You know Tony's coming over...

First, BallinEurope would like to a couple more American players to The Continent, as Milwaukee Bucks second-round draft pick Jon Leuer has signed with the Bundesliga’s Frankfurt Skyliners to play during the NBA lockout and undrafted Colorado State University forward Andy Ogide has joined the ranks of LEB club Breogán.

But as the BiE schadenfreudometer works overtime, the Euroleague Transfers Table loads up with NBA names (Hello, Mr. Farmar and bienvenue to you, Monsieur Batum!), and the working assumption currently figuring the big league to be playing an abbreviated schedule in 2011-12 at best, BallinEurope admits that he’s becoming spoiled about new news on NBA players jumping the Atlantic to play ball here.

And so, without too much hard fact recently on NBAers, marquee or otherwise, making said leap, BiE today presents odds on some players rumored to be plying their wares in Europe soon. Readers should note that these odds are offered at no bookmaker service and are completely arbitrary (which is to say mostly made up).

Dirk Nowitzki: 3/5. The incredible story of the Bayern München basketball club’s resurrection to primacy would be made complete by signing Dastardly Dirk, hero of the 2011 NBA Finals.

Last season, national team coach Dirk Bauermann took up the reins of the second-division club and promptly won that league going away. In an explicitly marketable move, FIBA then made the unprecedented decision to award the just-promoted team a spot in the 2011-12 Eurocup. With the underlying and legitimate premise that what’s good for Bayern München, perhaps the country’s most internationally recognized sports organization, is good for Bundesliga basketball, this club is certainly wooing agents and rubbing magic talismans in hopes of getting Nowitzki to come home to Germany.

Nowitzki is still playing coy with his decision (or maybe that should be “Decision,” with Dirk launching the Bizarro version of the Lebron James brouhaha on German TV) at present, recently stating that he’d delay any such announcement until after Eurobasket 2011. Here, however, we’re still taking to heart his much-run quote: “I’ve always said I’m too old to sit around for a whole year. I still can’t see this being a long lockout, but if it is, I’m going to find somewhere to play.”

Tony Parker: 1/1. Let’s see … Parker owns a share of Asvel Villeurbanne and could thus be writing his own (preferably dirt cheap) paycheck while virtually assuring sellouts for every game, taking an LNB title and applying a little NBA-learned marketing strategy to make his Asvel jersey *the* hot worldwide seller for, let’s say, a percentage? These odds are way too high.

Mehmet Okur: 3/2. BiE’s going out on a bit of a limb with this one, as this line is solely based on reportage that Fenerbahçe Ülker was in negotiations with the Utah Jazz big man followed by a big cone of silence since. The move does seem somewhat natural for Okur with Fenerbahçe a potential Euroleague Final Four team, though of note is the fact that Okur started his professional career with three other Turkish clubs, including Efes Istanbul.

Patrick Mills: 2/1. Speaking of Turkish basketball … not only could Mills use a spell in Europe to enhance his skills after playing just 12.2 minutes per game with the Portland Trail Blazers in his first full season, he was also the target of gossip having him already signed with Anadolu Efes for one season. While this rumor was debunked, Mills’ agent stated that his client had received offers from “many” clubs and the player himself stated that “My intention during this lockout is to look at offers from Europe and Australia.”

Pau Gasol: 8/1. While Gasol has made clear his intentions to consider playing with FC Barcelona or some other ACB team, this Los Angeles Laker has also eschewed extra play in recent years, citing grueling schedules and wear on the body. With brother Marc reportedly *not* going to play in Europe this season (see below) and Team Spain looking at the possibility of a run deep into Eurobasket 2011, won’t Pau be seriously considering a vacation? BiE would be surprised to see Gasol suiting up for any European club on opening day.

Kobe Bryant: 10/1. The main barriers to the NBA’s fiercest competitor playing in Europe? Money and China. (And thus does Bryant become a metaphor for the American economy.) Despite an incoming rule barring opt-out contract clauses, Chinese clubs are reportedly aggressively pursuing Kobe; on the other hand, even beyond the protectionist new bylaw, most recent stories say the price tag is around $1 million per month and Bryant’s most recent demand to Besiktas Cola Turka had him asking for $1.5 mil per.

Amare Stoudamire: 12/1. What happened to all this talk, anyway? After playing the will-he-won’t-he game for a week or two, Stoudamire has recently become relatively quiet on the issue of playing ball in a foreign country – at last count, Spain, Turkey, Israel and China. This New York Knick might not want to wait too long or he just might find European basketball budgets gone dry before he takes something; Stoudamire made just under $16.5 million last season and if the Nowitzki-Bryant ceiling is set at $1 million per month, Stoudamire’s personal budget will certainly be taking a hit anyway.

Kleiza to L.Rytas? Wellllllllllllll...

Linas Kleiza: 20/1. This one goes out to all BiE’s Lietuvos Rytas-loving readers, specifically Kevin. This rumor was destined to be (created) started by a Lithuanian and so props for the foresight, Kevin! But would you care to place a wager…?

Marc Gasol: 25/1. In probably the most shocking news vis-à-vis logical European news, Marc Gasol told CBS Sports emphatically that having a stint with FC Barcelona only to opt out would be “selfish.” But still, after his breakout season and playoff performance, does Gasol The Younger really want to sit around while Pau plays?

Ricky Rubio: 25/1. Now that FC Barcelona seems close to signing Marcelinho Huertas to fill up the guard roster spots, the whispering about Rubio’s return has been muffled. And since his probable second choice and former team DKV Joventut presumably does not have the budget for a player of Rubio’s cachet, the Spanish wunderkind could end up one of the biggest losers of the 2011 NBA lockout fiasco after an off-season in which he declined in nearly every statistical category.

Carmelo Anthony: 28/1. Seemingly certain to be a Europe-jumping superstar, this line has increased as of late, with Anthony speaking more frequently of destinations like China and … Puerto Rico? Yes. Sayeth Carmelo (as translated by SB Nation): “…with the lockout, and if things continue, I would not rule out playing in Puerto Rico. I’m keeping that option open and we’ll see what deals there are.”

Such a declaration raises an interesting possibility for NBA players, as teams would only begin to require their services for February training and a March tipoff; by then, all will certainly know whether the entire 2011-12 season is off and can still get a few months’ playing time to sharpen up for the presumed 2012-13 campaign.

Allen Iverson: 40/1 to sign a contract, 80/1 to come close to fulfilling it. Last we heard from Mr. Answer on his prospects for playing in Europe (or anywhere) came in this interview with Slam Online – you’ll definitely want to click to see A.I.’s outrageous headwear.

Said Iverson in the piece when asked about his playing prospects: “Obviously for me, I want to be in the NBA. Obviously, I want to be closer to my family, but my whole thing is to go somewhere where people want me, somewhere where I will truly be accepted. I just want to be wanted. That’s my whole thing. I want to go somewhere where they want me to help their team win.” But gee, weren’t Besiktas Cola Turka fans, like, 1000% behind their new guy before his strange disappearing act after 10 games?

Enes Kanter: OFF. If Ricky Rubio is looking like an early loser due to the lockout, Enes Kanter may well be the poster boy for this snafu. You know, if they made posters of guys whose chances at a viable NBA career were undermined even before they began.

Kanter of course missed the entire 2010-11 NCAA season due to the sudden scruples exhibited by Fenerbahce officials which surely had nothing to do with a potential hefty transfer fee due the club or even Kanter’s father’s assertion that the team was “trying to set an example with my son to coming generations in Turkey, so they can control and use the talent and youth any way they like.”

Still, there’s no hiding talent, even in the University of Kentucky stands: Despite playing in zero games on the season, Kanter went no. 3 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft and got Utah fans jazzed at the prospect of this multi-talented youth playing strong in the paint.

But after a cancelled NBA season and two years of sitting on the shelf, how good will Kanter look in 2012-13? BiE implores: Come back to Europe, Enes, before the rust collects!

• First up: BiE offers congratulations to Žalgiris Kaunas, who took the Baltic Basketball League title over VEF Riga, 75-67. Tadas Klimavicius was the stud for the “Green White Boys” with a team-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds; Trevon Hughes was game high scorer, contributing 16 for Riga as well as five boards.

The BBL is infuriatingly short on video coverage – even on YouTube – but, um, here’s a swell clip of some rabid fans in that distinctive mode of European basketball…

• In losing to Riga the previous day, Lietuvos Rytas would not be granted a chance to avenge its recent loss to LKL rivals Žalgiris in yesterday’s final. The Lithuanian side did take the BBL third-place game, however, upending BK Ventspils, 84-80.

• And here’s a performance from Riga’s cheerleaders, just because.

• Congrats are also due Halcón Avenida, which bagged the FIBA Euroleague Women’s title yesterday. With the 68-59 defeat of Sparta & K, the Russian club’s four-year reign of the big league’s champions ended. Check out Halcón closing things out below – Spanish basketball announcers rule, by the way – followed by a few words from captain Silva Dominguez, who put in 16 points.

• Even if BiE didn’t habitually include an ACB highlight clip among such compilations, this one would still made the grade: Real Madrid 77, FC Barcelona 72, read the score, and the rivals are now tied for first atop the ACB table at 23-5. Whoa, what’s up with Barça lately? BiE’s still mulling that one over and promises to get back to you on it.

• Incidentally, Gran Canaria’s Jaycee Carroll chased up last week’s 32-point performance – then a career best – with 35 points against DKV Joventut in Jornada 29. Do they actually say “¡Ay carumba!” in Spain? If they do, they were this weekend in Badalona…

• Here’s a brief clip from Saturday night/Sunday morning’s Nike Hoop Summit; unfortunately, no action from Europe’s top player in the game, Mateusz Ponitka:

• And BiE told you Bismack Biyombo was gonna blow up, explode in online popularity, go viral and whatnot after his triple-double performance in the ‘Summit game. YouTube contributor NetScoutsBasketball is calling the toast of Congo “a world sensation” already, and why not?

• Biyombo got to do a post-game presser as well; check out how his coach praises the big man for wanting to … practice. He’s talking about practice.

• Though most will remember the Naismith Hall of Fame’s Class of 2011 as that of Dennis Rodman’s entry, BiE will naturally always recall Arydas Sabonis’ induction. (The summary on Sabas starts at right around 1:40 in the video below.)

• Speaking of European greats, this swell retrospective on 40 years of Croatian player-cum-coach Rusmir Halilović’s career was posted this week.

• …as well as one on Žalgiris club history.

• Not only did Woody Paige give props to British basketball on ESPN’s “Around the Horn” a short while back, he also registered one of the flubs of the week with his description of that special relationship between coaches and fans. Note to those studying English: There is a big difference between “discourse” and “intercourse.” And yes, Paige is reportedly a native speaker.

• An extensive interview with D.J. Strawberry by the ever-reliable Erildas Budraitis runs over at RealGM; well-worth reading, it also gives BiE an excuse to run an old highlight clip plus a truly ill happy-smiley kinda bit from back when Strawberry had a cup of coffee with the Phoenix Suns.

• In these days when Chris Kaman can join a national team based on matrilinear connections, it seems odd that longtime Efes Pilsen great Petar Naumoski, a Macedonian who played under the Turkish sobriquet Namık Polat whilst with the Istanbul team, never even thought about getting with Team Turkey in the 1990s.

So says the former Nash-like guard in this morning’s Zaman; see “Naumoski: It never occurred to me to wear national team’s jersey.” Also see the rare video in which Eurosport recaps Naumoski leading Efes Pilsen to the 1996 Korač Cup title; the below clip of the Turkish side’s 76-68 over Stefanel Milano includes bonus sightings of Ronaldo Blackmon, Dejan Bodiroga and Conrad MacRae.

• Finally, the Euroleague PR department is excited about the Final Four … are you?

• First stop for all interested parties – and especially the Spanish-speakers among you – is the amazing 68-page Madrid ’11 Copa del Rey program guide; this is really just a swell production.

• The ACB is well-organized, Twitterily-speaking, as well. The league promises to tweet it up during the tournament and even have a hashtag (it’s #CopaACB) so that “No te pierdas ni un detalle de la Copa del Rey.”

• Extremely generously, all Copa del Rey games will be viewable online live or by recording via the fantastic ACB 360 website.

• With the expected outcome pitting FC Barcelona against hosts Madrid in the finals, many are apparently thinking we’ll get a rematch of clubs who met in the Copa del Rey 2011 final in that other sport.

• Speaking of the great Spanish rivals, the most decorated team in since this tournament’s inception in 1984 is FC Barcelona at 8-4 in tournament championship games; Barça is a big 4-1 against Real in Copa del Rey final games, including the 80-61 punishment handed Madrid in the 2010 edition. (Real backers, avoid watching below clip.) Madrid’s sole finals victory over Barcelona in this tournament came in 1989.

• After two months out, Pete Mickeal wants to suit up for Barcelona in this tournament, but this means Xavi Pascual will have to lose of his thirteen…

• Tonight, the tournament schedule pits Power Electronics Valencia (12-8 in ACB play in 2010-11) vs. Blancos de Rueda Valladolid (13-7) and Real Madrid (17-3) vs. Gran Canaria 2014 (10-10); tomorrow sees Caja Laboral Baskonia (12-8) face off against Bizkaia Bilbao Basket (11-9) while FC Barcelona (17-3) takes on DKV Joventut (11-9).

• And since FC Barcelona draws DKV Joventut, with whom Ricky Rubio stunned observers to win El Copa over Tiago Splitter and then-TAU Ceramica in 2008…

…here’s the obligatory Rubio interview for Spanish TV in which he obligatorily proclaims that “Será muy emotivo jugar contra el Joventut” (“It will be very emotional to play against Joventut”), even though he’s done so a few times since joining the Blaugrana in 2009.

• Anybody want a quick course in cheerleading, brought to you by ACB and Copa del Rey sponsors Orange and a Spanish dancer with one hell of a toned body…?

• Finally, here’s the slightly low-key promo. ¡Enjoy the tournament!

In Tomic they trust

Yesterday saw Ettore Messina’s 4-0 Madrid visit 0-4 El Meridiano Alicante, perhaps too expectantly thinking “win.” Knee-jerk reactions from yours truly are below – but first to the video clip and translated official ACB writeup!

(ACB.com) – Alicante Meridiano earned its first victory in the 2010-11 ACB and broke the winning streak of Real Madrid, who started the day as leader, in a duel in which the local team left without resources to win the game in the final minutes, 78-67.

Going into the game, the matchup appeared unbalanced, as ACB-leading Real Madrid was visiting a Meridiano that had not only thus far gone winless, but was also averaging just 55.8 points per game.

However, the first two quarters proved to Real Madrid the game would be a struggle. Not surprisingly, Meridiano jumped into the game with momentum and intensity heretofore unseen from the club this season.

Meridiano based its performance on tough defense that made life difficult for the Real Madrid offensive game, which found ways to score with Ante Tomic and Carlos Suárez – and sometimes Sergio Llull.

Messina contemplating mess?

Meridian controlled throughout the first half, typically leading by five points, to a maximum lead of seven at 42-35 just before the half; ultimately Madrid (and a disturbed-looking Messina indeed) went to the locker room down 42-37.

Though the inside game, especially from the second quarter on, was controlled by the mighty Real Madrid rebounders, Meridiano’s success was quite unexpected against a perimeter-defense preaching coach like Messina. For Meridiano, the second quarter became an opportunity for their players inside to increase their range and stretch an immobile Madrid defense underneath.

Upon returning to the court, Real Madrid increased its defensive intensity in countering the Meridiano attack, and the home team simply could not find the formula to score and were held to just 12 points in the third quarter.

Though Carlos Suárez and Felipe Reyes performed well for Madrid in the third quarter, other shooters, including Tomic, were erratic at best and Meridiano kept Madrid’s shooters uncomfortable throughout the third, resulting in a mere 15 points from Real.

Real Madrid finally took the lead on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, going up 55-54 in the 31st minute. However, Team Senegal’s Pape Sow reentered the game and, in reeling off six consecutive points, returned Meridiano to supremacy.

Antidote to Real

With two minutes remaining, Meridiano had built up a 10-point lead and Real Madrid could not come up with an answer to Meridian’s finest play of the season.

As they say in England: Roight, then. How worried are Real Madrid backers after last season’s near-disastrous (respectable by many European squads’ standards, but hardly the level of achievement for which Messina was hired – not to mention suffering so many brutal losses to Barça) finish?

And, as a muckstirring sports blogger, BiE asks where the finger-pointing might begin … Let’s examine a few possibilities.

– No true go-to guy. Like any good American hoops fan, BiE surely exaggerates the importance of a crunch-time alpha-dog to bring the wins, but still. Keeping to Spanish teams and recent memory alone, look what happened when Tiago Splitter took over the ACB finals last summer. Or think about how far Team Espana itself might have gone in the 2010 FIBA World Championship with a Pau Gasol to go to. (Seriously how does 2010 Team USA answer Pau? They don’t.)

In this game, Tomic and Saurez got (limited) praise for keeping Madrid in the game. But check out the pyrrhic victory in Euroleague week two over Unicaja: Had not Malaga been so inclined to shoot 30.6% overall thus allowing Real to beat up on a Meridiano-level (ahem) score of 56, we’d surely still be discussing Tomic’s slightly ineffable 4-of-11 line (the man had seven offensive rebounds, for Naismith’s sake). And Sergio Rodriguez, seemingly designed to take over this team in the clutch, was harassed throughout by a more prepared Olympiacos side in week one to go 3-of-13 overall and scoreless in the second half.

A question, therefore: With the game tied after three quarters, through whom does the ball go for Madrid in the fourth? Several close ACB and EL games this season will depend on the answer to that question.

Come back, Darjus; all is forgiven!

– They’re getting beaten on the boards … because they’re small. For most of last season, Messina was convinced he had to find an answer to the Pete Mickeals of the ACB. He’s still looking, apparently, and perhaps he’ll add to the wish list a replacement for already sorely missed Darjuš Lavrinovič and Vladimir Dašic.

The vital statistics tell us that Madrid is bringing just two guys over 210cm: Tomic and D’Or Fischer, the latter of which is playing just 22 minutes per game off Messina’s shockingly short bench (more on this momentarily). The vital stats tell us that Real is just sixth in the ACB in offensive rebounding and a lowly ninth in defensive boards per game. That certainly won’t cut it in the Euroleague; as the man himself said after besting Olimpija, “This was a typical Euroleague game. It was decided in the third and fourth quarters and rebounds were the key.”

The Meridian game battle for the boards, in short: Okay, so Pape Sow is a Euroleague-level player, but geez, Justin Doellman’s beating y’all?

After Sergio, who?

– Bench? What bench? Those Miami Heat haters trying to seek solace in their perceived lack of reserve strength have nothing on the anti-Madrid crowd.

The good news: Sergio Rodriguez is proving an asset. The bad news is everything else. With Jorge Garbajosa getting limited minutes in both Euroleague and ACB games while Fischer is getting less time that BiE would’ve figured after this offseason, Messina’s rotation has gotten shorter than Stockton’s shorts.

In the Meridian game, just six players managed more than 15 minutes of floor-time and ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. Sure, Fischer fouling out in 13 minutes of playing time didn’t help matters, but if you’re seeking big bodies after D’Or, it’s essentially Novica Velickovic and untested Nikola Mirotic, who have contributed a combined 49 minutes of playing time in ACB play including the latter’s DNP in this match and two others.

Velickovic did see about 13 minutes in desperate-measure time in this game, but looked appropriately lost and inappropriately outmatched to go 0-of-3 from the floor plus three fouls.

Meanwhile, Meridian with, what, maybe one-third the financial resources of Real, distributed playing time among nine players, getting each between 13 and 32 minutes while excellently distributing the ball, particularly outside. The result? Meridian ultimately boasted four with player rankings above 12 versus Madrid’s two (Suarez and Tomic).

We’ll know a bit more about how some other ACB squads stack up today, with eight games scheduled, including DKV Joventut-Power Electronics Valencia and Caja Laboral Baskonia-Fuenlabrada. Damn, though, don’t you think Real Madrid’s worried a little bit?

(And on Thursday, they get surprising 2-0 Virtus Roma…)

1. (↔) FC Barcelona – Yeah, as though we didn’t know how good Barça was going to be this season, they went and bored down behind mighty Pete Mickael to take out the Los Angeles Lakers at home. In addition, they’re 3-0 in ACB play thus far while outscoring opponents by an average of 82-68, the Human YouTube Clip has added a couple more highlights to the infinite reel, Juan Carlos Navarro has been “¡espectacular,” et cetera.

2. (↔) CSKA Moscow – Like Barcelona, the Red Army took out an NBA team in the exchange program … sort of. In the 90-87 loss, the Cleveland Cavaliers were going without Antawn Jamison, Anthony Parker, Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao; sheesh, did they break Mark Price and Brandon Daugherty out of mothballs…? But seriously, folks, this team is good.

3. (↔) BiE tells ya who should have to go on the Euroleague American Tours: Montepaschi Siena, that’s who! MPS may not be a [powerful brand for salivating marketers] household name in the ‘States, but geez, all they’re doing otherwise is beating up on Italian teams. The team’s latest trophy: Its fourth consecutive Supercoppa Agos Ducato.

4. (↔) Panathinaikos – Since the last power rankings, PAO has qualified for the Greek Cup semifinals and taken the Rhodes tournament. Stratos Perperoglou is suffering from a minor injury and all the strike means is more time to rest up.

5. (↔) Olympiacos – The player strike may be a distraction, but the Reds are still showing up to play Real Madrid this week. Ettore Messina, doing his best Phil Jackson impression, has called Olympiacos the favorite in this game; Dusan Ivkovic says, “It’s a trap!”

6. (↑) Real Madrid is the only other 3-0 team in the ACB at present, and Messina’s lot has faced decent competition in Eurocuppers Asefa Estudiantes and Bizkaia Bilbao Basket … but doesn’t Madrid have a bit of a recent history of starting hot…?

7. (↔) Maccabi Tel Aviv – See Partizan Belgrade at no. 9.

8. (↑) Unicaja Malaga – See Caja Laboral Baskonia at no. 10.

9. (↔) Partizan Belgrade – BiE hates the whole “Group of Death” labeling mania that happens every time a big tournament-style season starts, but hey, if Group A (these three plus ACB champs Baskonia, red-hot BC Khimki, Asseco Prokom and Žalgiris Kaunas) isn’t a textbook illustration of the concept, BiE doesn’t know what is. And yes, the Grobari are getting the benefit of the doubt here after a spluttering 1-2 start in Adriatic League play.

10. (↓) Caja Laboral Baskonia – For Baskonia, call it the Tiago Splitter Effect: In ACB week two, Unicaja utterly exposed Caja Laboral’s weaknesses in adopting to a gameplan with less pick ‘n’ roll plays and heavier accent on the jump shooting. Joel Freeland and Robert Archibald in relief showed Unicaja can dominate underneath, combining for 10-of-18 from the floor and eight rebounds.

Caja Laboral’s lineup looks great on paper while Marcelinho Huertas and Fernando San Emeterio have been beyond deadly in exceeding expectations, but the Brad Oleson/Stanko Barac hasn’t found its way yet.

11. (↓) Efes Pilsen – What to make of Efes Pilsen? After outlasting Fenerbahçe Ülker to take its ninth President’s Cup, the team then went out to be upset at home by last season’s 11th-place TBL finisher, Antalya. Istanbul is probably catching a break in week one with Union Olimpija on tap – BiE wouldn’t want to be these guys facing CSKA or PAO this week…

12. (↑) AJ Milano may have escaped a close one in the Serie A opener at Banca Tercas Teramo, 89-83 in OT, but here’s to thinking the Jeans won’t be seeing another 17-of-30 performance from three-point range. They’ll have to enjoy their position this high up on the poll, ‘cause they’re going to Moscow to open the Euroleague; Milano’ll need another shutdown 8-of-28 performance underneath … not gonna get it!

13. (n/a) BiE says that, aside from Barcelona, no Euroleague team is as hot as BC Khimki Moscow region – and they’re doing it in games that matter. After taking six straight in the Euroleague qualifying rounds, Khimki added the away opener win against Yenisei in the Russian Superleague. Too bad they’re in that sick Group A, eh?

14. (↑) Union Olimpija – If there’s any team that’s more relieved than Olimpija to begin regular-season games, BiE can’t think of it. The Slovenian side hasn’t overwhelmed opponents in getting off to a 3-0 start in Adriatic League play, but a ‘W’ is a ‘W’ and this team can use the confidence builders, to be sure.

15. (↔) Back home, Žalgiris Kaunas is 5-0 against a bunch of LKL teams most outside the Lithuanian borders have never heard of, so make of this what you will. Žalgiris appears to be using the occasion to tune up its three-point shooting, going 42.5% as a team thus far.

16. (↓) Last seen losing in the President’s Cup final against rivals Efes Pilsen, Fenerbahçe Ülker starts its TBL season tonight at Banvit.

17. (↓) Asseco Prokom – BiE likes the recent additions of Filip Videnov, rookie Channing Toney and former University of New Mexico Lobo/Boston Celtic J.R. Giddens, but again, that Group A…

18. (↓) Lietuvos Rytas. But if they sign Sarunas Jasikevicius, they’ll move up a space or two.

19. (↑) Brose Baskets Bamberg – So far, so good for the German Euroleague entry back home: Bamberg is a neat 4-0 against Bundesliga teams and is tops in defense. How’s about an upset special in week one? BiE’ll take Brose Baskets over Roma in Italy, heh heh…

20. (↓) Power Electronics Valencia – Check out this schedule for the next 2½ weeks: vs. Panathinaikos, at Real Madrid, at Efes Pilsen, at DKV Joventut, vs. CSKA Moscow, vs. Caja Laboral. And they’re already off to a 1-2 start in the ACB. Welcome to the Euroleague, Valencia!

21. (↓) Cibona Zagreb has already recorded losses to KK Hemofarm and Cedevita in the Adriatic League. Now the nearly all-Croatian team gets FC Barcelona? Could be a long season everywhere for Zagreb…

22. (↓) BiE said he’d reserve judgment on Virtus Roma until after the Sassari Tournament. And after finishing fourth in the tournament, losing the final game to Pepsi Caserta despite the addition of long-persued Vladimir Dasic, 76-68, here they are.

23. (n/a) Spirou Basket – congratulations for qualifying, Spirou, but BiE still believes you’ll be the first Euroleague team to be mathematically eliminated…

24. (↓) Cholet Basket – an opening-day, away-game loss in the domestic league typically might not be such a big deal, but what was this? Perhaps Dunkerque should be representing France in the big league this season…?

Looking for redemption after a 34-point blowout loss to FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, Real Madrid was back in form last night, even if they couldn’t stop Los Estudiantes’ outside shooting in the first half.

Carlos Suarez led the way for Real with 21 points on 6-of-9 overall shooting, adding five rebounds and three assists. D’or Fischer led the boards with eight, and Felipe Reyes put in 14 for Madrid on 5-of-7 shooting.

For Asefa, five players scored in double figures, led by Germán Gabriel’s 16 points and Jiri Welsch’s 12. Josh Asselin led all rebounders with nine.

Highlights from the game (including some bizarre stuff from the slightly surreal opening ceremonies) follow. A single game – DKV Joventut at Cajasol – will be played tonight, and Sunday sees a full slate of ACB games on tap. As always, BallinEurope highly recommends the online “ACB 360” service allowing you to watch games for free; however, it appears as though said service will not be available after November 1.

Finally, here’s Ettore Messina in the post-game presser; according to the ‘Tube, Messina explains that “Carlos Suárez showed a coolness that makes us expect great things from him.”

Color commentary goes on to comment: “Satisfied with the result and with the efforts of his players, but believing that with the passage of time and hard work, this team can still give much more: So appeared Ettore Messina before the media minutes after Real Madrid’s victory against Asefa Estudiantes. The Italian coach said, ‘we have had the ability to turn the game around a bad second quarter.’”

(For those of you into new-fashioned YouTube journalism, see below the break for flashbacks to 2009 and Kobe Bryant expostulating on Rubio and the NBA’s foreign players.)

Arnold, in his Maccabi Tel Aviv days

Olimpia Armani Jeans Milano have officially announced the signing of 35-year-old veteran forward/centre Jamie Arnold from Peristeri Athens, until the end of the season, or two regular-season games: The move was made mainly to help strengthen the team’s playoff chances against the likes of Montepaschi Siena, NGC Cantu and Pepsi Caserta.

After playing his college ball at Wichita State back in the 1990s, Arnold came to Europe in search of some solid competition. He played his first season in Belgium for Houthalen in the 1997-98 season and has since played for eight different teams, including European powerhouses such as Maccabi Tel Aviv and DKV Joventut Badalona (the latter a.k.a. Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernandez’ old playground).

Arnold will now join Olimpia Milano for the last few games of the season and playoffs as his new team is currently in four place in Lega Basket A. Milano hopes that Arnold can bring them the same rebounding/scoring presence that he has done so far for Peristeri, where he averaged 14.7 points per game plus 6.2 rebounds: similar stats to senior season at Wichita State, where he managed 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per.

–written by Sam Chadwick

Sam Chadwick is a assistant coach for the Solent Kestrels U13 team. He also writes on British basketball prospects and lots more on his Hype Basketball Blog.

The vital stats
The game tips off in Barcelona (you can watch it live online at ACB 360). Barça attempts to continue its home-winning streak, now at 28 games. Unicaja is riding a three-game win streak in the ACB, its second such this season.

Jimenez and Navarro: Team Spain’s last two captains face off
Carlos Jimenez passed Spain’s national team captaincy baton to former Memphis Grizzlies/current Blaugrana player Juan Carlos Navarro this past summer. With Navarro at the head, Spain took the 2009 Eurobasket title. Of course, under Jimenez, the Spainards took gold in Japan at the FIBA World Championship in 2006.

At present, Jimenez and Navarro hold the top two positions in terms of national caps among active players: Jimenez has played with the national time some 171 times in his career, while Navarro has 153 international games to his credit. The top 10 runs as follows (in parentheses is listed the player’s current team).

Carlos Jiménez, Unicaja: 171 caps
Juan Carlos Navarro, FC Barcelona: 153
Jorge Garbajosa, Real Madrid: 149
Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers: 112
José Calderón, Toronto Raptors: 101
Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers: 96
Carlos Cabezas, BC Khimki Moscow region: 78
Alex Mumbrú, Bizkaia Bilbao Basket: 74
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies: 65
Raül López, BC Khimki Moscow region: 63
Berni Rodríguez, Unicaja: 57.

Twenty-eight straight for Barça at Palau Blaugrana
Including all competition in ACB games – regular-season and playoffs – FC Barcelona has a 28-game win streak going at home: This represents 15 months without a home loss. Barça is also looking to tie Unicaja’s record, set last season, of going an entire 16-game home slate undefeated; they’re currently 14-0 at home with this game and one against Bilbao Bizkaia yet to play.

In the aforementioned 15-month period, one only team has managed to win in Barcelona at all, that being Real Madrid in what was ultimately demonstrated to be an anomalous game two of the Euroleague playoffs. In the past two seasons of European competition, Regal FC Barcelona is 20-2 at home, with a playoff loss to Baskonia the sole other defeat.

Barcelona is also 7-0 in the last seven meetings with Unicaja at the Palau; the last time Unicaja won there was early in the 2005-06 regular season.

Speaking of which…
That week 10 meeting in 2005 between the teams is often cited as one of the most spectacular ACB games of the 2000s. The final score was 115-104 – with no overtimes and FIBA-standard 10-minute quarters! – while six Unicaja players scored at least 14 points. The 115 points remain the most any Unicaja team has ever scored in ACB play.

From the barnburner, six players have remained with their clubs: Jordi Trias, Victor Sada, Roger Grimau, Gianluca Basile and Navarro are still with Barcelona, while Berni Rodriguez continues to carry the flag for Unicaja.

Happy 15th Anniversary!
Next May will mark the 15th anniversary of the memorable meeting between Barcelona and Unicaja in the ACB finals. That series ultimately went to Barça, three games to two, but could easily have flipped Unicaja’s way for want of a single three-pointer.

With seconds remaining in game four, U.S. player Mike Ansely took and made a two-point shot rather than a potential game-winning three; the (mis)fire thereby allowed Barcelona to win by one and forced a game five. Said Barcelona clincher is remembered as the final game in the career of Juan Antonio San Epifanio.

ACB notes that, from the rosters of those two 1994-95 teams, only Darryl Middleton is still active – with LEB team Sant Josep de Girona. And the head coach of that Barcelona squad was … current Unicaja coach Aito Garcia Reneses.

Barça’s inside game an Unicaja export
While the Blaugranas’ inside game is widely praised as one of Europe’s most powerful, three key members are formerly of the Unicaja system: Boniface N’dong, Fran Vazquez and Erazem Lorbek.

Team Senegal’s Ndong was with Unicaja for two seasons up to last year; he’s also played in the NBA, France, Germany and Russia. Vazquez broke into the starting lineup with Unicaja back in 2001-02 and helped the team take the Copa del Rey in 2005; since then, he’s also been with Gran Canaria 2014 and CB Girona before landing with Barcelona; Lorbek played 13 games for Unicaja back in 2006-07.

Between the three, they’ve contributed 153 games and 1,336 points combined for Unicaja in ACB play.

A bit on Aito Garcia Reneses
Last week, Reneses notched his 100th game with Unicaja, but even one of the most celebrated coaches in ACB history still has trouble at Palau Blaugrana. Though he did help DKV Joventut break its losing streak at the Palau back in 2005, Reneses is just 15-32 when visiting Barcelona in Spanish league games.

Overall, Reneses is considered perhaps the most successful active ACB coach, with nine ACB titles (all with Regal FC Barcelona), four Copas del Rey and five European club championship titles.

Xavi Pascual’s memories of Unicaja
Unicaja will always be a very special rival for FC Barcelona coach Xavi Pascual, as his Euroleague Top 16 debut as Barça coach was against Unicaja; the game was a hard-fought contest with Barcelona eking out a 64-62 thanks to fine performances by Fran Vazquez and Jaka Lakovic.

Pascual’s side has won the last three Spanish titles – the 2009 ACB championship, the 2009 Super Cup and the 2010 Copa del Rey – and Pascual is 6-3 against Unicaja with Barcelona lifetime.

Guillem Rubio’s career game
Unicaja power forward Guillem Rubio enjoyed maybe the finest game of his career against Barça last season. With Suzuki Manresa, Rubio went for 34 points in a quadruple-overtime marathon: a number that represented full-on 11% of his total season output.

Berni Rodriguez’ moment
Berni Rodriguez is on a tear: In his last five ACB games, Rodriguez has been good for 14.2 points and 4.0 assists per. (Compare that to the numbers from his first five contests, namely 3.8 and 0.8 per game.) In these five games, Unicaja is 4-1. An important note here, too, is that Rodriguez has topped 20 points on three occasions this season: The team is 3-0 in those matches.

For the season, Rodriguez is averaging 7.8 ppg and 7.1 apg, top marks for him in his 11-year career.

Ricky Rubio-Reneses Rumble, part III
The Saturday match will represent just the third time the Spanish neo-legend and the Spanish established-legend face off on opposite sides of the court. The two first met in week two of last season, when Unicaja handled DKV Joventut, 79-70, in Badalona despite Rubio’s 13 points and seven assists.

What is important about this particular bit of the weekend clash is that Reneses has much to do with Rubio’s development: Rubio has played 104 games with Reneses’ teams, including 96 with Joventut and eight with Team Spain (in 2008, when he became the youngest international basketball tournament medalist ever).

Numbers and trivia
• Overall, the teams have met in regular-season play 78 times. The overall split is Barcelona 56, Unicaja 22. In Barcelona, it’s 32-10 in favor of the home team.

• Including all games played in 2009-10, FC Barcelona is now 50-5 overall; three losses came in the ACB regular season (at Gran Canaria 2014, at Valencia, at Lagun Aro GBC) with two in Euroleague (at Partizan Belgrade, vs. Real Madrid). In the five losses, Barcelona averaged 62.6 points per game, almost 17 fewer than the team’s overall average this season.

• The lowest point total achieved by Unicaja this season was the 57 points the team managed in a 63-57 week ten loss to … you guessed it, FC Barcelona.

• Though FC Barcelona is 11 games better than Unicaja on the ACB table (with a record of 27-3 against Unicaja’s 16-14), Unicaja has scored just five total points fewer. The teams are nos. 1 and 2 in scoring in the league.

• FC Barcelona is currently no. 1 in the ACB in points allowed (65.0 per game), assists, player rating, two-point field goal percentage, blocks, and, of course, record. Barça also has this season’s single-game highs for points scored (114, vs. Meridiano Alicante) and points allowed (45, vs. Suzuki Manresa).

• Carlos Jimenez and Joel Freeland, Unicaja’s top two players, have an absolutely identical overall rating: 384 cumulative points for a 13.2 per game average.

• Ricky Rubio, Lubos Barton, Robert Archibald and Reneses were all with DKV Joventut for the 2005-06 season.

• Berni Rodriguez’ very first game in ACB play was against FC Barcelon a in the 1999-2000; Barça beat his Unicaja team, 74-62.

• While with Baskonia, Pete Mickael was a nightmare for Unicaja. In the 2007-08 semifinals, Mickael scored a layup with 2.6 seconds remaining to eliminate the home team from the playoffs. A few months later, in the next Copa del Rey, Rodriguez’ basket was decisive in the final against Unicaja:

• The duel between Unicaja’s Jiri Welsch and Barça’s Lubos Barton represents a contest of the two most important Czech players of recent years.

• Three players in this game were chosen in the 2002 NBA Draft: Welsch (no. 16 overall, Golden State Warriors from Philadelphia 76ers); Archibald (no. 31, Memphis Grizzlies); and Navarro (no. 39, Washington Wizards). Other NBA draftees playing in the game include David Andersen, John Dixon, Marcus Haislip, Mario Kasun, and Milos Vujanic.

• In his last four games (two in Euroleague, two in ACB), Navarro has gone for 22.5 per game and has been good for exactly four three-pointers in each game.

• Omar Cook looks poised to take the ACB’s “Best Passer” award for 2009-10; at 6.03 assists per game in ACB play, he’s 0.99 apg better than the second-best in the category, Baskonia’s Marcelinho Huertas. Cook faces off this week against the 2009 Best Passer winner in Ricky Rubio.

• In the last two games, Lorbek has gone for 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per.

• Carlos Jimenez is the top Spanish rebounder in the ACB at 5.6 per game, good for 12th-best overall in the league.

• Last week’s match against Lagun Aro saw the end to Ricky Rubio’s streak of 26 consecutive games with at least one steal.

• N’dong needs 25 more points for 1,000 career in the ACB; Basile needs 16 to reach 1,500 in Spain. Mickael needs two assists to hit 150 total in career ACB play, while Trias needs four rebounds to hit the cool 1,000 mark. Eight defensive rebounds would give Carlos Jimenez 3,000 in ACB play. Ricky Rubio’s looking for four rebounds to reach 400 total and four steals for 300 total.

FC Barcelona-Unicaja Malaga tips off tomorrow night at 7.30pm local time. And next week in the ACB: Madrid vs. Baskonia for sole possession of second place!

Game two of the tripleheader puts 16 non-U.S. players in the limelight, as “Black” and “White” teams have been drawn at random from the stock of internationals. Originally, a full 10 of these 16 were representing The Continent, with Lithuania, Serbia and France each claiming two spots.

Thanks to our old friend Eyjafjallajoekull, however, some changes have been made. Vasilije Micic and Nikola Jankovic of Serbia cannot make the trip; also out is Nigeria’s Christopher Obekpa. In for the internationals will be Italian point guard Matteo Ibro and two guard Albert Homs of Spain; replacing Obekpa will be Anthony Bennett of Canada. The roster switch-up now gives Spain and Italy two players each in the game.

The book on the Europeans in the Jordan Classic looks something like the following.

Francesco Candussi. Last seen on the international stage at the 2009 U16 European Championship Men putting in quality minutes against Lithuania and Germany, Candussi impressed at the Nike Brand camp.

Dr. Maraux makes a house call

Charly Maraux. This point guard is touted for his defensive skills, but all aspects of his game are quite admirable as well. Maraux went for 5.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and just under one steal in 17 minutes per game at the 2009 U16 European Championship last year.

Alexandre Chassang. Currently attending INSEP, Chassang was one of the younger players on the Belgrade Nike International Junior Tournament finalist. Here’s to thinking he’ll be starting in the 2011 edition of that tourney.

Marius Grigonis. Yet another product of the frankly awesome Zalgiris Kaunas system, Grigonis is the youngest player on Team Lithuania’s Nike International Junior Tournament team, a finalist to play in Paris during the Euroleague 2010 Final Four next month.

Augustinas Jankaitis. What was that about the Zalgiris system? Jankaitis, too, is on that Lithuanian youth squad; all he did in four NIJT games was average 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds (including 3.0 offensive) per.

Homs: Ricky who?

Albert Homs recently made a bit of history, becoming the third-youngest player ever to suit up in an ACB game, after Ricky Rubio (who debuted for Homs’ DKV Joventut at 14 years, 11 months of age) and Ángel Rebolo, who played in the big league at 15 years and three months. Ironically, Homs will be expected to fill Rubio’s shoes at the Human YouTube Clip’s point guard position. Also representing Spain is Jorge Sanchez of Real Madrid.

Kyprianos Maragkos. Can you say “workhorse”? Maragkos played three positions for Team Greece at times in the U16s, staying on court for over 25 minutes per game while contributing 10.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg. With height now at a premium in this game, Maragkos could rise to the occasion (so to speak) and surprise observers with his nice all-around game.

Malik Müller. Though he didn’t cause too many ripples at the recent Albert Schweitzer tournament in going for 30 points in seven games with the German U17 side, Müller was named MVP of the Jordan Brand camp. Plus, with Müller already named to Germany’s squad for this summer’s FIBA U17 World Championship tournament, look out for this guy to make a better second impression in America.

The Jordan Brand International Game, pitting Team USA against the World Team, tips off at Madison Square Garden tonight at 5.30pm EST (11.30pm CET). The New York City regional game goes down at 3.30pm EST (9.30pm CET), and the “All-American” game starts at 8pm EST (2am CET) ‘Stateside, the games will be broadcast on ESPN 2. To watch live online (at least the first two games, anyway), try the Jordan Brand Classic TV website.

The full international rosters are as follows.

White squad: Carmelo Betancourt Carbonell (Puerto Rico); Matteo Ibro (Italy); Albert Homs (Spain); Duane Notice (Canada); Marius Grigonis (Lithuania); Augustinas Jankaitis (Lithuania); Jean-Yves Toupane (Senegal); Francesco Candussi (Italy); coach Herman Harried (Lake Clifton High, Baltimore).

Black squad: Artur Pecos Fernandes da Silva (Brazil); Kevin Pangos (Canada); Malik Muller (Germany); Charly Maraux (France); Jorge Sanchez (Spain); Alexandre Chassang (France); Anthony Bennett (Canada); Kyprianos Maragkos (Greece); coach Miles Simon, (formerly of University of Arizona).

Some highlights from last year’s game? Sure! Enjoy!