After all, Galatasaray played for the TBL title in 2011 after a hard-fought season in which the team placed third overall – one spot ahead of perpetual big league contenders Anadoule Efes (a.k.a. Efes Pilsen) – at 22-8. Plus, the EL Final Four will be held in Istanbul and, um, it *is* called the “Turkish Airlines Euroleague,” is it not?

In any case, BiE feels further vindication for the argument today, as the FC Barcelona official website is announcing former Blaugrana player Jaka Lakovic’s signing with the Turkish side.

The Slovenian joins what is seriously resembling a bona fide Euroleague roster, with new additions in Jamont Gordon, Ender Arslan, Cevher Ozer and Furkan Aldemir already on board.

Newly-remolded Galatasaray begins the 2011-12 season playing in the Euroleague Qualifying Rounds; BiE says if there’s any justice, these guys will grab one of those two available spots in the EL … and have something to do with Milano’s elimination, too.

He's baaaa-aaaack!

Returning from the surprise of 2010 are Robertas Javtokas, Mantas Kalnietis, Martynas Pocius, Tomas Delininkaitis, and Paulius Jankunas of Zalgiris Kaunas, plus Martynas Gecevicius and Simas Jasaitis of Lietuvos Rytas. Also named to Kemzura’s preliminary squad is Zalgiris’ Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who was a reserve for the 2010 Team Lithuania.

Lithuanian fans themselves surely must be cheered by the return of six former national team members, nearly all European legends: Sarunas Jasikevicius and Darjus Lavrinovic (Fenerbahce Ulker); Rimantas Kaukenas and Ksystof Lavrinovic (Montepaschi Siena); Darius Songaila (Philadelphia 76ers); and Marijonas Petravicius (AJ Milano).

NBA draftniks – and those looking to catch a glimpse at some of Europe’s up-and-coming talent – will be keeping an eye on Donatas Motiejunas, Jonas Valanciunas and Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

Others named to the 20-man roster were Deivydas Gailius (Virtus Bologna), Arturus Jomantas (Lietuvos Rytas), Mindaugas Lukauskis (EWE Baskets Oldenburg), and Renaldas Seibutis (Olin Edirne).

While this roster appears pretty fearsome in combination with the homecourt advantage, veteran FIBA tournament coach and reputation earned in 2010, some Lithuanians are apparently not so easily impressed. Tweeted BiE compadre Simas Baranauskas minutes after the announcement: “Apparently what you need for an international call-up in Lithuania is 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in Euroleague. Artūras Jomantas…”

That’s right: BiE said “28-year-old.” Staudt’s late season promotion from assistant to head coach made him the youngest top-division head coach in all of Europe – and certainly put him among the most youthful in the world to hold such a position – though an observer might never have noticed with the success Staudt enjoyed in 2010-11.

In an effort to stop the skid, Aalborg management first signed former Lehigh University standout Marquis Hall in January; Staudt was named head coach in mid-February after the Vikings had run up a beyond-dismal 1-18 record and had sunk deep into the two-team Ligaen relegation zone.

But do you believe in happy endings? After losing his first game with the club, Staudt was able to get a 4-3 record out of his team to close the season and took both games of the two-game relegation playoff between Aalborg and BK Amager – season saved and the former Big Apple teacher was suddenly toast of the town in a faraway land.

Staudt recently took the time from managing four of Aalborg’s youth and lower-division teams to answer a few of BallinEurope’s questions. Read on and you might just be so inspired to chase an impossible dream…

BallinEurope: Your bio states that you were teaching in a public school in America when hired by Aalborg. How did you hear of the job and how did the club hear of you?John Staudt: I had been teaching and coaching in inner city New York for five years. I taught at a school whose main goal was for all of its students to go on and graduate from college. During that time, I always told my students to follow their dreams and that if they work hard they can be anything. Coming from the neighborhoods that they came from, it would have been easy for them to get lost to the streets. It also takes a lot for them to take that risk to step out of their comfort zone to go to college and follow their dreams.

Then last June, I was given the opportunity to be an assistant coach for the Milton Keynes Lions of the BBL in England. When I was debating whether or not to take that opportunity, I knew I had to go, even though it would be far from my family and friends, because otherwise I would be a hypocrite after I had always told my students that to follow their dreams they might at times have to step out of their comfort zone.

In November, after being with Milton Keynes, I was given the opportunity to come to Denmark. After coming here and working hard for about a month-and-a-half, the club decided to make a coaching change and I was fortunate enough to be made the head coach. When I took over, the club was looking at the possibility of being relegated from Ligaen to the First Division, and I took the same approach to coaching I had when teaching: preaching that, through hard work and dedication, we would be able to achieve our goal for avoiding relegation.

BiE: Since when have you wanted to coach? Do you have any mentors or role models?
Staudt: I have always known that I wanted to be involved in basketball. Once I was in high school, I realized that in order to do so, it would be on the coaching side and not the playing side, as I was not destined for the NBA. I began coaching as an assistant coach when I was 17 years old for a team of 13- and 14-year-olds. One of my mentors was my middle-school math teacher Mr. Kann, who was also a longtime coach. The way he treated his students and players with respect and caring as people, not just as students or players, inspired me to be that type of teacher and coach.

BiE: What were your first impressions of Denmark and how do you like the country now?
Staudt: Being from the New York City area, it was a definite change coming to Aalborg. The people here have been really nice and welcoming from the time that I stepped off the plane, and Denmark has been a very nice place to live.

BiE: What is your opinion of the talent level in Danish basketball at present?
Staudt: There’s a lot of good talent in Denmark right now. They’re getting better and better Americans from some of the top programs in the United States and there’s also a good mix of experienced, talented Danish players as well as a great number of young, talented players. Some of these young players are now being recruited to go to play at some of the best basketball schools in the US as well as Euroleague teams. Basketball is already at a high level here and it looks to be continuing to grow. Coaching the developmental team, the under-20 Team, second- and third-division teams for Aalborg along with the Ligaen team, I have gotten to see that there is a lot of young talent coming up as well.

BiE: You were hired at the age of 28, which made you the youngest American head coach in any top division of a European league. Was your age ever a problem among the players, particularly those close to or beyond your age?
Staudt: No, my age was never a problem for me. One thing is that we were one of the youngest teams – if not the youngest team – in the league and everyone on the team was either 28 or younger, so I think that that helped a bit. But it also that I treated everyone with respect and was willing to listen to my players, both the older and younger ones, helped in not having my age be an issue. I think that they saw that I was prepared and working hard for them so they were willing to prepare themselves and work hard for me.

BiE: Your arrival appears to have turned the Aalborg Vikings around. What did you do with this team that wasn’t being done? How did you find the “diamonds in the rough”?
Staudt: I think that we got back to working hard and using our youth to our advantage. We began playing at a faster pace and trying to wear other teams down a little bit with the pace of play. We are a young team so we do make mistakes, but we kept working hard through those mistakes and did not let them get us down and we fought every game to the very end.

BiE: Now that Aalborg has avoided relegation, what are your plans for the club for next season?
Staudt: Next season, the plan for the club is not to have to worry about relegation or playing in a relegation series at all. We want to continue to work hard and develop the young talent that we have here so that next year not only do we make the playoffs, but that we make some noise once we get there.

BiE: Marquis Hall is credited with helping save the Vikings’ season in 2010-11. What can you tell us about him?
Staudt: Marquis was a tremendous part of the turnaround for the Vikings. He was a very smart, hard working, and unselfish player. A lot of times when guys come to a team that’s struggling in the middle of the season, they’re just worried about their own personal stats, but Marquis is not that type of player. He was always looking to make his teammates better, so that the team could get better, so that we could get wins. He is a great player to coach. Very talented, hardworking, and a great attitude.

BiE: What is your ultimate career goal with coaching? Are you looking to find a position in the U.S.?
Staudt: Ultimately I would love to come back to the United States and coach at the college or pro level. Whether that is as an assistant or a head coach, that is my ultimate goal which I will continue to chase until I achieve it. For right now, though, I’m just going to enjoy the journey and continue to work hard and chase my dream.

BiE: Finally, who do you like to win the NBA and Euroleague championships this year?
Staudt: Being from New York, I would love for my Knicks to finally get a championship this year so I’ll be rooting hard for them throughout the playoffs. As far as the Euroleague, my team was Olimpia Milano and they have unfortunately already been eliminated.

Here’s to thinking Fratello will rely on past experience to guide his new team. His historical preference for grind-it-out defense is sure to mesh well with a big, physical Team Ukraine; the side is also blessed with lots of shot blocking at its disposal. Will the Czar be imagining past glories as he trains in Europe? To when in the past will he look while watching his players in the present? BallinEurope looks at some potential role models for Eurobasket 2011.

• Serhiy Gladyr

Current team: Basquet Manresa

Scouting report: “Gladyr is a 6’5” shooting guard with nice athletic ability … What makes Gladyr intriguing is his shooting: He’s one of the better pure shooters in the draft. His shooting numbers are not overwhelming (36% on three-pointers), but he clearly has a sweet-shooting stroke … [at 19 years old, he] already shows the ability to drill shots coming off screens. … He’s not strictly a shooter thanks to his athleticism and good ball-handling. Pretty nice handle where he loves to use his left hand, and has an effective crossover dribble. Did have some issues when trapped on pick-and-rolls … had some issues in general when a second defender approached him … Solid rebounder for a 2-guard … Sergiy is a pretty good athlete by Ukrainian League standards, but how he rates as a NBA athlete is hard to gauge. If he was a Top 10 scorer in Spain or Italy then I’d feel more assured of his potential.” (The Painted Area, June 2009)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: So now Sergiy is 21 and, while averaging 9.1 points per ACB game – second-highest on his team to Uros Slokar – doesn’t put him onto Spain’s top 10 scorers list, BiE thinks The Painted Area must be pleased with Gladyr’s progress. It seems Gladyr’s three-point shooting still underwhelms, as he averages 1.6-for-4.7 shooting beyond the arc per ACB game, good for right around – you guessed it – 35%. Nevertheless, the future looks bright for this Ukrainian; could an NBA draft selection be in his future…?

Role model: Dan Majerle, who Fratello himself may barely remember, as Deadly Dan played just a single season with the Cavaliers and started only 15 times. Like Majerle, Gladyr is noted for his ball-handling skills and is particularly difficult to stop (or to stop from shooting) anywhere on the floor if single-covered. As Majerle is today one of the relatively unsung heroes of those Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns teams of the 1990s, so would a sharpshooting Gladyr should Team Ukraine surprise.

• Oleksiy Pecherov

Current team: AJ Milano

Scouting report: “[Pecherov] has shown the ability to create his own shot off the dribble and pulls up quickly and efficiently, squares to the basket very well and gets vertical… Tough to guard close to the basket … Free throw shooting is excellent … High flyer … Good defender, has excellent foot speed, especially laterally … It is rare to find a player with his type of size, speed and strength combination … His passing ability has shown some improvement, but he lacks great vision to find teammates off the dribble … Must get a lot better at protecting the ball … Mental toughness has been a question for him in the past.” (Coast 2 Coast, January 2010)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: After missing two months due to injury, Pecherov is back on track with AJ Milano, playing over 20 minutes per game to score 10.6 and grab 6.2 boards per in Serie A play.

Role model: Fratello will certainly be looking for a Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a.k.a. “the best foreign player that I coached in terms of what he has achieved during his career,” and similarly to Big Z has enviable ball-handling skills for such a big guy (2.13 meters, or a sliver under 7’0”). For Pecherov’s sake, let’s hope Fratello can help him evolve that passing ability to Ilgauskasian levels. Or maybe the Czar should just play him like Hot Rod Williams … nah.

• Kyrylo Fesenko

Current team: Utah Jazz

Scouting report: “Blocks shots and rebounds pretty well … Likes to take the outside shot … Very green yet (Hoops Hype, mid-2009); “Best case: Andris Biedrins. Worst case: Mario Kasun.” (Draft Express, 2009)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: Touts who have been following this guy since at least 2005 would surely enjoy seeing some dividends paying off for the Jazz already. Unfortunately, this ultra-talented 24-year-old is buried on the Utah bench behind Al Jefferson and Mehmet Okur. Here’s to hoping that Fesenko gets a bit more than eight minutes’ worth of playing time for Team Ukraine in Eurobasket 2011 (he will) and thus gets more TV time.

Role model: Tree Rollins and Kevin Willis rolled into one. Talk about the evolution of the athlete in the 21st century: in their time with those then-superpowered Atlanta Hawks of Fratello, Rollins and Willis were huge. Now? Fesenko has 40 pounds (18.2 kilos) on either of those guys and he many still be growing, having added 30 pounds (13.6 kg) in the past three years. With a little mobility, Fesenko could be scary indeed.

• Serhiy Lishchuk

Current team: PE Valencia

Scouting report: “Serhiy Lishchuk, the top shot-blocker this season in the Eurocup, is a major part of Azovmash having given itself a chance to qualify [for the final eight round]. The 26-year-old power forward has been the most distracting defensive presence in the competition, averaging 1.6 blocks over the first 11 games this season. In the Last 16, when Azovmash needed it most, Lishchuk elevated his game even higher, scoring 12.2 points per game, second on the team, while remaining a force on the defensive end with 1.8 blocks on average.” (Eurocup, March 2009)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: In his second season with Valencia, Lishchuk is seeing less court time at about 17.0 minutes a game but is contributing 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds perRole model: One of the few bright spots in Fratello’s tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies was the emergence of Shane Battier not only a double-digit point-scorer but as a classic do-it-all contributor, a player whose importance was magnified on defense and mostly kept off the stats. While Lishchuk brings a game dissimilar to Battier’s, the 28-year-old is bound to have a magnified role in terms of court time but will mostly be key to the half-court defense.

• Maksym Pustozvonov

Current team: Azovmash Mariupol

Scouting report: “Excellent small forward, who can also play position 4. Can play pick-and-roll at either position with the ball and as a screener. Very good outside shooter…” (BeoBasket, July 2010); “One of the key players of BC Kiev … nailed 13.3 ppg in Eurochallenge and 13.6 in the Ukrainian Superleague.” (Sportando, July 2010).

What he’s doing in 2010-11: Pustozvonov had a decent campaign with Azovmash in Eurocup play this season, producing steady double-digit performances in six games and shooting 47.2% overall. In Ukrainian play, Pustozvonov has been good for 9.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game on 43.6% overall shooting.

Role model: Danny Ferry. But wait, before you form the lynch mob in Cleveland: Consider Ferry’s Duke days when he could shoot from anywhere and still crash the boards. Plus, like it or not, Ferry’s most productive years came during Fratello’s reign as head coach there. In 1995-96 and 1996-97, Ferry was typically used as a starter and was encouraged to shoot frequently; Ferry managed 46% shooting on twos in his best year with Fratello, but nevertheless increased his rebounds, assists and steals to almost acceptable levels in those seasons. Visualize Pustozvonov as a potential-realized Ferry…

Top of the Table
1. (↑) Maccabi Tel Aviv (6-1 in Euroleague; 6-1 in Ligat HaAl) – We’ll just keep running this blurb until the star-studded Yellow-and-Blue shows any signs of serious vincibility: Forget the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers even (heresy); the best offseason was had by Maccabi Tel Aviv, which once again underwent a complete reboot, as the kids these days might say.

2. (↑) Fenerbahçe Ülker (6-1; 8-0 in TBL) – No. 1 in scoring, no. 2 in defensive rebounds, no. 3 in rebounding, no. 3 in fewest turnovers allowed … it’s tough to deny these guys the top spot, particularly in a season of oddities; wouldn’t a surprise team in the Euroleague finals like Fenerbahçe be fitting?

3. (↑) Montepaschi Siena (6-1; 6-1 in Serie A) – BiE’s glad to have gotten on this horse early (Just ignore those top two teams when you check the link, eh?) and is cheered by a positive example of a club prevailing through budget crunches.

4. (↓) Olympiacos (5-2; 6-0 in EΣAKE)
5. (↓) Panathinaikos (5-2; 6-0 in EΣAKE) – The Greek powers have cooled off a few scant degrees in the past two weeks, each losing in week six to Spanish clubs. And Panathinaikos hardly looked like a basketball machine in barely holding off a limp CSKA Moscow side last week. On the other hand, a W’s a W, both teams have a magic number of 1 to advance to the Top 16 round, and both looked primed to go deep into the Euroleague playoffs. In the meantime, European hoops fans are still waiting for the teams’ first meeting on January 8th, which will probably look something like this:

6. (↔) Union Olimpija (5-2; 6-3 in Adriatic League) – Apparently, this is the formula for success in 2009-10: Combine some castoffs from lesser leagues (Kevin Pinkney, Kenny Gregory); a bit of veteran leadership (Vlado Ilievski, Saso Ozbolt); one badass off the bench (Goran Jagodnik); an exciting young big man (Giorgi Shermandini); and plenty of players with defense-first mentality (essentially everyone else and most of the above-mentioned). The result: the Euroleague’s no. 4 stingiest defense overall and a chance to swipe top seed in the group, albeit with an extremely difficult upset in Greece to do so.

You know who’s really interested in Olimpija’s success right now? Maccabi, Montepaschi and Fenerbahçe. Should Olimpija take Group D, Panathinaikos would presumably be the no. 2 seed; since the Greens would be barred from landing in Olympiacos’ or Olimpija’s group for the Top 16 round, either Tel Aviv or the Group C winner will be coin-flipping for the “privilege” of playing Central Europe’s toughest team twice in 2011.

7. (↑) FC Barcelona (5-2; 7-2 in ACB) – While certainly not resembling the superteam of 2009-10, Barça nevertheless became one of the first four to qualify for the Top 16, as the wheat has mathematically been separated from the chaff in Group C. Not especially heartening to Barça backers are losses to Fenerbahçe Ülker, Montepaschi Siena and Caja Laboral Baskonia, essentially the only teams of any repute the Blaugrana’ve played since November began. And now Pete Mickael’s out for two months? Yikes.

Other prime contenders
8. (↑) Madrid (4-3; 8-2 in ACB)
9. (↑) Unicaja (4-3; 6-4 in ACB) – The weirdness of 2010-11 Euroleague season is such that it’s spreading to affect domestic leagues, too! After Unicaja defended home court against Real Madrid well enough in week 7 for pundits to start describing the latter as “reeling,” Madrid went and spanked Unicaja right back last night, 88-72. After beginning the season with five ACB teams, one is now left to wonder whether any of ‘em will be around to play in the home country in the Final Four.

10. (↓) Žalgiris Kaunas (4-3; 4-0 in VTB United League) – The wind is out of the Lithuanian sails in Euroleague play, perhaps, but you’d be forgiven if you’d consider losses to Partizan in Pionir and to the Continent’s top team to be something of a blip in a great season thus far: They’re 12-0 in non-EL games, and the loss in Serbia represents the sole defeat of Žalgiris in 2010-11 by any team not named “Maccabi Tel Aviv.”

11. (↓) Efes Pilsen (4-3; 6-1 in TBL) – Yes, but can they win on the road?

12. (↑) BC Khimki Moscow region (3-4; 3-1 in VTB)
13. (↑) Partizan Belgrade (4-3; 4-5 in Adriatic) – While it seems contradictory to list a sub-.500 club above a winning one, well, the scoreboard last week read “BC Khimki 92, Partizan Belgrade 65” as the Belgrade side left Russia tails between legs. Khimki now has the tiebreaker advantage over the Black-and-Whites for the Group A no. 3 seed, while seriously youthful Partizan still has away games in Tel Aviv and Baskonia to handle; the stats show that Khimki is 50 points better than Partizan, and non-Euroleague records would seem to indicate that Khimki’s run in 2010-11 is hardly over.

14. (↑) Virtus Roma (4-3; 2-5 in Serie A) – On the surface of it, Roma’s hot. But the Italians’ back-to-back wins have come against Brose Baskets Bamberg and Spirou Charleroi. From The Who’d Thought Department: Imagine a Euroleague team advancing to the Top 16 round essentially based on a one-point win in Germany. First team bounced, anyone…?

15. (↑) Power Electronics Valencia (3-4; 3-6 in ACB)
16. (↔) AJ Milano (3-4; 6-1 in Serie A)
17. (↑) Cholet Basket (3-4; 6-2 in LNB) – While Cholet seems primed to back into a no. 4 seed out of Group C (certainly a fair enough consolation prize for surviving six games against teams in BiE’s top seven), PE Valencia and AJ Milano will have to fight it out on December 16. Of this trio, BiE right now likes Eurocup champ Valencia the best, coming off two of the most important wins in franchise history with Euroleague victories at Panathinaikos and against Efes Pilsen.

The rest
18. (↑) Asseco Prokom (2-5; 2-3 in VTB) – The bad news: The Polish side is now 2-7 against Euroleague teams in the 2010-11 regular season. The good news: Those two wins have been in the last two games, with Asseco victories versus Khimki and at Baskonia. The realistic news: These guys have dug themselves such a hole that they’ll have to win out (vs. Žalgiris, at Partizan, vs. Maccabi – yeah, surrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre) to advance to the Top 16.

19. (↓) Caja Laboral Baskonia (2-5; 8-1 in ACB) – When you build a team specifically to win the ACB, you can’t complain about your status in Euroleague.

20. (↓) Brose Baskets Bamberg (2-5; 11-0 in BBL)
21. (↓) Spirou Charleroi (2-5; 4-1 in BLB) – Doesn’t anyone love Belgian ball? Or the French LNB? Anyone? Hello…?

WTF?
22. (↓) CSKA Moscow (1-6; 4-0 in VTB)
23. (↓) Lietuvos Rytas (1-6; 2-2 in VTB) – Analyzing the fates of these two traditional superpowers in 2010-11 will be left to sports archaeology. While CSKA may simply have to rebuild (and without Mikhail Prokhorov’s cash ‘n’ guidance this time, too), one wonders how deeply the problems lie with Lietuvos Rytas. While the Greens are 6-1 in LKL play (yawn), they’re just 1-8 against Euroleague clubs this season … what gives, Lithuania?

24. (↓) Cibona Zagreb (0-7; 5-5 in Adriatic) – BiE is now officially recognizing the Dusan Kecman Curse. Sure, they took the Croatian league title in 2010, but in 2010-11, Cibona is off to an unbelievable 5-12 start overall and a 1-7 record against EL teams (having recorded a three-point win over Olimpija in Croatia in Adriatic League week four): marks comparable only to L.Rytas, another of Europe’s biggest disappointments this season – and this with the amazing Euroleague scoring leader Bojan Bogdanović!

BiE today is primarily worried that Zagreb’s poor season is symptomatic of greater problems; what of the future of one of Europe’s most celebrated franchises…?

¿By the way, how do you say “WTF” in Spanish?

1-2. Olympiacos (4-1 in Euroleague; 4-0 in EΣAKE)
Panathinaikos (4-1; 4-0 in EΣAKE) – Incredible to think that a season that began with what appeared to be a league-endangering strike has turned into (at least for now) a statement of Greek supremacy in European basketball. To think these teams won’t meet until January 8th at the earliest…

3. Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-1; 5-0 in Ligat HaAl) – Forget the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers even (heresy); the best offseason was had by Maccabi Tel Aviv, which once again underwent a complete reboot, as the kids these days might say. Considering that these guys haven’t lost since opening day in Baskonia (and they’ve got a better-suited coach than Erik Spoelstra), you gotta love Maccabi’s chances right now.

4. Montepaschi Siena (4-1; 4-1 in Serie A) – Here are the Italian side’s point totals in the five EL games: 76, 75, 80, 68, 76. With remarkable consistency, if Siena can hold you under 80, they win. Siena is only 10th in the league in scoring but considering that the only teams jacking up fewer threes are Partizan Belgrade (22nd in overall Euroleague scoring) and Real Madrid (19th), BiE wouldn’t want to face MPS with anything less than a defense at full energy.

5-7. Zalgiris Kaunas (4-1; 3-0 in VTB United League)
Union Olimpija (4-1; 5-3 in Adriatic League)
Fenerbahce Ülker (4-1; 5-0 in TBL). The three biggest (positive) surprises in the first half; further indication of the weirdness of the 2009-10 season: Fenerbahçe was the last undefeated team in the Euroleague and going into this afternoon’s game with Beşiktaş Cola Turka, they’re on a 19-3 run spanning back to the 2010 TBL championship tournament. So does anyone doubt they’re only the sixth or seventh best team in the big league right now…?

8. Efes Pilsen (3-2; 4-1 in TBL) – A good win last week against CSKA Moscow, but can they win on the road in Europe?

9-12. Real Madrid (3-2; 6-1 in ACB)
FC Barcelona (3-2; 6-2 in ACB)
Unicaja (3-2; 5-3 in ACB)
Caja Laboral Baskonia (2-3; 7-1 in ACB) – The weirdness spreads to the ACB as well. Let’s see what we’ve got here…

The defending EL champions are now on a two-game losing streak, of which they’ve experienced one other in the past three seasons (in the ACB finals concluding last season), again at the hands of Baskonia. After going into calendar year 2010 having lost two games of 2009-10 by a total of three points, by mid-November this year, they’ve gone down four times by at least seven each time.

Baskonia leads the ACB at a nice 7-1, but is a lowly 2-3 in the ‘League after dropping three consecutive winnable games. Unicaja escaped with a four-point win against Brose Baskets after hanging an impressive 104 on Lottomatica Roma; last night, they fled 12th place Menorca with an ugly 58-57 win.

And just when you think Ettore Messina’s focusing on the here and now, Real Madrid goes and rolls over for Spirou Charleroi in perhaps the worst performance in EL play by anyone since week one if not for 2010-11 altogether. You figure this bit of the rankings out and get back to me.

13. Partizan (3-2; 3-4 in Adriatic) – Already exceeding expectations once again. Wait ‘til Jan Vesely announces he’s forgoing the NBA for another year of ball in Europe and Partizan rehires Coach Dusko: A monster in 2011-12 in the making.

14. Cholet Basket (3-2; 5-2 in LNB) – Forget how hot this team’s looking with three straight wins; when was the last time a player from any French squad was Euroleague week MVP?

15-17. Brose Baskets Bamberg (2-3; 9-0 in Bundesliga)
AJ Milano (2-3; 5-0 in Serie A)
CSKA Moscow (1-4; 3-0 in VTB; 3-0 in Russian Superleague PBL) – All tops of the table at home, all offering different levels of disappointment for the fans in Euroleague play. Bamberg is hardly a lost cause, particularly with the win against Olympiacos in the scorebook, but the 69-65 defeat by Unicaja may yet prove to have been a must-win game. Despite steamrolling the Italian competition, Milano is up to their ho-hum play in Euroleague, having dropping both EL home games thus far. And CSKA? BiE’s now beginning to believe that Vujocevic is still on the Partizan payroll and secretly subverting the Russian side…

18. BC Khimki (2-3; 1-2 in VTB; 2-1 in PBL) – Maybe Sergio Scariolo shouldn’t have been quite so obsessed about the new three-point line: His guys have jacked up a Euroleague second-high 109 threes at an okay 33.9% rate … but they’re just 17th in overall EL scoring.

19. Spirou Charleroi (1-4; 3-0 in BLB) – First win’s the toughest, right? Unless the opposition’s mailing it in.

20. Lottomatica Roma (2-3; 2-3 in Serie A) – Gee, for a couple of games things looked good there … and then the big boys (Real Madrid, Unicaja, Olympiacos) came to play…

21. Lietuvos Rytas (1-4; 1-2 in VTB) – By Jonas Vainauskas’ reckoning, it’ll take about four wins to advance from Group C. Right now, two seems like a bit of a stretch.

22. Power Electronics Valencia (1-4; 1-6 in ACB) – Note to Euroleague officials: You might want to reconsider the whole five-teams-from-Spain thing next season.

23-24. Asseco Prokom (0-5; 2-2 in VTB)
Cibona Zagreb (0-5; 3-4 in Adriatic) – Philosophical question: Would things be any different for Cibona if they’d just paid attention for a few seconds longer last summer?

Enjoy the games this week and let the debates begin!

1. (↔) FC Barcelona (2-0 in Euroleague; 4-1 in ACB). How does Barça respond to (as far as detractors are concerned) a rare one-point defeat by Zaragoza? First by spoiling Cholet Basket’s EL homecoming, then utterly torching Menorca in a weekend ACB game, 84-44. The Spaniards continue their Continental domination.

2. (↑) Panathinaikos (2-0). Repeat after BiE: 2009-10 never happened. At least as far as PAO is concerned, it seems, after simply toying with Valencia and CSKA Moscow. Could we be in store for a Euroleague finals featuring the last two champions? Sweet.

3. (↔) Montepaschi Siena (2-0; 2-1 in Serie A). With Bo McCalebb aboard, BiE was stoked to see the scoring machine MPS would be running this season. While Siena hasn’t exactly run the opposition off the court – barely getting past Žalgiris Kaunas last week – this team clearly has enough weapons to compete with any Euroleague team. And the defense isn’t too bad, either.

4. (↑) Caja Laboral Baskonia (2-0; 4-1 in ACB). See? Y’all laughed at BiE when Baskonia was ranked third in the first edition of the 2010-11 power rankings. Despite losing Tiago Splitter, Baskonia may have had the best 2010 offseason of any team not named the Miami Heat.

5. (↑) Union Olimpija (2-0; 4-1 in ABA). And the Euroleague record is no fluke: Through five in the Adriatic League, Olimpija boasts the second-best defense statistically and responded to this season’s first loss by defeating Partizan last Sunday. The season’s toughest test will surely be tonight, when Panathinaikos comes to town.

6. (↑) Fenerbahçe Ülker (2-0; 3-0 in TBL). While everyone’s looking to Besiktas Cola Turka out of curiosity and wondering what’s up with Efes Pilsen, Fenerbahçe could sneakily run up quite a cumulative record by the time the Euroleague Top 16 comes ‘round. Unfortunately, the undefeated run thus far figures to end tomorrow night in Barcelona.

7. (↓) Real Madrid (1-1; 4-1 in ACB). Does this feel like a 5-2 team to you? While Madrid has convincingly beaten Unicaja and Valencia already this season, they looked positively anemic against Olympiacos in week one and showed no perimeter defense whatsoever in an embarrassing loss to Meridiano Alicante this weekend. Anything less than a blowout of Milano and BiE remains convinced this is one of the most deceptive tailspins ever.

8. (↑) Efes Pilsen (1-1; 2-1 in TBL) sure can run up the points, but can they play defense? Quick-shooting Milano may be their kryptonite with speed to burn, five double-digit scorers, and deadliness from outside. Efes’ll need to work the home crowd tonight for an already-necessary Group D win.

9. (↓) Olympiacos (1-1). Hey, a loss to Bamberg is a loss to Bamberg. Also, Matt Nielsen is questionable for tonight’s game.

10. (↓) Maccabi Tel Aviv (1-1; 3-0 in Ligat HaAl). Still gelling, still gelling … but how about that potential career year for Sofoklis Schortsanitis, eh?

11. (↑) BC Khimki Moscow region (1-1; 1-1 in VTB United League) played Partizan tough in Belgrade, but the game truly exposed Khimki’s extremely short bench – and one severely lacking in quality shooters. Can muscle alone win out?

12. (↔) AJ Milano (1-1; 3-0 in Serie A). An awesome week one win over CSKA Moscow was negated by the Olimpija loss – a hard-fought, inspiring loss, but a loss nevertheless – last week. To prove they’re a contender, however, they’ll need to take the Efes Pilsen game tonight.

13. (↓) Unicaja (1-1; 3-2 in ACB). Still frustratingly erratic, Unicaja looked positively awful and unprepared against Real Madrid in last week’s Euroleague play. And tonight it’s Olympiacos in Piraeus, where the Reds have won 16 straight games.

14. (↓) Partizan (1-1; 2-3 in ABA). Could this finally be the year when Partizan Belgrade is simply too young and/or inexperienced to even depend on the Pionir mystique?

15. (↑) Virtus Roma (2-0; 1-2 in Serie A). The good news: Roma is 2-0 in Euroleague play thus far. The bad news: Those wins came against Bamberg and Spirou Charleroi. The seriously sobering news: They’re 1-2 in Italy, for Naismith’s sake. The punchline: Tonight, Roma plays in Madrid.

16. (↑) Brose Baskets Bamberg (1-1; 7-0 in BBL). After fearlessly predicting Bamberg as the surprise of the 2010-11 Euroleague season, so BiE’s pleased as punch to have them ranked this high this early on.

17. (↓) Zalgiris Kaunas (1-1; 2-0 in VTB). Things will get better when Marcus Brown returns. BiE thinks. (Anybody know when that might be, by the way?)

18. (↓) CSKA Moscow (0-2; 2-0 in VTB). While CSKA spent the summer again apparently focusing on defense, they suddenly can’t shoot a lick. The Red Army is ineffably the fourth-lowest scoring team in the Euroleague, behind only Valencia, Spirou and Cholet – a classification which alone should give CSKA fans fits. And now they’re looking at a medium-term future with no Sasha Kaun or Ramunas Siskauskas, while Viktor Khryapa’s return date remains a mystery. But surely they can handle Valencia tonight anyway…?

19. (↓) Asseco Prokom (0-2; 2-1 in VTB). Poor Prokom: The reshaped roster looks great, J.R Giddens and Ratko Varda may enjoy breakout seasons, and they’ve proven they can play ball with tough Group A teams. Unfortunately, an 0-2 hole may simply be too much to overcome in this pool. You gotta love their chances in the VTB, though.

20. (↑) Cibona Zagreb (0-2; 3-2 in ABA). Could this be the first European club designed specifically to win the Adriatic League? Early on, it’s evident Cibona’s chances for a championship are about 72,308 times better there in 2010-11. Hell, at least they’re letting Euroleague fans thrill to the fantastic game of Bojan Bogdanovic.

21. (↓) Lietuvos Rytas (0-2; 0-2 in VTB). Any time your team’s first-year coach – the guy hired to replace the last guy, who was almost out-coached by nobody in the national league championship, incidentally – resigns after fewer than three games, you know you’re in for a long season. When was the last time an L.Rytas fan was scared at the prospect of facing Cholet Basket?

22. (↓) Valencia (0-2; 1-4 in ACB). This is what happens when you put five Spanish teams into the Euroleague.

23. (↑) Cholet Basket (0-2; 3-1 in LNB).
24. (↓) Spirou Charleroi (0-2; 3-0 in BLB). Or maybe that should be the other way ‘round…

How good is Bogdanovic? Discuss.

Seven Euroleague games go off tonight as the season rounds into form a bit. The marquee match tonight has got to be the Khimki-Baskonia showdown to establish early supremacy in that tough Group A; Olympiacos-Unicaja will surely be worth the viewing as well, although the way the Reds have dominated on their home floor lately will make things difficult for the Spanish side.

In preparation for the festivities, then, BallinEurope presents some talking points: facts, stats, oddities, history and video relating to the games. Enjoy!

BC Khimki Moscow region vs. Caja Laboral Baskonia. This marks the third meeting between the two teams after meeting for two games in the Top 16 round last season; oddly enough, both times the visiting team recorded double-digit wins in that series … Benjamin Eze has 92 career blocked shots in Euroleague play and needs just one more to tie Tiago Splitter for eighth place on the all-time list; FC Barcelona’s Terence Morris and Erazem Lorbek have 91 and 90, respectively … David Logan and Thomas Kelati helped lead PGE Turow to the Eurocup final eight in 2007-08 … Mirza Teletovic is currently 10 shy of 1,000 Euroleague career points … Teletovic has hit a three-pointer in his last 20 Euroleague games; Logan has a streak of 13 consecutive EL games with a three, while Vitaly Fridzon is working on 10 straight … Raul Lopez has at least one steal in his last 11 Euroleague games … Khimki’s Keith Langford notched a Euroleague personal-best 27 points against Baskonia in the second Top 16 game against the Spanish club … Aleksey Savrasenko scored his Euroleague career high 22 points against Baskonia in 2000-01.

Olympiacos vs. Unicaja Malaga. Olympiacos has won its last 16 Euroleague home games; they last lost in Piraeus to Le Mans in 2008 … this game will represent Theo Papaloukas’ 200th in the EL; he’s second on the all-time Euroleague games play list behind J.R. Holden … Olympiacos and Unicaja have met 10 times before, with Olympiacos holding a 7-3 series lead; Unicaja has never beaten the Reds at Piraeus … Milos Teodosic has scored in double figures in his last 12 Euroleague games … Teodosic and BiE fave Uros Tripkovic played on the stunning silver medal-winning Team Serbia at Eurobasket 2009 … Teodosic has made 13 consecutive free throws, while Yotam Halperin is riding a streak of 15 straight … Georgios Printezis, a product of Olympiacos youth basketball, returns home, of sorts … Joel Freeland’s coming off his first-ever Euroleague double-double last week; did you have him on your fantasy team?

Efes Pilsen vs. AJ Milano. Since first meeting in the Korac Cup final in 1996, Efes Pilsen and AJ Milano have met eight times, with Efes Pilsen winning seven; in fact, Milano’s sole win against the Turkish side came in the second game of the one-and-one Korac series – and with a seven-point margin of victory, Milano was one point short of taking the tournament … Nikola Vujcic went for a career game against Milano in 2005, registering a 26/9/6 in a Maccabi Tel Aviv win … Vujcic needs one blocked shot to be tied at third-most all-time EL blocks … Vujcic also four rebounds short of 1,000 in Euroleague play and five assists shy of 500; he’s sixth all-time in the latter category … Marius Petravicius is coming off his first-ever EL double-double, while Bootsy Thornton landed himself a week 2 MVP nod for turning in his first double-double since 2004 … Thornton and Kerem Tunceri have hit 14 free throws in a row, while Igor Rakocevic has sunk 13 consecutive; Rakocevic holds the all-time EL record with 58.

Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Asseco Prokom. Still no sign of Marcus Brown, who sat out Zalgiris’ VTB game with VEF Riga this weekend; Martynas “Air” Pocius is probable for the game … Zalgiris and Prokom have met seven times in Euroleague play, all since 2007, with the Poles at a 4-3 advantage and the home team 6-1 … Prokom has lost its last five away games in Euroleague play … Dainius Salenga has managed a double-double in each of his last four games against Prokom, including a scoring average of 15.8 points per game; on the other side of the court, Daniel Ewing is averaging 15.5 points, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals per in his last four games against Zalgiris … this game represents the first of at least four meetings between the teams in 2010-11, as they’re both competing in Group B of the VTB United League, a pool also including BC Khimki Moscow region.

Brose Baskets Bamberg vs. Spirou Basket. Spirou twice defeated Brose Baskets in 2007-08 Eurocup play, the only occasions on which the teams met … Spirou’s Demond Mallet is one of Bamberg’s sports heroes, having helped lead the team to the Bundesliga championship in 2005 … Mallet has hit a three-pointer in 21 consecutive Euroleague games going back just under four years, and needs one for 100 career EL threes … watch out for that Brose Baskets Bamberg bench: reserves Brian Roberts and Kyle Hines combined for 37 points last week … the only player likely to sit out due to injury on either side is Christophe Beghin, therefore delaying his return to the Euroleague by another week; Beghin last played EL ball with Oostende in February 2002.

Power Electronics Valencia vs. CSKA Moscow. These two teams have never met before … Valencia’s Robertas Javtokas and CSKA’s Ramunas Siskauskas have won a Greek triple crown, a Lithuanian League championship and a Eurobasket bronze medal together … Javtokas and Florent Pietrus each set individual career-high rebounding marks against CSKA Moscow teams: Javtokas managed 15 against the Red Army in 2006, while Pietrus snagged 20 boards in 2001-02 Euroleague game – but CSKA won both games … Holden is chasing Nikola Vujcic for third-most career EL points; at 2,332, he’s 20 points behind … Holden has hit a three-pointer in 20 straight Euroleague games … CSKA is badly suffering from injuries: Sasha Kaun is out until February, Siskauskas is gone until December, and Viktor Khryapa’s return has not yet been announced.

Montepaschi Siena vs. Cibona Zagreb. In six meetings between the teams, MPS has a 4-2 advantage – and they’ve won the last three … Bo McCalebb has made his last 21 free throws and boasts an 18-game streak with at least one steal … Ksistof Lavrinovic recorded career highs in points and index ratings against Cibona Zagreb in the 85-40 Euroleague opening day demolition last year, with 26 points and a 34 rating … Shaun Stonerook set his career-high in scoring with 18 against Cibona in 2009 … Bojan Bogdanovic is leading the Euroleague and Adriatic League in scoring at 21.5 ppg and 25.4 ppg, respectively.

Maric a true big man

Francesco Cappelletti’s regular column with BallinEurope is back as our man in Italy takes a look at the after-effects of Euroleague week two action. This time out, Francesco sees European basketball history returning to the old days on the Continent while Balkan squads fight economic problems but dispatch Western European teams anyway. And early on, what have proven to be the better Euroleague transactions involving big names and bigger contracts? Read on!

The *big* problem
The recent history of European basketball shows an amazing evolution to starting fives full of dynamism and athleticism, but not weight – even in the 5 position, originally land of real big men limited in the paint. We were used to having pick-and-rolls, then pick ‘n’ pops. Now it seems it’s time to go back to the old traditions.

We see teams which play hard, physical, due to a specific choice by the coaches. To win against the Euroleague’s best, you don’t need to run and shoot from outside with your centers any more: This is why some contenders have changed their tactical directions. CSKA Moscow employs three true 5s in Boban Marjanovic, Dmitry Sokolov, and Sasha Kaun; Panathinaikos replaced Nikola Pekovic with Aleks Maric and over to Mike Batiste, Ian Vougiukas, and Kostas Tsartsaris. For his Olympiacos squad, Dusan Ivkovic wanted Rasho Nesterovic and Matt Nielsen to better protect the basket; in Madrid, D’Or Fischer has joined Ante Tomic and Felipe Reyes: all big men, often playing alongside each other.

Thanks to a strong frontline, this week Real destroyed Unicaja in rebounding (54-26, 24 of them offensive), keeping Novica Velickovic – far from becoming a small forward – and shooting power forward Jorge Garbajosa out of the rotations.

But how does it work? What does a team need to sustain a frontcourt with … I mean, Kosta Perovic and Fran Vazquez? Defensively, a first line very aggressive on the ball is required, combined with greater use of zones and matchups. Offensively, good sharing of space plus teammates in the backcourt willing to look to the low/high post before going themselves. Last Thursday, PAO got past CSKA when Zelimir Obradovic called a persistent in-and-out play to move Moscow’s static internal defense. Drew Nicholas, Stratos Perperoglou and Romain Sato put it in from three, but without the dirty job done inside by Batiste the strategy would have not been effective.

In the same way, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s decision to full court press Zalgiris’ guards from the throw in, prevented the not so feet-speedy Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Richard Hendrix from difficult recoveries inside the arc and therefore consequent foul troubles. Someone said the perimeter, moved to 6.75 meters, would magnify the shooters’ ballistics: a huge error, as the big men are again in the fight.

Not enough Cooks in Valencia

New team, old player?
By signing a much more profitable contract than what they could have gotten with their previous clubs, many Euroleague stars thought the remainder would be easy. Instead, while Sato and Vassilis Spanoulis are close to satisfying their coaches’ desires, most others are one or two steps behind the expected performances.

Right now, Omar Cook can’t be the leader of a talented group like Valencia, because there simply isn’t another go-to player to whom to give the ball when defenses stifle. Remember he is not a scorer but one of the best shoulders in Europe in his role. Marko Tomas lost the personal battle with his former twin Bojan Bogdanovic and generally plays the competition he previously did in Madrid. Same goes for Lawrence Roberts, whose space is not infinite as with Partizan; Roberts must stay at length on the floor and in Istanbul he can’t. The worst case, though, is T-Mc’s. While Montepaschi is trying to decide whether Bo McCalebb is a playmaker or a short shooting – oops, *penetrating* guard – Terrell McIntyre hasn’t succeeded in handling this team, not consistently scoring either after his usual fakes or his speed changes.

It’s not time to judge the summer market moves yet, but time nevertheless is running out and the mid-season wall approaches.

New face of Balkan coaching?

Balkans always on the top
For several reasons – financial, political, philosophical – they can’t stand on the same ground as the biggest European clubs. But as always, the Balkan teams fight and win against them. This year, these teams’ situations are different from one another, but the common thread is a lack of money not to lure big players but to assure ending the season debt-free.

In particular, Union Olimpija has built a solid squad starting with Jure Zdovc who might legitimately represent the new face of Balkan coaching. Olimpija has depth at every position (Giorgi Shermadini as a fifth big man is a luxury); US players accustomed to playing in Europe (Kenny Gregory, Marque Perry, Kevinn Pinkney); a strong Slovenian core (Vlado Ilievski, Saso Ozbolt, Goran Jagodnik); and a former “in-progress” star in Damir Markota. Ljublijana surprised Efes Pilsen via two overtimes in the home debut, then shocked AJ Milano after a slow start when Saso Ozbolt was alone against twelve red-and-white enemies. Olimpija has amassed four points in a two-week schedule of a group immediately marked as terrible.

Partizan Belgrade must always count on its resources, so Maric’s departure was the occasion to launch other youngsters. Then there’s Jan Vesely. Finally, an extra European player perfect for new coach Jovanovic’s ideas: defense, defense, and defense. BC Khimki and its offensive threats ended up scoring 68 points at Pionir.

Cibona Zagreb still has no win in its game bag, and next week visits Montepaschi Siena, coming off a slipup in Varese. I think they’ll follow Ljublijana and Partizan and their results. Bogdanovic’s a top five Euroleague shooting guard, and the frontline excites me. Drago Pasalic is the right broody hen for a trio that is a combined 60 years old.

Big Sofo enjoying big year

Until Mario Delas understands how to be effective in a few minutes off the bench, and Tomislav Zubcic reaches a decent level of consistency, the Croatians can rely on Leon Radosevic: He ran up 15/9 against the superhuman Barcelona frontcourt, and a 16/4 when facing Fenerbahce’s Darjus Lavrinovic, Oguz Savas, Mirsad Turkcan, Gasper Vidmar, and Kaya Peker…

Mumble mumble…
Simply the best part of AJ Milano in the 19 minutes he played, Jonas Maciulis watched the final fall against Olimpija from the bench. With nobody able to score among the guards, Piero Bucchi incredibly forgave him … Just some numbers: two games, 33 minutes, 33 points. Name: Sofoklis Schortsanitis … Red alert in Barcelona because Ricky Rubio’s minutes are decreasing in a hurry. He can’t play the same amount of time as Victor Sada … What a nightmare the last 2:30 was in Vilnius: both Lietuvos Rytas and Montepaschi showed zero mind in these type of games, knotted up until the buzzer … Is Brian Roberts of Brose Baskets the fastest Euroleague guard? Maybe. For sure he was indefensible for Olympiacos…

Welcome back Euroleague … erm … Turkish Airlines Euroleague! Someone just said you look like the poorest edition in recent years and that your groups are less competitive than Eurocup’s, but we love you just the way you are anyway.

What do you offer for 2010-2011? Yeah, the unbeatable Regal Barcelona and the usual group of pretenders, divided between those for whom spending money is no problem even amid civil disorder (for information, phone Athens) and teams able to hide behind the justification of cycles coming to an end just to put some money away waiting for financially better times: That’s the case of Montepaschi Siena and CSKA Moscow.

Who would have figured on this? In the last seven years, these two teams have combined to collect ten Final Four appearances and two titles. But they made a definite choice by investing an important part of their budget on Simone Pianigiani and Dule Vujosevic: “Right, we can’t compete with the elite teams for elite players, so we’ll try to beat them tactically, starting off with two of today’s best five European coaches.”

Something a bit similar must be happening in Piraeus, where the inability of Panayotis Yannakis became decidedly apparent during the last Euroleague finals, and Dusan Ivkovic has taken control of the best roster of the competition in my humble opinion and, above all, on paper. My wishful thinking suggests me to say nobody can beat Barcelona, my heart hopes are open to seeing some mid-level teams thriving during the season. You want names? Okay: BC Khimki and Power Electronics Valencia. These could serve as the loose cannons of the 2010-2011 Euroleague, I swear.

Ivkovic has the EL's most talented roster. Whatchu got?

Do you want more action? Let’s go with some scattered, useful cues to picture the competition in a more favorable light.

Is Regal FC Barcelona really unbeatable?
Think about a team that not only won last title, but also dominated the whole season. Then add Kosta Perovic. The result is a bulldozer. Xavi Pascual has at his disposal 12 players of the highest level, willing to sacrifice minutes and shots (though not Juan Carlos Navarro for sure) for the glory. The “problem” will be finding space for the five (!) big men, or in avoiding lapses in concentration, assuming the path from debut to playoffs is without obstacle.

In this scenario, pay attention to the work done on Ricky Rubio; Kobe Bryant said he’s ready for the NBA, but we don’t believe so. Development on the offensive end might fix his value in the US, however. Thanks to teammates who don’t need to be rooted, Rubio has the opportunity to step his game up and land with the Minnesota Timberwolves or someone more attractive – It all depends on him.

Bye bye, dear old champions; who’s next?
Nikola Vujcic went back to Split, Tiago Splitter finally departed for the NBA, Terrell McIntyre made Siena’s fans cry a lot, Nikola Pekovic went to Minnesota, Alan Anderson is in search of a good pro’ contract. Who can replace them? There’s a huge list of hungry youngsters on the verge to raise their standards. It’s easy to cite Jan Vesely and Nemanja Bjelica, but we prefer to note Giorgi Shermadini, Tibor Pleiss, Simas Buterlevicius, and Augusto Cesar Lima as well. For different reasons, they all have the numbers to establish themselves at the top.

Pargo: Ready to play with Sofoklis?

How much does the core count?
If we consider the last Euroleague winners, Barcelona and Panathinaikos both had a very consistent core of local players, even reuniting national team teammates. Rubio, Navarro, Fran Vazquez, Roger Grimau, Victor Sada; Dimitris Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis, Kostas Tsartsaris, Fragiskos Alvertis. When CSKA Moscow put its flag at the top of European basketball, they didn’t quite do likewise, but the brotherhood among J.R. Holden (hey, he *is* Russian!), Matjaz Smodis, Theo Papaloukas, and Trajan Langdon was cut from solid bedrock.

I mean, teams like Real Madrid, Efes Pilsen Istanbul, Caja Laboral Baskonia, Montepaschi Siena, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv can’t get further than a playoff quarterfinal, or maybe a Final Four semifinal. It’s the story of Euroleague. Too many new faces do not make for “title now.” Neither does a me-first talented man. I’ll go all the way with the same three (Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, and Barça) plus a possible surprise.

How about rankings?
No, Os has done it so many times before. But I will point out what for me will be interesting. For example, the chemistry between Jeremy Pargo-Sofoklis Schortsianitis, the key to reading Maccabi’s season … The differences between Group A (ridiculous in toughness, with all teams potentially capable of taking the top spot or being eliminated, Group B (with two bigs and a race for the remaining two passes); Group C (dangerous for Siena with a new arrangement to prove); and Group D (the hardest, with AJ Milano a nightmare catch as a fifth seed) … Ettore Messina is convinced a shooter like Clay Tucker could settle the troubles his perimeter players have shown and keep on showing … How will Smodis return from the injury … If Emir Preldzic and Victor Claver will finally be able to attain the right mentality … Last but not least, I want to enjoy another unforgettable season by Bojan Bogdanovic and the laughter about why no one from the next floor has had the good sense to bet on him.