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For British Basketball Junkies (by basketmedia365.com)
Archive for August, 2009
August 31, 2009 at 5:25 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Source – fibaeurope.com – France destroyed Belgium 92-54 on Sunday to claim the final place on offer for the EuroBasket in Poland.
Vincent Collet’s team rebounded from Thursday’s 70-66 defeat in Antwerp in the first leg of the Additional Qualifying Round Play-off to post a 34-point (158-124) triumph on aggregate.
The success means that France will play in Group B with Germany, Latvia and defending European champions Russia.
Their opening game in the EuroBasket will be on September 7 against Germany in Gdansk, Poland.
Belgium were the surprise package in the Additional Qualifying Round and will be bitterly disappointed to miss out on a trip to Poland for the Final Round.
They managed just two victories last summer but that was enough to claim a place in Group A and they ended up beating Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina to claim the top spot to set up the do-or-die tie with France, who overcame Italy and Finland to win Group B.
The Belgians, led by their Real Madrid star Axel Hervelle, played a near perfect game on Thursday in Antwerp in front of 6,000 fans in posting the first-leg, four-point triumph.
The key in that contest had been Belgium’s ability to dictate a slower tempo, and Collet had spoken of the need to speed Sunday’s game up so the French could use their superior athleticism and quickness.
The French left no doubt about the winners of the second leg in a decisive second quarter.
Leading 21-18 just 30 seconds into the frame, Les Bleus turned on the afterburners and outscored the Belgians 27-5 over the next nine minutes for a commanding 48-23 advantage.
They kept the pressure on in the second half in a thorough dismantling of Eddy Casteels’ team.
While Parker gets most of the headlines, it was the tough-as-nails play of big man Ronny Turiaf who provided the edge in the second leg.
He had 15 of his game-high 19 points by half-time.
Turiaf also pulled down seven of his nine rebounds in the opening two quarters.
When it was over, France had won the rebounding battle 35-25.
They had also held Belgium to 13 of 34 (38.2%) shooting inside the arc and six of 20 (30%) beyond it.
France ended up with five players, including Turiaf, in double figures scoring.
Parker finished with 16 points, Boris Diaw 13 and both Nando De Colo and Ali Traore 12.
Antoine Diot had nine assists to go with his one point for the French.
Christophe Beghin had 11 points for Belgium, who will attempt to put the disappointment of missing out on the EuroBasket behind them and try to qualify for 2011 in Lithuania.
France will celebrate for a few days, catch their breath and then take aim at a podium finish in Poland.
They are good enough to win the gold, but Collet’s team will also need no reminding of how difficult EuroBaskets are.
Two years ago in Spain, they finished a disappointing eighth and missed out on the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
**Good luck to the French fans in booking their travel and hotel with just one weeks notice 
August 30, 2009 at 5:28 am · Filed under Blogs
Paul Nilsen for gbbasketball.net – So, the curtain comes down on what has been a traumatic time for fans of Great Britain basketball. A summer of optimism ending on a real downer after just one solitary win from all of those preparation games.
What else did we expect without Deng, Azubuike, Gordon or Pops? Even with them on board the rest of Europe was scoffing at our Eurobasket prospects, even if those on this Isle were buoyant and bullish that we could progress.
Without that trio, our prospects are not just bleak but look more like mission impossible. Consequently I am one person heading to Poland with my fingers crossed that we remain competitive and hopefully with Pops, put on a show to be proud of.
Despite the realism over our hopes, many better teams have left Eurobasket without a win and have done so for many years – there is absolutely no shame in that.
Even more so when you consider the absolutely terrific job that has been done by Finch and the players in MAKING HISTORY, something re-enforced by the administration behind the scenes who are also doing a good job.
With that in mind, let’s head to Poland remembering that we have come a long way in a short space of time.
We are now in the European elite without a string of star players but lets not allow dreamland to be sullied by letting it drift into a nightmare just because we are not winning games.
I can’t say it enough. If anyone had told me we would be at EuroBasket 2009 I would have got on the phone and arranged for them to be seen by a mental health professional. I stood in Spain in 2007 and what will happen in Poland will be beyond my wildest dreams.
To collectively stand singing the national anthem in Warsaw at a major basketball event like this is the biggest step for basketball kind in this country. Period.
Lets never lose sight of that.
Any of you joking or serious about handing your tickets back, forget it.
You are about to become part of British basketball history.
August 29, 2009 at 1:00 pm · Filed under Team GB
one of the few positives
In their final warm-up game before Poland, * Great Britain completed a thoroughly miserable time at the Efes Pilsen World Cup by crashing in spectacular fashion to the hosts.
Great Britain were soundly thrashed 87-53 – hardly ideal preparation for when they make their EuroBasket debut in 10 days time.
It was the second loss for Finch and his team against the Turks this summer and GB head into the tournament having won just once (against Slovenia) during the last month
*Contrary to the incorrect information in the previous report courtesy of gameongb
Turkey (87): Bekir Yarangüme 12, Sinan Güler 11, Engin Atsür 7, Ömer Onan 6, Ersan İlyasova 18 , Semih Erden 10 Ömer Aşık 8, Oğuz Savaş 7, Hidayet Türkoğlu 6, Barış Hersek 2.
Great Britain (53): Jarrett Hart 14 (2 rb), Mike Lenzley 3, Andrew Sullivan 5 (3 rb), Rob Archibald 10 (5 rb- 2 as), Nate Reinking (1 rb- 1 as), Justin Robinson 3 (2 as), Andrew Betts (1 rb- 1 as), Dan Clark 7 (11 rb), Nick George 3 (9 rb), Jermaine
August 28, 2009 at 2:00 pm · Filed under Team GB
Courtesy of gameongb - The Standard Life GB men were defeated by Macedonia as they lost 78-67 in Ankara, Turkey.
Kieron Achara and Flinder Boyd both returned to the roster but Joel Freeland was counted out due to an intestinal illness.
Nick George again top scored, with 14 points, Andy Betts was the only other Brit in double figures with 11 while Robert Archibald had 9.
Head Coach Chris Finch said: “It was really poor, for the first time I thought we played pretty uninspired. We played really stupid and I was embarrassed by our performance tonight.”
“We have been playing hard and competing, but tonight we couldn’t do any of that which was frustrating because the game was there for us to win.
We have a lot of work to do before Poland. The first thing is to get everybody fitter and then after that we have to learn how to make each other better and play through the tough times.”
However Finch tried to remain positive “We know we can go to Poland and beat anybody on the day.”
Macedonia are in Group A of the European Championships, alongside Israel, Croatia and Greece. Britain will now return to the UK for final preparations, before they head to Poland.
August 28, 2009 at 12:03 pm · Filed under British Basketball League (BBL)
Heat Coach Chad McKnight has put the finishing touches to the core of next year’s team by signing veteran American, Kenny Langhorne.
Courtesy of the BBL - The 28 year-old has been playing professionally in America since leaving college in 2006 and this will be his first time playing in Europe. Kenny played in the American Basketball Association, the International Basketball League and most recently in the Premier Basketball League where he starred for the Battle Creek Knights.
A 6’5″ shooting guard, Kenny has a reputation as an explosive scorer and a fan-favourite, as he proved last season with the Battle Creek Knights. Kenny led the team in scoring, at 19.7 points per game, guiding them to a regular-season record of 18 wins and just two losses. This was the best record in the league, leading the Battle Creek Knights to the top of the Central Division and all the way to the play-off finals where they lost to the Rochester RazorSharks.
Kenny is set to make a big impact for the Guildford Heat and is sure to get the crowd on its feet with his high-flying, fast-paced game. Kenny is stepping into some big shoes at the Heat, following on from high- scoring fan-favourites such as Danny Gilbert and last season’s leading scorer, Keonta Howell. However, Kenny has the experience and talent to make his first season with the Heat one to remember!
Chad McKnight is delighted to have signed a player with Kenny’s proven ability. Speaking about his latest acquisition, Chad said:
“I’m looking forward to having Kenny on the team this season. Kenny is an explosive player, he can get to the basket and finish. He can knock down the 3 and can defend. I think he will be a great addition to our team.”
August 27, 2009 at 11:32 am · Filed under British Basketball League (BBL)
Courtesy of the BBL – The Glasgow Rocks have added some European flavour to their squad with the signing of Lithuanian centre Paulius Packevicius. The 6ft9 big man spent last season playing in the premier basketball league in Switzerland, the Ligue Nationale de Basketball A (LNBA), with the Geneva Devils.
A strong rebounder, Rocks player/coach Sterling Davis hopes Packevicius will provide a big presence on the court:
“Paulius is a guy that will give us some presence on the inside. He has that typical European big man style game that can often be a burden for other teams to handle.”
Coach Davis believes his experience at university in the United States and last season, in the Swiss premier league, will have prepared him well for what lies ahead in the BBL:
“He’s played at a pretty high level at Rice University and then on to Switzerland. We are looking forward to seeing what he can do within the league.”
Packevicius will arrive in Glasgow next week to meet up with the squad and begin preparations for the upcoming season.
The first chance to see Packevicius and his new team mates in action will be on Monday 21st September at the Glasgow Rocks pre-season launch match vs. USA Select at Kelvin Hall. The following Sunday 27th September the Rocks will tip-off the 2009/10 season with the visit of the Newcastle Eagles to Glasgow (tip- off 5pm)
Paulius Packevicius Profile:
Height: 206cm / 6’9”
Weight: 230lbs / 104kg
Born: March 3rd, 1985
Previous Team: Geneva Devils (Switzerland) (2008-09)
Nationality: Lithuanian
College: Rice
August 27, 2009 at 7:01 am · Filed under British Basketball League (BBL)
Jeff “Pointy Eagle” King for gbbasketball.net
Not so much rumours as a lot of facts and only the odd little “tit-bit” to throw in!!! Oh, and as you may have seen if you read the site regularly something I hinted at did come true or has it??? To be honest since I last blogged almost a month ago the rumours have mainly become realities and rumours have decreased.
I also know that a lot of what I’m about to regurgitate is probably just satisfying my ego of not having written in a while but as I get over the disappointment of missing the O2 (although I did have a great family holiday) and the crushing disappointment of giving in to reality then I needed something to fill the void.
What crushing disappointment??? Well, even though I’ve got my plane seat booked for Poland, I’m not going…………………long story, which I’m pretty good at but won’t bore you with but as I say reality has bitten me firmly on the………………………..
So, instead I’ve immersed myself in BBL waters and hopefully can bring you a pointer or two to fill in a gap or two about some of the stories I’ve heard and not heard!!!
Oh and thank god for YouTube which seems to make every player on it the greatest I’ve ever seen. You can tell though that YouTube is all about entertainment as how many of those videos feature Defense!!!
Enough rabbiting now let’s go and boy hasn’t everyone been busy!!!
Cheshire Jets – with Marks sealed they’ve started a real solid recruitment programme. First back and as co-captain where and are no surprise. Calvin Davis and James Hamilton who rumour has it have a pair of good knees between them!!! These two BBL and Jets veterans can still get it done with the best of them and they’ll be needed as the Jets threaten to go deep.
First in was “pure” PG Paul Peterson or “Pee-Pee” as I’ve dubbed him. No doubt no-one else will and I’ll look silly. Listed at 5’10” or 5’9” depending on what site you look him up the former Brigham-Young Hawaii graduate played in Germany last season. Mind it was not at the highest level, indeed it was not even at the second level as he was in Regionalliga.
Still from what I’ve picked up he likes to dish and with the players around him that’s all he might have to do although devotees of YouTube will have seen him drain a long-range bucket or two.
He was followed in to Chester by a returnee, Big Frank Phifer who when I saw him last year was either a non-entity or a top scorer. He finished the season averaging 11ppg & 7.3rpg and with a full season of Marks and Peterson in the backcourt will be looking to up that this year. Could be a sensible choice and adds stability to the roster with the other returnees.
And finally, for the moment, we have a really exciting signing. At 6’7” Colin O’Reilly comes from the Irish SuperLeague where he managed to only average 28.6ppg and win the League MVP Trophy. Another YouTube “boyo” he certainly seems to shot the 3-ball well and at that height that’s going to be some asset.
The ex-Dart Killester star is currently ripping it up for the Irish National side too and contributing regular double-digit efforts at International level. He could be one of the best signings of the season and certainly seems to give Jets another scoring option.
So, by my reckoning that means there’s no place for Shawn Myers at Jets this season. Have we lost Shawn from The BBL??? Quite possibly but you never know!!! Also with the signing of “Pee-Pee” what news of Steven Gayle??? Surely he’s got to be picked up by someone although if it’s the Jets would he be happy with yet another support role???
Everton Tigers – all I can tell you about The Tiggers is that they are done and dusted and just biding their time before announcing. I don’t believe “The Newcastle Three” will land there though??? Who knows, well Bada does and he can’t say although he does have some very interesting info on one of their signings that he believes Tony G doesn’t know!!! But, although I didn’t break it as I couldn’t and although it’s not totally 100% confirmed did you read the story about Midge??? Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!! Now perhaps you know why he’s not Poland bound.
All I’ll say in conclusion on Everton is if I was a fan then I wouldn’t be too worried about what’s coming and I think you might not lament those lost for very long!!!
Essex Pirates – the Press Gang has been out and rounded-up a few likely matey’s!!! Ok, that’s enough but having a team called “Pirates” in the L does give headline writers and pun-makers all of a shiver!!! Tim Lewis was duly installed as HC and then they plundered Spain and came up with Pablo Rodrigo.
Now this looks like an interesting one to say the least. If my very, very poor Spanish is right I believe this guy played for CB Navalcarnero in LEB Bronze and won the league MVP in 2007/08??? A centre at 2.04 he averaged 10.5ppg and 5 rpg last season in a slightly less successful year during which he had two months out through injury.
Is LEB Bronze any good??? Well, it is probably rated about the same or slightly better as the BBL so if Rodrigo can average the same in the BBL then he looks like a solid signing. Eagles Charles Smith played in LEB Bronze in 2007/08 and did a solid if not spectacular job in the same standard and we all know what he’s capable of in the BBL.
They then followed this up with the Canadian Brit, Kyle Dodd at 6’11” and fresh out of Eastern Michigan University this kid looks a real solid prospect and as an ex-GB under 20 player is well known to Tim Lewis.
And then they brought in some real BBL experience in Dean Williams and promptly made him Captain. Another smart looking move as Deano certainly knows the BBL well and can perform well at this level. A lot may rest on his shoulders but I’m sure he wouldn’t have signed if he wasn’t confident that the prospects looked good.
But what really encourages me about The Pirates is that they look to have got the local community behind them already and are not just going to throw money at 3 Americans and hope that’s good enough. They are taking a gamble of building for the future and making encouraging noises about how their rota will be filled out.
Really looks as if they’ve done their homework and have solid plans which bodes well.
Guildford Heat – was it a big surprise when Captain Fantastic returned??? I guess it was when you read and heard the rumours about Mike Martin but this will almost certainly turn out to be Guildford’s most important signing of the summer. Perhaps someone should have asked Mike his intentions!!!
They’ve also returned Daniel Sandell who is a player I think can improve and perform better in this league than he has done. Perhaps some of it is down to a lack of court-time something I think he’ll see a lot more of this season.
Slightly more surprising was the signing of JJ who returns to the BBL after a year or so hiatus. Now, there’s no doubting Julius Joseph’s scoring prowess and knowledge of the L. If he’s fit and motivated he could turn out to be a solid signing and even more so since he’s not an import spot.
Which leads me nicely in to the first announced Heat import. Aaron “LA” Drakeford is a 6’0” PG with a YouTube video showing nice handles and a good shot. The University of Rio Grande is not necessarily the highest standard but “LA” has the advantage of having played against Coach McKnight in the summer.
Chad seems to think he’ll fit the bill so I guess this is another rookie to look forward to seeing.
Leicester Riders – Robbie P continues to go about his business quietly which means he’ll be prowling and scheming and looking and recruiting. Since my last blog he’s returned Isaac Westbrooks who certainly got better and better as the season progressed and from whom further improvement can be expected. Tony Windless is also back and whilst every year The Hurricane appears to blow a little less hard he’s still a quality addition to this roster with his experience and abilities and still capable on his day.
Rob’s also managed to add Adam Williams to his roster this season a player I know he wanted last year but couldn’t quite fit in. Adam’s a solid BBL player who probably hasn’t quite fulfilled his potential. Rob knows his game well though and will no doubt bring out the best in him.
London Capital – last time I said it was a shock to me that they were announced as a BBL starter for 09/10. This blog I have to say that it’s not a surprise that there’s no announcements of any kind that I can bring you from them at this time. A bit worrying???
Milton Keynes Lions – I expected to see a few familiar faces arrive at MK and wasn’t therefore surprised when they announced Mike New and Dru Spinks. No-brainers really, Mike is a fantastic warrior, a nice guy and key at the moment to their Academy set-up. He therefore might as well continue playing!!!
Dru will enter his 12th season with MK and almost certainly will be captain again??? A true Lion and such a loyal servant.
Like I said no-brainers but nice to have them confirmed all the same.
Newcastle Eagles – probably, if you are still reading, the one you’ve been waiting for??? Well let’s look at the facts first. Darius, Bridgey and Big L all announced and signed. Great to have L back and as I understand it he’s really getting back in to shape. Remember what The Eagles achieved last year without him!!!
I’m pretty certain that there will still be one or four familiar faces that will also put pen to paper very soon and be announced which probably means that we have four roster spots left. A couple of good young British talents will probably make it to the bench leaving the two non-permit signings to be confirmed.
Actually one already is but I couldn’t possibly tell you at the moment who that is!!! Which leaves one to come and I’ve had a few names thrown at me and checked most of them out via other sites, YouTube etc. One or two look v v v good and come highly recommended.
One or two have already indicated they’d be happy to come, one or two are less likely but we have an expression “In Fab and Paul We Trust! And when you also have The Knowledge to call on I’m pretty sure we’ll get it right.
But, as we now know, it won’t be Sanders, Yanders or Martin in Toon this season except in two of those cases when they are on the visiting roster!!!
I will finish with this on The Eagles………………………….I’m happy with the direction we are going!!!
Plymouth Raiders – continue to be busy and continue to be happy to announce. Irish/American Matt Hilleary was the next one in and at 6’8” and with dual-nationality looks good on paper. He certainly had a great 07/08 in the Irish Superleague but what happened in 08/09???
I’d have expected also to see such a talent on the National Squad??? Still, Gary seems to think he’s a good ’un and I’d venture you have to be a bit useful to make his bench???
They’ve also promoted two from their 2nd XI which is always good to see even if one of them is a very familiar face in Jamie Burchill who’s warmed the Raiders bench before!!! The other one is a 6’5” small forward in Jay Marriott who has found his patience, hard work and effort rewarded.
After being a part of the training squad Gary’s decided the time is right to encourage this young man and reward him with a place on the 1st XI roster where he’ll be joined by returnee forward James Noel who had a great game in the Play-Offs last season against The Eagles with 21 & 11 and if the saying “you’re only as good as your last game” applies then he’s good and can only get better?!?!?!
And then they filled their last non-permit spot with yet another newcomer to the L and Plymouth making for really sweeping changes all-round and no Dru Lasker!!! At 6’6” Florentino Valencia certainly sounds the part coming in from The PBL and Battle Creek Hawks where his numbers were decent.
Battle Creek is an ex-club of Carlton Aaron so that’s probably helped Gary get a bit of a heads-up on “Tino”. Valencia actually played against and outscored another league rookie in Worthing’s Kadiri Richard so perhaps they are one step ahead of their South Coast rivals already???
Scottish Rocks – after a worrying few weeks it seems the Rocks have made real strides in the last few weeks. First of they are now officially The Glasgow Rocks so perhaps that’ll help them establish an even bigger fan base?
Then Rob Yanders, despite strong overtures from elsewhere, decided his future and heart still belonged to Glasgae!!! A great signing and they returned the always dangerous and still full of massive potential Gareth Murray who has improved year on year out. Continuity then and joining Sterl with a good spine.
But their two announced signings to fill their permit spots are really exciting and intriguing and come with a very useful and impressive background. First up is Mike Copeland a 6’7” forward who was on the roster of no less than the NCAA 2009 Champions North Carolina Tar Heels!!!
Sure he only played 17 games last season, sure there are ? over his fitness and how well he’ll recover from his right knee ACL problem but he’s been a Tar Heel for 4 years and that’s got to make him a really decent standard if he’s fit. A calculated gamble it seems.
And then we have another one from a stellar US College and a fit right in at the 2 slot. Jessie Sapp was a four year starter at the Georgetown Hoyas where the 6’3” guard was a regular double figure scorer. In 07/08 he actually hit 23pts against Villanova and that shows real pedigree. He looks a real prospect.
Which gives Glasgow perhaps a starting five already??? Yanders, Sapp, Murray, Davis and Copeland sounds a line-up to me and that’s where Rocks need to look closely. One of the reasons they’ve not stepped up over the last couple of years has been strength in depth.
If they added returnees like Randy George, Wilbur Johnson, Marc Pratt and Chi Lewis-Parry to that mix then they could be very, very dangerous. Trouble is it’s a big IF!!!
Sheffield Sharks – well I was wrong (or perhaps misinformed!!!) as Matt Gorman is back. Slightly surprising one this to me. Not on talent, certainly, as he is a very good player it just seems that he carried an injury or two and there had to be ? over that. He’s a very good all-round player with the added advantage of being an outside threat at 6’10”. If fit he’ll be trouble for his opponents.
And then like Rocks they came up with another potentially explosive signing with a great pedigree and background. The University of Pittsburgh or Pitt has always had a reputation as a strong basketball college and you have to be good to get in. You have to be even better to become a starter!!!
Mike Cook was both good enough and better and as recently as 07/08 was a starter averaging 10.4ppg for The Hoyas. Yes, he’s another ACL victim this time on the left knee but a 6’4” and alongside Ryan Patton in the backcourt this is going to give Sharks some serious firepower. If fit I think along with Sapp and Copeland of the Rocks he could light up this L!!!
Certainly the Sharks look like they’ve got real bite and I gather there’s more to come too!!!
Worcester Wolves – quietish murmurings from the den but one very solid looking announcement made to back up the previous ones. Welcome to the BBL Kenneth “SKYwalker” Saunders and with a name like that you just know he’s on YouTube!!!
After a good career at NCAA II Fort Valley State, Saunders has put up reasonable numbers in the Swiss 1st Division and the WBA with the Cartersville Warriors. At 6’6” he certainly looks athletic enough and one to watch.
Worthing Thunder – well, Mr Titmuss turned his key and re-opened the Thunder’s doors to one of the BBL’s best players from last season who put up really good numbers in Janis Ivanovskis. A really good returnee for the South Coast boys.
And then they added Kadiri Richard, another YouTube graduate!!! This 6’8” athletic leaper led both the ABA and the PBL in blocks and certainly doesn’t look as if he lacks confidence. Added in to this is that if you check out YouTube he always seems to have a huge smile on his face. Looks like a real character landing in The Thunderdome and from a great height too!!!
Thunder have certainly started big and in comes another!!! Petroslav Zafirov is a 6’8” Bulgarian who typical of those from Eastern Europe looks as if he’s as good outside as he is inside. Certainly on the land of YouTube his 3-ball looks smooth and his fundamentals look good.
They’ve also announced General Patton’s replacement, Sherrad Prezzie-Blue!!! A veritable bundle of energy and speed at the PG position this 5’11” disher actually played at Northampton Neptunes in EBL Division 2 last season. But, like I said in my last article, Titmuss knows the EBL and the BBL and sees SPB as a genuine player that can make the step-up and lead his team.
And I’ve already decided with these first announcements to award The Thunder the first trophy of the season………………….The 2009/10 Commentator’s Nightmare Award!!!
So, I’m caught up again no doubt only to have this published and another e-mail or two bounce in just before or after it goes live!!!
As I said when I started more facts than rumours which means the Mill is working more smoothly or at least perhaps it means I’ve been sworn to secrecy on a couple or few things that have been tied up but not announced!!!
Not long to go now and things are certainly exciting and interesting to say the least. Until next time, keep those big wheels grinding!!!
August 27, 2009 at 6:44 am · Filed under British Basketball League (BBL)
foto – northampton-neptunes.co.uk
Courtesy of the BBL – Worthing Thunder Basketball Club is pleased to announce their eighth signing ahead of the 2009/10 British Basketball League season, with news that Sherrad Prezzie-Blue is coming to join the team.
The 22 year old 5’11″ Connecticut native was the standout point guard at Division 3 College Wentworth Tech, averaging 17 points a game, making 40% of his three point attempts and 81% of his free throws for his four years there.
Sherrad showed great loyalty to his coach by staying at Wentworth when other, bigger colleges came calling for him, which is part of the attraction for Thunder Operations Director Alan Sweetman- Hicks: “Coach Dave Titmuss is very big on loyalty and team togetherness, so the fact that Sherrad stayed loyal to his coach at college is a big plus for us. Whilst his route to the BBL has not followed the established route, we are convinced that he can play at this level and that his lightening speed and accurate 3 point shooting will make him a genuine threat in this league and his all round game will help those around him to reach their full potential.”
August 26, 2009 at 1:44 pm · Filed under Eurobasket Poland 2009
After being drafted as the 5th overall pick by the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, many were surprised having foretold of a possible 1st or 2nd pick for Ricky Rubio.Even so, this was a first round pick into the NBA, something many players would dream of.
It seemed all was well and the NBA was readying itself for the Spanish arrival, until the buyout clause came to light. It turned out that Rubio’s contract with his old side Joventut stated that for Rubio to indeed complete his dream and set sail to the NBA, Minnesota would have to pay a buyout fee of a reported $6.6 million.
Even if the wolves would be willing to pay this amount, a collective bargaining agreement in the NBA states that buyout payments cannot exceed $500,000. Suddenly it was nothing but doom and gloom for the player who was expected to be the best thing to come out of Europe since his international counterpart Pau Gasol.
In a final twist, Rubio stated that even if he wasn’t to go to the NBA, he no longer wished to be a part of the Joventut outfit. Both Barcelona and Read Madrid pounced on the chance to aquire an NBA 1st round pick.
Having rejected an initial offer, sources are now saying Barcelona have now had an offer accepted for $3.7 million to buy Rubio out from his contract on a 6 year deal, with the buyout NBA clause decreasing with each year. This would make him the most expensive transfer to take place in European basketball. If the tranfer is indeed confirmed to be correct, than maybe the never ending tail that was Ricky Rubio will finally be over.
Is he worth the gossip? Tune in to the EuroBasket championships 2009 to watch and decide for yourselves. This can be done by registering with the Fiba Tv platform.
Sammy Nanneh
UPDATE: An ESPN source is now saying that Barcelona is leaking the information to the newspaper Marca (who published the news of the deal being confirmed) in order to put pressure on Joventut to accept Barcelona’s latest offer. The mystery goes on for the time being!
August 26, 2009 at 1:01 pm · Filed under Team GB
photo - eurocupbasketball
Already without a host of players, Chris Finch has been rocked by the news that Kieron Achara has suffered a groin injury that could rule him out of the tournament. Hopes are that the injury is not as bad as first feared and that Achara, who was one of the best players in Seville last week can still line-up in Warsaw
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