Partizan Belgrade hits the road on its American tour later this month and the team has just had its dance card punched for another two games to take place in the Midwest. Before taking on the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns on October 3rd and 6th, respectively, the Black-and-Whites will be playing against an outfit called the “Midwest All-Stars.”
The “All-Stars” roster will be comprised of “former and current overseas and NBA players,” and if you’re wondering why “All-Stars” carries the quote marks, well, the team has announced that Scot Pollard and Mateen Cleaves will be “leading” the exhibition squad.
The games will be played at Purdue University on September 27, followed by a matchup at Dakota High School in Macomb, Michigan, three nights later. The locations were said to be chosen in part because of “strong ties with the Serbian community in Chicago, Northwest Indiana and Detroit.” (Um, then why is Partizan playing in the Southwest in October?) NBA PR reports that “As of 2005, over 110,000 Serbian immigrants resided in the US, predominately in the Midwest, along with thousands more citizens with Serbian descent.”
Pollard models Midwest All-Stars uni
The “All-Stars” v. Partizan games will be held in conjunction with Humanitarian Organization Divac, the charity for refugees established by former Sacramento/Belgrade center Vlade Divac. (Vlade! Yes!)
Partizan president Predrag Danilovic offered a few words on the occasion of the announcement, stating that “We are very honored by this invitation to visit the United States and consider it as a tremendous achievement. We are the first Serbian basketball team to ever participate in such event. At the same time this is a big acknowledgement by the Euroleague and the NBA as well as unique historical moment for Serbian basketball. This is a confirmation that many NBA people are very familiar [with] and respect Serbian basketball tradition. The players, the coaching staff and Partizan’s basketball operations are all deserving of this acknowledgement.”
And plus, they’ll probably mop the floor with Pollard & Co.
Speaking of the former Sacramento King/Boston Celtic, Mr. Pollard offered his typical enthusiasm: “I’m very excited to be a part of these games. I have great respect for Vlade [Divac] and Euroleague basketball. My only wish is that Vlade was playing, too, so I wouldn’t be the oldest guy on the court!
“I have met many Serbian people, and am glad to be a part of yet another exciting event and to have a chance to meet more Serbs and learn some more Serbian words.”
*More* Serbian words? One can only imagine what Pollard’s Serbian vocabulary currently looks like…
For more information on these games, email inquiries to Partizan@Divac.com.
“All-Stars” roster:
Miguel ”Ali” Berdiel (Valparaiso University), 200cm, pg/sg
Ali had excellent season for Pivovarna Lasko in Slovenia last year. He was leading the league in steals and was among the best archers and assistants. He played for Albuquerque in the D-League as well as in Mons in Belgium, also played for the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers in the NBA summer league. And he was also a member of the Puerto Rican national team on several major international tournaments.
Steven Wright (Northern Kentucky), 188cm, pg
Steven has played two years for European teams Braunsweig and Paderborn. He is explosive pg and a very good athlete. Play solid defense and is a true leader in the field. Steven has played for Northern Kentucky University in North America second division. Steven was three years a starter at Bowling Green University before he went to Northern Kentucky in his final year of schooling.
Arriel McDonald (University of Minnesota), 188cm, pg/sg
Arriel is a veteran of fifteen years in European basketball. Arriel was the MVP of the Euroleague Final Four in 2000th year, leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to its first title after 20 years. Arriel was also MVP of the FIBA Cup in 2007 when he led Akesvayu Girona to their first European title. Arriel played for Panathinaikos and Dynamo Moscow, and last season was the third pg for the Italian champion Montepaschi Siena.
Brandon Dagans (Lewis University), 182cm, pg/sg
Brandon played this year in North America Second Division for Lewis University and recorded 19 points per game. Brandon has an explosive first step and a special sense of achievement points. Brandon is a great guard from virtually all positions.
Joe Krabbenhoft (University of Wisconsin), 201cm, sf
Joe was three years a starter for Wisconsin Badgers. He is an excellent shooter from wing positions, Joe was selected last season in best selection of the Big Ten Division, and was also in the camp Portand Trail Blazers in July.
James Booyer (IUPUI), 203cm, sf
James is an explosive defender who plays with a lot of energy. He is also a good scorer from the paint, and he played in Europe and the Middle East. Last season he achieved an average of 15 points with 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots for the Chicago Throwbacks at PBL league.
Thomas Kelati (Washington State), 196cm, sg/sf
Thomas had an excellent season with Unikaja Malaga last season when he hit a record of nine three-pointers in one game of the Euroleague. Thomas has experience of four seasons playing in Europe, playing for Mons in Belgium and Turow in Poland. Thomas was named MVP JEM Polish League 2007 when he led Turow to quarterfinals of ULEB Cup.
Ike Ofoegbu (SMU), 206cm, pf/c
Ike in year 2007 was elected for first line-up of university teams from the south of the U.S. (All Conference), when he played at SMU. Ike recorded 26 points in his best game of the season against the second placed team of the state of Memphis.He has played in Europe for two years where he recorded 11 points and six rebounds per game for the Belgian Ghent, in the season 2007-2008. Ike is strong and athletic power forward who can play center if needed.
Frans Steyn (S.W. Baptist), 218 cm, c
Frans is the dominant figure in the paint. He was one of the leading blockers in the Chinese basketball league during the last three years. Frans is a great rebounder and scorer from the paint.
Source: http://www.kkpartizan.rs/nba-tour.html
translated to english by krle (sorry if there are some mistakes)
Wow, Krle, you are the man! Thanks very much for this excellent info! And your translation is quite excellent, too. If there were a prize for outstanding contribution from a reader, it would be yours. Kudos!
You’re welcome. Also it is said before that Scott Pollard is playing, and Matin Klivs might join as well, but this roster is announced later, so I’m not certain if Scott is going to play in these 2 games, but this roster has 9 players so I believe it’s not complete…
[...] Belgrade takes on Scot Pollard, Mateen Cleaves and the Midwest All-Stars on Sunday in Hammond, Indiana, and next Wednesday at the Purdue University Calumet [...]
The article says that Dakota High School is in Missouri…. It’s in Macomb, Michigan. Just a correction.
[...] the Midwest All-Stars suit up for the black-and-white in Euroleague play. Hey, maybe Danilović and Partizan should consider Scot Pollard for Palacio’s vacated [...]