Unics Kazan announced Marko Banic

Unics Kazan signed star forward Marko Banic to a three-year deal, the club announced Thursday. Banic (2.04 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Gescrap Bilbao, where he has spent the past seven seasons. He averaged 13.3 points and 4 rebounds in 20 Turkish Airlines Euroleague games last season in leading Gescrap to the playoffs. Banic was among the regular season’s top 10 scorers with 15.7 points per game. Banic, who is a product of the KK Zadar youth system and played there until he was 21, enjoyed his best years with Bilbao. He led Bilbao to back-to-back Eurocup semifinals appearances in 2009 and 2010. Banic was named to the All-Eurocup First Team for both of those seasons and honored as the 2009-10 Eurocup MVP. He has also been a regular with the Croatian national team, with whom Banic competed at the 2008 Olympic Games, the 2010 World Championships and multiple EuroBaskets. Banic will team with Vladimir Veremeenko, who recently signed a two-year extension, to give Unics a formidable frontline for the foreseeable future.