After comparing the top league’s play to “big time wrestling,” Peat goes on to opine that “It’s not really real basketball in terms of how it should be played. They play a lot of different defenses that aren’t exactly pure basketball. I think European basketball is more pure basketball. It’s more entertainment basketball for the spectators where they can accentuate the players’ athleticism…”

Gee, if the NBA lockout weren’t on right now, those might be fighting words.

Unfortunately, I can’t for the life of me understand why he would do this … yes, Richards is a 6’10”, 235 lb. big man with extreme amounts of potential, but he is not considered one of Europe’s top prospects in most mock drafts (unlike Donatas Motiejunas, Jan Vesely and Miroslav Raduljica) and he doesn’t have the experience or skills that a lot of these players have.

Richards is not, like some European big men, playing on their national teams (even though Great Britain has a relatively weak national squad), though Richards has played well at international tournaments such as the Future Stars 2009 event in the UK and last year’s European championship against opposition from Spain and Poland. He is however, lacking some key fundamentals, a key go-to move, experience and the skills that a lot of Americans can provide.

Unfortunately, some of my information may be wrong (no offence to some sites, but I don’t understand where information is derived from) Eurobasket.com has Ryan averaging 13.3 points per game with 56% field-goal shooting and having scored a season-high 30 points against SAV Vacallo in January; however, according to the official BBC Monthey website, his top individual-game score was 20 on February 6th. I therefore must assume his other reported averages are wrong: Richards could be averaging more or less than 13.3 ppg. Also according to the same site he only played 3 profesional games last season, for a guy who has declared for the NBA draft seems rather low.

Finally, Richards’ stats in European under-18 play in 2009 were impressive, at 29 points on 61% shooting and 13 rebounds per game; however, he and Team Great Britain weren’t exactly playing against Russia or Lithuania or Spain, but rather against relatively lowly national teams from Belgium and Austria.

This guy is good, don’t get me wrong, and by some standards he’s big, but Richards could be easily defended by bigger stronger guys in Europe, let alone the NBA. Joel Freeland is a bigger, stronger, more complete player than Ryan with more experience and better fundamentals – Freeland was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers back in 2006 and has yet to play a game in the NBA.

I feel that if Ryan does enter the NBA this year, he’ll be sent back to Europe and forgotten. Yes with time, he could develop into a solid power forward, but I feel this is not his year as he’s just not ready. Ryan drop out of the draft please! As a fellow Briton, I’m telling you, it’s not your year!

− written by Sam Chadwick

Sam Chadwick is a assistant coach for the Solent Kestrels U13 team. He also writes a basketball-centered blog called Behind The Back.

The champions of the respective countries may be found in bold when the final is already decided. And the MVP cited is the Finals MVP, if such an award has been given.

Albania: ?

Austria: Fürstenfeld Panthers 3-2 Oberwart Gunners

Belarus: Vitalyur Minsk 3-0 OZAA Osipovichi

Belgium: Spirou Charleroi 3-0 Euphony Bree

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Bosna Sarajevo 2-1 Igokea Partizan Aleksandrovac

Bulgaria: Lukoil Academic 3-0 Balkan Botevgrad

Croatia: Zadar 3-2 KK Split

Cyprus: Keravnos 3-2 Apoel Nicosia

Czech Republic: Nymburk 4-1 Geofin

Denmark: Bakken Bears 4-0 Svendborg Rabbits

Estonia: Tartu Rock 4-0 BC Kalev (MVP: Brian Cusworth)

Finland: Honka Playboys 3-1 Kouvot Kouvola (MVP: Akeem Scott)

France: SLUC Nancy 1-0 Chorale de Roanne (MVP: Jeff Greer)

FYR Macedonia: Feni Industrija 4-3 Strumica

Georgia: Energy Rustavi 3-1 Avia Tblisi

Germany: ALBA Berlin 3-1 Telekom Baskets Bonn (MVP: Julius Jenkins)

Greece: Panathinaikos 3-2 Olympiakos

Hollang: Myguide Amsterdam 4-3 Eiffel Towers (MVP: Peter van Paassen)

Hungary: Falco Szombathely 3-1 Kormend

Iceland: Kevflavik 3-0 Snaefell (MVP: Gunnar Einarson)

Ireland: Abrakebabra Tralee Tigers 1-0 DART Killester (MVP: Michael Quirke)

Israel: Hapoel Holon 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Italy: Montepaschi Siena 4-1 Lottomatica Roma (MVP: Terrell McIntyre)

Kosovo: Sigal Prishtina 3-2 BC Peja

Latvia: Barons/LMT Riga 4-1 ASK Riga (MVP: Armands Skele)

Lithuania: Zalgiris Kaunas 4-1 Lietuvos Rytas (MVP: Marcus Brown)

Luxembourg: Sparta Bertrange 2-0 Musel Pikes (MVP: Larrie Smith)

Malta: BUPA Luxol 2-1 Compleet IS

Moldova: ?

Montenegro: Buducnost Podgorica 3-0 Mogren Budva

Norway: Asker Aliens 3-0 Harstad Vikings

Poland: Prokom Trefl Sopot 4-3 Turow Zgorzelec

Portugal: Ovarense Aerosoles 4-3 FC Porto Ferpinta (MVP: Graham Brown)

Romania: CSU Asesoft Ploesti 4-3 UMobitelco Cluj

Russia: CSKA Moscow 3-0 Khimky Moscow (MVP: JR Holden)

Scotland: Edinburgh Kings

Serbia: Partizan Belgrade 3-1 Hemofarm Vrsac

Slovakia: Pezinok 3-1 Inter Bratislava

Slovenia: Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 Helios Domzale

Spain: TAU Cerimca Vitoria 3-0 AXA FC Barcelona (MVP: Pete Mickeal)

Sweden: Solna Vikings 3-0 Sundsvall Dragons

Switzerland: Benetton Fribourg 3-0 Lugano Tigers

Turkey: Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul 4-1 Türk Telekom Ankara

Ukraine: Azovmash Mariupol 3-1 BC Kyiv (MVP: Robert Archibald)

United Kingdom: Guildford Heat 1-0 Milton Keynes Lions

Aside from all champions and runners-up, it’s always nice to hear the names of teams I am not that familiar with and of course, I have my favorites: the Svendborg Rabbits and the Abrakebabra Tigers Tralee.

Unlike any other country in the world, the smart guys running the Swiss league decided that two months of playoffs in a 12-TEAM LEAGUE would be a good idea. Basically the schedule went like this, our last regular season game was March 19th, and the last possible game of the finals was May 31st!!! Are you serious??!! Over two months of PLAYOFFS!! I feel like Jim Mora; don’t worry, you’ll get it later. The point is that not even the NBA playoffs are two months long … so why in the hell is the Swiss league so long? According to league officials, they wanted each team in the series to have one home playoff game on a Saturday, to “make sure fans have a chance to support the home team!” Oh, OK, sure … That sounds like a great idea except for the fact that EVERY TEAM IN THE LEAGUE ONLY HAS ABOUT 200 FANS! Except our fans, the great supporters of Benetton Fribourg Olympic!

There was standing room only in our gym on Saturday, as we won the Swiss Championship over the Lugano Tigers, 73-59. I can honestly say I was really nervous before the game because, as I’ve said before, it’s always tough being the favorite and that target on your back seems to get bigger with each passing game. 

It didn’t help that during warmups we had a 30 minute delay because a player from Lugano who is also one of the best players in Europe, Jo Jo Garcia … haven’t heard of him, yeah that’s because he isn’t that good, and I was being facetious! He really is terrible; to call him a poor man’s Bill Lambier would actually be a compliment, as he just plays like a poor man and broke one of the backboards before tipoff!

He and I actually almost got into a fight at the end of the game, but with two minutes left in the game, I had to remind him that in two minutes he could start his vacation … I guess he didn’t think that was too funny??!

Back to the game: We were in control for most of it; they tied the game at 19, but after that we never looked back. I played pretty well, had 12 boards, a couple of steals, you know, just another day at the office. I didn’t score particularly well, but I did all of the little things as usual to help my team win.

But all of the credit has to go to my teammates and coaching staff. They did a great job all year of making me feel comfortable and making me feel a part of the team. A big shout out to Dave Esterkamp, PPD, Harold, TQ, Doug, Bing, Oli, Malte, Senna, and Stefan! And to Natalie, Dave’s wife, for always cooking for me and making me feel at home! Nat, I’m coming to Columbus for that homemade salsa! I want to congratulate our team captain Harold Mrazek, who played his last game on Saturday and went out as a champion! This guy showed me all year what it means to be a true professional and I owe him a lot – Thanks, H! Also a big thanks to my coaches, Damien Leyrolles, and Mehdy Mary, who by the way is the worst translator ever, love ya Mehdy!

I’ve only been playing in Europe for two seasons and the fact that I won a championship in my 2nd year is really huge for me personally and my career. Now I can always say, “I’M A CHAMPION!” and nobody can take that from me!

I have been reflecting on the season since the game on Saturday, and it’s really funny because now that I’m looking back the season doesn’t seem as bad. And Switzerland isn’t so bad after all, I really have enjoyed my team and everybody associated with BFO! All of the fans have been so supportive, and really helped me out, especially the team’s biggest fan, Anne-Laure. I could have played in a couple of different countries this season and for a while I wished I had, but at the end of the day, you have to realize God puts you in places for different reasons, and I’m glad He put me here.

By the way, I want everyone to go pick up the new June issue of GQ magazine, and turn to page 104! You’re gonna get a great surprise!!!

Sorry it’s taken me so long to post another blog, but I’ve been really drained lately. I guess that’s how it goes at the end of the season. I’m just very mentally drained right now, and on top of that my laptop was broken, and it was the playoffs, yada, yada, yada. I know, I know, it sounds like a bunch of excuses, but unlike the old adage where excuses are compared to rectums, these don’t stink! They’re legit excuses Tobi!! It’s kind of hard to get things fixed in a place where only 1 out of every 10 people you come in contact with don’t speak English. In Switzerland they speak French, Italian, and German, and here in Fribourg, they speak French. Before I came out here, the only French words I knew were, “Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir”. So needless to say, my French is very limited.

I just wanna return to my last post and say that I HAVE NO PROBLEM GOING TO PRACTICE!! It’s just the practicing all day that I have a problem with. But I’ve been lucky this year, and my coaches are really cool, and understand the importance of getting rest. Anyway, it’s play-off time here in Switzerland and many other places around Europe as well. We made quick work of the Geneva Devils in our quarterfinal series as we swept them 3-0, and now we have to wait 10 LOOOOOONG days till the semifinals start. Which is great, because now I have more time lay awake at night in my bed and do everything but get a good night’s sleep! Oh well, I haven’t counted the square tiles on my wall in a while anyway, so go figure…This is also the time of year where guys are hearing from their agents about teams and plans for next year. There are two types of guys when it comes to stuff like this, the high maintenence and low maintenance guys. High maintenance guys email, call, or in my case instant message, their agents every day, or every other day to see how hard the agent is actually working. We, wanna, I mean THEY, wanna know stuff like, “How many teams are interested in them for next year?” What countries are the teams in?”, and last but certainly not least, “How much money we talking”? Agents usually know what type of guys they have, and they deal accordingly. With high maintenance guys, I assume many agents have a standard answer to all of those questions, like… “Well, you know everybody loves your game”, or “Hey, the way you’re playin, you’re gonna get BIG money next year!!” They give their high maintenance guys answers like these to keep the calls down from everyday to maybe once a week! But low maintenance guys maybe call they’re agent once during the season, if at all. When agents have low maintenance guys, they usually call or email them once a month to make sure everything is going smoothly with the team. Usually older players are the low maintenance guys who’ve been around the block and understand how the game works. And the younger guys are the high maintenance guys, always buggin their agents.

As the year is winding down, I find myself reflecting on the season and my time in Switzerland. It’s so crazy because I have about a month left, and even though several times this season I was thisclose to jumping out of the window of my apt due to sheer boredom, and the fact that I felt time stopped 26 times this year… Ironically, now it feels like the season flew by, and seems like yesterday that I was just sittin here and saying to myself, “There’s no way I can make it here one month, let alone the rest of the season!” Wait… I think that was yesterday when I was actually said that…

I just want to speak for most American players when I say we do like to practice… Not just 134 times in ONE WEEK!!!! Obviously I’m being facetious when I say 134 times in a week, but hopefully you get the point! Ok, Ok, we know that in order to be good at something you have to work at it. We get that point, but you have to understand where we’re coming from in this argument.
Listen, the two a day practices are little… how do you say…REDUNDANT!! We have come from college, where during the preseason and Christmas break we have 2 a day practices, and to us it has always been looked upon as punishment! During the Christmas break in college, coaches use 2 a days as a way to get back in shape from the break. Or during the preseason, when the games haven’t started yet, they also use it as a form of conditioning. Now as players all we see is more practice means more sprints, more yelling, and dead tired afterwards. And the synonym of all of this P-U-N-I-S-H-M-E-N-T! No, we don’t look at it as developing our game, no we don’t look at it as a time of bonding with our teammates, and we definitely don’t see it as a way to help our shooting!! Because at the end of the day your not going to allow us to take 20 shots a game anyway, so why have us shoot 2,000 shots in 2 hours. Again, let me be the first one to say that we do love our craft and working on your craft is important, but going twice a day from August till June is a bit… What’s the word here, let’s see… REDUNDANT!! Maybe in the preseason, I can understand going twice a day, but not past New Years, sheesh! IF we don’t have it by now, then we’re not gonna get it!!
And unlike European Juniors, we didn’t practice 2 or 3 times a day from the age of 12 on up. We only practiced once, and then we played games. So please excuse us if we feel a little upset that we’re getting treated like junior players. Another coach, we grew watching the NBA and hearing about the lifestyle of a NBA player, and out of all the things we remember, practicing a lot isn’t one of em!!
To sum it up, we always thought when we considered a professional that we wouldn’t have to practice so much and for so long. We thought that it would be just like the NBA, where would practice and have light shoot-a- rounds, and then go back to our mansions. So, we apologize for being lazy, uninspired, ungrateful, and any of the other words you said in your native tongue about us! We will try to do better and support of all of your decisions! As long as at the end of the month our money is deposited into our bank accounts.

Sincerely,

American Basketball Player

The letter and corresponding thoughts do not reflect the feelings of ballineurope.com, or Marcus Sloan. This letter was written in anonymity, and Marcu… err… whoever wrote this was acting on his own behalf. – Ballineurope.com management

To read more entertaining posts of Marcus Sloan just click here.

Well this time of year for most Americans playing in Europe is like “Hump Day”. If you’re team isn’t still playing in the Uleb Cup, or Euroleague, you’re playing once a week, either every Saturday or Sunday. And that makes for long days and even longer nights. For most countries the regular season is about to end and the playoffs are around the corner, which means one thing… ALMOST TIME TO GO HOME!! That’s why I said this time of year is Hump Day, because if you can make it through March, you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or it could be the lights from the train that’s comin through the tunnel. Either way your time is almost up!

I find myself waking up each morning and crossing off the day on the calendar, and like my most of my friends playing in Europe, I’ve started the countdown… actually my countdown started August 12th, the day I arrived in Switzerland this year, but who’s counting. “The Countdown” is the number of days you have left until the season is over and you get to go back home. You start to play mind games with yourself and do other little quirky things to take your mind off it, but nothing works. Now before you go and start to think that I’m a typical ungrateful professional athlete, and how I should be so lucky to get to travel abroad in Europe and play a game for a living, here’s my disclaimer… I thank God everyday for giving me the opportunity to play basketball for money, the opportunity to travel and live abroad in Europe, and for giving me CNN as my only English channel on most days! But this point of the season seems like its dragging along at a snails pace. Also the playing one game a week doesn’t help either.

Here’s how your day usually goes leading up to game day here in Europe. You wake up and eat some sort of off brand cereal that has a similar name to your favorite cereal back home, but lacks in the taste department. I.e., Flake Frosties, and my favorite, Cocoa Roos, then there’s Shooting Practice, Regular Practice, Myspace, Facebook, Youtube Clips, Madden games on PS3 or Xbox, NBA.com, Eurobasket.com, Practice, and did I mention practice…

Another side affect of this part of the season is my current battle with insomnia! I can’t remember the last time I got a good night’s sleep. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, last week I even left out some milk and cookies! Which made me wonder which one of my parents ate the milk and cookies all those years? Anyway… There are many factors that have led to my insomnialsm; yeah it’s a word… Ok, I just made it up, get over it… The first factor is the 7 hour time difference between Fribourg, Switzerland, and Houston. It’s really tough to stay connected to my family and friends while playing in Europe without talking to them on the phone. Sure emails, and instant messages help, but nothing beats my hearing my mom ask, “Marc, are you eating healthy up there?” or “ Do you have a big coat, you know it’s cold out there?” I couldn’t imagine not talking to my girlfriend about her day at work, no matter what time it is. And usually it’s around 3 or 4 in the morning, but it’s just another sacrifice I have to make to feel like I’m not losing touch of what’s happening back home. The other thing that keeps me up at night is the value of the DAMN DOLLAR!!! Wow, what in the George W. Bush is goin on?? The dollar has struck new record lows against the euro, as of yesterday it was 1:1.53! Basically that’s saying if a jacket in Europe costs 100 Euro, I’m paying $153 for it. So all the guys in Europe who are getting paid in dollars, are getting killed on the conversion. I’m sure next year a lot more guys will be asking their agent to make sure teams pay them in Euro! I know if I come back, I’m sure as hell gonna ask. While laying in bed I try to figure out ways to battle my insomnia, I try counting all types of things, sheep, the # of breaths I take, Kobe’s shot attempts, AI’s tattoos… needless to say none of those work. But I guess the good thing about not being able to sleep is it gives me time to think.Some of my thoughts include;

• How great my mom’s catfish tastes.
• how playing around the world may cause me to miss out on my youth while my friends get to go out and have normal lives back in the States.
• How much I miss my family.
• How hard it is to play in Europe, and have a real relationship with a woman.
• How Barack Obama is gonna beat me to becoming the first black President. Dammit!

I guess things aren’t so bad, I have my health, my family is doing Ok back in Houston, and I do get to play my favorite game for a living… Hey, it could be worse I could have been Client #10!!

February was a great month! First, my girlfriend came for Valentines Day and stayed for about 8 days, which I might add was the fastest damn 8 days in history. Then the day after she left, my team, Benetton Fribourg Olympic, won the Swiss League Cup!! It was my first championship since my AAU days, and it felt really good to hold those trophies at the end of the game! We celebrated like we won game 7 of the NBA finals. And you have to understand, my teams have always been pretty good, but never championship material!! You know the saying, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride…” Well I I’ve never even been invited to the wedding!

So it was a big moment in my young career to say the least. And I held on to the trophy all night. I even took a shower with it after the game in the locker-room. I felt like I was cheating on my girlfriend, cuz I kissed the thing all night and even slept with it. Sorry babe! But for what it’s worth, you’re a much better kisser. Now, I know it isn’t the Copa del Ray in Spain, but it’s still important and I’m proud to be apart of a championship team. So I have to give a big shout out to my teammates, D Kamp, PPD, H, E Bing, Doug, Big O, TQ, and my young bucks!Last month the NBA and held its annual All Star weekend in New Orleans. I saw some of the highlights from the game, Lebron did his thing, but Ray Ray really shoulda won the MVP. And Dwight Howard… All I can say is YUUUUUUUUUUULL… Way to Superman that Hooooo! I also saw some highlights of the D league all star game as well, and my boy Keith Langford continues to do his thing. And because Keith did his thing so well this year, he got a nice offer from Angelico Biella, an A1 team in Italy. And that got me to thinking…. And it made me think about the great debate… No, not Obama vs. Clinton, but D League vs. Europe! To some guys the dream of the NBA keeps them going, and so they feel the D League is the best option. But other guys know that the dream of the NBA may keep them going, but it won’t keep the lights on, or pay many bills back home! So here’s my opinion on how the D League maybe could close the gap on Europe.

There are only 14 D League teams, and 10 players on each team, who all make salaries ranging from 13k-24k, depending on playing experience. Ok how about this… What if the D League raised the salaries to 50k for the C level contract, 60k for the B level contract, and 70k for the A contract. The NBA makes BILLIONS of dollars from TV deals, licensing deals, ticket sales, etc, to the point where they could invest some of that money into the D League. But the point I’m making is they have the money to invest in the D League, and just imagine the affect of the increased salaries would have on the league as a whole.

First off the talent of the D league would increase by leaps and bounds. And that’s sayin a lot because the talent is great now. But if the borderline NBA guys (guys who almost get drafted, or had some workouts before and after the draft, high level overseas free agents, etc.) had a chance to make between 50-70k to stay home and play in front of NBA scouts every game, I think at least 65% of the guys would opt to play in the D league. It makes a big difference if you’re averaging 15 and 10 in the D league in front of NBA scouts, or 15 and 10 in Germany or France… it’s a big difference I think! It’s kind of like the reality show Flavor of Love, yeah he’s not the most attractive guy in the world, and he kinda resembles a porch monkey, but if you put in a little work, then you can get your own reality show. i.e. New York. Of course there are always gonna be guys who get offered 100k or more to go play in Europe… those guys are gonna go regardless. But for younger players who don’t really want to go overseas and play, this would be the best alternative. Because guys who just coming out of college, really have no idea about living or playing in Europe, and it’s not as glamorous as people make it seem.(see next blog) And by better players staying and playing in the D League, it will also increase tickets sales. Think about it, if fans recognize players they know or have seen on ESPN, they will be more likely to buy tickets to see those players, as opposed to players they’ve never heard of. And what do ticket sales mean… more revenue for the D league, which is always a plus.

And again, I’m not here to bash the D league, I love the D league and everything it stands for, I think the leadership is great, and the league will get better and better every year. I recently read Dan Reed’s(D League president) blog, who is a really good guy by the way, and he talked about how the call ups are at an all time high(11), average attendance is up 25%, and franchise values have quadrupled in the last 3 years! All these facts are great, and just show how much the NBA is behind its product. But those numbers would be even greater if they ever decide to “C.T.C”! At the end of the day it’s always about money, so guys have to ask themselves what they value more.. The money or the dream??!!

Next up… How playing in Switzerland is like living in a postcard!

Editors’ note: I hope Marcus won’t get sued for “being like Mike”. I never saw a basketball picture with the guy being that close to the Jumpman logo like that!

Before the start of the ULEB Cup, I was asking myself some questions why the ULEB selected a Swiss team to participate in the competition. Switzerland is not really know for being a powerhouse concerning basketball but the representatives from Fribourg are doing far better than expected. This was the reason to look a bit behind the scenes and to get to know what is behind that success.

So I asked the Swiss blogger Emmanuel, who covers the games of Benetton Fribourg Olympic for his own blog, a few questions about this year’s competition.

Emmanuel, can you come back to the history of Fribourg Olympic Basketball team and also explain the relation that exists between your team and Benetton?

Basketball has been played in Fribourg since 1935 under the colours of CAF (Club athlétique de Fribourg). following that, two other teams were created in the Swiss city, Fribourg Basket in 1947 and Olympic Basket in 1949. A huge competition started between the two enemy brothers to be the top team of the city and it was in 1955 that Olympic moved up to the 1st division.

So in 1961, the two teams merged to create a joined team of the name of Fribourg Olympic. Since that day, the team played 44 seasons in the highest Swiss league and has reached numbers of titles (14 championships, 15 championship runner-up, 6 Swiss Cups, 4 doubles and 1 triple crown in 2007).

The name of Benetton has been associated to the for about 20 years now  as the clothes brand from Italy made an agreement with the Swiss team.

This is the first season in the ULEB Cup. What were the expectations of the team before the start of that competition?

After the 2006/2007 season, the goal of the team was to participate at the ULEB Cup in a mid-term future, when the new arena will be ready in 2009. But the historic triple crown (Champion, Cup and League Cup) accelerated the process. The club has been invited to participate right from this season. But the choice to go was not so easy as budgetary restrictions were quite present to go for such a competition.

So the expectations were not very high at the beginning. The goal was to gain some experience against much stronger teams. The priority of the staff was clearly to win the national championship in order to regain a spot for the ULEB Cup for next year and to become a "normal" ULEB Cup team in a near future, which also means to triple the team’s budget.

At the moment, it looks very good for the team in order to qualify for the Round of 32 in the ULEB Cup. And on the national side, the team reached the Round of the last 8 in the Cup and is leading the Swiss league with only one defeat. Nobody seems really able to beat Olympic when it comes to winning the title this season again.

Benetton Fribourg is known for its basketball school. Can you point out how this school works and who are the biggest talents that came out of it?

Before the year 2000, the basketball school of Fribourg Olympic was essentially recruiting local talent from the Canton if they wanted to play for the youth teams of the club. Since then, the Academie de Basket has been created. This academy is based on the principle of "sport-études" (which means that the players are also integrated in a local school to combine at best practices and scholar duties) and Mehdy Mary has been signed to be the head coach of the youth teams.

The biggest name of Fribourg basketball is of course Harold Mrazek. With him, the club won 2 double-crowns before he left for the French powerhouse ASVEL. And immediately after his return to Fribourg, the team made the triple.

But there are actually some young players coming out of the newly created academy like Stefan Petkovic (1992) who played already 2 minutes in the ULEB Cup against Hapoel Galil Elyon. Other players that can be named are the Belgian born Senno Hounhanou, Jonathan Kazadi and the Savoi brothers who regularly see playing time in the national league.

When you talk about Switzerland and basketball, you first think on … Harold Mrazek. No seriously, of course you think on Thabo Sefolosha. How popular is he in Switzerland? Is he a common star like the skiers or the soccer players? What is the status of Basketball in Switzerland in general?

Thabo Sefolosha is a real star in Switzerland. In the newspapers, you read a lot more about the games of the Chicago Bulls than about the national Swiss league. The teams try to catch the wave to motivate a bigger number of kids to start playing basketball but also to attract more people to the games of the local league. Unfortunately, this has not been a big success so far with a average of 1690 spectators per game. (2nd best is Monthey with 980 and last one Geneva Devils with 244). The advantage is of course that the players a really accessible and like to talk to the fans after the games.

One of the problems for the Swiss basketball is that it is a sports that is nearly only present in the Romande and Italian part of Switzerland. In the German part, Handball and Volleyball are way more popular. And the biggest companies and biggest sponsors have their headquarters mainly in Zurich, Bern or Basel (i.e. German part of Switzerland).

Basketball is behind Football and Ice Hockey in terms of popularity, in relation to Skiing or tennis, I really don’t know… but I guess it may be equal or a little behind.

Thank you Emmanuel for this inside to Swiss basketball and I wish you all the best for the upcoming game against Antwerp.

I can not write a lot about the game as I did not see it but just check the score: 141-127 after 5(!!!) overtimes. Besides the incredible result, there have been outrageous physical efforts made by some players. Goran Nikolic played amazing 63minutes to become also the most efficient player of the game with 31pts, 14rebs and 4asts to finish with an efficiency of 45.

I can not add a lot but just read those impressive numbers from the ULEB Cup site.

It was the first five-overtime game in either the ULEB Cup or Euroleague all decade. The longest previous ULEB Cup game was on November 11, 2003, when Lukoil Academic edged KK Zagreb 116-115 in triple overtime, with their 231 points also setting a record. Alba and Bosna destroyed that record, too, combining for 268 points, each of them surpassing the previous single-game scoring record, 121 points by Estudiantes of spain against Trieste of Italy on November 5, 2002. Perhaps most remarkable of all, Alba and Bosna scored an astounding 126 points between them in the overtime periods alone, despite the fact that 10 players fouled out between the two teams!

Besides all these impressive figures, I also want to mention two other new records. Benetton Fribourg’s Pascal Perrier-David gets the first triple double of the ULEB Cup history in an away game with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

And then the next record comes from Pamesa’s Ruben Douglas who scored 9 three pointers in just one game. What an amazing night on the ULEB Cup floors.