Maccabi signs up Stephane Lasme, Alan Anderson

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv completed the non-Israeli portion of its roster over the weekend with the signings of power forward Stephane Lasme and swingman Alan Anderson. Both players agreed to deals for the coming season with options for a second year. Lasme (203, 26) arrives from Partizan Belgrade, where he averaged 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and was third in the league with 1.5 blocks in 19 Euroleague games last season, helping the club reach the Euroleague Quarterfinal Playoffs. Best known for his defense and athleticism, Lasme was also instrumental in Partizan winning three titles – the Adriatic League, Serbian Radivoj Korac Cup and Serbian League – in his European debut season. He averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in the Adriatic League. Lasme has also played for Golden State and Miami in the NBA and for Los Angeles in the NBDL. Lasme had a successful college career at the University of Massachusetts, where he was named the Atlantic 10 conference's Defensive Player of the year in 2006 and 2007. He holds the record for most triple-doubles in one NCAA season along with Jason Kidd and Michael Anderson. Lasme averaged 13.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.1 blocks in 33 NCAA games in his senior year, the 2006-07 season. He is also a member of the Gabonese national team.

Alan Anderson joins MaccabiAnderson (198, 26) arrives from Cibona, where he averaged 15.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in eight Euroleague games after joining the club midway through last season. He was not with Cibona for either of its regular season games against Maccabi. Anderson was an important piece for Cibona late in the season and posted 27 points and 9.8 rebounds in the Croatian League finals in helping Cibona to win the title. Anderson also won the Croatian Kresimir Cosic Cup title and helped the club reach the Adriatic League final. He began the season with Triumph Lyubertsy in Russia and has also played for Virtus Bologna in Italy, Tulsa in the NBDL and Charlotte in the NBA. Anderson first made a name for himself during a four-year college basketball career at Michigan State University, where he helped the Spartans to advance to the 2005 NCAA Final Four, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 33 games.

"Anderson is a very versatile player that loves to take games upon himself," Maccabi assistant coach Sharon Drucker said. "He can play at several positions, mainly at the shooting guard and small forward. He is an experienced and a very smart player. Lasme is a team-oriented player who makes plays at both ends of the floor. He was very good in the Euroleague last season for Partizan and he has improved every season over the past few years"