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Archive for February, 2010
February 28, 2010 at 6:40 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls split their weekend games, losing 100-90 at Indiana Pacers on Saturday after winning 115-111 in overtime against Portland Trailblazers the previous night.
On Friday, Deng finished with 23 points in 45 minutes, off an eight from 13 shooting night and a near-perfect seven from eight at the foul line. He also added seven boards, two assists, a steal and a block.
Seven of his points came in overtime as Bulls recorded a decent victory against one of the best sides in the Western Conference. After leading by 13 early in the game, Bulls looked to have won the game in regulation, only to see Derrick Rose’s shot rim out.
In overtime, Portland missed five straight shots and the Bulls opened a 112-107 lead. However Joakim Noah missed two free throws that really would have sealed the game with 90 seconds left. Roy missed a trey with five seconds left for Portland’s last hope, and a Deng dunk at the other end wrapped things up.
That shooting touch deserted Deng the following evening, scoring only five of his 14 field goal attempts and half his six free throws on the way to 13 points in 34 minutes. He did make up for it defensively, though pulling down 13 boards at his own end on the way to a season-high 18 rebounds.
Having trailed 54-47 at half-time, Bulls were 12 down late in the third quarter and 16 midway through the fourth, and with Chicago committing six of their 21 turnovers in the fourth quarter, Chicago could cut the lead below double digits just once in the fourth quarter.
Bulls remain sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 31-28 record and have fifth placed Toronto Raptors in their sight. They start a run of four straight home games, starting with Atlanta on Monday, Memphis on Thursday and Dallas on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ben Gordon and the Detroit Pistons are probably just waiting for the season to end as they went down to a pair of road losses. Friday night saw them lose 107-102 at Denver, and things didn’t get any better the following night as the went down 95-88 at Golden State Warriors.
On Friday, Gordon finished with nine points in 24 minutes, adding a board and an assist in a game that Pistons had looked capable of winning until the final two and a half minutes when a Chauncey Billups three-pointer sparked an 8-2 run that sealed the win..
Saturday evening saw him add eight points to his three boards and two steals in 18:36 of action as Detroit let a double-digit first period slip and allow the home side to outscore them 58-38 in the second half.
Pistons’ slim play-off hopes now look over, and they are 12th in the east with 21 wins from 59 games. They host Boston Celtics on Tuesday before travelling to New York Knicks.
Picture courtesy of NBAE/Getty Images.
February 27, 2010 at 11:16 am · Filed under European Basketball, GB basketball (General)
Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Qualification Tournament director Mark Clark believes that British basketball shouldn’t under-sell itself in the wake of last week’s successful competition in east London.
“It does demonstrate that we enough commitment and work, we can offer Euroleague basketball in this country” he said.
“We have coaches who can develop the players, we can organise events and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be moving the game onto this level.
“We shouldn’t knock ourselves or put ourselves down in this country. If we strive for it, we can move the game on to bigger things.”
Clark was delighted with the success of the competition: “It went perfectly in the sense that everything we set out to achieve went well” he said. “Obviously we can do it better, but it achieved all the objectives that we had when we started out,
“The Euroleague and clubs were happy, so were the scouts and everyone else who were at the competition. We received a lot of positive comments, and I think it was positive for basketball in this country.”
Full interview at www.euroleaguelondon.com.
Picture shows action from Barking Abbey v’s Maccabi Tel Aviv – courtesy and copyright of Tony Fowles/essexsportsagency.com
February 27, 2010 at 4:51 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Duncan Ogilvie
Kim Butler – Panionios. Greek A1
On Feb 7th against Apollon Ptolemaidas, Panionios lost on the road 80-70. Kim had 18 points and 8 rebounds shooting 7-11 from 2 and hitting 4-5 free throws. A week later on the 13th Panionios blew out Larrissa at home 84-56. Kim having 12 points 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
On the 21st Panionios travelled across Athens to take on Fea, a game which saw the visitors throw away a 12 point half time lead and lose 79-73. Kim contributes 21 points 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The defeat leaves Panionios with a disappointing 8-8 record and 9th in the table. Sunday 28th will see them return home to face 10th place Apollo Kalamaria.
Sarah McKay – Cadi Le Seu. L.F.1 Spain
Still unattached but Sarah is currently working out with a team from LF1 in Olesa Spain.
Louise Gamman – Fila San Martino Di Lupari A2 North Italy
On February 7th San Martino faced Bologna and lost 71-50 in 38 minutes Louise had 10 points and 13 rebounds. The 14th saw San Martino at home against Milano, Louise had a huge 16 points 16 rebound night but it wasn’t enough to stop a 68-58 defeat. On the 20th they faced 12th places Sernavimar Marghera on the road gaining a valuable 59-76 victory. Louise contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes of play, the win moves them up to eighth with a 10-11 record. On the 27th San Martino returns home to face league leaders Cagliari.
February 27, 2010 at 4:43 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Matt Clear
Top performer: Matthew Bryan-Amaning
Matthew Bryan-Amaning extended his run of double-figure scoring games to five and counting with two more excellent performances this week.
He began with 14 points in a home loss to USC. In one of his most complete games of the year, Bryan-Amaning notched seven rebounds, two steals and a block, and stayed out of foul trouble. The junior forward was near-perfect from the field, going 6-7.
Washington then won their final home game of the season, a 97-68 victory over UCLA. Bryan-Amaning scored 12 points on 5-6 shooting, adding five rebounds and three steals. The only real blemish on his stat sheet was his 4-8 free-throw shooting over the week’s two games.
Right now, Bryan-Amaning is showing the most consistent form of his college career by far. Could the Londoner be finally becoming the player the Huskies need him to be, just in time for the postseason? Here’s Husky blogger Josh Anderson’s take:
“Is it possible that Matthew Bryan-Amaning is just coming out of a three-year long cold streak? The adjustments he’s made are so slight — less dribbling in the post, taking an extra second to make a decision, moving toward the basket when he shoots — but MBA looks like a completely different player.”
How the other Brits fared:
• Arizona State only had one game this week, but it was a big one as they beat in-state rivals Arizona to go to second in the Pac-10, just half a game back on leaders California. Eric Boateng had an ineffective night, scoring just six points on 2-7 shooting and pulling down only three rebounds in 24 minutes. Boateng’s playing time was limited by foul trouble. He did tie his season high with three assists, however.
• Sunday was a big day for Mike Williams as the seven-footer made his first-ever NCAA start. Williams scored six points on 2-3 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and handing out two assists in 17 minutes. It’s a sign of Williams’ progress that a solid line like that is now expected from him, when just a few months ago it would have been unthinkable.
Duquesne won the game, their third straight, improving to 6-7 in the Atlantic-10.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a nice story on how Williams’ hard work and determination has contributed to his upturn in form – http://j.mp/cSS7r4
• This week ESPN held its annual series of ‘Bracketbuster’ games, pitting mid-major teams from different conferences against each to give them some national exposure before tournament season. Rider were given a tough matchup against Hofstra, who play in the CAA, one of the stronger mid-major conferences. The Broncs gave a spirited performance but went down 92-89.
Justin Robinson scored 12 points on 4-11 shooting (2-4 on threes). Robinson also had six rebounds and five assists in a typically solid performance.
Rider has two more games left in the regular season, against Canisius and runaway MAAC leaders Siena.
• Charleston’s Bracketbuster game was also against a CAA team, George Mason. The Cougars showed their quality by coming up with an 85-83 win. Andrew Lawrence got his usual 15 minutes and three shots, hitting one of them to finish with three points, two rebounds and an assist.
The big game of the week, however, was against Wofford. With the two teams level both holding 13-3 records, the game would essentially determine who topped the South Division and the Southern Conference overall. Wofford’s home advantage proved decisive as they won 74-68, Lawrence going scoreless in 12 minutes on the court.
• Davidson had three games in five days this week, going 2-1 to put them at 10-7 in the Southern Conference with just one game remaining in their season.
It began with victory at home to Furman, Ben Allison scoring five points and hauling in two boards in 11 minutes. Allison’s shooting was off in a loss to Chattanooga – he went 1-4 for two points, with three rebounds. Allison was then scoreless in the final game of the week, recording three turnovers, although he helped out on the boards with five rebounds.
The results mean that Davidson have secured third place in the SoCon’s South Division with a game to spare. The Wildcats will face the last-placed North Division team in the first round of the SoCon tournament. The winner will play Western Carolina, who have clinched second place in the North.
• After being marginalised for the last couple of weeks, Ben Eaves played 20 minutes against Saint Louis, tying a career high. Eaves shot 2-5 from downtown for six points. The Preston-born swingman followed that up with four points in seven minutes as Rhode Island blew out Fordham, 101-75.
February 26, 2010 at 10:32 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Nick Nurse and Iowa Energy suffered a shock 118-100 home loss against Reno on Thursday evening – just two days after beating the same side by four points.
The Energy were 27-20 ahead at the first break, but the visitors went on a 22-2 run at the start of the second period, and were 36-31 ahead at half-time. A 30-22 third period put the Bighorns firmly in control, and despite a 37-32 fourth quarter it was too late for Iowa.
Othyus Jeffers finished with 19 points to lead Iowa, who still lead the East Conference by eight and a half games over the Maine Red Claws. Earl Barron added a game-high 15 rebounds to his 18 points for the Energy, with Cartier Martin also finishing on 18 points.
In Tuesday’s game, 22 Jeff Trepagnier points helped Nurse’s team to a 120-116 victory. Once again it was a balanced scoring effort, though, with seven players finishing in double figures. Earl Barron was a rebound shy of a double-double with 21 points, while Othyus Jeffers had 16 points and ten rebounds in 26 minutes.
Energy were made to work hard for their 30th victory in 36 outings, though, letting the Bighorns recover from a 28-20 first period deficit to still be in the game at 88-81 going into the final break.
Reno’s Rod Benson put his team 109-108 ahead just inside the two minute mark, and a Will Blalock lay-up with 69 seconds remaining preserved that one point lead. However a Jeffers slam dunk following by an old fashioned three-point play from Trepagnier – both off Stinson assists – put the home team in charge, and the closed out the win from the foul line.
Iowa now host Sioux Falls on Saturday and Sunday in another double header.
Picture courtesy of NBAE/Getty Images.
February 26, 2010 at 10:17 am · Filed under EBL
By Dave Ryan
Basketball returns to Crystal Palace on Sunday as England Basketball stages the National Trophy and Patron’s Cup finals.
Durham Wildcats will meet Westminster Warriors in the Patron’s final – for Division Two team s – at 12.30pm, before Manchester Magic play London Mets in the Division One Trophy final.
While not the easiest of venues to get to – certainly by road – Palace, historically it has been one of the main venues for basketball during the history of the game in this country.
It was (obviously) the home of Crystal Palace who won six top division league titles plus two in the second tier, four play-off championships in the top flight play-off championships and two in the second level, as well as the National Cup a record seven times.
Palace “merged” (and by merged, I mean taken over) with London Towers in the summer under the imaginative name of London Towers, but Rick Taylor’s franchise pulled out of the BBL in the summer of 2006, and top level basketball disappeared from the venue,
Towers continued to run a team in EBL Division Three South (basically their former B team), but they left Palace in the summer of 2007, and the venue closed for basketball soon after. After a couple of years wandering around south London, Towers pulled out of the EBL in 2009, and are effectively defunct.
With the capital hosting its first EBL finals since 2001 (when it worked with the BBL to stage finals weekend at Wembley), it’s fitting that two London-based sides will be in action on Sunday – and unsurprisingly both coaches are excited about playing there.
“Playing at Palace in front of our home fans in London is going to be inspiring for us” said Warriors coach Junior Williams, “but its not as much of an advantage that most people think. It’s a very big court with very nice rims so its easy for anyone to came and play well there.”
Meanwhile Mets player-coach Solomon Ayinla is also pleased that the final is being staged as one of British basketball’s most famous venues: “Crystal Palace brings back lot of memories, I once played for Crystal Palace basketball club, under the leadership of Alton Byrd, a man that I respect a lot.”
Obviously the two London teams have an advantage travelling to the final on the doorstep, but Manchester Magic can hardly have cause for complaints having had their had their previous five finals staged within 60 miles of their bases, and they will again stage the EBL Final 4s this season.
And there’s certainly no argument from Durham Wildcats coach Dave Elderkin who has particular reason to look forward to a return to Palace. The south London venue was the scene of one of his greatest triumphs, when, on New Year’s Day 1991, he led his Sunderland Saints BBL team to victory in the Final of the World Invitation Club Basketball Championships.
“I have very fond memories of ‘Palace” says Elderkin, “but they’ll probably be far from my mind when we take to the court on Sunday – the most important game, for any team, coach or player, is always the next one!”
Tickets for the action at Palace are available on the day priced at £8 for adults and £4 for kids, and cover both games.
Picture – courtesy of Karl Southern/imageexcellent.co.uk – shows Chez Marks in action for London Towers at Crystal Palace,
February 26, 2010 at 10:07 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Duncan Ogilvie
Chantelle Handy – Marshall University NCAA 1
Marshall have played 6 games since my last report first up was away to Central Florida in a 56-47 loss, Chantelle had a team high 18 points and 4 rebounds in 34 minutes. 6th Feb Marshall travelled to Southern Miss who convincingly beat the Herd 67-39. Handy led her team again will 11 points and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes. On the 11th they returned home to face Tulane only to suffer a 3rd straight loss 64-54. Chantelle contributed 10 points and 8 rebounds in the defeat. Marshall got back to winning ways with a home victory against UTEP 56-65. Handy had 12, 6 and 4 assists in 33 minutes. On the 21st SMU came to town and walked away with a 74-64 victory, in the loss Chantelle contributed 12 and 6 in 35 minutes. On the 26th it was Memphis who got the better of the Herd to the tune of a 53-62 victory. In a loss that dropped the Herd to 14-13 Chantelle had 10 and 9 with 4 assists in 35 minutes. With only 2 games left for the Herd in the regular season on the 27th against UAB and then wrapping things up on the 3rd march against East Carolina, Marshall will hope to get 2 victory’s and finish with an 8-8 conference record.
Georgia Jones – Oral Roberts University NCAA 1
ORU have gone 4-1 since my last report to take their record to 19-8 and 13-3 in conference. ORU healthy 2 GB interests Crystal Turner and Dominique Allen have had an up and down season so far seeing limited time and both struggling to break the rotation and thus finding it hard to perform consistently. ORU have 2 games of the regular season remaining on the 27th away to UMKC and concluding the season against Southern Utah on the 1st March.
Lauren Thomas Johnson – Marquette University NCAA 1
Lauren has played 6 games since my last report, losing all but 1. In a disappointing run of form that saw a loss to Syracuse on the 6th 69-60 (5pts 1 rebounds). Picking up a win against USF at home on the 9th 63-50 (2 rebounds in 22 minutes), 13th saw them lose to Providence at home 53-44 (8 pts 2 rebs 22 minutes). On the 16th a visit to Louisville saw them leave with a 77-61 loss (9 pts, 3 rebs in 26 mins). On the 20th Depaul came to town and walked away with a 72-63 win (13 pts, 2 rebs in 29 mins). A visit to Notre Dame on the 23th ended in a 82-67 loss (3pts, 1 reb in 15 mins). Marquette have 2 regular season games left 27th at west Virginia and the 1st at home against Cincinnati. The teams record is currently 14-13 and 5- 9 in conference play.
Johannah Leedham – Franklin Pearce University NCAA 2
Jo and FPU have finished up their regular season since my last report playing 7 games. It was all smooth sailing for FPU as they won games on the 3,6,9,13th of February to take their record to an impressive 23-0 and conference championship. However on the 17th Merrimack came to town and managed to do something that no one else has done since last seasons national championship game, and that’s beat Franklin Pearce University 71-64. Jo’s 31 points was not enough to prevent the loss and ruin a potential perfect season.
It was however business as usual on the 20th with a 77-73 win at Bentley. FPU rounded off the regular season on the 24th with a 91-38 smashing off Lowell. FPU finished the regular season with a 25-1 record and as conference champions. The NW-10 conference tournament will being on march 2nd. Jo finished her regular season with impressive averages of 26.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists 115 steals and 43 blocks, as well as countless other records and achievements. However all this will mean very little to Jo if her and her teammates are unable to go one better than last year and win the national championship. We wish Jo and FPU luck as the ‘win or go home’ season now starts.
Mary Durojaye – Robert Morris University NCAA 1
Since the 4th Feb Mary and Robert Morris have gone a perfect 7-0 in their games. On the 4th it took OT to win over St. Francis PA by 76-70, Mary had to watch from the side as she continued to recover from a concussion which caused her to miss the last game. On the 6th St. Francis PA came to RMU this time there was no OT and RMU won 79-48, mary did not feature in this game due to injury. 11th Feb Central Connecticut state where beaten at home 63-53. Mary returned from injury to amass a season high 15 points and 8 rebounds. On the 13th a visit to Bryant saw them win a close one 74-72, stats where unavailable for this game. On the 18th Sacred Heart where comfortably beaten 43-71 in 31 minutes Mary had 13 points and 10 rebounds to record her 4th double double of the year. The win also saw Robert Morris clinch the Northeast Conference regular season championship. On the 20th Quinnipiac where beaten 61-57 to mark the 5th time in 6 seasons that the team has one at least 20 games. Mary had 8 points and 14 rebounds 10 of which were offensive. On the 25th RMU took their win streak to 11 with a 70-67 victory over Wagner. Mary continued her great form with a career high 19 points. RMU will finish their regular season with a trip to Mount St. Mary’s on the 27th, with the conference tournament beginning on March 6th.
February 25, 2010 at 5:55 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Team GB captainl Luol Deng hit a season-high 31 points as Chicago Bulls bounced back from Monday’s loss against Washington Wizards with a 120-110 home victory against Indiana Pacers.
Deng finished with nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists, as well as converting ten of his 11 free-throws in 43 minutes.
The Bulls did it the hard way, though, letting a 23 point first period lead slip before taking control again with a 37-18 third quarter.
Deng was especially effective in the first period as he made all four of his shots and three free throws for 11 points and three rebounds.
“I really tried to come out aggressively in the first quarter,” Deng told NBA.com. “When they came out to guard me, I was able to get to the basket and when they dropped back I knocked down some shots.”
Bulls remain sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 30-27 record, and now host Portland Trailblazers on Friday before making a quick return to Indiana on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ben Gordon and the Detroit Pistons split their first two games of a road trip.
Gordon proved to be a real spark of the bench as Sacramento Kings were beaten 101-89 on their own court.
He finished with 11 points in 22 minutes, converting five of his seven field goal attempts including one three-pointer – though somehow he managed to pick up six fouls in that time.
Detroit outscored the Kings in the first three periods, going into the final break with a commanding 83-58 lead.
The following night saw a poor fourth period end their hopes of a victory at the Staples Centre, with LA Clippers winning 97-91.
They were architects of their own downfall, missing 12 of their 22 free-throws, and letting leads of 25-22 and 49-41 at the first two breaks slip away.
It was a particularly poor night for Gordon who finished scoreless in 19 minutes having missed all four of his shots. He did manage a couple of rebounds and the same amount of assists, but if he pulls out of the GB squad again this summer, he’ll hardly be able to blame tiredness.
Pistons stay on the road with a trip to Denver on Friday and Golden State Warriors the following night.
February 25, 2010 at 3:55 am · Filed under Uncategorized
After nearly 50 years of running the most successful basketball development camps in the world Five-Star Basketball and Leeds Carnegie Basketball would like to announce a partnership that will bring the very 1st traditional Five Star Basketball camp to the United Kingdom.
Five-Star Basketball boasts a reputation of giving their campers an opportunity to learn and develop as an individual while competing against the very best, supporting those statements over 400 NBA basketball players have honed their game at Five-Star basketball including Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Vince Carter. Until this year countless players from around the United Kingdom have had to travel to the USA in order to experience the Five-Star tradition but this year Leeds Carnegie Basketball will bring that experience to 120 junior/senior national league male participants between the ages of 11– 19 at Leeds Metropolitan University from August 9 – 13th.
The camp will run from 9am -10pm each day and will be offered to both residential and non-residential campers. Those staying the night have the great fortune to be staying in the newly built Carnegie Village located only steps from the door of the sports facilities. Coaches from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom as well as Europe will be provide the players with a well-rounded basketball education including a phenomenal 8-1 camper to coach ratio that ensures all campers will be receiving individual instruction and feedback throughout the entire week.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about the camp or registering for the camp please visit 5starbball.tv. Spaces are limited and we encourage anyone interested to sign up as soon as possible as clubs from across the United Kingdom as well as Europe have been encouraged to participate. If there are any questions please feel free to contact Matthew Newby the director of basketball at Carnegie at m.newby@leedsmet.ac.uk or via his mobile 07824482647.
February 25, 2010 at 3:25 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton.
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI (Italy Serie A)
No game last week for Kieran as the Italian Serie A take a week off.
Robert Archibald – Malaga (Spain ACB)
Just like Italy, the Spanish ACB teams all have a week off from domestic action
Andrew Betts – Aris ( Greece )
Looks like Andrew might have picked up an injury in his latest game last Wednesday against Ilysiakos. Aris won 97-83 but Andrew played just 9 minutes missing all of his 4 shots and grabbing just a rebound. Aris lie 8th on a 8-9 record.
Pops Mensah Bonsu – CSKA Moscow (Russia)
No fixture for the Russian giants last weekend
Flinder Boyd – Ourense (Spain LEB Gold)
Ourense ran out comfortable winners at weekend against Cornella. The game finished 79-56 with Flinder chipping in 5 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 16 minutes. Nice array of stats for the GB point guard who looks like he is fitting in very well with his new team. Ourense continue the climb and are now 9th on a 12-12 record, but only 4 games back on 3rd with 10 games to play.
Daniel Clarke – Estudiantes & Joel Freeland – Malaga( Spain ACB)
Nick George – Fastweb ( Italy Lega 2)
A narrow defeat at home to Trenkwalder saw Fastweb move on to a 12-9 record. The game ended 72-68, but Nick had a very good game. Finishing on 15 points off 6-13 shooting and 7 boards, it was the only high note for him personally
Jarret Hart – Keravnos (Cyprus)
In contrast to last weeks narrow win, it was a narrow loss at home to Etha. A 62-59 scoreline leaves Keravnos on a 9-6 record and 4th spot. Jarret scored just 2 points.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk (Czech Republic)
No game last weekend
Nate Reinking – Mons ( Belgium)
Another dismal display saw Mons defeated for the second game running. Charleroi destroyed their opponents 96-69 and left Mons on a 9-10 record in 4th. Nate only managed 5 points off again a poor shooting display (2-6) in 14 minutes of action.
Andrew Sullivan – Newcastle Eagles
Andrew has now played 2 games for Eagles over the weekend. On Saturday they faced Worcester Wolves in a tight affair. Eagles got the win 82-77 with Andrew coming off the bench to score 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes. He found his feet properly the following night as he scored a terrific 25 points in 29 minutes off 8-14 shooting. To boot he also got a double double by grabbing 10 rebounds. A positive start from Andrew as he tries to get his season back on track after a disapointing stint in Cyprus. Newcastle Eagles sit second in the BBL on a 21-5 record
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