Zenit forward Sergey Karasev has been named the VTB United League January MVP.
The League’s MVP of the Month award is decided on by the League and TASS information agency.
Karasev played in four games in January, leading Zenit to a 4-0 record (vs. Khimki, Parma, Astana and Tsmoki-Minsk). In the win over Khimki, Karasev scored a career-high 35 points. Overall, Karasev averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a 24.8 efficiency rating in January.
He beat out CSKA guard Nando De Colo and Khimki center Marko Todorovic for the MVP award.
– After returning from the NBA, Sergey struggled a bit, – noted legendary singer Lev Leshchenko. – He needed a lot of time to find his rhythm and had to deal with some injury setbacks. As a result, he wasn’t able to play to his full ability for quite a while. But he came alive in January! Karasev has a wonderful understanding of the game and a solid outside shot. He’s also tall, around two meters, which allows him to play at the forward position, not just as a guard. When Sergey is playing well, he’s also a terrific defender. Karasev is a very versatile player; there aren’t many like him in Russia.
UNICS’s Keith Langford won the award in October, Khimki’s Alexey Shved was MVP in November and Lokomotiv’s Andrey Zubkov took it home in December.
