Davide Moretti

Davide Moretti (born March 25, 1998) is an Italian professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Varese of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Davide Moretti
Moretti in 2019
No. 11 – Pallacanestro Varese
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLega Basket Serie A
Personal information
Born (1998-03-25) 25 March 1998
Bologna, Italy
NationalityItalian
Listed height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight81 kg (179 lb)
Career information
CollegeTexas Tech (2017–2020)
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2015Pistoia
2015–2017Treviso
2020–2023Olimpia Milano
2021–2023→V.L. Pesaro
2023–presentPallacanestro Varese
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Italy
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place2016 TurkeyNational team

Early life and career

In addition to basketball, Moretti grew up in Bologna, Italy playing soccer, tennis, and volleyball.[1] In the 2013–14 season, he played for prominent Italian amateur club Stella Azzurra.[2] In 2013, Moretti joined Stella Azzurra at the Città di Roma regional tournament for the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament.[3] On July 9, 2014, he signed with Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) club Pistoia Basket 2000, where his father Paolo Moretti was head coach.[4] Through 12 games, Moretti averaged 1.3 points in 6.9 minutes per game.[5] For the next two seasons, he joined Universo Treviso Basket of the Serie A2 Basket.[6] In the 2016–17 season, Moretti was named the best under-22 player in the Serie A2 after averaging 12.6 points, 2.3 assists, and 0.9 steals per game.[5][7]

College career

Moretti took his father's advice to improve as a basketball player through college basketball.[1] On June 12, 2017, he signed an Athletic Scholarship Agreement to play for Texas Tech in the NCAA Division I.[8] Moretti was drawn to the program in part because head coach Chris Beard had experience coaching the Swiss national team and was familiar with European styles of play.[1] He chose Texas Tech over UConn, Indiana, and Utah.[9] Moretti mainly came off the bench in his freshman season, averaging 3.5 points, 1.1 assists and 0.8 rebounds per game.[7] He was named to the 2018 All-Big 12 Conference Academic Rookie Team.[7]

Moretti became a regular starter as a sophomore.[5] On January 26, 2019, he scored a career-high 21 points in a 67–64 win over Arkansas.[10] By the end of the regular season, he was shooting 92.2 percent on free throws, which ranked second in the NCAA Division I. Moretti won the Elite 90 Award for academic excellence[lower-alpha 1] and earned third-team All-Big 12 recognition.[11] He averaged 11.5 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Coming into his junior season, Moretti was named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List.[12] He was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12.[13] As a junior, Moretti averaged 13 points, 2.3 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game and started all 31 games.[14] On May 23, 2020, he decided to forego his senior season at Texas Tech to pursue a professional career in Europe, signing with agent Miško Raznatović of BeoBasket.[15]

Professional career

On May 26, 2020, Moretti signed a multi-year contract with Olimpia Milano of the Lega Basket Serie A and the EuroLeague.[16]

In the season 2021–22, he plays on a loan contract for V.L. Pesaro.[17][18]

On July 4, 2023, he signed with Pallacanestro Varese of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[19]

National team career

Moretti has often represented Italy in FIBA junior tournaments. He averaged 10.4 points per game at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, leading the Italian national under-17 team to ninth place.[5] Moretti guided the Italian under-19 team to a bronze medal at the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Samsun, after averaging 14.8 points and five assists per game.[20]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
* Led NCAA Division I

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Texas Tech 37112.3.336.317.857.81.1.4.03.5
2018–19 Texas Tech 383831.6.498.459.924*2.12.41.1.011.5
2019–20 Texas Tech 313134.1.419.383.9021.72.31.2.013.0
Career 1067025.6.436.399.9061.51.9.9.09.1

Personal life

Moretti is the son of Paolo Moretti, who had a 15-year professional career in Europe and won a silver medal with the Italian national team at EuroBasket 1997. After retiring from playing during Davide's childhood, Paolo began coaching professionally and won the LBA Coach of the Year award with Pistoia in 2014.[21] Moretti has a younger brother Niccolò, who plays basketball in Italy at the junior level.[22]

Footnotes
  1. The NCAA presents this award at each of its 90 annual championship events (hence the name) to the upperclass player, defined as an individual in at least his or her second season of play, with the highest grade point average among those competing at the final championship site.

References
  1. Martinez, Quinton (April 5, 2019). "From soccer-crazed Italy to the Final Four, Moretti's journey has one constant: family". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  2. "Basketball runs in the family for Moretti". FIBA. July 29, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  3. "Moretti, Davide". EuroLeague. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  4. "Il Pistoia Basket ingaggia Davide Moretti". La Voce di Pistoia (in Italian). July 9, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  5. "Davide Moretti". RealGM. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  6. "Da Treviso agli Stati Uniti d'America: Davide Moretti giocherà con i Texas Tech". TrevisoToday (in Italian). June 11, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  7. "Davide Moretti". Texas Tech University. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  8. "Men's Basketball Inks Davide Moretti to ASA". Texas Tech University. June 12, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  9. Silva Jr., Carlos (March 24, 2018). "Moretti grows into second family, enjoys success with No. 14 Texas Tech". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  10. "RECAP: No. 14 Red Raiders 67, Arkansas 64". Texas Tech University. January 26, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  11. "Moretti Earns NCAA Elite 90 Award". KCBD. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  12. "Texas Tech's Davide Moretti Makes Bob Cousy Award Watch List". KKAM. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  13. "Men's Basketball All-Big 12 Awards Announced" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  14. Johnson, Jarret (April 6, 2020). "Report: Moretti's leaning toward returning for senior season". 247 Sports. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  15. "Davide Moretti leaving Texas Tech and turning pro for Milan". Sportando. May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  16. "Milano officially signs Moretti". EuroHoops. May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  17. "Davide Moretti va in prestito alla Victoria Libertas Pesaro". olimpiamilano.com (in Italian). 14 August 2021.
  18. "Davide Moretti firma con la Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro!". victorialibertas.it (in Italian). 14 August 2021.
  19. "Nuova Firma Per Varese: Ecco Davide Moretti". pallacanestrovarese.it (in Italian). July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  20. Johnson, Jarret (June 10, 2017). "Texas Tech Lands Italian Hoops Star". 247Sports. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  21. Bloomquist, Wes (November 30, 2018). "Spotlight: Davide Moretti". Texas Tech University. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  22. Silva Jr., Carlos (July 2, 2018). "Texas Tech's Moretti set to play for Team Italy". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
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