Davide Moretti accepts Olimpia Milano deal

The news broke today that junior guard Davide Moretti had accepted a pending 2+1 year deal from the LBA team, Olimpia Milano. The LBA is the highest level in the pyramid of professional Italian basketball. It has produced high-caliber NBA players such as Danilo Gallinari and Manu Ginóbili. Olimpia Milano is based just two hours away from Moretti’s birthplace of Bologna. A huge part of the decision seems to be Moretti’s love for his family. In a past Instagram post, he referenced being away from his little brother, Niccolo, as “one of the hardest things in [Davide’s] life”.

Moretti arrived on Texas Tech’s campus after being one of the best international guards seeking to play for an American college. Moretti was a key part of the Treviso Basket where he averaged 12.7 PPG and 2.2 APG for the Serie A2 club (a tier below the level of the LBA). His freshman season consisted of only one start, but he was extremely reliable off the bench. He was a great passer and was the distributor for the offense when Keenan Evans hit the bench. His talent exploded during his sophomore campaign where his points per game average increased by 8. He was an integral piece of the 2018-19 Final Four team. Moretti averaged 11.3 PPG in the team’s tournament run. When he finished that season, he had only missed 4 of 58 free throws. He earned the distinct honor of being coined one of the NCAA Elite 90 - a highly regarded academic award. As the only starter left from the 2019 team, he was the veteran on last season’s team. He proved to be a reliable option, making more 3-point FG’s than any other Red Raider during the cut-short season. He finished last year with the highest career FT% of any active player in the NCAA at 90.6%. He has made the 9th most three-pointers in school history. His accolades on the court are impressive: All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (2020), Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention, and All-Big 12 Third Team (2019). He was also a great student, earning multiple All-Academic awards.

Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images

Davide is a leader, competitor, and a great ambassador for Texas Tech. It’s hard to imagine what the past three years would’ve looked like without him. Davide has made Red Raider nation so proud, and we’ll be closely watching his LBA play next year.