Marko Savkovic today takes a look at Radnički’s comeback, particularly in light of exciting things from American players David Simon and Michael Scott.

“Until one’s star fades the other does not begin to shine,” goes a well known Serbian proverb. While news of the week depicted Hemofarm’s imminent collapse, the players of Radnički Kragujevac meanwhile reserved their time under the spotlight. After a disappointing start, they have beaten the likes of Red Star Belgrade, Cibona Zagreb and Partizan, to mention just a few, and are a strong – some even argue the strongest – contender ahead of the Serbian Korac Cup.

One should not be surprised. Although a relative newcomer to the Adriatic League (as well as to Serbian basketball), this team has evolved. Built around the charismatic persona of Miroslav Muta Nikolic, well known for his direct, no-nonsense approach to basketball, supported by an ambitious organization,* Radnički has managed to beat opponents with star-laden rosters. And in this modern Cinderella story, two Americans – playing their first ever season in Serbia – have proven vital for the team’s success.

(*How ambitious? The mayor of Kragujevac and former Vice-President of the Serbian Government, to cite two names, helped initiate the club’s move to Kragujevac and attracted sponsors.)

David Simon, first of the two U.S. players on the squad, has been good enough that he’s on the way to becoming the ABA regular-season MVP. After suffering early injuries to both his knees, which prevented him from playing in the NBA out of Indiana University Perdue (IPFW), Simon came to Serbia after building his career in Korea, Bulgaria and France.

Along with two other “regular underdogs,” Miljan Pavkovic and Steven Markovic, Simon exemplifies the way Radnički likes to play basketball: wide. Most offensive plays start with Pavkovic/Markovic and Simon going for the pick. If it goes in, great; if not, there will be someone lying in wait for the perimeter shot. When and if opponent’s defense is well set, isolation is played for Michael Scott or Boris Bakic, a surprise package on the low post. Although Scott can get carried away – once managing eight turnovers in a single game – he is better known for his ability to posterize anyone who stands in his way, say, Marino Bazdaric.

Simon and Scott’s numbers are at times impressive. For example, in Radnički’s away win at Cibona Zagreb, Scott scored 31 points on 10-of-14 field goal shooting while Simon, despite limited playing time, managed to score 26 with a hard-to-believe 11-of-14 from inside the paint. Against Partizan, it was Pavkovic’s turn to shine: The team captain scored 23, followed by Simon and Markovic, with 18 and 17 points respectively.

With Europe already in sight, Radnički could actually reach another milestone, this year’s ABA Final Four in Tel Aviv. In order to do so, the defense must improve, something coach Muta has been insisting on. Yet, aside from Bakic and Stefan Sinovec, there are no dedicated and hardworking defensive-minded players in the rest of the team: This is why Radnički allows its opponents way too many offensive rebounds and second-chance points.

Nevertheless, Radnički’s amazing comeback has been the story of the season so far. More surprise results are sure to come.

Marko Savkovic fell in love with basketball because: a) his older brother used to play, so it must have been a cool thing to do; and b) he witnessed Vlade Divac, Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc play an exhibition match back in 1988. After learning the fundamentals with Partizan Belgrade, Marko spent four years in FMP Zeleznik’s youth system and another three playing lower-division ball. Years later, as a political science graduate, he found a different career for himself, yet remained devoted to hoops. For BallinEurope, he will be closely following developments in the Adriatic league. You may write him at markosavkovic@gmail.com.

CSKA Moscow vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
• CSKA leads the all-time series between the teams, 8-7.
• Nenad Krstic has scored in double figures in each of his last 16 Euroleague appearances dating back to the 2003-04 season.
• Andrei Kirilenko and Nenad Krstic lead the Euroleague in index rating with at averages of 27.8 and 21.5 per game, respectively.
• Kirilenko also leads the Euroleague in blocked shots (3.2 bpg).
• Milos Teodosic is ranked second in the Euroleague in assists this season with a career-high 5.6 assists per game.
• Darjus Lavrinovic needs three more blocks reach 100 for his Euroleague career. With his next block, Lavrinovic will tie former CSKA big man Terence Morris for 12th place all-time.
• 2010 Euroleague Best Defender Viktor Khryapa needs only 4 more blocks to reach 100 blocks in his Euroleague career.
• Khryapa needs two more rebounds to reach the 500 mark for his Euroleague career.
• CSKA’s win streak is now at 12 games in a row dating back to last season.
• CSKA faced Efes in the quarterfinal playoffs of the 2005-06 season. CSKA swept the series 2-0 and continued on to win the Euroleague title.
• Tarence Kinsey has recorded at least one steal in each of his last 11 Turkish Airlines Euroleague contests.
• All-Euroleague forward Dusko Savanovic has registered double doubles in three of his last five Euroleague games.
• Last week, Savanovic set personal career highs in index rating (31), offensive rebounds (7), defensive rebounds (10), total rebounds (17) and minutes played (35).
• Savanovic has made at least one three-pointer in seven straight Euroleague appearances.
• Anadolu Efes has won just one of its last seven encounters with CSKA.
• The last time Efes won against CSKA in Moscow was in the 1998-99 season.
• Kinsey and Darjus Lavrinovic played together in Fenerbache Ülker last season. Together they won the Turkish League and Cup titles.
• Savanovic played in Unics Kazan in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons together with Lavrinovic and Dmitry Sokolov. Nikita Kurbanov spent part of the 2007-08 with the above trio in Kazan as well.
• The lines: CSKA Moscow, minus-12.5; over/under 155.5 points.

Gescrap Bilbao Basket v. Unicaja Malaga

• These two teams have never met before.
• Gescrap is looking for its first-ever win in the Top 16.
• Gescrap has committed more turnovers (15.7) than any other Top 16 team this season.
• Marko Banic has scored in double figures in all 11 of his team’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague games this season.
• D’Or Fischer’s average of 1.55 blocks per game is the best in competition history among players with at least three seasons played.
• Raul Lopez needs four more steals to reach the 100 mark for his Euroleague career.
• Roger Grimau has made 11 free throws without a miss this season.
• Alex Mumbru has made at least one three-pointer in each of his last seven Euroleague appearances.
• Kostas Vasiliadis played for Unicaja for a season-and-a-half. He arrived during the 2005-06 season and played the following one as well in Malaga. He helped the team win the 2006 ACB title. Berni Rodriguez was a teammate of Vasiliadis during that time. Jorge Garbajosa was also there for the first of those seasons and current Unicaja coach Chus Mateo was an assistant coach that season.
• Unicaja leads the Euroleague this season in offensive rebounding at 13.0 per game and total rebounds at 37.8 per.
• Unicaja is ranked last among the Top 16 teams in three-point accuracy at 29.1%.
• Jorge Garbajosa has made 22 straight free throws in Euroleague action.
• Garbajosa needs six more free throws made to reach 400 for his Euroleague career. He’s ranked 15th on the all-time list of free throws made.
• Last week Luka Zoric set career highs in points and index rating as he recorded his first Euroleague double-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds and a 33 index rating against Real Madrid.
• Garbajosa was a teammate of Axel Hervelle, D’or Fischer and Josh Fisher at Real Madrid during his time there in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
• Nedzad Sinanovic was a teammate of Raul Lopez, Axel Hervelle, Alex Mumbru and Josh Fisher at Real Madrid during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
• Coach Chus Mateo started his coaching career in the junior program of Real Madrid and later was an assistant coach on the first team.
• The lines: Bilbao, minus-4.5; over/under 152.5 points.

Real Madrid vs. Montepaschi Siena
• Siena leads the all-time series, 4-3.
• Madrid has the top-scoring offense in the Euroleague with 87.3 points per game and has scored more three pointers than any other Top 16 team with an average of 8.4 per game.
• Nikola Mirotic has made 14 consecutive free throws in the Euroleague.
• Mirotic scored the last basket in the game last week in the last second to give Madrid an important 80-81 win in Malaga.
• Sergio Rodriguez leads the Euroleague in assists this season with a career-high 5.8 assists per game.
• Jaycee Carroll has made at least one three-pointer in every Euroleague game this season.
• Carroll leads the Euroleague this season in three-point shooting percentage at 57.4%.
• Mirza Begic is ranked second in the Euroleague in blocks this season with 1.5 blocks per game.
• Begic has blocked at least one shot in five straight and seven of his last eight games.
• Martynas Pocius was a teammate of injured Rimas Kaukenas on the Lithuanian national team at FIBA EuroBasket 2011.
• Nikos Zisis needs two more three-pointers to reach 100 for his Euroleague career.
• David Andersen joined the exclusive Euroleague 2,000 career points club last week. He’s ranked 11th all-time at the moment, but is still 40 points behind Luis Scola for 10th place.
• Andersen is also only two rebounds from becoming the third player in competition to reach 1,000 career rebounds. He will join Nikola Vujcic as the only players to register 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
• Bo McCalebb has scored in double figures in nine straight Euroleague games.
• The first four encounters between these two teams were decided in favor of the home team while the last three were decided in favor of the road team.
• Madrid and Montepaschi played for third place at the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. Montepaschi won 80-62.
• Igor Rakocevic spent the 2005-06 season with Real Madrid and was teammate of Felipe Reyes that season.
• The injured Rimas Kaukenas played in Real Madrid in the 2009-10 season together with Felipe Reyes, Ante Tomic, Novica Velickovic and Sergio Llull.
• The lines: Real Madrid, minus-7.5; over/under 157.5 points.

Fenerbahçe Ülker Istanbul v. Emporio Armani Milano
• Milano leads the all-time series, 2-0, with the only time these two teams meeting in the 1996-97 season.
• Fenerbahçe Ülker is ranked last among Top 16 teams in assists with only 11.6 per night.
• Bojan Bogdanovic has scored in double figures in four straight and eight of his last nine Euroleague games, and is averaging 16.1 points per game on the road this season compared to just 8.4 points at home.
• Roko Ukic and Jacopo Giachetti were teammates at Lottomatica Roma during the 2007-08 season.
• Milano is ranked last among Top 16 teams in steals with only 4.4 per game and in total rebounds with 31.5 a night.
• Drew Nicholas needs only one more steal to reach 100 for his Euroleague career.
• Omar Cook started the season 3-of-17 from downtown, but has made 11 of his last 23 three-point attempts.
• Ioannis Bourousis is only eight rebounds behind injured big man Kerem Gonlum for seventh place on the career rebounding charts. Bourousis has 830 career boards.
• Bourousis needs three more steals to reach the 100 mark for his career.
• Leon Radosevic and Bojan Bogdanovic were teammates at Cibona Zagreb in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.
• Nicholas and James Gist both played college basketball at the University of Maryland, though Gist joined the Terps two seasons after Nicholas finished.
• The lines: Fenerbahçe Ülker, minus-7.5; over/under 147.0 points.

Panathinaikos v. Unics Kazan
• These teams have never met in Euroleague play.
• Panathinaikos is one of three clubs that have never missed the Top 16 phase in its 11 years. FC Barcelona Regal and Maccabi are the other two.
• Panathinaikos leads the Euroleague in steals with 8.7 per game.
• Dimitris Diamantidis has made 19 consecutive free throws in Euroleague action dating back to last season.
• Diamantidis needs only four more assists to become the fourth player in Euroleague history to dish 600 assists.
• Sarunas Jasikevicius needs only five more assists to become the fourth player in Euroleague history to dish 600 assists.
• Steven Smith has made 10 consecutive free throws in Euroleague games.
• Panathinaikos has never advanced past the Top 16 round the season after winning the Euroleague title.
• Ian Vougioukas has blocked at least one shot in five of the last six games.
• Sarunas Jasikevicius was signed to replace an injured Lynn Greer last season in Fenerbahçe Ülker.
• Henry Domercant has hit at least one three-pointer in 11 straight and in 21 of his last 22 Euroleague games.
• Domercant is ranked second in the Euroleague this season in three-point shooting percentage at 54.2%.
• Unics has won seven of its last eight EL games.
• Kelly McCarty has made eight straight free throws in Euroleague action.
• Lynn Greer played two seasons – 2007-08 and 2008-09 – for Panathinaikos’ archrival Olympiacos.
• Domercant and Romain Sato were teammates in Montepaschi Siena during the 2008-09 and the 2009-10 seasons.
• Vladimir Veremeenko became the first Unics player to be named Euroleague weekly MVP when he nabbed the honor after producing 17 points, 11 rebounds and performance index rating of 32 in a win over Fenerbahçe Ülker.
• The lines: Panathinaikos, minus-11.5; over/under 146.5 points.

Bennet Cantù v. Žalgiris Kaunas
• Cantù leads the all-time EL series between the clubs, 2-0, with those meetings over 30 years ago in the 1980-81 season.
• Gianluca Basile has made at least one three-pointer in 11 of his last 12 Euroleague games.
• Basile needs two more assists to pass Marcus Brown and enter the Euroleague all-time top 10 in assists. He has currently 456.
• Basile took over third place on the list of career Euroleague games played, leaving former CSKA guard J.R. Holden one spot behind. Basile played his 210th game last week.
• Žalgiris has allowed more points than any other team in the Top 16 with 81.5 points allowed per game.
• Žalgiris has committed more fouls than any other Top 16 team with 23.9 per game.
• Marko Popovic has made at least one three-pointer in 33 straight Euroleague appearances. His last Euroleague game without a triple came in November 2006 with Žalgiris at home against CSKA.
• Paulius Jankunas needs two more steals to reach the 100 mark for his Euroleague career.
• Milovan Rakovic played the last two seasons in Italy with Montepaschi Siena and beat Cantù in the final of the Italian league last season.
• The lines: Cantù, minus-5.0; over/under 149.5 points.

(Tip of the hat to Eurostep for uploading the pic.)

Update: Savas Birdal over at Eurostep reveals that the handiwork was perpetuated by Cibona Zagreb fan or fans, who also left a note at the scene reading ”Kapetane, ne gledaj ovo” (or “Captain, don’t watch this”) in reference to the last season and a half of dismal play from Petrovic’s former club. Cibona Zagreb is 7-6 in Adriatic League play thus far in 2011-12 and did not advance to the Top 16 round of Eurocup play after going 0-6 in the first round.

Below, BallinEurope presents some links, highlight clips and like on some of the competing teams starring Igor Rakocevic, Tiago Splitter, D.J. Strawberry and that Williams guy, among others. O, if only BiE had time to properly cover all this basketball … sorry, the NB-what?

• Rod Higgins of the Basketball Post provides much food for thought going into Montepaschi Siena’s game against Unics Kazan on how Igor Rakocevic affects the Italian side’s game plan: Has Ferdinando Minucci sacrificed trademark defensive trickery at the cost of a faster game with another shooter?

On the other hand, perhaps Minucci’s master plan with Rakocevic is just crazy enough to work … tonight provides another nice litmus test: Unics Kazan is middle of the Euroleague table in terms of turnovers at 13 per game while Montepaschi is fifth in team scoring at 84.0 points per game.

• Once resembling a super team, CSKA Moscow entered last week’s PBL game against Krylya Samara short-handed; with Andrei Kirilenko now out for two games minimum, the situation approaches near-critical mass as the Red Army hosts Žalgiris Kaunas. Will a holey CSKA still have enough against the outmatched-on-paper Žalgiris?

Said head coach Jonas Kazlauskas in the post-game: “The thing that worries me is that Kirilenko is injured seriously. [Milos] Teodosic is injured. Taking into account that [Darjus] Lavrinovic is not practicing with the team yet, [Nenad] Krstic had a high temperature … I don’t want to get back to the difficult situation we had last season.”

So, Krstic’s back tonight while the other three above-mentioned won’t be suiting up; adjust your Euroleague fantasy rosters accordingly.

• Speaking of playing/not playing, Da’Sean Butler won’t be on the VEF Riga roster for the team’s Eurocup game against BC Khimki Moscow region – indeed, BiE believes Butler hasn’t yet left the ‘States and is not even 100% sure that the “European team” the locked-out San Antonio Spur’d claimed to have signed with is in fact Riga – but he’s anxious to get there.

• Which naturally leads to Butler’s NBA teammate Tiago Splitter; he’ll be making his 2011-12 Eurocup debut when his Valencia Basket host Telenet Oostende. Splitter went for an impressive 12 points and 10 rebounds in his team’s squeaker of an 86-83 win at UCAM Murcia in ACB play.

• In the leadup to the Anadolu Efes-Partizan game, um, here’s a picture of Sasha Vujacic:

• More seriously, Anadolu Efes claims they’re close to signing locked-out Dallas Maverick Jose Juan Barea.

• Incredibly, Hapoel Jerusalem posted its first win against Maccabi Tel Aviv in 21 years in a 78-64 shocker on Sunday – and D.J. Strawberry says it “wasn’t even our most important game of the week.” According to Strawberry, that would be Jerusalem’s Eurocup match against Cibona Zagreb.

Reports the Jerusalem Post: “Hapoel’s 80-71 defeat at BC Donetsk in its Eurocup opener means its situation inGroup A is already complicated just one game into the regular season, making a home win against Cibona crucial to Jerusalem’s hopes of finishing in the top two and advancing to the last 16…

“Zagreb’s streak of 20 straight years in the Euroleague ended this season and its Eurocup campaign got off to a nightmare start when it was thrashed at home 101-71 by BCM Gravelines of France.

“We need to win our home games in Europe, starting on Tuesday,” Jerusalem coach Oded Katash said. “There is good reason to celebrate after the win against Tel Aviv, but I told the players to put the party on hold until we beat Cibona.”

• Yet another Spur isn’t playing. Tony Parker’s shoulder injury will keep him out of Asvel Basket’s game against Lukoil Acadmic in Sofia; this will mark the first time Asvel plays without Parker since his arrival. Said head coach Pierre Vincent, “We still have a team capable of playing. It is certain that Tony makes a difference, especially in the pick-and-roll. We’ll see if others can take over. And there are other solutions to implement.”

Incidentally, the guard/team executive stated that he and Boris Diaw “have already spoken. If the season is canceled, I will make him an offer for him to come play with me and Ronny [Turiaf].”

• Deron Williams and his Beşiktaş Milangaz meet BG Göttingen in Eurochallenge play tonight. From the In Case You Missed It Department, the Eagles’ troika of D-Will, Semih Erden and Marcelus Kemp wasn’t quite up to spec in TBL play on Saturday; Erdemir handed heretofore undefeated Beşiktaş its first loss of the season by a score of 88-84. Williams went 6-for-16 overall in scoring 16 points and contributing eight assists, Kemp was 5-of-15 for 15 points and Erden battled foul troubles throughout, seeing less than 16 minutes of playing time. In that one, Erwin Dudley (!) was the top scorer for Beşiktaş with 19 points and Zoran Erceg (!!) had 16 points to go with his team-high six rebounds.

It’s been a rough 2011-12 in Göttingen, meanwhile. The team sits dead last in the Bundesliga at 1-8 while going 0-2 in Eurochallenge play, last losing to ZZ Leiden, 80-71, at home in EC play last week.

• No, Linas Kleiza isn’t getting with Lietuvos Rytas any time soon.

Once again, advisories in effect: These ratings are formulated from once source (namely yours truly) and are based on the way teams are trending at present, i.e. Bennet Cantu is not necessarily *better* per se than Fenerbahçe Ülker, et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum. While play in other leagues was considered, emphasis was put on performance in each team’s pair of EL games thus far, i.e. BiE knows Union Olimpija is 5-0 in the Adriatic League.

Without further ado, then, let’s get to the rankings! (Žalgiris fans, you may want to consider before clicking “Read More.”)

• Cream of the Crop
1. (↑) Panathinaikos (2-0 EL; 2-0 in domestic league EΣAKE) – In a rare reversal of opinion, the essentially obligatory no. 1 spot traditionally kept by the defending champion has been restored. Despite the bigger-named, better-hyped rosters of FC Barcelona and CSKA Moscow, newcomer Steven Smith together with the Greens’ nucleus has reminded the league who the boss is in dispatching Unicaja Malaga and KK Zagreb in Euroleague play. European basketball fans again await the first meeting between PAO and Olympiacos slated for November 17.

2. (↔) FC Barcelona (2-0 in Euroleague play; 4-1 ACB) – Biggest point differential in the Euroleague after two games? That would be the Blaugrana with a big +49 after beating up on Olimpija and Asseco Prokom. Barça’s 4-1 mark in Spain is somewhat impressive in this season of extreme parity over there, and optimism can even be found in the team’s sluggish 66-56 victory over Fuenlabrada last weekend as Juan Carlos Navarro and killer addition Marcelinho Huertas again led the way on both ends of the court.

3. (↔) CSKA Moscow (2-0; 2-0 PBL; 3-1 VTB) – Excellent coach, well-stocked roster, Andrei Kirilenko … yeah, this looks like a Final Four team. BiE finds it very difficult to place them third.

• Right Up There, Right Now
4. (↑) Real Madrid (2-0 EL; 4-1 ACB) – Well, BiE knew these guys could score but come on: They’re shooting 52.8% overall! They’ve got four guys (Rudy Fernandez, Jaycee Carroll, Felipe Reyes, Sergio Llull) averaging double figures in points through two and a fifth (Martynas Pocius) good for 9.5 in just 18 minutes per game! They’ve registered the only 100-point game in the EL thus far! Sorry for the excessive exclamation points, but this is the most exciting Real team in years!

5. (↓) Montepaschi Siena (2-0; 3-1 Serie A) – It’s business as usual with Siena. Europe’s answer to the “small-market” clubs in the ‘States has turned one of their NBA lockout casualties (David Anderson) into a viable force in EL play, and the team’s traditional reliance on speed is still working. Rebounding might become a concern further down – only four big-league teams have fewer boards through two – and it would be nice for them if Ksistof Lavrinovic could get more going down low. Can Shaun Stonerook and his EL lifetime average of 5.1 rpg really be expected to continue to put in 7.5 throughout the season?

And then there’s Bo McCalebb. Some Siena competitor’d better inform Bo that EuroBasket 2011 is over and that he can settle down a bit: The man is shooting 12-of-16 overall from the floor, going 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, kicking in 3.5 assists per game and once again orchestrating some seriously interesting ball movement. He just might will another overachiever into the top four in 2011-12…

• Should Get Better
6. (↑) Olympiacos (1-1 EL; 2-0 EΣAKE) – Common wisdom believed the Reds’ 2011-12 performance would be hampered by front-office shakeups. O, don’t Žalgiris Kaunas fans wish they’d experience something similar right about now … again, November 17. Mark those calendars.

7. (↑) Emporio Armani Milano (1-1 EL; 3-1 Serie A)
8. (↓) Maccabi Tel Aviv (1-1 EL; 3-0 Ligat Ha’al; 5-0 Adriatic) – BiE went back and forth in ranking these two for a while … Though Milano is coming off a loss to Real Madrid, BiE gives them the nod here over the thus-far underwhelming (at least in Euroleague play) Maccabi Tel Aviv due to the Italian side’s 89-82 week one victory. And it seems Milano’s signing of Danilo Gallinari for what we’ll call the lockout portion of the EL season was among the best in Europe

On the plus side for Maccabi is the team’s decent run in the Adriatic League; David Blatt’s guys are topping the league at 5-0, including a nice 97-point show against Cibona Zagreb and a second victory over Partizan Belgrade. But expectations are high for this club in 2011-12 and its two Euroleague performances haven’t yet wowed anyone; consider these guys the sleeping giants at present.

9. Caja Laboral Baskonia (2-0; 3-2 ACB) – The workmanlike opening-week win at Fenerbahçe Ülker got Baskonia’s EL season off to a flying start and the ACB club chased this in defending home court against Bennet Cantu. You particularly have to love this ball-minded defense averaging 10 steals per game, and BiE will conveniently ignore losses to Zaragoza and Valencia.

10. Unicaja Malaga (1-1 EL; 4-1 ACB) – BiE’s still not entirely convinced Unicaja can play with the big boys, with losses this season to Panathinaikos in a blowout and last weekend to Valencia in Spain. Things will get dicey for these guys in a couple of weeks. After games at Brose Baskets Bamberg, vs. Blancos de Rueda Valladolid and vs. KK Zagreb, they get Real Madrid at home and CSKA Moscow away on November 13th and 16th, respectively. This may be the highest Unicaja ascends in 2011-12.

• WTF?
11. (↓) Anadolu Efes (1-1 EL; 3-0 TBL) – BiE’s still wondering what went wrong against Spirou Charleroi…

• Overachievers or Contenders?
12. (↑) Galatasaray Medical Park (1-1 EL; 3-0 TBL) – As of this writing, Eurobasket.com has Galatasaray at no. 2 in its “Top 100 Teams in Europe” listing, actually in a mathematical tie with CSKA Moscow. BiE loves the 2011-12 edition of Galatasaray but wouldn’t put them quite that high … The loss to Unics Kazan might have been a reality check for the Red-and-Yellow, as Kazan generally uglied up the match, forcing bad turnovers and winning the battle of the boards: Achilles’ heels for Galatasaray. Next up on the Euroleague schedule: at Montepaschi Siena, at Union Olimpija, vs. FC Barcelona. Yikes.

13. (↑) SLUC Nancy (1-1; 4-0 LNB)
14. (↑) Bennet Cantu (1-1 EL; 3-1 Serie A) – Whoa, Group A is crazy … certainly one of these two teams wants the inside track for the no. 4 spot (assuming Fenerbahçe gets it together, that is), but which is it? Cantu handled Nancy in the opening week, teeing off with 21 three-pointers and making 10. However, the 6-of-21 from long range killed them against Baskonia … This team looks frighteningly like employment of the “live by the jump shot die by the jump shot” philosophy is in full effect. And BiE says those teams don’t go far.

Meanwhile, the defending French champions appear to have recovered from the Cantu defeat, taking care of business against Bizkaia Bilbao Basket in week two while going undefeated in LNB play. BiE was concerned about Nancy’s lack of depth going into the season and it’s still there: In the win over Bilbao, over six players contributed more than one bucket, four starters played more than 29 minutes, and there were three DNPs. On the other hand, a little Nicolas Batum is going a long way…

15. (↑) Brose Baskets Bamberg (1-1 EL; 5-0 BBL) – Test of adversity time: Bamberg tonight hosts Unicaja Malaga in a winnable game. How will they respond after the 20-point drubbing administered by CSKA Moscow last week?

16. (↓) Unics Kazan (1-1 EL; 1-1 PBL; 3-1 VTB) – The Euroleague’s second Russian entry needs to ride the momentum of their three-game winning streak. In addition to coming back against Galatasaray in the fourth quarter last Thursday, Kazan topped Enisey the Monday previous and VEF Riga in the VTB United League on Sunday. The weird thing is that Unics’ only real stud this season has been Henry Domercant with 23.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per EL game.

17. (↓) Bizkaia Bilbao Basket (1-1 EL; 3-2 ACB) – This talented side dug itself something of a hole in losing to SLUC Nancy and things aren’t looking brilliant back in Spain, either. Perhaps the rebounding-by-committee system isn’t working so well…?

• Should Be Better (in Euroleague)
18 (tie). (↑) Partizan Belgrade (0-2 EL; 4-1 Adriatic)
18 (tie). (↓) Union Olimpija (0-2; 5-0 Adriatic) – Both of these teams are reflective of the omnipresent “current economic situation,” bringing fewer marquee names than in recent seasons. So whose losses are worse, then? Partizan currently owns the dubious distinction of being the only non-ACB club to go 0-3 against Euroleague teams, thanks to a loss against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Adriatic League play – though the unheralded Black-and-Whites did manage to stay competitive in both EL losses.

Olimpija, meanwhile, got a quick lesson in what it means to be a top EL team in 2011-12 in losing by a combined 44 to Barcelona and Montepaschi Siena. Ah well, at least they have the NLB…

20. (↓) Fenerbahçe Ülker (0-2 EL; 3-0 TBL) – BiE still has these guys penciled in as a Top 16 team, but the truth is they may be facing the first must-win match of the Euroleague season in hosting upstarts SLUC Nancy tomorrow night; a loss there is disastrous.

• Bottom-feeders
21. (↑) Spirou Charleroi (1-1 EL; 4-1 BLB) – Nice win against Anadolu Efes could be parlayed into a 2-1 win against Partizan tonight … at Pionir. Yeah, probably not.

22. (↓) Žalgiris Kaunas (0-2; 4-0 LKL; 2-2 VTB) – Žalgiris’ ranking in BallinEurope’s preseason power rankings elicited much consternation and derision, even in the Lithuanian press. “How could they be ranked lower than Brose Baskets Bamberg?” rang out the outcry. “Who writes this?” demanded the masses. “What are you smoking?” came the implications. Well, two Euroleague losses, some generally lackluster play in the VTB, and one reassumed front-and-center position of Vladamir Romanov later, here’s the Greens’ new spot. Still plenty of basketball left to play, though…

23. (↓) Asseco Prokom (0-2 EL; 2-2 VTB) – And BiE laments the conclusion of the Devin Brown Era in Poland…

24. (↓) KK Zagreb (0-2 EL; 1-4 Adriatic) – After the week one results poured in, BiE caught one tweet asking something to the effect of “Is KK Zagreb the worst team in the Euroleague?” This may have been a rhetorical question.

In three LNB games with Cholet, the Houston Rockets draft pick out of the University of Florida, Parsons managed averages of 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. In his sole Euroleague appearance, Parsons played for 16 minutes in a 77-70 Qualifying Round loss to Cibona Zagreb, scoring two points to go with five rebounds and two assists.

No specific reason has been given for Parsons’ departure, and in Saturday’s match against Tony Parker’s Asvel Villeurbanne, the prospective Rocket played 27 minutes to contribute nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Group A
Cibona Zagreb (4th, Croatia)
Hapoel Jerusalem (3rd, Israel)
BC Donetsk (2nd, Ukraine)
BCM Gravelines Dunkerque (3rd, France)

Group B
BC Khimki Moscow region (2nd, Russia)
PAOK BC (3rd, Greece)
Cholet Basket (2nd, France)
VEF Riga (champions, Latvia)

Group C
Aris BSA 2003 (4th, Greece)
CEZ Nymburk (champions, Czech Republic)
BC Rudupis (3rd, Lithuania)
Gas Terra Flames (champions, Netherlands)

Group D
Valencia Basket (5th, Spain)
Telenet Oostende (4th, Belgium)
Asvel Basket (4th, France)
Lukoil Academic (champions, Bulgaria)

Group E
Gran Canaria 2014 (6th, Spain)
Lokomotiv Kuban (4th, Russia)
Banvit BK (3rd, Turkey)
Fraport Skyliners (3rd, Germany)

Group F
Lietuvos Rytas (2nd, Lithuania)
Le Mans Sarthe (8th, France)
BC Azovmash (5th, Ukraine)
Krka Novo Mesto (2nd, Slovenia)

Group G
Benetton Basket (4th, Italy)
Spartak St. Petersburg (7th, Russia)
Cedevita Zagreb (2nd, Croatia)
FC Bayern Munchen (champions, German second division)

Group H
Alba Berlin (2nd, Germany)
Dexia Mons-Hainhaut (3rd, Belgium)
KK Buducnost (champions, Montenegro)
PGE Turow Zgorzelec (2nd, Poland)

Once again, the BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings are based on current trends, i.e. who’s hot, who’s not. For this edition of the list, also taken into consideration are offseason acquisitions and a dash of expectations vis-à-vis how these squads will look when the games really start to matter. Let the arguments begin!

1. FC Barcelona – Heard it before? Well, you’ve probably heard about the core of the Barca roster before, too: Juan Carlos Navarro, Pete Mickael, Erazem Lorbek, Victor Sada, Boniface N’dong, Kosta Perovic and Fran Vazquez; getting to add Chuck Eidson and Marcelinho Huertas doesn’t seem fair. In going 8-0 thus far this preseason, the Blaugrana have added to their trophy case with Lliga Catalana and Supercopa Endesa titles and Navarro in particular is still in EuroBasket form. Right now, BiE says this is the team to beat.

2. CSKA Moscow – Yes, BiE knows that the Red Army always looks better in the preseason these days, but their pair of decisive wins in the Gomelski cup over Žalgiris Kaunas and Fenerbahçe Ülker were quite impressive. In addition, CSKA may have had the most impressive off-season of any EL club by augmenting their strengths while adding speed and athleticism in Milos Teodosic, Nenad Krstic, Darjus Lavrinovic and Sammy Mejia. What’s that? Andrei Kirilenko’s now officially on board? Whoa.

3. Maccabi Tel Aviv – After an offseason which saw some excellent additions to the roster in Theo Papaloukas and Jordan Farmar plus David Blatt’s defensive mastery, the only arguable Achilles’ heel on this team might be a general lack of speed. But anyone conservative enough to doubt Maccabi in this area should have been silenced by the 105 the team ran up against Cholet, one of three wins versus LNB teams in September.

4. Montepaschi Siena – Last year’s EL third placers, Siena has taken Città di Cagliari and Supercoppa titles this offseason. Despite a close loss to Beşiktaş in the Lugano Bormio Tournament final (in which they still managed to run-and-gun to lotsa points in the 93-91 squeaker), the Italian side appears to be ready to take care of business in their usual fashion in 2011-12. Expect at least another Italian title, whether or not what’s-his-name plays in Serie A.

5. Anadolu Efes – After getting bounced from the Bormio Tournament in early September by Montepaschi Siena, newcomers Ersan Ilyasova, Tarence Kinsey, Vlado Ilievski and even Sasha Vujacic were incorporated well enough to lead Efes to wins over both Greek superpowers in the Two Nations Cup. And Stanko Barac even put in an awesome 17-point performance in the September loss to Union Olimpija. Right now, it looks like this team could go far indeed.

6. Panathinaikos – BiE’s giving PAO something of the benefit of the doubt here, although traditionally they’d still be ranked no. 1 based on their status as defending champions. Injuries are keeping down the Greens thus far, with Dimitris Diamantidis and Mike Batiste not suiting up in the Two Nations Cup. On the plus side, despite two losses to Fenerbahçe Ülker (including one in the Gomelski Cup) and another to Anadolu Efes, Panathinaikos fans are surely cheered by the nice play of additions Sarunas Jasikevicius, Alexandros Kyritsis and Steven Smith … surely this ship will be righted once at full strength, but for now let’s just say PAO is happy these games don’t count in the standings.

7 (tie). Real Madrid –
7 (tie). Caja Laboral Baskonia – Assuming that Madrid takes out Asefa Estudiantes in the Trofeo tournament tonight, BiE wants to give a slight edge to Pablo Laso’s guys; the truth is, however, Baskonia did take the Diputacion Trophy over Real, 75-68. Both teams have stayed at home throughout the preseason, making it slightly difficult to gauge either’s potential success in EL play. Aside from the Diputacion championship game, of note are the Supercopa results: Madrid’s 74-70 loss to Barcelona, an 11-point loss by Baskonia against Barcelona in the final, and Baskonia’s squeaker win over Bizkaia Bilbao Basket in the first game.

For both sides, the starting lineups shown in their meeting – Thomas Huertel, Brad Oleson, Fernando San Emeterio, Mirza Teletovic and Milko Bjelica for Baskonia; Sergio Rodríguez, Rudy Fernandez, Carlos Suárez, Nikola Mirotic and Mirza Begic for Madrid – are impressive. The benches included Kevin Seraphin, Nemanja Bjelica, Pau Ribas, Pablo Prigioni and Dejan Musli for the former; and a virtual EuroBasket “Who’s Who” in Novica Velickovic, Ante Tomic, Martynas Pocius, Felipe Reyes and Sergio Llull for the latter. Truth be told, no Euroleague team is looking forward to meeting either.

9. Unicaja Malaga – Mostly standing pat with their blue-collar roster led by Joel Freeland and Jorge Garbajosa, Unicaja has managed a 6-1-1 record in the offseason, including the 91-59 Copa Andalucia demolition of Cajasol. The sole loss recorded by the ACB side was an 84-83 defeat at Valencia based on a last-second stop of Gerald Fitch. While it should be said that the sole EL side Unicaja has faced was Armani, Unicaja could well exceed expectations craftily (and with a lot of Freeland) in 2011-12 – and in Group B, they’ll surely compete near the top.

10. Emporio Armani – After an 84-73 loss to giant-killers Sassari in the Varallo Sesia competition in September, Armani seems to be finding its rhythm, notably notching two wins against Benetton and one against Bennet Cantu in the Torneo Caorle final. Even scarier, Armani only brought out Ioannis Bourousis and Danilo Gallinari on Sunday. The result? Gallinari had 15 points and Bouroussis had 11 boards in a 62-53 win.

11. Olympiacos – How does the new-look Olympiacos look? Hard to say … the preseason record shows that the Reds lost to Montepaschi Siena, then crushed Partizan in the Città di Cagliari tournament in September. Then they soundly defeated Fenerbahçe Ülker, only to fall apart after the first quarter against Anadolu Efes in the Two Nations Cup final. The jury’s still out; check back in after the rematch with Efes tomorrow night.

12. Fenerbahçe Ülker – Another hot-and-cold team, and another beset by injuries. Fenerbahçe went 1-1 in the Gomelski Cup and 1-1 in the Two Nations. On the big minus side, these guys were crushed by CSKA Moscow for the Gomelski; on the kinda plus side, they have beaten Panathinaikos twice this off-season…

13. Brose Baskets Bamberg – Why rain on the parade? The German champs have two cups to their credit in 2011, beating S. Oliver Baskets and Ratiopharm Ulm for the Stechert Cup in early September, while the hometown-held Domreiter Cup had them nipping Gran Canaria 2014 and administering Eurocup side FC Bayern Munich a 40-point beatdown. We’ll see if the seriously low-key offseason (Really? The biggest signing was P.J. Tucker?) works out for Bamberg, but right now these guys might be wishing the preseason would never end…

14. Žalgiris Kaunas – BiE’s really not placing Žalgiris here to cause controversy, but the truth is that, after a win against Triumph Lubertsy and a tie against Unics Kazan (in which Robertas Javtokas did not play), the Greens have played in just two other preseason games, going 0-2 against CSKA and PAO in the Gomelski Cup. So, how much higher should these guys be?

15. Unics Kazan – Though Kazan has played sparingly this offseason and haven’t played since a draw with Žalgiris on September 15, BiE bumps them up a bit based on the single best result of their off-season: The signing of Euroleague veteran Lynn Greer.

16. Partizan Belgrade – The Black-and-Whites will surely be competitive this season, but losses to Dinamo Sassari and Olympiacos in the Città di Cagliari tournament did them no favors in this ranking. Activation of Nikola Pekovic and Acie Law would probably help…

17. Bennet Cantù – Beyond their four victories against Italian sides, the newcomers actually acquitted themselves well in a pair of losses to Euroleague teams, taking both Emporio Armani (70-68 on an Omar Cook buzzer-beater in the Trofea di Caorle final) and Montepaschi Siena (73-70 in the Italian Supercoppa championship on Siena’s home floor) to the wire. Cantù appears to be a bit thin on experience – Gianluca Basile excepted – but something is allowing these guys to stay close. In Group A, Cantù might just emerge into a final 16 bid.

18. SLUC Nancy – The French team was cruising through the preseason with a 5-0 mark against LNB teams, including a Trophée Sarthe Pays de la Loire title … and then they met Maccabi Tel Aviv and were dominated in all aspects of the game, 86-62. While Nancy made some nice offseason acquisitions in Nicolas Batum, Pape-Philippe Amagou, Jamal Shuler and Adrien Moerman, this team may suffer from an imbalance of shooters to height, a fact the Maccabi defense made pointedly clear. Also pointedly clear: Jean-Luc Monschau will be called upon to craft miracles against the bigger teams in Group A.

19. Bizkaia Bilbao Basket – After its starting 2-1 mark against ACB teams, the most significant result for the ACB surprise of 2010-11? A tough-fought loss against Caja Laboral in the Spanish Cup. These guys might be able to play against the big boys of the EL, but this side definitely gets a status of “wait and see.”

20. KK Zagreb – Meanwhile, the sole significant result for the Croatian champs this offseason was a 75-69 win over Union Olimpija in the Rixos Cup on September 17. Again, BiE’ll wait and see.

21. Asseco Prokom – Prokom took their time before getting started in the RZD Cup in Krasnodar in late September and immediately fell to the already well warmed-up CSKA Moscow, 76-52. The Polish side saved a little face by winning the third-place game over BC Astana. The best news: After a shaky 1-of-5 shooting in his debut, Donatas Motiejunas came back with a nice line of 13 points and nine rebounds against Astana.

22. Union Olimpija – Is it a chemistry problem? After signing seven new contracts, Olimpija’s results for the offseason are as follows: lost to Lokomotiv Kuban, crushed by BC Khimki, lost to Galatasaray, lost to KK Zagreb, and lost to Anadolu Efes before finally squeaking past them on September 26, 74-73. The Slovenians may yet solve their woes, or they could be the Cibona Zagreb of 2011-12 … without quite the budget problem.

23. Galatasaray
24. Spirou Charleroi – Though Galatasaray may be the Simmonsian “sneaky good” team to wreak some havoc among the middling teams in Group D, BiE’s starting the last two qualifiers at the base of the totem pole. Surely few imagine Spirou to do very much in the – o, OK, BiE’ll say it – “group of death” and these guys are surely hoping Euroleague officials will gift them yet again with home-court advantage in the 2012-13 Qualifying Round.

Songaila: Best hope for Galatasaray upset?

Lietuvos Rytas vs. Galatasaray Café Crown Galatasaray looked impressive in dispatching Asvel Villeurbanne (O, Tony Parker, où êtes-vous?) and putting up 93 points, the highest total registered in qualifying round games thus far. Better yet, the high-profile additions to the already solid Turkish team’s roster appear to be working perfectly: Jaka Lakovic and Darius Songaila contributed a whopping 40 points combined in the win.

On the other side of the court, Lietuvos Rytas has taken care of business against both opponents faced – KK Buducnost and Cibona Zagreb – with their margins of victory 19 and 16 points, respectively. L.Rytas started the match with the intriguing and somewhat unexpectated combination of Jonas Valanciunas and Vilmantas Dilys at the forward spots, showing the depth this team brings; security they’ll surely need against the long roster of Galatasaray – heck, on paper, the Turkish team may actually have *more* talent man for man.

But there’s no way BiE can go against a Lithuanian side after the heartbreak of EuroBasket 2011; the Official BallinEurope Fearless Prediction™ here has Lietuvos Rytas 90, Galatasaray 87 … but another performance like yesterday’s by Songaila and Galatasaray might just sneak past.

Spirou Basket v. CEZ Nymburk. Is Nymburk ready to make the step up to the big league? After holding Banvit BK to a qualifying-round low point total of 57, the Czech side handily beat frequent Euroleague participants BC Khimki Moscow Region, 86-79, in what the EL official site calls “the biggest upset of the season so far.”

Or was it? Against Khimki, Nymburk simply showed its strengths while keeping the battle for the boards irrelevant. A nice barrage of jumpshots from the likes of Tre Simmons and Pavel Pumprla got the team off to a 21-3 lead, a deficit few teams (including the so-cold Khimki) could overcome. Nymburk showed amazing ball movement and displayed excellent judgment in finding the open man – more often than not, one of the aforementioned deadshots.

Spirou Basket, meanwhile, has the distinct home-court advantage; indeed, after surviving quite a scare against BC Donetsk, the Belgians are now 5-0 in the Euroleague Qualifying Round in the past two seasons on their home floor. And luckily for them, they found their game against Alba Berlin in the final 25 minutes or so of yesterday’s 74-63 win – the defense was solid, the experience players shone, and it all without Mickael Gelabale – to appear ready against the Czech Republic’s plucky underdogs. Official Fearless Prediction™: Don’t call it boring, call it stoic. Hometown Spirou wins, 73-67.

For bonus points, identify this player

The quiz is multiple choice and is European- and NBA-centric in topic. It is multiple guess choice, and so choose the one answer that best completes the phrase or answers the question. You may use any writing implement at your disposal to fill in the answers – as long as you don’t mind marking up your screen, that is. Good luck. You may begin the exam now.

1. In the 2010-11 season, Dirk Nowitzki became most known for:
a) Being a clutch player, despite an arguably disappointing past history.
b) Entering the conversation as one of the NBA’s top 20 players of all-time.
c) Passing 22,000 career NBA points.
d) Take Dat Wit Chew.

2. Cibona Zagreb’s season was…
a) …just brutal in Euroleague (with an 0-16 record), Adriatic League (10-16) and even Croatian league (8-9, including playoffs) play.
b) …caused by the Curse of Dusan Kecman.
c) …at least spiced up a bit by the sensational Bojan Bogdanovic.
d) …pretty damn awful but the future looks bright because, in case of an NBA lockout, Andrew Bogut’s coming to play for them in 2011-12. Really, his father said so.
e) Or not.

3. A fairly disastrous year for Greek basketball was…
a) …tipped off with a player strike that succumbed to an ugly caving in.
b) …made highly interesting by Olympiacos’ 36-0 run.
c) …notable for Panathinaikos’ ninth-straight Greek championship against the rival Reds’ seemingly most unbeatable team (at least in Greece) in recent memory.
d) …once again rife with rumors of corruption and scandal.
e) …ended with the beginning of a possible boycott of the national team.
f) Seriously, what’s up in Greece?

4. For Lietuvos Rytas, Khalid El-Amin was…
a) …a bad ass.

5. Pau Gasol…
a) …and his Los Angeles Lakers went out badly against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoffs.
b) …and his Los Angeles Lakers went out *very* badly against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoffs.
c) …was well-outplayed in said playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol.
d) …will henceforth forever be referred to as “Marc Gasol’s brother.”

6. The winner of Italy’s Serie A was:
a) Montepaschi Siena
b) Montepaschi Siena
c) Montepaschi Siena
d) Montepaschi Siena

7. After getting out of his massive EUR 20 million-or-so contract with Olympiacos, Josh Childress:
a) Was a serious disappointment for the Phoenix Suns
b) Josh Who?

8. The happiest population on Earth after the Mavericks’ NBA championship victory over the Miami Heat was that of:
a) Dallas
b) Cleveland
c) Cleveland
d) Wurzburg
e) Cleveland
f) All of the above
g) b, c, and e only

9. Allen Iverson…
a) …wants to play in the NBA again.
b) Or Australia. (Yeah, surrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre.)
c) … after a much-ballyhooed entrance, played just 10 games for Beşiktaş Cola Turka and then disappeared with a mysterious leg ailment.
d) But hey, he played seven more games than he did with Memphis.
e) And plus, his year was better than Maurice Taylor’s.

10. At the beginning of the season, Bizkaia Bilboa Basket was predicted to end up in the ACB finals by:
a) A couple of the team’s fans, maybe
b) No one

11. The best tattoo in the NBA is currently sported by:
a) Andrei Kirilenko
b) Nikola Pekovic
c) All things considered, Jason Terry

12. Ricky Rubio…
a) …helped FC Barcelona win a Spanish triple crown.
b) …further improved on defense notably this season.
c) …announced he would be joining the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011-12.
d) …shot 38% on twos and 27% on threes in the ACB; his marks in the Euroleague in the categories were 39% and 22%, respectively. Timberwolves fans, BiE loves Rubio as much as you do, but the lad still needs some work.

How to score this quiz: Ah, come on! It’s summertime, the term is over, you don’t need more grades. Everyone gets a perfect score. Now onto next season!