Tezenis Verona, the basket team of the city, presented USA centre Jalen Cannon, in his eighth season in Italy. Sports Director Alessandro Frosini praised his ‘experience and intensity’.
Born in 1993, Jalen Cannon arrives from Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA and immediately declared ‘I am excited about the reception and confident for the season’. The American champion added: ‘My first weeks in Verona have been incredible, the city is fantastic and everyone has welcomed me in the best possible way. We are going through a long preseason of six weeks that is helping us to find the right team chemistry, everyone in the club has the right attitude and I am sure we will have a great season“.
During the presentation press conference in Verona, Cannon said: ‘We have many young guys, I was impressed by their willingness to listen, learn, and make themselves available to the group and the coaching staff. In the last week we have added Pullen who is a great player and a great teammate, I am sure we will have fun together. I strongly believe that this club can and must compete for the top places in the league, now we are not the best version of ourselves but I am sure that if we continue to work in this way we will get to play for the top places. I’m used to being called a ‘bonsai pivot’ and I’m comfortable in this role, I’m inspired by a great champion like Kyle Hines, he’s a winner and with his mentality he was able to make up for even a few centimetres less than his peers’.
Alessandro Frosini (Tezenis Verona Director): ‘I am very pleased to present Jalen Cannon. We are adding an experienced player who can play in two roles and who is already bringing great intensity and work ethic to the group. It was important for us to add to the team a figure who, in addition to being a good player, could be a reference for his teammates on and off the court; Jalen is fulfilling this role very well. From a technical point of view, he is an energetic player, extremely reliable at the defensive level where he can vary his repertoire by alternating aggressive shows and systematic changes. On the offensive end, he has an excellent back-to-the-basket game, but his main quality is to play two in the pick and roll, being able to finish or reopen for shooters. Welcome Jalen and good luck“.
