EuroCup LIVE - Bamberg vs. Turow

Dave Hein of heinnews.com is live in Bamberg to present us the first game of the EuroCup, EuroChallenge or old FIBA Eurocup mixed with the ULEB Cup - I don’t know what it actually should be, but it’s the next level after the Euroleague.

The game starts at 7.30pm local time. Meanwhile the game between Khimki Moscow and STB Le Havre will be shown on Eurosport.com LIVE and for free starting at 5pm. This is a good opportunity to follow Carlos Delfino and Jorge Garbajosa.

Ademola Okulaja and Germany in shock

Former North Carolina Tar Heel and current German national team player made a very short statement today about his injury that prevents him from going to the Olympics. And something that was supposed to be a minor problem turns out to be very serious.

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Bundesliga Transfers Table 2008/2009

Euroleague Transfers - France Transfers - Spain Transfers (acb.com) - Turkey Transfers

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA TRANSFERS

Updated: 9/10/2008 18h11CET

NB: Please note that names in bold are confirmed transfers. Others listed are rumors published by various media or online discussion forums. The Budget figures are either officially announced numbers or estimations related in the Media.

	Arrivals	Departures
Brose Baskets Bamberg Budget: 5.5M€	Chris Fleming (head coach Artland) John Goldsberry (Artland) Eric Taylor (Bayer Giants) Jared Newson (Cairns) Dominik Schneider (Nürnberg) Filiberto Rivera (Gigantes de Carolina) Beckham Wyrick (Leverkusen) Jason Forte (Rio Grande) Alexander Johnson (Miami Heat)	Dirk Bauermann (head coach Germany) Steffen Hamann (ALBA Berlin) Sajmen Hauer (Franken Hexer) Darren Fenn (Artland Dragons) Chris Ensminger (Paderborn) Dwayne Mitchell (?) Mithat Demirel (?) Jared Reiner (?) Ivan Pavic (?)
Artland Dragons Budget: 3.4M€	Zack Whiting (Leverkusen) Flavio Stückemann (Braunschweig) Thorsten Leibenath (head coach Giessen) Leo Niebuhr (Karlsruhe) Darren Fenn (Brose Baskets) Adam Hess (Roanne) Drew Neitzel (Michigan State)	Chris Fleming (head coach Bamberg) John Goldsberry (Bamberg) Adam Chubb (ALBA Berlin) Hendrik Feist (TV Langen) Rich Melzer (?) Matt Reije (?) E.J. Rowland (Bonn) Leon Rodgers (?)
EnBW Ludwigsburg Budget: 2.6M€	Phillipp Heyden (ALBA BERLIN) Dominic Jones (Braunschweig) Brian Jones (Lleida) Dane Watts (Creighton) Ziyed Chennoufi (Hagen) Marco Sanders (Dombovar) DeAngelo Alexander (Ploiesti) Kelvin Gibbs (Universitet-Yugra Surgut) Tomas Nagys (Girona) Rick Stafford (head coach)	Silvano Poropat (head coach?) Heiko Schaffartzik (Giessen 46ers) Nate Harris (?) Sascha Kesselring (Schalke 04) Nils Mittmann (Braunschweig) Vincent Yarbrough (Bonn) Ronald Ross (?) Coleman Collins (?) Jason Dourisseau (?) Michel Nascimento (SPO Rouen)
Köln 99ers Budget: 2.4M€	Zoran Kukic (head coach) Danilo Smigic (Pardubice) Björn Schoo (Kaiserslautern) Jeremy Hunt (Kaiserslautern) Robert Turner (Harlem Globetrotters) Zarryon Fereti (St. Bonaventure) Raed Mostafa (Horsens IC) Julian Terrell (FC Porto) Stephan Nikolic (Enisay Krasnojarsk) Jasmin Catovic (Polzela) Guido Grünheid (Hanzevast Capitals)	Sasa Obradovic (head coach BC Kiyv) Misan Nikagbatse (Napoli) Nedzad Sinanovic (?) Derek Raivio (TBB Trier) Milko Bjelica (Lietuvos Rytas) Roy Booker (?) Brian Greene (Orléans) Marko Keselj (Crvena Zvezda)
ALBA Berlin Budget: 8.5M€	Steffen Hamann (Brose Baskets) Adam Chubb (Artland Dragons) Rashad Wright (Efes Pilsen) Ansu Sesay (AJ Milano) Casey Jacobsen (Memphis Grizzlies)	Phillipp Heyden (Ludwigsburg) Dijon Thompson (Azovmash) Goran Nikolic (Panionios) Mladen Pantic (?) Goran Jeretin (BC Kiev) Bobby Brown (Sacramento Kings) Aleksandar Rasic (Partizan Belgrade) Yannick Evans (Schalke 04) Slavko Stefanovic (Surgut) Nico Simon (Ehingen)
Eisbären Bremerhaven Budget: 2.5M€	Jeb Ivey (Göttingen) Arturas Valeika (Weber State) Yemi Nicholson (Austin Toros) Mike Gansey (D-League) Mark Grube (Bremen) Femi Oladipo (Bremen) Evaldas Zabas (High School-Canada) Moritz Wohlers (Scottish Rocks) Frank Elegar (Drexel) Giordan Watson (Central Michigan) Marcus Slaughter (Gravelines)	Brian Brown (?) Nate Doornekamp (?) Nate Funk (?) Matt Haryasz (Ostende) Anthony Tolliver (San Antonio Spurs) Alexander Tsykunov (Kaiserslautern Braves)
Telekom Baskets Bonn Budget: 3.0M€	Vincent Yarbrough (Ludwigsburg) Alex King (Frankfurt) E.J. Rowland (Artland Dragons) Tim Clifford (Holy Cross) Brandon Bowman (Ignis Novara) Ken Johnson (Frankfurt)	Bernd Kruel (Hagen) Ronald Burrell (Prokom Trefl Sopot) Miah Davis (Poznan) Eddie Basden (?)
Giants Düsseldorf Budget: 2.3M€	Logan Kosmalski (Nantes) Pete Campbell (Butler University) Matt Lottich (Osaka) T.J. Carter (NC-Wilmington) Todd Hendley (NC-Wilmington) Fred Peete (New Mexico State)	Ransford Brempong (Groningen) Zack Whiting (Artland Dragons) Eric Taylor (Bamberg)
EWE Baskets Oldenburg Budget: 3.6M€	Je’Kel Foster (Paris-Levallois) Marco Buljevic (Oldenburg) Marko Scekic (Turow Zgorzelec)	Mirko Anastasov (Tübingen) Dan McClintock (Rouen) Branislav Ratkovica (Tübingen) Branimir Longin (Cibona Zagreb)
Walter Tigers Tübingen Budget: 1.9M€	Daniel Fountain (NC -Wilmington) Mirko Anastasov (Oldenburg) Branislav Ratkovica (Oldenburg) Richard Chaney (Oyak Renault Bursa) Kenneth Williams (Mississippi) Michael Haynes (Cantabria)	Igor Perovic (career end–>assistant) Terrance McGee (?) Tim Modersitzki (?) Patrick Sparks (?) Ryan DeMichael (?) Douglas Gorauskas (?) Ray Nixon (?) DeeAndre Hulett (?) Waitari Marsh (?) Jonathan Solomon (?) Bingo Merriex (Le Havre)
Paderborn Baskets Budget: 1.4M€	Lavelle Felton (Jena) Steven Wright (Braunschweig) Bryant McAllister (München Basket) Spencer Tollackson (Minnesota) Matt Terwilliger (Ohio State) Nino Garris (Skyliners) Reggie Golson (Cholet Basket) Chris Ensminger (Paderborn)	Jason Edwin (?) Malik Moore (?) John Redder Bynum (?) Kenny Whitehead (?) Tim Black (Antwerp) Billy McDaniel (Black Star Mersch)
ratiopharm Ulm Budget: 1.5M€	Per Günther (Hagen) Keith Triplett (CSU Sibiu) Michael Schröder (Göttingen) Lee Humphrey Cedric von Düring (Bonn/Rhöndorf) Nemanja Kekic (München) Dan Fitzgerald (Marquette)	Florian Möbius (career end) Jan Sprünken (career end) Bryan Lucas (?) Kyle Bailey (Göttingen) Konrad Wysocki (Frankfurt)
Deutsche Bank Skyliners Budget: 4.0M€	Konrad Wysocki (Ulm) Lorenzo Gordon (Kepez) Keith Simmons (Kepez) Shawan Robinson (Giessen 46ers) Anthony King (Miami) Adam Emmenecker (Drake)	Nino Garris (Paderborn) Maksym Shtein (Trier) Koko Archibong (Prokom Trefl) Alex King (Bonn) Steven Clauss (assistant coach) Jimmie Hunt (?) Ken Johnson (Bonn)
New Yorker Phantoms Budget: 2.8M€	Will Franklin (Borac Nektar) Michael Flowers (Wisconsin) Jeremy Crouch (Bradley) Nils Mittmann (Ludwigsburg) Dustin Salisbery (Orléans)	Jannik Freese (Giessen) Steven Wright (Paderborn) Jorge Schmidt (MBC) Dominic Jones (Ludwigsburg) Flavio Stückemann (Artland Dragons) John Allen (Strasbourg)
TBB Trier Budget: 1.6M€	George Evans (Mons-Hainaut) Derek Raivio (Köln 99ers) Norman Richardson (Polonia Warszawa) Alex Goolsby (MJC Trier) Jamal Shuler (VCU) Tyrone Riley (Polonia Warszawa) Chris Copeland (Matrixx Magix) Maksym Shtein (Frankfurt)	Austen Rowland (?) Marcus Taylor (?) Caleb Green (Dexia Mons-Hainaut) Dan Cage (Nanterre) Mike Benton (Pınar Karşıyaka) Josh Almanson (?) Marshall Phillips (?)
LTi Giessen 46ers Budget: 1.5M€	Jannik Freese (NY’er Phantoms) Heiko Schaffartzik (Ludwigsburg) Robert Maras (La Palma) Maurice Jeffers (Leche Rio) Simon Cote (headcoach)	Marco Buljevic (Oldenburg) Rouven Roessler (Caceres) Shawan Robinson (Frankfurt?) Thorsten Leibenath (Head coach Artland)
BG47 Göttingen Budget: 1.8M€	Jason Miller (Jena) Kyle Bailey (Ulm) Roderick Trice (Cuxhaven) Peer Wente (Heidelberg) Robert Kulawick (Den Helder) Chris Oliver (Kaiserslautern) Clif Brown (Hapoel Galil Elyon) Charles Lee (Pepinster) John Little (Iowa State University)	David Monds (?) Jeb Ivey (Bremerhaven) Jahmar Thorpe (?) Selim Mulic (?) Keoni Watson (?) Willie Jenkins (Limoges) Nigel Moore (?) Babis Douloudis (?) Dwayne Kirkley (?) Michael Schröder (Ulm)
VPV Giants Nördlingen Budget: 1.1M€€	Monta McGhee (Cuxhaven) Danny Gibson (Cuxhaven) Joseph Eichler (Landsberg) Julius Page (Bnei Hasharon) Kyle Landry (Northern Arizona) Lodrick Stewart (Anaheim)	Dima Rastatter (BG Karlsruhe) Waldemar Buchmiller (Chemnitz) LaShon Sheffield (Bayreuth) Jamar Howard (?)

ACB remains leader in attendance

UPDATE (16/6/2008): BallinEurope checked the attendance figures of the different European leagues and has compiled some stats based on the averages. We didn’t see any big surprises, as Spanish ACB still tops the list.

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Monday’s cigarettes

After a long weekend, here are the cigarettes for this Monday after a short delay.

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Dirk Nowitzki sightings in Germany

I am sure every German, even every Mavericks fan would rather not see Dirk Nowitzki in Germany right now: They all wish Dirk were playing the Lakers right now in the Western Conference Finals. If you look at this picture of Dirk,visiting a home game of German first division and Euroleague team Brose Baskets Bamberg, close to his home town of Wuerzburg, it looks like Dirk does not want to be there, either, or is at least thinking about the NBA Finals. Oh well, Dirk - sh*t happens - and two years in a row for you now …

Also with Dirk: his mentor Holger Geschwindner on his right side and his sister at left.

Many thanks to photographer Daniel Loeb and brosebaskets.de for permission to use this picture.

The BallinEurope playoff round-up

As the playoffs are running across Europe, BallinEurope will give you some regular updates about series in the different countries and the stories that you don’t read in the box scores.

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“Nowitzki era has not been used”

Remember Ademola Okulaja? In terms of college basketball, he is probably the most known German professional basketball player ever. He was on a North Carolina team with players like Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota, Shammond Williams and Makhtar N’Diaye and was named MVP of the Tar Heels in his senior year.

Right now Ademola plays in Bamberg, Germany, while trying to keep the German national team alive - alongside Dirk Nowitzki, of course.

In a recent interview with the German sport magazine SportBild, Ademola and fellow national team member Patrick Femerling talked about what’s wrong with German basketball.

You have to give these two guys credit since for speaking up! For someone who follows the German league closely, it is obvious that something isn’t working right. The official statement from the German federation and the “BBL”: “Not enough fans - everything revolves around soccer!”

Ademola and Femerling disagree:

“When we play in Germany with Dirk in the summer, the arenas are always full. It can’t be that hard to motivate sponsors and fans, if they fill the arenas every time for preseason games! We think that there is much more potential in German basketball, but the German federation has so far done a bad job in using the “Dirk Era.”

Germany right now is not among the best 10 teams in Europe, there is no way to compare Germany to Italy, France, Greece, Spain or Russia. The reasons? According to Femerling and Okulaja (the latter has a fancy web site by the way), the German league officials are the reason.

“It is important that fans can identify with their players and right at this moment they just can’t because of the lack of German players. This season, only three guys had to be German - next season it will be four. That does not improve the situation. We need at least six players and two of them have to be on the court all the time.”

This rule is nothing new. Countries like Italy and Spain have played with the rule for years while producing players like Navarro, Gasol, Bargnani and now Gallinari: guys that go at least 25 minutes a game in their domestic league and Euroleague play.

In Germany, German players average about 0-5 minutes per game and are paid accordingly. They have to keep a second job besides basketball to ensure they can earn money at all after their “career.”

So who does play in the German “BBL”? According to Femerling, the clubs prefer to get “cheap $20,000 Americans that stay in the league for three months and then move on.”

Germany had a good chance to develop basketball into a national sport that is respected and broadcast on TV with successful national teams in 2001, 2002 and 2005 when Dirk & Co. were among the top four teams at the European Championship. Now, they have fight to get to the Olympics in a qualifying tournament in Greece this July.

With rumors of Los Angeles Clippers star Chris Kaman joining the German national team soon, German basketball has another chance to go “big.” We all hope the federation does not squander this chance again.