Sarunas Jasikevicius 98
Euroleague All-Decade Team: The official BallinEurope ballot
The waffling is over! After a couple of weeks of mulling over the field of 50 candidates for ten spots on the Euroleague All-Decade Team, the final decision has been made (and whoo, was that painful) and the ballot submitted. The following, then, is how the official BallinEurope ballot for the 2010s all-stars, along with […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week two
It’s time for the look back at the wacky Euroleague week that was with Francesco Cappelletti. This week, BallinEurope’s man in Italy examines messing with rotations in Olympiacos and Unicaja; praises Partizan for the potential blueprint win over FC Barcelona; and chides the narcissistic defending champions for their shameful general laziness. No instant replay, Partizan […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week one
Which team has already clinched a Euroleague Final Four spot? Who’s most to blame for Panathinaikos’ loss? What did Ergin Ataman do wrong? And why did Aito Garcia Reneses pull Cesar Augusto Lima with seven minutes to play? These questions are answered – OK, not that last one: That one’s a real riddle for the […]
Euroleague Top 16 draw: The Frank take
The Euroleague Top 16 group draw was orientated, due to the guidelines, well before it started. So, while Group G and Group H were fixed, it remained to see where Maccabi Tel Aviv and Efes Pilsen Istanbul would be directed: to the Barcelona-Panathinaikos group or the Real Madrid-Montepaschi gang. The two teams went into the […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week 10
BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Francesco Cappelletti, wraps up the wrap week of the 2009-10 Euroleague regular season in discussing — among other subjects — how justice was done in the Top 16 accession, why Ricky Rubio deserves our admiration, and how the next four groups look. Who deserves the Top 16 and who doesn’t In […]
Europe's top national teams of the 2000s
After taking a look at the European players of the decade and top professional teams of the decade, BallinEurope today turns attention to the national level. Which teams from the 2000s will we still recall fondly in years to come? Below are listed eight key national squads from the passing ten-year span, the unforgettable basketball […]
The top 5½ European teams of the 2000s
In closing out the calendar on this decade – not technically, we know, but we’re going with the flow here – BallinEurope today considers the top European teams of the 2000s. (For BallinEurope’s official All-Decade All-Europe All-Star team, click here.) Though only Euroleague championship finalists were considered, domestic league records were also factored in vis-à-vis […]
The BallinEurope All-Decade All-European Team
While technically this decade doesn’t end until 2010, with millions of sports websites and blogs proclaiming December 31 the end of the 2000s, who is BallinEurope to be pedantic? (Especially when there’s a good excuse to make an all-time team roster.) Therefore, in the spirit of a new era, BallinEurope seeks to comprise Europe’s All-Decade […]
Dream Team Europe: The all-time European basketball team
Involved in yet another chat with yet another basketball enthusiast yet one more time about the all-time greatest basketball team, i quickly realized that any discussion of the topic never extends beyond the borders of the United States of America. And while the list of Greatest NBA Players of All-Time basically writes itself – Jordan, […]
Bad news for rest of Euroleague: Jasikevicius extends with Panathinaikos
The man official PR is calling “a Euroleague legend” has had his contract extended by Panathinaikos. Few can wear the “legend” label as uncontroversially as Sarunas Jasikevicius, having won Euroleague titles with Panathinaikos, FC Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Indeed, over at the Maccabi official team website, the current poll “Who’s the best point guard […]
After Euroleague Final Four cigarettes
After several hours of driving, I have finally arrived back home from Berlin, and I’ve had enough time to think and remember the impressions of the 2009 edition of the Euroleague Final Four. So the typical Monday cigarettes will be jumped over and be replaced by my own personal memories of the weekend.
Euroleague Final Four Preview: CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow was the team I covered since before the season, so I have to go with it again now that the Final Four is approaching. Ettore Messina has once again put together a team that can win the supreme title, but this season, the task of winning the cup looks a bit more challenging […]