Comments on: Yarone Arbel: Top8 preview

By: Marz Smith

Marz Smith — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:25:58 +0000

My older son, Gabe, turned 3 in May, and I knew this would be the season I would finally take him to his first basketball game. I wanted the experience to be fun, the start of what I hoped would be a lifetime of basketball fandom.

By: Lior

Lior — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:48:24 +0000

Hi,

I have a spare ticket for the final four, great seats in the Grandas.
If someone is looking for ticket – please contact me throw:
liorw20@walla.co.il

Thanks

By: Calvin

Calvin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:45:56 +0000

There are somethings we are not going to agree about and I’m fine with that. I just want to say I would very much like to see a second euroleague team in israel with Meir Tapiro, Raviv Limonad, Jamie Arnold, Ido Kozikaro, Lior Eliyahu, Guy Pniny, Yaniv Green, Elizer Kadir, Anton Shoutvin and Naom Haochi. I believe those players if coached well and held accountable for their play would make at least a respectable team in the euroleague and would improve the quality of their domestic league and national team.

By: Yarone Arbel

Yarone Arbel — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:12:55 +0000

Hey, no doubt there are things to improve in our system, but… it doesn’t end there.

Look, in the youth level we make good results. In a span of five years the U20 Israeli teams won two silver medals and once made it to the semifinals and lost by a single point to the eventual champs and future world champs – Lithuania.

So the system, on that aspect, is working well. But in those tournaments it’s much easier to “hide” physical differences, and for me that’s one of the main reasons we do well as long as we have skill.

I agree athletic barriers aren’t the WHOLE deal, but certainly it’s not an excuse. From a certain difference…it’s too much to handle.

By: Calvin

Calvin — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:19:59 +0000

You could of included that olympic pay is so poor that it’s impossible to have a middle class lifestyle as an olympian and that pay is the butt of jokes.

The problem is the system, the athletic barriers are just an excuse, in my experience and I’ve been around some “great american athletes” the athletic barriers aren’t real.

By: Yarone Arbel

Yarone Arbel — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:09:30 +0000

So you’re saying Maccabi doesn’t want too many Israeli players to be good cause then they would have more competition in the league? Or…I lost u somewhere?

It’s not only basketball… it’s in almost any sports. The only medals we ever won in the Olympics were in single and small competitions (Judo, surfing and so…). Basketball is the only team sports were ever did anything major (silver medal in 1979 EuroBasket, when back then the game was much less athletic and physical) and even that one had to do a lot with luck.

Very few Israeli athletes made it to the top because of what nature gave their body. Mentality and wisdom were often the main reason they made the great.

I don’t know what’s going on in the US…hopefully you do have some great athletes who are Jewish that we could enjoy one day (and I can’t count too many from my memory) But over here in Israel…really very few of them.

By: Calvin

Calvin — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:54:51 +0000

I can’t agree, in some subcultures and professions inside america, israelies are generalized as athletes. You would know more about the politics than I do but to me it looks like a situation of either nepotism, cronies or maccabi being corrupted with all the money and therefore all the power.

By: Yarone Arbel

Yarone Arbel — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:38:21 +0000

Vassilis…thanks, but i was totally wrong about game 2. High scoring game and not very close. But I still think Olympiacos will take this series. It’s amazing how CSKA can run over you so quickly. They can close a double-digit margin in 2-3 minutes before u yawn. They have done it in game 1, they have done it in game 2, they have done it at home against Roma and many more times. This is also how they take their double-digit leads – short clips of unstoppable ability and suddenly the game is over in the 2nd quarter. I don’t remember something so… powerful in years. They totally run over their opponents in those minutes, while usually you’ll see a team clear a double-digit margin much slower.

Game 3…anything can happen…we will see.

Oh, and btw… I change my prediction and go with Partizan in game 3:)

By: Yarone Arbel

Yarone Arbel — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:35:03 +0000

Calvin, thanks for the kind thoughts, but… Israel still lack something to be anywhere near Greece. First, we don’t fight as much as this Greek team, but that’s not the main difference. Israel isn’t an athletic and tall nation as Greece is. This is how you have TWO players around 2m that can play PG and you have TONS of size. We have some talents but on the physical aspect we fail and this is why Greece has a chance against USA and Israel can’t even dream about it.

By: Yarone Arbel

Yarone Arbel — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:30:10 +0000

I do remember man. I wrote before… I luv watching Fener and they do have big potential, but for now you see it in few plays, not for a whole game. Like the big dunk of Vidmar early in the game – that is one huge play that not many EL players can do, but he scored a total of what…? 6? For me that’s the story of Fener this season. Predzelic is another player I REALLY luv and has a big future, but right now he’s still developing.

If you expect them to go higher next year they’ll need to land someone to help Solomon more. If it’s going to be the same, then you’ll need another good draw to be in top8. In two years…that would be a better time for higher expectations.

Oh…and get rid of Mirsad plz:)