Monday’s cigarettes

Happy new Year! After a short Christmas break, BallinEurope is now back with the freshest and sexiest stories on basketball in Europe. And what’s better than starting the new year than a yummy bunch of cigarettes?

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American newcomers: Who’s hot, who’s not

Early in the season, it’s difficult to judge the US newcomers you have choose; anybody wants to give them a final chance becoming acclimated to other ways of life  and play, to never-seen or -known teammates, to different expectations on them. But now that winter has come, it’s time to say something about these players. In present day basketball, US players are no longer so necessary, especially at the highest levels, while their play for smaller teams in smaller realities are still considered essential to the survival and the targets of the less wealthy squads. After three months of training, with domestic leagues and European Cups going on, we can summarize what the US newcomers have done here in Europe.

And the Oscar goes to….

Starting our analysis from those men able to emerge at the highest European level, Earl Calloway is the first name that comes to mind. As his career’s grown step by step from New Mexico State to Indiana University, from Fort Wayne and the D-league to Cibona Zagreb, his initial impact facing the Euroleague was less than tremendous: 3 points in 24 minutes against Maccabi. After this shock, he has taken over the team, averaging 15 points and 3 assists in the next four games. Sure, he has to reduce turnovers (3.2), he should wake up at dawn to shoot 1000 three-pointers a day (he average beyond the arc is 21%), but for a guy at his first professional season (D-League? I’m serious), his numbers and his decision-making are enough to consider him among the best US newcomers.

Another possible “steal of the market” is Jamont Gordon, the Fortitudos’ 21 year-old combo-guard from Mississippi State. This wardrobe man is, at the moment, the core of the Italian team until Qyntel Woods is more consistent and D.J. Strawberry more entwined in the playbook. He’s never been lost in the strange, absurd system designed by Zoran Savic, scoring, defending, rebounding, stealing, and sometimes calling screens like a point guard. Probably he’s not NBA level, but no doubt he can step up in Europe: He’s a kind of black Diamantidis.

Jannero Pargo was expected to be the shiniest star coming from the NBA, close as he was to winning the NBA’s Sixth Man Award last year with the New Orleans Hornets. Considering how many top players Dynamo Moscow has, it was difficult to imagine more than 25 minutes per game for Pargo. Not wrong: Blatt gives him 22 mpg, but the Chicago original is not sad playing somewhat less than in the NBA, and his numbers (14 points per game, 62% FG, 4 rebounds per game) confirm he already is the Dynamos’ leader; Pargo plays when it counts and he’s driven the club to a 6-2 record after an unexpected debut loss to Spartak Primorie and a tough battle against CSKA Moscow in which he scored 25 points.

Stephane Lasme comes from Gabon, but he went to U. Mass and then played in the D-League and NBA, so we can consider him a US player by formation. Lasme is one reason why Partizan is in third in Euroleague Group D and nearly stole an upset over CSKA. He represents a species close to extinction: the raw, big, tough old-schooled center. He dunks, rebounds, blocks, he’s a presence in the paint, the last bulwark between the basket and the one-on-one players. Greater than the numbers (9.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks per game), is his ability to change a game with only his moves all around the rim. Challenging Partizan, you must change your playbook to adapt to Lasme.

In the middle

Not bad, not even well. That’s what we used to hear about those attention-attracting players who turn out neither so disappointing as to deserve release from the team, nor inspiring enough to be worthy of high praise. Instead, wait for a moment and we’ll see whether they improve or fall. Brandon Jennings is the most suitable example here: huge talent, powerful agents, an elite team in one of the most popular cities in the world, but he hasn’t the key to Lottomatica yet. Never mind the stats (9 points and 1.2 assists in 18 minutes per game) and remember how Repesa loves a platoon system that also includes Gabini, Giachetti, Datome and, if he could, probably also assistant coach Nando Gentile, but we have to say, until the great exhibition in Vitoria, that B.J. is not playing as we would expect from a presumed 2009 NBA Draft lottery pick.

Earl Boykins is a my-story-first-me-second guy, but he has confirmed the qualities shown in the US that made him the most remarkable move of the summer market after Josh Childress. His statistics are solid (18 points per game, 50% three-point shooting, 87% FT, 3.8 assists per game), but before coach Pasquali was fired, Bologna lost several matches in the final seconds during which Boykins did not show the lucidity and leadership typical of an NBA veteran. Now, coached by Boniciolli, he’s going on his comprehension of the rules, teammates and situations, and it’s not the case that LaFortezza is now beyond Siena, alone in the second place.

Josh Childress, in the same way as Boykins, has been the symbol of a new era in which famous US players decide to cross the ocean to play in Europe. $20 million for three years, OK, but on the court? Though he’s never been characterized by huge numbers, he’s not expressing himself as we knew him to in those seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. When he is willing to defend, Childress is the best stopper on the perimeter of the whole Euroleague, but we have seen him so available too few times. Offensively, he is not a factor – and this was foreseeable – but at 9.8 ppg and not scoring double figures in three consecutive games are not enough for a guy who can dominate on sheer athleticism alone.

Kalise Gran Canaria is third in the ACB, but James Augustine can’t take much credit. He’s only part of the rotation, averaging 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and doesn’t change the games as Carl English or Marcus Norris do. Augustine remains an useful post-down player, but Joel Freeland is much more compelling and productive.

Go back to the US!

Andre Barrett was a prospect at Seton Hall, then he survived four years between NBA and D-League. Now, at the age of 26, it was time to upside his career and join a top European team like Barcelona. He began the season fighting for a spot on the starting five, but soon finished third in this race, overtaken by Jaka Lakovic, Victor Sada and sometimes Grimau – an interesting player, not a playmaker. At 12 minutes per game in the Euroleague, his one-speed way of play doesn’t conform to the tough European game: Barrett has suffered the leap.

Is Pat Calathes the new Garbajosa? Don’t kid me. At 25% from the arc, 14 minutes and 5.7 points per game in what Maroussi had described as a possible standout team and is now instead 3-5. I think his parents will be more satisfied with his brother Nick, the amazing guard at University of Florida.

Dear Rod Benson, we like your blog, but when do you want to play? Cyril Julian and Victor Samnick aren’t exactly Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire.

Good job, men

Jaycee Carroll (Teramo) has spent the last two years visiting the world on his Mormon mission: no practices, no gym, no games, no basketball. His right hand, however, is the same as it was at Utah State: 18.3 ppg, averaging 54% from beyond the arc. Not a one-dimensional shooter, Carroll has developed his ability getting to the basket and finishing through contact; the next step is a top European club or a journey to the NBA.

Alexander Johnson became notorious when he barely fouled Andrea Bargnani during a Miami-Toronto regular season match; this year for Brose Baskets Bamberg, Johnson has demonstrated how to be a basketball player rather than a three-second lane fighter, averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6%. Johnson must control his intensity to spend much more time on the floor, however, because 3.3 fouls in 23 minutes per game is a limit that could separate him from more fascinating European leagues.

Mike Hall is coming from off into the distance after a terrible start with Milano. Now he’s emerging as a complete forward, more suited in front of the basket and on kickout passes than on the high post. The misunderstanding was thinking of Hall as a power forward while Mason Rocca and Pape Sow were both injured: Hall is a wing, maybe endowed with a slower release and less spectacular to see, but a perfect second/third voice in a team like Milano.

Market suggestions

We are curious to see Andre Emmett on a team in which he’s not the one-and-only go-to-guy, because if he increases his unselfishness (and defense), he can turn in a great weapon from the bench for a title contender. Pau Orthez is at the bottom of the Pro A ranking without a win so far, and the team needs their scorer back and healthy from injury.

Flying to the suburban domestic leagues, in Turkey, Lester McCalebb and Chris Lofton are the thorn of Mersin, a very talented backcourt duo combining for 40 points; the same can be said for Pinar Karsiyaka’s Ralph Mims (the TBL’s third-high scorer at 21.9 points per game) and Belizean Leon Williams (averaging 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game); and a promising point guard is Alex Gordon (from Vanderbilt), who is scoring 18.4 points and 3.8 assists per game for Oyak Renault Bursa.

In Israel, Davon Jefferson is a money-in-the-bank bet. He came out of USC too soon – after playing one year – and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with only the 48th pick by the Phoenix Suns. But Jefferson’s potential is unlimited and he has the skills of a small forward in the body of a power forward. He has to refine himself, but the fact that he’s now with Maccabi Haifa, and not in a lonely place in the D-League showing his skills to obtain a 10-day contract in the NBA, gives you an idea of what type of person he is.

Coming back to France, give Besançon’s Justin Hawkins a look, while in Germany Drew Neitzel searches for more minutes to show his Steve Nash-style play. And his former college, Michigan State, is a guarantee. Nick Fazekas landed in Oostende to help the team recovering from its disastrous beginning, and for now he hasn’t achieved the target. The record says two wins in nine matches, a last place standing in D1, and Fazekas is not the prophet Belgian fans waited for. Ten points and 6.6 rebounds per game: The rundown starts from here, and I trust he can change the trend in a hurry.

Finally, are you a mid-level team GM and want a proven playmaker? Buy Taurean Green…

The end of Euroball?

With the arrival of more and more current NBA players to Europe and the first-ever player signing with a Euroleague team directly out of high school, I asked myself if this is the end of our beloved “Euroball”?

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Domestic league preview: Italy

Virtus Bologna’s agreement with Earl Boykins is only the latest sign: It is now clear that the Italian League is ready to return to its past and glorious times of the 1990s when Bologna was called “Basket City” and the whole movement was at the top in Europe. Serie A is on the rise again, just in time before a season that scares many general managers because of controversies and possible changes to regulations on the use of Italian players currently left at the ends of benches. The reality, however, says Italian players can’t bring you to a Euroleague title. Many countries have looked overseas and to the best European leagues to renovate their teams, and return ambitiously to Europe. Analysis of the best Italian teams shows a huge number of credible contenders; Siena and Roma aren’t alone anymore.

Montepaschi wants to give itself the opportunity to win the Euroleague and, to be sure of competitiveness against teams like Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Barcelona and CSKA Moscow, signed last Serie A’s top scorer Morris Finley and expert guard Henry Domercant from Dynamo Moscow: two important moves which follow the confirmations of McIntyre, Lavrinovic and Sato, three key members of the 2007-2008 title run. 

To break Siena’s power, Roma has worked very well on the market, adding great names (Jennings, Becirovic, Brezec, Hutson) to a group that made it to the finals. If the rumors on David Hawkins’ return are true (the former Temple guard is going to decide between Milano and Roma), Dejan Bodiroga has to be satisfied with his creation. 

No less important is what Milano is doing, thanks to new property controlled by Giorgio Armani. Armani is a man with the faculty and desire to invest money in his team, and is able to answer with great local signings: Vitali, Mordente, Rocca will be cornerstones for the future, while Thomas, Sow and Sangarè are solid role players. 

The most encouraging news for Italian basketball, however, comes from Bologna, where both Fortitudo and Virtus’ fans could enjoy again positive and winning seasons, after some disastrous years. Fortitudo has one of the most amazing potential offenses in Europe, with Forte, Huertas, Woods (also Slokar). Virtus has bet on Boykins – the deal is worth $3.5 million! – to come back in the Euroleague, but there’s not only the 5’5” point guard from Eastern Michigan, because players like Langford, Ford, Arnold are capable as well. 

Such are the contenders’ situations. Behind them, some clubs have the choice to put themselves among the teams longing for a championship. Avellino dreams of another third-place finish and although the element of surprise is gone, its roster is not so bad (Warren is an Euroleague player, Slay has the skills to play in NBA). Treviso has built a strong starting five (Wood, Neal, Soragna, Wallace, Nicevic), and Pesaro has lined up some interesting young players (Stanic, Akindele). 

And what happening in the littler centres of Serie A? Capo d’Orlando has found its new idol after Pozzecco’s retirement in Tyus Edney; Biella keeps up its excellent scouting skills and has signed Plaisted and Gist; Caserta, the 1991 Italian champion and back in Serie A after 14 years, expects a lot from Diaz, Butler and Foster.

That’s the Italian situation. As we can see, there are many signs pointing to a more balanced Serie A than in the past two years, when Montepaschi’s control was embarrassing. At the same time, the Italian league is returning to prominence in Europe, where Siena, Roma, Milano and Avellino will face the Euroleague; Fortitudo Bologna, Capo d’Orlando and Treviso will play in the Eurocup. Though some teams which have serious economic troubles (the entire budget for Rieti and Napoli is about $1.5 million each) and some are obliged to reduce ambitions (Montegranaro has lost the unforgettable last season’s heroes; Udine has picked up its players from Legadue), this is generally one of the most interesting championships in the last five years. Maybe Italians owners aren’t able to invest a great deal of money like in Athens, Moscow or Barcellona, but the level is very high, like only in ACB. CSKA can’t lose at Samara or Surgut; Olympiakos can’t lose at Larissa or Rodi; but Siena (or one of the other top teams) can lose at Pesaro or Biella. That’s the great difference coming from Italy.

This article has been written by Francesco Cappelletti.

Shawn Kemp, Jason Kidd, Earl Boykins and Europe

Being at a basketball camp 24/7 right now does not help in staying on top of things: Today there are 129 new emails in my inbox and a lot of new developments going on. I guess I’m lucky to be at the 76ers camp, where the director has great connections and informs me about current events from time to time.

Wearing this shirt initiated the latest news tough. As you can imagine, Shawn Kemp is a pretty big deal for Europe. Especially if you grew up in that era with him and Gary Payton. Shawn Kemp was THE deal, right?

Well, Shawn has been offered a contract by Italian club Premiata Montegranaro and if you know a little bit about Shawn’s recent problems, you might want to believe that he be would be more than glad to take this offer.

My five cents: If Shawn Kemp signs in Europe, I am buying season tickets for that team!

Earl Boykins finally took a deal in Europe which many believe he should have done much earlier, like last season, when BallinEurope was already discussing the possibility. Now, Earl has signed with Virtus Bologna, a team which struggled mightily with their Americans last season - Delonte Holland, that is.

As you see, there is no need to speculate, especially when you hear the birds in Olympiakos telling people that even LeBron James is an option in 2010 when his contract is over; let’s talk about that … in 2010.

Let’s keep it realistic - like Jason Kidd realistic. Talking to basketball experts, a Jason Kidd move to Europe would not surprising to them at all, since nobody is a real fan of him for being on the Olympic team. We might have to talk about Jason Kidd in Europe pretty soon - pretty seriously!

That’s all from the deep deep Poconos in beautiful Pennsylvania, U.S.A.