Just before the season opener this Friday at the BMW Park, Bayern Basketball announce two new additions: Serbian international Aleksa Radanov, who has already been a guest player with Bayern for several weeks, and US center David McCormack join the German champions’ squad. Munich are responding to the still tense personnel situation and the demanding start to the EuroLeague and BBL seasons. McCormack, the 2022 NCAA champion with Kansas, has signed for the upcoming season.
“We are getting two high-quality players in Aleksa and David, who either already know the team or, in David’s case, are familiar with both leagues,” says FCBB Sporting Director Dragan Tarlac. “These two guys will support Gordon Herbert immediately as he starts the new season after a difficult preseason. At the same time, this allows our injured players to work on their recovery without pressure. Additionally, through rotation, we will be able to better balance the workload of our key players.”
“Balancing the workload”
Nine players from the current FCBB squad were involved with their national teams this summer. Head coach Herbert must cope, in both the short and long term, without EuroBasket champion Jo Voigtmann (rehabilitation training), Elias Harris (rehab), and Rokas Jokubaitis (knee surgery). European champions Justus Hollatz, Andi Obst, and Oscar da Silva only join training this Wednesday – the BBL season kicks off on Friday evening (8:00 PM/BMW Park) against newly promoted Jena.
David McCormack, 26 years old and 2.08 meters tall, played for BBL competitor Berlin with Olimpia Milan from December 2024 after the season had started (8.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG) and most recently completed preseason with EuroLeague club Virtus Bologna. The athletic big man spent his first two professional years in Turkey, playing for Beşiktaş, Darüşşafaka, and most recently Galatasaray Istanbul.
During his college triumph with the Kansas Jayhawks in 2021/2022, he averaged 10.6 points and seven rebounds per game. After a strong half-season with Galatasaray (14.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG), he earned a spot in the EuroLeague in 2024, although his stint in Milan ended prematurely. In Berlin’s highly variable 2024/2025 season, his season-highs were 18 points against Red Star Belgrade and 15 against Real Madrid.
Aleksa Radanov, 27, whose contract runs until the end of the year, began preseason with Bayern at the end of August. The 2.02-meter forward has been part of the extended Serbian national team setup for years and won the championship last season in Poland with Legia Warsaw (9.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG).
His home club is Red Star Belgrade, for the Serbian powerhouse from his hometown he played three years (including 14 EuroLeague games in 2021/2022) and otherwise competed for clubs in the Eastern European Adriatic League, as well as one year in Russia with Runa Moscow (7.8 PPG). Radanov has represented Serbia at all youth national team levels.