Openjobmetis Varese Basketball announces that it has signed centre, Norvel Pelle. Tall and powerful whilst displaying great athleticism, Pelle is a jumper and shot-blocker who dominates the key. Born in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, on February 3, 1993, he has signed a two-year contract. Class of 1993, this is his first time in Italy. The Piazza Monte Grappa club is happy to welcome young Norvel to the Red & Whites family.

Paolo Moretti, Coach, Openjobmetis Varese Basketball: «The qualities of Pelle that have most impressed me are his explosive strength, aggressiveness and athleticism. The multi-year contract is a sign that we believe so much in Norvel, a very exciting prospect who will surely give us so much today and in the long term. His arrival will bring those qualities that we strongly believe will be able to be the perfect complement to complete our acquisition of tall players».

Player Profile

Date of Birth: February 3, 1993

Place of birth: St. John's (Antigua and Barbuda)

Height: 211 cm

Role: Centre

Career

Pelle cut his teeth at Compton High School and became one of the most exciting prospects of the nation. In 2013, he played with the Delaware 87ers in the D-League, a team with whom he played 35 games (5.5 points with 52.3% two-pointers and 62.3% free throws with 3.1 rebounds). His next season was in Taiwan with Dacin Tigers where he played 30 games, totalling an average of 15.3 points per game (49.3% two-pointers and 69.5% free throws) with 14.2 rebounds and three blocked shots. In March 2015, he returned to the D-League with the Delaware 87ers for the last four games of the season. Last year he played in Lebanon at Homenetmen Beirut where in 32 games he scored 11.8 points and retrieved 12.7 rebounds, making him the best shot-blocker in the league (2.9 on average). Pelle took part in the recent Summer League in Orlando, playing two games with Miami Heat.