Numbers don't lie: Stories behind Olimpia's jerseys / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Olimpia Milano Credit Olimpia Milano

AX Armani Exchange Milan unveiled their jersey numbers that players will wear during the upcoming season. Newcomer Nicolo Melli will wear the same number as he had before leaving Milan in 2015. Number 9.

The history of his number goes way back. Initially, Melli played with the number 18, but later #18 was retired to honor the old warrior, Arthur Kenney. Although Kenney had expressed the desire that Melli wear his number as long as he wished, as a matter of respect for the former star, Nik decided to leave it and turned to number 9. It was the same as his mother Julie, a professional volleyball player, wore during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

However, after signing with Milan this summer, Melli found that number 9 has been taken for two years by Riccardo Moraschini. But it was Ricky who expressed his intention to "give it back."

"He is a friend of mine," said Ricky in a club published story. "It was his number, I know how much it means to him, I thought it was the right thing to do." Moraschini had the 24 with the national team, in honor of the late Kobe Bryant, but that number had been taken by Dinos Mitoglou a few days earlier.

That is why Moraschini will have number 21. "It was Kevin Garnett’s number, not in Boston when he was playing against the Lakers, the team I cheered for in the NBA, but it was his historic number. I like Kevin Garnett. That’s why I chose it."

Another newcomer, Devon Hall, will wear his customary number 22. "It is the number that all the members of my family wore while playing basketball, except for my dad who played with 44 which is 22 times two. By wearing the 22, I represent my family."

Dinos Mitoglou’s favorite number was 8, but when he moved to America to play at Wake Forest, noticing the American tendency to use double-digit numbers, he decided to switch to 44 because the sum of the two digits was eight. At Olimpia 8 and 44 were unavailable numbers (8 is retired, 44 is off-limits), so he fell back on 24 "anticipating" Moraschini’s move.

The unavailability of the number 44 also put Davide Alviti in trouble. He had worn it during the magical season he spent in Trieste and also while playing for the national team. The previous year in Treviso he had the 4. His choice was the simplest: he opted for the 40, the same one that Luis Scola wore in his single Milan season.

Ricci played with number 8 in Cremona, then in Bologna he moved to 11, but 11 in Milan is Dino Meneghin’s number, another retired number. That’s why he chose to play with the same 17 he wore with the national team, even at the Olympics.

Jerian Grant has always tried to wear 22, but Devon Hall came to Milan before him. This summer Grant’s eldest son played his first basketball game with the number 10. Jerian asked him which number he wanted his dad to wear: "Play with my same number, 10".

Troy Daniels has always played with the number 30, since his high school days. At Fleming High School in Roanoke, Virginia, his number was retired. He took it along for the ride, at Virginia Commonwealth first and then in every single step of his NBA journey.

The other seven returning players have kept the same numbers from last season (Sergio Rodriguez will have his traditional 13, Kaleb Tarczewski will wear 15, Paul Biligha - 19, Malcolm Delaney - 23, Shavon Shields - 31, Kyle Hines - 42, and Gigi Datome - 70).

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