Ball in Europe, the European Basketball Blog

Whoa, 90s flashback! On Friday, Serie A club Martos Napoli announced the signing of 37-year-old Travis Best, perhaps best known for his play with Larry Bird’s Indiana Pacers, the NBA championship-contending team of 1999-2000.

Best was a first-round draft choice of the Pacers in 1995. The point guard stuck with Indiana until 2002, when he was involved in the big seven-player trade that landed Ron Artest and Brad Miller with the Pacers while Best and Jalen Rose went to the Chicago Bulls.

Best’s success (and, in a lot of cases, playing time) decreased significantly in three more seasons in America with three further teams – the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets – creating the impetus for him to jump the Atlantic. Since 2005, Best has logged time with Unics Kazan, Virtus Bologna, Prokom Trefl Sport and Air Avellino.

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Yesterday, BallinEurope.com ran part one of Francesco Cappelletti’s analysis and forecast of Italy’s first six Serie A teams for 2009-10. Below runs part two, covering the remaining 10 hopefuls from the top Italian league.

Angelico Biella. Last year’s semifinal is only a memory: Biella must again plunge into the tough reality of its life as small basketball center among wealthier clubs and cities. On the other hand, the peacefulness and consciousness working in Biella makes it easier than in Milano to remain in Northern Italy. That’s what Fred Jones was surely thinking when he decided to cross the ocean and leave the NBA. The dunk specialist from Malvern is the noisiest acquisition an Italian club made this summer, and Jones could easily be Serie A MVP if he stays healthy. Joe Troy Smith is delegated to assist him, above and beyond scoring his usual 15 points per game, with support essential to a squad which has only one other pure shooter in Pietro Aradori. Aradori is set to confirm his past progress before returning to Roma, owner of his contract.

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In our ongoing look at the odds on EuroBasket 2009 (herein presented by Euroleague/Ball in Europe partner SportingBet.com), BallinEurope.com takes a few notes on the current odds and trends in Group C.

Group C is the pool which is getting officially overhyped in this tournament as the “Group of Death” sports journalists so often seek to pigeonhole one quartet in such international tournaments. To those opining such, we can simply say, “Whatever.” I mean, just look at today’s lines for the group.

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Here we go for the spectator figures for the best and most popular competition in Europe, the Euroleague. After the FIBA EuroChallenge and the EuroCup, BallinEurope.com checked what are the averages of the toughest European competition.

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Brose Baskets Bamberg guard Dan Dickau has been a major topic of discussion this season for a couple of reasons, ranging from his strange departure from Air Avellino because of a bad back, to doping allegations and to playing for the Poland national team this summer at EuroBasket 2009.

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Here we go for another round of Monday morning cigarettes!

• Always a beauty, the ACB has come up with the best plays of the most spectacular players of the season so far. And no surprise here: The top 3 is composed of Sergio Llull, Quinton Hosley and Marcus Haislip.
• How to come back from a 16-point deficit against TAU Ceramica Vitoria.
• A preview of the Semaine des As, the French version of the Copa del Rey.
• An interview with former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket and Indiana Pacer Travis Best, who plays now for Air Avellino in Italy.
• After the arrival of Tony Parker as shareholder in ASVEL Villeurbanne, French basketball media discuss how supposed future French National Team coach Vincent Collet reacts when he’s the boss of TP for the nationals while working as Parker’s employee at ASVEL.
• Sometimes, European basketball fans talk about the lesser media coverage of the Euroleague in their respective countries and envy the all-around marketing machine of the NBA. But what happens these days around All-Star Day makes me think we have Euroleague coverage sufficient enough for me, because who cares if Allen Iverson cut his hair?????? I read at least four reports about that story in the few RSS feeds I subscribe to. When will the Euroleague follow and talk us about Igor Rakocevic’s newest haircut? I can’t wait…
• With the FMP City of Belgrade Tournament, 6 of the 8 participants to the Nike International Junior Tournament are known. Admitted to the event, organized during the Final Four in Berlin, are Kalise Gran Canaria, Montepaschi Siena, Lietuvos Rytas, Unicaja Malaga, FMP Zeleznik and Hemofarm Vrsac. Additionally, two teams will be determined by a wildcard playoff.

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Part II of the Weekend Joints is presented to you with visits to Kaunas, Nancy’s hot dog stands, Pionir, Milano and Greece. Can’t go wrong with that route.

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When I came home tonight, I immediately checked on the situation in the different Euroleague games was. And it looked like the two first games of the day would become blowouts: Olympiacos finally beat Air Avellino without any trouble, but the score between Panionios and Real Madrid somehow surprised me as the Greeks were up by like 20 points. A quick check on Skype gave me the explication, Panionios had a 31-6 run.

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