Two years ago, Riccardo Moraschini was in Mantua, in the Italian second league: he had chosen to return to a place where he had already established himself to recover after a bad injury that ended his Trento experience. Twenty-four months later, he crossed the threshold of the Mediolanum Forum: it is the outgoing Italian MVP of the league, a member of the Italian national team and is preparing to play for Oiimpia. “The injury that I had in Trento made me take a more complicated path, I returned to A2, but I recovered well, I played a lot and regained the confidence I had built in Trento. Mantua allowed me to get back on track, and Brindisi gave me a great opportunity that I was able to take advantage of. Everything was perfect. The journey satisfies me,” Moraschini says.

Moraschini was actually an Italian basketball star when he was younger. He led his Virtus Bologna teams to two championships and was coached by Giordano Consolini, for years one of the trusted Ettore Messina’s assistants. He had many appearances in the national teams, including the Under 20 team that won the silver medal in Bilbao in 2011, led by Nicolò Melli and Alessandro Gentile. He made his Serie A debut at the age of 17 and he has already played 35 minutes of EuroLeague action in Bologna during the 2008/09 season. “I had very long years, with ups and downs: I always tried to do my best, I never looked at where I was, at what point in my career I was and what they said about me. I always gave my best, I remained focused and worked hard to improve the mental aspect and improve my skills too. Today I am more mature and face things differently than when I was younger, but I’m also an improved basketball player,” he explains

Last year, Moraschini exploded. “In Brindisi I started as the back-up of the guard and the small forward and I ended up as a starting point guard. This is a little bit my strength, especially defensively, I can guard from 1 to 3 and also the 4 in some tactical situations. I had an important role and this gave me much more confidence in my abilities. I shot the ball with confidence, but I also worked a lot in the summers. Feeling trust all around has allowed me to become the player I am now.” He scored a career-high 30 points in a game, scored in Trento the buzzer beating winning three that gave Brindisi the access to the Final Eight where his team reached the final game. But he thinks especially in terms of what the team needs. “Offensively, I try to play for the team, read the situations. If a certain thing needs to be done, I do it, I don’t look at statistics or how many shots I took, I just think about doing what it takes to win”.

And now he’s in Milan: “It is a very important step for me: In the last few years I have had so many ups and downs. Coming to a great team, participating in the EuroLeague, which is the top in Europe, is something I have not yet fully understood. I come from a very good season, but now there will be another one even more important. For me and for Milan. Knowing your role is important, there are other leaders in Milan. I decided to take an important step, because playing in a team like Milan, at the highest level, allows you to improve again. My role will not be the same, it is inevitable, but here the important thing is to win and I will do what is necessary, I will follow the Coach, I will follow my teammates, to do what needs to be done in order to help the team.”