With relations between Western powers and Iran currently shaky at best, you’d figure few Europeans willing to take employment in the Moslem country – but don’t count Memi Becirovic, former coach of Slovenia youth teams, Team Slovenia’s 2010 FIBA World Championship entry and Unicaja Malaga, among ‘em. Becirovic will head up the Middle East country’s squad beginning in April; Team Iran experienced a bit of a backslide in 2011, when the side could not threepeat its run of biennial FIBA Asia Championships.
Official story from FIBA follows.
The ongoing financial crisis in Europe has claimed its first victim in the basketball world in 2012: 
With a quite respectable history over the past 20 years – particularly in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament – Serbia has earned a reputation as one of The Continent’s great basketball powers. A little concern may be justified, then, at Team Serbia’s relatively disappointing eighth-place finish in this year’s European national-team tourney; indeed, at least one news source sees Serbia’s early bouncing as a symptom of greater illnesses affecting the team’s national program.
From the ever-busy In Case You Missed It Department comes the story of the recently played fifth Pan-Armenian Games, which went down in Yerevan in mid- to late August. 
More than one follower of this year’s EuroBasket tournament – BallinEurope included – has noted the, let’s say, less than challenging schedule given to a few of the competition’s powerhouses. 
It’s a question for the ages and one that BallinEurope has wondered about in contemplation for years. Last night’s post-game press conference following the Lithuania-Poland EuroBasket match saw an answer delivered, summing things up rather succinctly and satisfyingly.
The rumor mill is grinding it out on Sunday, with some in the blogosphere today reporting that Ettore Messina has been hired as a “consultant” under new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown.
