Michele Vitali

Michele Vitali (born October 31, 1991) is an Italian professional basketball player for Brose Bamberg of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) as a shooting guard.

Michele Vitali
No. 31 – Brose Bamberg
PositionShooting guard
LeagueBasketball Bundesliga
Basketball Champions League
Personal information
Born (1991-10-31) October 31, 1991
Bologna, Italy
NationalityItalian
Listed height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight86 kg (190 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2013 / Undrafted
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2012Virtus Bologna
2010–2011→Sporting Club Gira
2012–2013Biancoblù Basket Bologna
2014–2015Juvecaserta Basket
2015–2016Virtus Bologna
2016–2018Basket Brescia Leonessa
2018–2019MoraBanc Andorra
2019–2020Dinamo Sassari
2020–presentBrose Bamberg
Medals
Men’s Basketball
Representing  Italy
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
2011 Bilbao National Team

Personal life

His brother is fellow pro basketball player Luca Vitali, Michele has played against him a few times in Serie A and together on a few occasions, including one season for Virtus Bologna and notably for the national team.

Their parents were also basketball players, their mother Anna Maria Mazzoli and their father Roberto both played in the Italian lower divisions, peculiarly they met in 1978 whilst they were attending an event with their respective youth national teams.[1]

Professional career

Vitali progressed through the youth ranks of home town club Virtus Bologna, he was called up to the first squad on occasion and made his first division debut in February 2009 playing a single minute with one missed shot.[2] That was his only appearance for the senior team for the season, he wouldn't be able to break into the side either in 2009–10 with two solitary minutes but he played a decisive role as the Under-19 squad won their national championship.[3]

To gain experience he was loaned to new Virtus satellite club Gira Ozzano (in Italian) in the third division for 2010–11. It proved to be a fruitful loan as he played 27 games with 9,8 points on average for Gira.[4]

Following this positive experience he returned to Virtus but didn't manage to break into the first squad, playing only three games the whole season. This prompted him to rescind his contract with Virtus and join cross town side Biancoblù Basket Bologna (in Italian) of the Legadue in October 2012.[5] His time with the white and blue proved successful, he established himself as a starter for the team, playing 27 games with 9.8 points on average[4] and even participated in the Legadue All Star Game where he was voted best player under 24.[6]

His performances garnered interest from Serie A clubs, after Biancoblù lost in the promotion playoffs, he joined Juvecaserta Basket in July 2014.[4]

In his first full top division season Vitali was an important player as Caserta finished just outside the playoff places, playing in all but one game, he was also selected for the All Star Game after other players proved unavailable.[7]

The 2014–15 season proved to be more complicated, Vitali missed the first part of the season with a knee injury[8] and - as a starter - could not stop Caserta's relegation, confirmed after a loss in the last game of the season.

On July 2, 2015, Vitali signed a two-year contract with Virtus Bologna of the Italian LBA.[9]

On August 4, 2016, Vitali signed a one-year deal with Basket Brescia Leonessa and joined his brother Luca Vitali.[10] On June 29, 2017, he extended his contract with Brescia for one more season.[11] On July 10, 2017, Michele officially left Brescia after two great seasons in LBA.[12]

On July 10, 2018, Vitali signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club MoraBanc Andorra.[13]

Vitali spent the 2019–20 season with Dinamo Sassari and averaged 10.3 points and three rebounds per game. On July 28, 2020, Vitali signed with Brose Bamberg of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[14]

Career statistics

Regular season
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  PPG  Points per game
 2P%  Two-point field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 SPG  Steals per game  TOPG  Turnovers per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG PPG 2P% 3P% FT% RPG APG BPG SPG TOPG
2011-12[15] Canadian Solar Bologna 303.31.70100.066.70.70.300.30.7
2013-14[15] Pasta Reggia Caserta 29823.78.346.530.9703.4100.70.9
2014-15[15] Pasta Reggia Caserta 222125.47.542.925.478.42.51.300.81.9
Career 542914.95.844.528.973.42.21.100.71.2

Italian national team

He played in the under age categories of the Italian national basketball team, first for the U18's in the 2009 European Championship then for the U20's in the 2010 European Championship and the 2011 European Championship,[16] most notably winning the silver medal at the latter edition.[17]

After falling off the radar for a period, he joined the senior team in 2014, playing a bit part in FIBA EuroBasket 2015 qualification in which Italy qualified for FIBA EuroBasket 2015.[18][19]

References
  1. "Vitali brothers against each other, a basketball destiny.", La Gazzetta dello Sport, Bologna, 3 February 2009. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  2. "Legabasket Serie A - 2° Gionarta Ritorno (La Fortezza Bologna – Armani Jeans Milano).", Legabasket. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  3. "Virtus, the small championship and the satellite club Gira.", La Gazzetta dello Sport, 8 June 2010. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  4. "Juve makes official the signature of Michele Vitali."Corriere dello Sport, Caserta, 29 July 2013. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  5. Carchia, Emiliano. "Michele Vitali leaves Virtus Bologna, set to join Biancoblù."Sportando, 11 October 2012. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.
  6. "Pozzecco All Star James is MVP." Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback MachineCorriere dello Sport, Vigevano, 3 February 2013. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  7. Valenti, Stefano. "Basketball, the All Star Game is here: Pianigiani with a youthful Italy."la Repubblica, Roma, 12 April 2014. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  8. Giannoni, Carlo. "Update on the injured ." Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback MachineJuvecaserta Basket, 15 October 2014. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
  9. "Virtus Bologna signs Michele Vitali to a two-year contract". Sportando.basketball. 2 July 2015.
  10. "Michele Vitali joins his brother Luca in Brescia". Sportando.basketball. 4 August 2016.
  11. "Brescia re-signs Michele Vitali". Sportando.basketball. 29 June 2017.
  12. "Brescia saluta Michele Vitali al termine di due stagioni indimenticabili" [Brescia greets Michele Vitali at the end of two unforgettable seasons]. Sportando.basketball (in Italian). 10 July 2018.
  13. "MoraBanc Andorra sings Michele Vitali to a two-year contract". Sportando.basketball. 10 July 2018.
  14. "Brose Bamberg signs Michele Vitali, Chase Fieler". Sportando. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  15. "Michele Vitali - Total statistics", Lega Basket. Retrieved on 29 April 2015.(in Italian)
  16. "Michele Vitali", FIBA. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.
  17. "U20 European Championship 2011 : Italy - Spain (Game Report).", FIBA Europe, 24 July 2011. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.
  18. "Michele Vitali (Italy)", FIBA Europe. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.
  19. "Michele Vitali", Federazione Italiana Pallacanestro. Retrieved on 11 May 2015.(in Italian)
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