Brian Scalabrine is one of those NBA players that we all delight in calling a "role player," even if his role was never particularly valuable. In Boston, his role was to occasionally come in to fall on a loose ball and get praised for his hustle, but mostly it was to delight all of the white kids from Southie who thought he could be Irish because of his red hair. Last year in Chicago it was very similar. Scalabrine—who, with apologies to TD Garden's 300 level, actually comes from an Italian family—now role plays in Italy, where he is just another ginger Italian boy who can fall on loose balls every now and then.


But Scal, who signed a one-year contract with Benetton Treviso back in September, is apparently expanding his game over there. Pro Basketball Talk dug up this highlight reel of his play against Avellino last weekend. He had 18 points, 3 boards and a steal in 34 minutes of play, and he couldn't miss from long range. (He also, coincidentally, couldn't seem to convince any Avellino players to contest any of his shots from long range.) Three games into the season, he's also Benetton's second-leading scorer.

An Italian and a statistical leader! Boston never really knew you, Scal.