Liga WPlay 2023 - John Merchant comes back to Team Cali, ex Plaza

- April 20, 2023

POSTED BY: Francisco Vega

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John Merchant

Team Cali (Liga WPlay) added to their roster 33-year old American guard John Merchant (187cm-1989, college: Dowling) for season 2023. It is actually his comeback to Team Cali as he has played here before. Merchant just played at Plaza in Santiago League in Dominican Republic. The last season he played at Union in Argentinian La Liga where in 11 Santiago League games he recorded 7.5ppg, 3.2rpg and 2.0apg.
He is quite experienced player. Thanks to his pro career he managed to play on five different continents (Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and of course North America) in six different countries. Merchant has played previously professionally in Finland (FoKoPo), Italy (Piacenza Basket Club and Legnano Basket Knights), Qatar (Al Ahli), Colombia (Sabios and Hurricanes), Libya (Ahly Benghazi) and Bolivia (CA Ramallo Lafuente A-Z Oruro).
He graduated from Dowling College in 2012 and it is his eleventh (!!!) season as a professional player.
The scouts decsribe him following way: John Merchant uses an incredibly quick first step to blow by defenders where he is a strong finisher and an even better decision maker. John's 3.2 second lateral lane shuffle and 6 second multi directional movement were both number 1 overall, and he also placed 5th in vertical jump. His strength and speed allow him to create havoc on defense and finish in transition. His tremendous ability to create is own shot, causes havoc for teams to defend.