Kyle Kuric returns to Palau Blaugrana with MoraBanc

Kyle Kuric will return to the Palau Blaugrana on Sunday as a player for MoraBanc, a visit loaded with personal and professional significance. His wife, Taraneh Momeni, their sons Arshan and Arsalan and daughter Setareh live in Barcelona, where Kuric spent five seasons and helped the club win two ACB titles and three Copa del Rey trophies.

An Evansville native, Kuric said his first year in Spain was with Estudiantes and that after facing all the teams his favourite was Barça; when the chance to join for a year or two arose, he jumped at it. He signed for Barça from Zenit St. Petersburg and, after nearly two years away, still regards returning to the Palau as special.

He will also reunite with coach Xavi Pascual, who trusted him at Barça and later brought him back to Zenit for a second spell before Kuric moved to MoraBanc. Kuric played a total of 369 games in blue: 183 in the ACB, 159 in the EuroLeague, 10 in the Copa del Rey, 9 in the Spanish Supercup and 8 in the Catalan League. In European competition he averaged 8.0 points per game while shooting 45% from three.

Last season Kuric already played at the Palau Blaugrana, scoring 9 points in 23:13 minutes with an evaluation of 8, although that Natxo Lezkano‑coached team lost 105–79. This season he arrives in good form, averaging 12.1 points and a performance index rating of 11.6.