and was awarded the captaincy the next season, becoming the youngest captain of Cantù's history.[3]

On 19 July 2018, Abass signed a two-year deal with Basket Brescia Leonessa.[4] After two important seasons with Brescia, during which he became one of the most prominent Italian players of the league, in June 2020, he signed with Virtus Bologna.[5]

National team career

Abass was called up soon after officially becoming Italian, joining the Under-20 side of the Italian national basketball team that won gold at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he was part of the All Tournament Team. He represented the Italian National Basketball team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China, where he averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds and 0.3 assists.[6]

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References
  1. Mocerino, Stefano. "Exclusive - Abass reveals all: Cantù, the national team, his origins." Archived 2016-03-15 at the Wayback MachineBasket Italy, 29 July 2013. Retrieved on 16 March 2015.
  2. "The candidates."Amo la Mia Città. Retrieved on 16 March 2015.
  3. Comerio, Fabrizio. "Abass, the youngest captain in the history of the club". La Gazzetta dello Sport, 10 October 2014. Retrieved on 16 March 2015.
  4. "Leonessa Brescia signs Awudu Abass to a two-year deal". Sportando.basketball. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. Virtus Bologna: è fatta per Awudu Abass, Sportando
  6. "Awudu ABASS". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
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