The ongoing financial crisis in Europe has claimed its first victim in the basketball world in 2012: KK Hemofarm Vrsac officials informed players Nikola Otašević, Alexei Nesovic, John Maras, Mladen Pantic, Marko Šutalu and Mladen Jeremic that they could now consider themselves free agents – though they’re reportedly welcome to stay aboard – as the club dissolves like its Adriatic League chances in a pool of financial problems. Rumor has it that the team’s main sponsor has pulled its financial backing as well.
Jan
3
Crisis at KK Hemofarm Vrsac: Coach resigns, sponsor pulls out, six players declared free agents
Dec
0
Ettore Messina “curious and worried” about life with Los Angeles Lakers
Coming to America
Messina began his career in Italy but then started “to feel uneasy” with his native basketball environment. “Moscow was the place where I felt the best,” he explains. In Russia, we won championships on the road, celebrated on the court with rival fans applauding us. In Italy, this would be inconceivable. In Spain, they are passionate, too, but for sure there is not the acrimony we have in Italy.”
Though, even Spain was tough sometimes to digest: “I wasn’t happy with basketball matters and I felt like a stranger. I was bothered by the fact that when we won, I was Ettore Messina. When we lost, I was ‘the Italian’.”
On the NBA, Messina’s future home: “I am curious and worried. Curious to experience the day-to-day life of the NBA, to coach great players. Worried because I hope I get accepted by others. I hope I’m ready – we’re finally getting started.”
Nov
0
Olympiacos at Panathinaikos tonight; Zeljko Obradovic urges restraint
Tonight will see another edition of The Continent’s traditionally most insane of all derby matches in Athens as Panathinaikos hosts Olympiacos at 7pm local time (6pm CET; noon EST). European basketball fans have come to know what to expect from whichever side of fans packs the house for a Greens vs. Reds war, namely this just for starters…
Nov
8
Coach Messina “going to Disneyland” (possibly on Kobe’s helicopter)
Messina: "What am I gonna teach Kobe?"
From Italy, BallinEurope’s Enrico Cellini has quotes from a conference attended by one of the nation’s finest-ever coaching minds, Ettore Messina, and collected a few thoughts from the new Los Angeles Lakers assistant on living in L.A., Kobe Bryant’s transport and going to Disneyland…
After earning a status as one of the most successful coaches of the last 15 years in Europe, Ettore Messina was hired this summer by the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach.
Messina is known for his charismatic and irrepressible attitude on the bench but has also the gift of self-irony outside the court. A few days ago, he spoke about leadership in a conference on sport business and digressed on the first challenges of his new life as a Laker.
Sep
14
Fallout from Eurobasket 2011: Is Serbian basketball in trouble?
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.
The English-language version of the Serbia-based Blic online ran a piece on Monday which sought answers under the headline “Basketball stifled by financial troubles and busy calendar.” Writer Tatjana Dragojevic investigated some of the woes she (and others) see as dogging Serbia hoops; today BallinEurope takes a closer look at some points of speculation.
Sep
2
Bardakian, Danielian lead Los Angeles to gold at fifth Pan-Armenian Games
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.
Suren Musayelyan of Armenia Now contributes to BallinEurope the story of Carl Bardakian, perhaps the key figure in the basketball sphere of the ‘Games; as a player, the Los Angeles native took tournament titles in 1999 and 2001, while in this game the former Cleveland State University assistant coached his L.A. side to the top of the 24-team field.
Los Angeles was led by Azusa Pacific University alum Mike Danielian, who was particularly brilliant in the final match with 49 points in Bardakian’s team’s victory over Russian side Sochi.
Sep
1
Sergio Scariolo: Team Spain “still getting better” (Is this trash talk?)
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.
Spain, France and possibly Russia (depending on how one feels about Georgia) have faced grievously overmatched competition in the first three games. The timetable has been particularly favorable to the defending champions, who drew a first three of Poland, playing without their only bona fide superstars in Marcin Gortat and Maciej Lampe; Portugal, the last team to qualify for the tournament; and still-developing Great Britain, who some have rather undiplomatically remarked belongs in FIBA Europe’s B Division. Forced to play on three consecutive days, the world no. 2 team couldn’t have asked for more favorability.
Sep
1
*The* question: Why is Lithuania so passionate about basketball?
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.
With Team Lithuania head coach Kestutis Kemzura and BiE fave Martynas “Air” Pocius before the assembled media, a journalist on his first stay in this hoops-mad land went for the deep query: “Why is this country so passionate about basketball?”
Jun
4
Reports: Ettore Messina signs with Los Angeles Lakers as consultant
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.
Stories of Messina perhaps landing work in the Lakers organization first began two weeks ago. Eric Pincus over at website HoopsWorld appears to have broken the story, citing as reference the Italian-language RivistaNBA’s Zeno Pisani in writing that Messina has signed a full-time deal to “help Brown in a similar capacity that Tex Winter served former Laker Coach Phil Jackson.”
Four-time Euroleague champion Messina, who left Real Madrid in March of this year, has been linked to positions with the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs.
Jun
0
Inside the huddle with Zeljko Obradovic and David Blatt
The folks at Euroleague TV had a good 2010-11 season in BallinEurope’s opinion, and they’ve just produced an interesting clip to close things out. See below the break to take ELTV up on their interesting invitation to become a player, i.e. to witness miked up coaches Zeljko Obradovic and David Blatt during the Panathinaikos-Maccabi Tel Aviv championship match.
