In German club basketball, too many foreign players are allowed; in fact, carrying eight or nine American players on a single roster certainly hurts quite a few Bundesliga teams and may be undermining most. Such an opinion is often heard these days about the free-for-all state of BBL contract rules, but rarely does a player affirm such a few … would you believe this is the view of a veteran U.S. player?
But 36-year-old Quadre Lollis, currently with EnBW Ludwigsburg, has garnered quite a lot of wisdom on the European game and the American players therein, with a CV that includes stints with Vanoli Soresina, AEK Athens, ALBA Berlin, Fenerbahce Ülker, Galatasaray, Oyak Renault Bursa, Oostende and now Ludwigsburg, after his NCAA career with Montana State University.
In an interview with Germany-based Basketball Akademie, Lollis advances just such an opinion, even going so far as to say that the success enjoyed in the 2008-09 season by Alba Berlin (of which Lollis was a member) was due to the *few* American players filling its roster.
Lollis goes on to expound on the proliferation of Americans in the German league, attitude versus experience, the European game in the last decade, and the origin of his (sort of) Spanish name.
Click here to download the interview with Quadre Lollis in MP3 file format.
Thanks to Christophe of European Prospects for the tip!



Basketball referees have simply got to be some of the game’s biggest devotees out there. After all, the members of this team are in literally a no-win situation: With little personal individual glory, referees are typically only remembered by a losing team’s fans made indignant with the seething hatred brought on by a questionable call. And the guys and gals in stripes do it all for the good of the game.
Coming up on his 20th anniversary with Montepaschi Siena, general manager Ferdinando Minucci shows no signs of letting up – either in terms of hard work on his winning ways. Minucci’s rise through the ranks in the 1990s coincided with Montepaschi’s increase in prestige in Serie A. Achieving the lofty title of General Director and Vice President in 1999, Minucci’s hands-on approach through the 2000s has created a veritable European basketball powerhouse, with four Italian Championships (and a current three-year run), three Italian Supercups and last year’s Italian Cup titles to its credit.
The players and coaches aren’t the only ones prepping for upcoming 2009-10 seasons across Europe; hundreds of cheerleading teams are also putting final touches on routines and getting into shape for opening day.
Among the many high-level transactions made by FC Barcelona in this off-season – i hear they signed a hot young point guard… – is the well-traveled Terence Morris.
Over at