Stefano Gentile (born 20 September 1989) is an Italian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Dinamo Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the current European Cu ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

(LBA). At a height of 1.91 m (6'3") tall, he plays at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

position.

Professional career

Gentile started his

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

career at his father

Nando Nando (from "News and Observer") was an American internet news service and Internet service provider (ISP), founded in 1993 by the publishers of ''The News & Observer'' newspaper in Raleigh, North Carolina. Initially it relied on access via bullet ...

's last team,

Juvecaserta Basket Sporting Club JuveCaserta (sometimes spelled Juve Caserta), also known as Decò Caserta after its title sponsor, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Caserta, Campania. The team currently plays in the Serie A2, the second tier of Ita ...

, in the

LegaDue Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with pro ...

(Italian 2nd Division). He then went to

Andrea Costa Imola Andrea Costa Imola is an Italian professional basketball team based in Imola, Emilia-Romagna. The side is playing in the second division Serie A2 Basket, Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. History Andrea Costa Basket was founded on 4 October 1967, ...

, of the same division, where his father was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. With Andrea Costa Imola, he caught the eye of

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

(Italian first division) side

Armani Jeans Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

, a club in which his father had previously been a star player. With Milano, he played in the Italian first division, and also the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague. However, he struggled to get any meaningful playing time, and he then dropped down to the Italian fourth division level, first with Assi Ostuni, and then with

Aquila Basket Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trento, Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur ...

. After a good season with Aquila Basket Trento, in which the club gained a league promotion to the LegaDue (Italian 2nd Division), he reentered the Italian top division, with

Junior Casale Associazione Sportiva Junior Pallacanestro Casale Monferrato, commonly known as Junior Casale and currently for sponsorship reasons as Novipiù Casale Monferrato is an Italian professional basketball team based in Casale Monferrato, Piedmont. It ...

, before later joining his former team,

, also in the Italian first division. With Caserta, he flourished under head coach

Stefano Sacripanti Stefano "Pino" Sacripanti (born 15 May 1970 in Cantù, Italy) is an Italian professional basketball coach. Coaching career He is the coach of the Italian men's national under-20 basketball team since 2006, and led them to the bronze medal at t ...

, and earned a selection to the 2012–13 Italian All-Star Game, where he played alongside his brother,

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

, and he was awarded MVP. When the club's head coach Sacripanti, moved to the ambitious club

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

, he quickly recruited Gentile to join him. With Cantù, Gentile contributed to the team's good season, as they finished in 3rd place in the 2013–14 Italian League season, and reached the last 32 stage of Europe's second-tier level competition, the EuroCup. In July 2015, he joined

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as of the 2022-23 season. History 1970s Pallacanestr ...

, signing a two-year contract with the club. In April 2017, he became a player of

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

National team career

After playing with the national youth age categories Italy, Gentile dropped off the Italian national team's radar until 2012, when he made his debut with the senior men's

Italian national basketball team The Italy men's national basketball team ( it, Nazionale di pallacanestro dell'Italia) represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBa ...

. In 2014, he played at the

FIBA EuroBasket 2015 qualification This article describes the qualification procedure for EuroBasket 2015. Qualification format In the first qualifying round, 13 teams which didn't qualify for EuroBasket 2013 have been divided into four groups. The winners of each group advance ...

tournament, in which Italy qualified for the main

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

tournament.

Personal life

Gentile is the son of the Italian basketball icon

Nando Gentile Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile (born 1 January 1967), is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies ...

. Stefano moved around Italy and Europe, following his father during his playing career. Along with his younger brother Alessandro, he played with the youth teams of

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

in Greece, while his father played with the club's senior team.Aita, Alessandro
"The Gentile family: Stefano catches up with Alessanro and won't let him go."
'Dailybasket'', 17 December 2014. Retrieved on 27 February 2015. His younger brother is Italian basketball player

Alessandro Gentile Alessandro Gentile (born November 12, 1992) is an Italian professional basketball player who plays for APU Udine, Udine of the Serie A2 (basketball), Serie A2. Standing at 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in), he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positi ...

. He has played with his brother in the senior

Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

and

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileItalian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentile, Stefano 1989 births Living people Andrea Costa Imola players Aquila Basket Trento players A.S. Junior Pallacanestro Casale players Dinamo Sassari players Italian men's basketball players Juvecaserta Basket players Lega Basket Serie A players Olimpia Milano players Pallacanestro Cantù players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Sportspeople from the Province of Caserta Point guards Virtus Bologna players