August 2011 28
Live blogging Eurobasket 2011: Great Britain vs. Lithuania
So, what to look for in this game? BallinEurope sat in one some of the Great Britain practice session today and must say the team looked pretty loose, but will imperviousness to pressure be enough? After all, the specter of the missing Ben Gordon (and, as Ogo Adegboye pointed out to BiE yesterday, Pops Mensah-Bonsu) […]
Live blogging Eurobasket 2011: Turkey vs. Portugal
Game two in Panevezys pits the 12 Giant Men against the final team to qualify for the big dance, Portugal. Follow along as BallinEurope live blogs another one — click below the break and refresh often.
Live blogging Eurobasket 2011: Spain vs. Poland
EuroBasket 2011 tips off in Panevezys with the Spain vs. Poland game. The defending champions are bringing years of experience in Euroleague and NBA stars — among them the Gasol Brothers, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes — while relatively unheralded Team Poland hopes to compete without Marcin Gortat. BallinEurope will […]
Eurobasket opener bullets: Pnini vs. Dirk, Spain's competition, Kanter's rust, more
Hours remain until Eurobasket 2011 tips off here in Lithuania. As a warmup this morning, BallinEurope brings a roundup of some chatter from around the world regarding the big tournament; in ESPN TrueHoop tradition, we’ll bring it bullet-style. • Poor Israel, one of the more unheralded teams in the tournament … not only are they […]
Eurobasket 2011: A brief roundup
On the eve of Eurobasket 2011 (finally), BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, makes his own version of BiE’s patented Fearless Predictions™ with his own brief take on the tournament contender’s chances. And if you don’t think these prognostications are indeed fearless, just scroll down to the bottom to see who he’s got taking […]
Eurobasket 2011: BallinEurope podcasts, makes Official Fearless Predictions™
As BallinEurope gets ready to hit the road for Lithuania – Panevezys, specifically, where BiE’ll be covering EuroBasket Group A action – there’s just enough time for a shameless plug and Official Fearless Predictions™. Last week, BiE guested on podcasts with the indomitable Freaknick over at the always fun and insightful Euroleague Adventures. We spent […]
Coach Bauermann: Dirk Nowitzki, Team Germany “has work to do”
BallinEurope’s unofficial comrade in schadenfreude, a new website calling itself Lockout Hoops, recently turned us on to a nice YouTube clip of Team Germany in training for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament. In general, the clip is a bit of a lovefest for that face of German basketball, Dirk Nowitzki. High praise is given to the […]
Must-see EB: Ten Eurobasket round one games to watch
Just the weekend remains before European basketball (and by extension, NBA) fans get to enjoy some tremendous high-level hoops competition in the 2011 Eurobasket competition. Despite the seeming overload of underdogs – full-on 14 of the 24 teams in the tournament are ranked 34th or lower in the official FIBA rankings – the first week […]
Eurobasket 2011: London and/or Joel Freeland prepares
How does BallinEurope contributor Sam Chadwick’s basketball career fit in with that of Joel Freeland, Portland Blazers draft pick in 2006 and current Team Britain/Unicaja Malaga player? Read on to find out, together with an assessment of Freeland’s recent performance in the London Invitational Tournament. (And requisite YouTube clip!) In the summer of 2007, I […]
Profile: Davis Bertans, San Antonio Spurs draft pick
BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, feels a little bad about a slightly harsh assessment given to Davis Bertans on this website and so today takes a broader look at the current Union Olimpija forward and second-round 2011 draft pick. Name: Davis Bertans Country: Latvia Club: Union Olimpija Position: SF/PF Height: 6’11” (2.10 meters) […]
Yi gods! Jianlian throws it down over Barac, Croatia
The posterization of last weekend? Well, would you believe it involved Yi Jianlian on the offensive side? Truth is, Team China didn’t have much to celebrate vis-à-vis their participation in the London Invitational Tournament – even losing to theretofore winless Britain – but at least Yi made the highlight reel in his team’s 30-point blowout […]
Eurobasket 2011 Power Rankings: First take
As just nine days remain until Eurobasket 2011 tips off in Lithuania, BallinEurope today takes a look back at the performances of the two dozen teams slated to compete in the big tournament and deploys some good old power rankings – and lotsa highlight clips from friendlies and tourneys played throughout The Continent. Once again, […]