(Tip of the hat to Eurostep for uploading the pic.)

Update: Savas Birdal over at Eurostep reveals that the handiwork was perpetuated by Cibona Zagreb fan or fans, who also left a note at the scene reading ”Kapetane, ne gledaj ovo” (or “Captain, don’t watch this”) in reference to the last season and a half of dismal play from Petrovic’s former club. Cibona Zagreb is 7-6 in Adriatic League play thus far in 2011-12 and did not advance to the Top 16 round of Eurocup play after going 0-6 in the first round.

BiE said he’d post CSKA Moscow vs. Unicaja Malaga highlights in order to inspect Kirilenko’s statistically odd game a bit more thoroughly, but free throws make a terrible clip…

As for Jankunas, well, reader Euroleague > NBA rightly complained, “Where is the article for Jankunas? Look at this box score!” (BiE’s assuming the exclamation point and may EL>NBA please accept apologies for not writing up Paulius; BiE was watching the CSKA game.)

And, damn, that’s crazy stuff, too. Here’s Jankunas’ line:

Minutes played – 27:53
Points scored – 24
2-pt FG shooting – 6-of-8
3-pt FG shooting – 0-of-1
FT shooting – 12-of-16 on nine fouls drawn
Offensive rebounds – 9 (!)
Defensive rebounds – 2
Total rebounds – 11
Assists – 0
Steals – 2
Turnovers – 0
Blocks – 0
Performance Index Rating – 38, just one point lower than Kirilenko’s that night.

Unfortunately for Jankunas and his Zalgiris Kaunas, the team suffered a historic defeat at the hands of KK Zagreb, who took their first-ever Euroleague win by a score of 80-78. The highlight clip, in which Jankunas is a bit more in evidence than his Russian competitor in the early running for EL Player of the Week award, runs below.

So what do you think thus far, readers? Who had the better game? Still having not seen the Zalgiris-Zagreb game, BiE’s natural inclination is to go for the AK-47, but those nine offensive boards from Jankunas? Whoa…

So, how do the prospects look for Bogdanovic after a handful of games with Fenerbahçe Ülker in Euroleague and TBL play? BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, assesses the Croat’s performance thus far … and Nets backers are certain to be disappointed.

Name: Bojan Bogdanovic
Country: Croatia
Club: Fenerbahçe Ülker
Position: SG/SF
Height: 6’7” (200 cm)
Age: 22 (born April 1989)

In two Euroleague games, Bojan Bogdanovic has really shown why he was deserving of the no. 31st overall status in the 2011 NBA Draft – that’s what I would love to tell you. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been true. So far, the prospective New Jersey/Brooklyn Net has been worse than non-existent for Fenerbahçe: He’s been a negative, in fact attempting eight field goals and hitting zero in those two games. Bogdanovic has hit 50% from the free throw line and is averaging 1.0 points per game with one rebound and one assist in the EL games in addition to three turnovers. His average player rating is a -3 – not exactly NBA Draftee numbers.

Nor is it just the Euroleague where this has been happening: Going all the way back to the London Prepares Series at the beginning of summer, Bogdanovic averaged 10 points per game and four rebounds but only one assist – and it’s not like he wasn’t passing because he was shooting well: In that tournament, Bojan hit an atrocious 14.3% from three and 36.8% from the field, also notching 1.5 turnovers per game.

At Eurobasket 2011, his numbers improved slightly to average 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds on 47.7% shooting from the field. Yet again, however, his assists were down to 0.8 per game. Croatia finished the tournament in 13th place.

Last up are his Turkish Basketball League stats. Across two games so far, Bogdanovic is averaging a respectable 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds; the bad news is that he is only dishing out one assist per game while again shooting a miserable 28.6% on two-point field goals and 22.22% on three-pointers.

So what do these above statistics show? They show that Bojan is a shoot-first, think-second type of player, a player who won’t pass up a contested jump shot from 19 feet because he thinks he will make it. Bogdanovic has had good reason to think so, as last season he averaged 18 points per game for Cibona Zagreb on 46.9% two-point field goal percentage and 30.9% from deep. His free-throw percentage isn’t amazing at 75% but remains well above Shaq level. Unfortunately for the Croat, in New Jersey he’ll be teamed with Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, while also having the likes of Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw, players that mostly need the ball in their hands to be productive.

I think Bogdanovic is a terrific scorer when he wants to be, but his percentages recently have been bad. We’re not talking “I got a little scratch on my car,” we’re talking “the Titanic sinking” kind of bad … so bad that if anyone looked at his numbers they would never think that he was an NBA Draftee. Bojan really, really needs to step up his game, otherwise the Nets will just leave him in Europe for the rest of his career and he will be forgotten. If he does step up his game, however, I see him as someone the Nets can use to spread the floor, knock down threes and pretty much provide scoring off the bench … only time will tell.

Sam Chadwick is the co-head coach of the Solent Kestrels U14 basketball team, along with dividing the remainder of his time among an assistant quantity surveyor job, university studies and sportswriting. You can follow him on Twitter at @chadwick9.

Though defending Croatian champions/current Euroleague team KK Zagreb was reportedly interested in bringing over Derrick Rose (at least until the player lockout is concluded), some “misinformation” was rapidly disseminated through the blogosphere to the effect that a deal had been completed and Rose’s arrival was imminent.

The reports were based on comments made to Croatia-based outlet Vecernji List by Zagreb sports director Hrvoje Ciketić who possibly misstated his case, let his enthusiasm run away with him, and/or was the victim of some bad translation and/or misquotes. Reportage of Zagreb’s ostensible move stated the club “refused to sign last-year’s NBA regular season MVP Derrick Rose after they reached an agreement on money amount” and that, since Rose “could not play first three Euroleague games due to his advertising obligations[, KK Zagreb] refused him.”

In any case, KK Zagreb officials (specifically club media director Damir Klekar) wish to make three things clear: Rose will not be suiting up for the team, the team did not reject Rose’s wishes to play in Croatia, and that certain people should be ashamed.

Official press release runs below.

Derrick Rose is not rejected by BC Zagreb, BC Zagreb wanted Derrick Rose!
After some media reports with inaccurate information that the BC Zagreb refused to sign Derrick Rose were published, we are obliged to respond to such misinformation.

The truth is that the Basketball club Zagreb *wanted to hire* Derrick Rose for twenty games in the 2011/12 season, until the end of the NBA lockout. Therefore the club’s sports director Hrvoje Ciketić came in contact with his agents.

He began the negotiations which were brought, after months of agreeing, close to the finalization. However, BC Zagreb could not end the negotiations and the agreement has not been reached.

Before the start of the current season, BC Zagreb received bids for the involvement of 32 NBA players, but there was not a bid for Derrick Rose. The idea of bringing Derrick Rose was initiated from BC Zagreb. We are disappointed that we didn’t finish the negotiations and engagement of Derrick Rose.

We are very sad because some clumsy and freely translated quotes taken from an interview with our club’s sports director Hrvoje Ciketić (published in Vecernji List) were shamelessly transformed into a lie. We apologize to Derrick Rose, his agent and everyone who might feel hurt. We also believe that all of those who passed this misinformation should do the same.

It was on this day in 1993 that the only man who realistically could have held claim to the sobriquet of “the European Michael Jordan” was killed in a car accident in Germany. As detailed most recently in the excellent ESPN “30 for 30” documentary “Once Brothers,” Petrović was a fearless, proud player with Team Yugoslavia and later Team Croatia in international play; was on the verge of entering the prime of a Hall of Fame-level career with the New Jersey Nets.

For those of you who never saw Petrović play, do yourselves a favor and take some time to watch below. For those of us fortunate enough to remember this European pioneer blazing trails all over the world, it’s a welcome (if slightly meandering) trip down memory lane. We still miss you, Dražen.

In Greece, they’re remembering Petrović this morning with a nice highlight clip running under the headline “Eighteen years without Dražen.”

History has been unkind to Petrović vis-à-vis his NBA battles with that 1990s uber-phenomenon, i.e. Michael Jordan. Surely many Nets and Chicago Bulls fans remember the battles between these two powers which were mostly, as they say these days, “epic.”

Of course, the entire world was watching when perhaps the single most memorable contest between the two went down in the 1992 Olympic final. Not only did Petrović actually outscore MJ in the game, Team Croatia’s stud relentlessly directly went at Jordan once the Dream Team began pulling away in the third quarter, turning the match into a one-on-one contest whenever both were on the floor.

Dražen’s personal highlight in that Olympics? How about six points in 10 seconds against the Greatest Team Ever Assembled?

By the way, how did the Dream Team ever come to be? Maybe part of it had to do with the star-studded and, quite subjectively, freaking awesome Team Yugoslavia squads of the late 1980s and their eclipsing of the USA’s dominance over Olympic basketball. Petrović was a marquee name among marquee names in 1988, helping lead Yugoslavia to the silver medal in Seoul. And they’d take the gold at the 1990 FIBA World Championship as well…

On the professional level in Europe, Petrović regularly contributed breathtaking performances with Šibenka, Cibona Zagreb and Real Madrid. With the first, he broke through at age 16; at Cibona, he logged two years with the club in Euroleague play, and led the side to the Korać Cup final – ironically losing out to Dejan Bodiroga’s Real Madrid – and the Yugoslav Cup title.

Success didn’t come instantaneously to Petrović when he joined the NBA for the 1989-90 and the Croatian complained that he wasn’t getting quality minutes with the Portland Trail Blazers – a legitimate gripe, considering what he’d do with the Nets.

This YouTube is entitled “Dražen Petrović Unforgettable.” Damn, was he ever.

Finally, if you haven’t yet seen “Once Brothers,” do so. And if you have, you might want to take the time to play homage to one of the all-time greats from a seminal era in NBA basketball and international basketball history.

Super Mario!

• First and foremost, there’s Dario Saric. You don’t need BiE to tell you to believe the hype on this dude billed as the next Toni Kukoc after he notched a triple-double of 15/12/10 in this game, but whoa was Saric head and shoulders above the field today.

Saric displayed an incredible all-around game featuring rebounding, leading the fast break, beating his man off the dribble and gorgeous no-look passes – and all this came on the first two Zagreb possessions. Even when his shooting touch was off early (he went for just 3-of-12 shooting in the first half), Saric still established himself as a serious presence in the middle that forced the ball into Žalgiris’ undersized guards’ hands. And the Lithuanian side managed just a woeful 2-of-18 outside the paint in the first half as a result.

• Also an Achilles’ heel for Žalgiris: The team’s strange discomfort on both sides of the fast break in this game. Perhaps they were a tad tuckered out after the 27-point destruction of FC Barcelona yesterday.

• While the spotlight was firmly fixed on Saric, the real discovery in this NIJT tournament may prove to be the stud’s teammate Mario Hezonja. Hezonja showed amazing synergy with Saric in the tourney — “Mario and Dario” is definitely a natural publicity-making name — and chased up his 26-point barrage against Fenerbahce Ulker yesterday with 19 points, six rebounds and four steals today. Watch out for this dude. (He’s the one with the Iversonian armwear.)

• Here in Barcelona, much of the press corps has been muttering about the (overbearing) presence of Saric’s father at the KK Zagreb games. Predrag was at his best/worst again today, constantly chiding his son in the manner of the worst examples from American Little League baseball parents.

BiE realizes that no one wants superduperstardom and a long career from Dario than Saric-the-elder, but sheesh, isn’t it enough that the coaching staff looks upon the lad as a Jordanesque leader of this team already? And how might this game have been different if the referees followed through on their threat near the end of the second quarter to T up the Zagreb bench for loudly decrying every Croatian foul? Sportsmanship, gentlemen, sportsmanship … isn’t that what youth ball on some level is supposed to be about?

Who do you think will win this year’s cup?
Surely this is a very strong Final Four, but I think that Panathinaikos is the top team. I hope they win [the Euroleague title] for the sixth time and continue the good tradition.

From your experience with high-level basketball, what do you think a team must have a team in order to reach the top and does Panathinaikos need?
I saw the games Panathinaikos played against Barcelona. I had a good feeling … The team played very well both on defense and on the attack. PAO played with spirit and it is very important for a team to do that. Panathinaikos in my opinion has the quality and experience to take the title.

Siena, however, is not an easy opponent…
Siena is certainly a very good team. I saw the first game in which they lost by 48 points [against Olympiacos], which was totally unexpected by everyone. But Siena reacted very well, handled the defeat well and then came out very strong. It is a very good team with experience, but Panathinaikos is better.

No matter what happens, Panathinaikos achieved a successful season by making the Final Four. Leading this team again is Zelimir Obradovic. In your opinion, what is so special about Obradovic?
I think it’s great for Panathinaikos that they have Zeljko coaching them. It is truly a blessing. He is a great coach and this is reflected in his successes, but also generally in the way he works.

What can you say about Dimitris Diamantidis?
He’s a great player. If Diamantidis plays well, Panathinaikos plays well! Obviously, Panathinaikos has many other good players, but the barometer [of their success] is Diamantidis.

How do you feel about having been one of the leaders of the team that won the first European Championship for Panathinaikos?
I spent four years in Panathinaikos and I can tell you with absolute certainty that it was the most beautiful time of my career. That trophy was very important to us and to the Panathinaikos club. It was the first success and I am glad it has been followed with more. It was a really great time.

Would you like to return to the team someday in another capacity?
Panathinaikos has a significant place in my heart and I’m available. If I can help a little, I’ll do so with pleasure!

Such consternation clearly comes from one with an encyclopedic memory, because even for hoops diehards outside of Iowa, the man’s name will mostly elicit an answer of “huh?”

After writing his name throughout the Iowa State Cyclones record book, Stinson went undrafted in 2006 and could not stick with the Golden State Warriors after playing summer league ball with them. And so Stinson took a route familiar to many such players post-NCAA: He sought a job in Europe.

Now, fans of European basketball may still not freely recall Stinson, despite his affiliation last decade with a few traditional Continental powerhouses. Stinson’s professional career actually began in the Adriatic League with KK Split from 2006-07 and, well, as DraftExpress soon put it, Stinson “couldn’t adjust his game, or mentality enough, so he was cut. This summer had zero offers.”

The sum total of Stinson’s numbers in his first two “seasons” in Europe went as follows – figures provided by the official website of EΣAKE club Aris BSA, who were certainly pleased to theoretically have the Bronx guy signed for the 2009-10 season:

KK Split, 2006-07. Played in six games, averaged 13.7 points (with 50.8% shooting on 2s, 26.7% on 3s), 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.

Kolossos Rhodes, 2007-08. Played in 11 games, averaged 11.0 ppg (with 50.0% shooting on 2s, 26.1% on 3s), 3.7 rpg, 3.4 apg.

As for playing with Aris BSA, Stinson stayed with that club for less than two months before joining up with the Chicago Bulls in late September – only to be waived about a week later. Thanks to the Bulls’ affiliation with the Iowa Energy, Stinson returned to his home state-away-from-home, not to mention finding the place he’s apparently best suited to play ball.

In bouncing back and forth from various D-League teams, Stinson has played in the association since 2006-07 and yesterday was announced as the league’s MVP for 2010-11. Reads the official press release in part:

“Curtis Stinson of the Iowa Energy today was named the NBA Development League’s Most Valuable Player, as voted on by the NBA D-League’s 16 head coaches.

“Stinson, a 6-3, 215-pound guard out of Iowa State, started in 48 of Iowa’s regular season games, averaging 19.3 points, 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 42.9 minutes. Stinson led the NBA D-League this season in assists, minutes, triple-doubles (five) and double-doubles (28), leading Iowa to the Eastern Conference title with a 37-13 regular season record, the best in the NBA D-League.

“‘It’s a real honor to be named MVP of the D-League,’ Stinson said. ‘There are a lot of great players in this league, and to receive this award is one of the highlights of my career. I am truly thankful to have great teammates and coaches, and I appreciate all they have done to help me earn this recognition.’

“…Stinson was named to the All-NBA Development League First Team last week, becoming just the third player in league history to earn back-to-back All-NBA D-League First Team selections.”

The D-League offices also noted that “Stinson achieved several milestones this season, becoming the NBA D-League’s all-time leader in assists (1,668), steals (334), field goals made (1,226) and minutes (7,827), and moved into third place on the all-time scoring list (3,038),” clearly earning him the sobriquet of “pro basketball’s Crash Davis.”

With the recent hype surrounding Stinson – well, in Iowa, at least – local media is exhuming an old favorite, “inevitable” question directly related to that of DraftExpress: “Why has the NBA never come calling?” And in this piece, the answers are laid bare, with Stinson’s ball-handling, age and even luck cited as reasons.

But back to the original query, i.e. “What does Stinson’s MVP say about the D-League?” BallinEurope would go with the following.

• There is no “D” in “team,” and the effort to cohesion must take a backseat to a few hundred identical individual goals: that of getting to the big NBA stage. A guy like Stinson, who “done the No. 1 thing he could do. He’s led about 12 different groups of guys to winning basketball games,” according to Energy coach Nick Nurse, is the exception.

• The most meaningless word within the expression “NBA Development League” is “Development.” While former D-Leaguers comprised, at season’s end, 23% of the NBA’s players, a closer look at the list reveals quite a few recent washouts (Hasheem Thabeet, Von Wafer, Shaun Livingston), dissatisfied-to-disgruntled foreign players (Ian Mahinmi, Kosta Koufos), and players who arguably developed their skills to greater extent in Europe than in D ball (Pooh Jeter, certainly Ersan Ilyasova). Nurse is correct when he refers to the NBADL as a “minor league,” which is how this game should probably be thought of, all NBA aggrandizement aside.

• At least a half-dozen European leagues — possibly as many as 10 — offer superior competition to that of the D League (surely, there’s no argument here).

• The D League is a totally different reality. In closing an exchange on the Stinson subject, DraftExpress noted that he was “Just pointing out how little the stats & style that’s played in the D-League translates to real basketball.” Truer words were never tweeted!

What’s that you say? Not so crazy? Upsets happen all the time? Okay, consider that KK Zadar fielded five players *for the entire 40 minutes.* That’s right, no substitutions were made.

Starting to get bizarre? Okay, now factor in that, of those five Zadar players, four were younger than 23 years old.

The icing on the straitjacket? Cedevita head coach Aleksandar Petrovic apparently reacted in the only way he saw fit, i.e. to resign his position in embarrassment, effective immediately.

But please, enjoy a little of the madness for yourself below the break, with Marko Car, Paul Marčinković, Sime Olivari, Mario Dundovic and an unlikely hero in buzzer-beating 19-year-old Ivan Batur. Happy February, Europe!