EuroLeague 174
Who’s next? Three national teams to watch for
As we await the two-game showdown between France and Belgium for the final spot in the FIBA Eurobasket 2009 tournament and Eurobasket Division B pool play enters the homestretch, Ball in Europe takes a speculative look at three national programs we might be hearing a lot more about in 2010 and beyond. Finland. When Finland […]
Best of the (basketball) net: Calm Before The Perfect Storm edition
The pickings for basketball-related news online this week were a tad slim, with that inevitable last-weeks-of-August malaise that conquers Europe annually and sends the entire continent on holiday really settling in. Ah well, Eurobasket 2009 tips off in a couple weeks, followed by national leagues awakening, and Euroleague/NBA isn’t that far off, really. In the […]
Wednesday transactions: Welsch stays put, Bogdanovic back in Croatia
Euroleague officials announced one re-signing and one free-agent deal on Wednesday: Former NBAer and current Team Czech Republic swingman Jiri Welsch will be staying with Unicaja for a fourth season, while Bojan Bogdanovic has hooked up with Cibona Zagreb on a four-year contract. Unicaja was certainly pleased to retain the 29-year-old Welsch, who has played […]
Dream Team Europe: The coaches
With an extended roster of 19 all-time players waiting in the wings, Ball in Europe today releases the names of the Dream Team Europe coaching staff. To manage this elite squad, we’ll limit Dream Team Europe to four coaches in spite of reader Simas’ excellent (if unwieldy) solution reckoning that “if you have a coaching […]
First thoughts on first Euroleague outright winner odds
Someone over at online sportsbook and official Euroleague sponsor SportingBet.com doubtlessly cannot wait for the 2009-10 season to begin, though we’re still, as the handy Euroleague.net countdown timer reminds, 67 days, 10.5 hours and change away from opening day. Already posted are odds for the upcoming season and whoo boy, is it some fodder for […]
Whoa, how much is Von Wafer making?
OK, so immediately upon hearing of the Von Wafer signing made official by Olympiacos and Euroleague representatives, you knew the Angelopoulos brothers had overpaid at least slightly for the 24-year-old NBA jumper. But then Wafer went on Houston’s FOX affiliate station KRIV-TV to say a few choice words about the contact that explained the not-so-mysterious […]
Tuesday transactions: Unicaja signs Rubio (no, not that one); Boumtje-Boumtje stays with EWE EWE
Two free-agent signings and one contract extension were announced by Euroleague officials on Tuesday, with Guillem Rubio forsaking Manresa for Unicaja while EWE Baskets Oldenburg signed Acha Njei, most recently of Bundesliga second division team Bremen Roosters; Oldenburg also extended the contract for one of the great names in all of basketball, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje.
(Other) Monday transactions: Finley to Milano, youngster Lesic with Partizan
Two signings of note not involving Linas Kleiza also went down on Monday, with US point guard Morris Finley moving from Montepaschi Siena to AJ Milano while 21-year-old Sava Lesic made the leap from the Serbian second division in signing with Partizan Belgrade on a four-year deal.
Best of the (basketball) net: Everybody's YouTubing edition
Was everybody YouTubing this week? Seriously, all the best basketball-related websites from tiny to massive/official have been plastered with YouTube clips as though it’s all part of a vast conspiracy to assist us in wasting valuable work time. Not that that’s a bad thing…
Asvel finishes Friday signing T.J. Parker
Asvel Basket closed out the week with the official addition of guard T.J. “Tony’s Little Bro” Parker. After declaring himself to be entering the NBA Draft class out of Northwestern early in 2005, Parker has had something of a so-so career. He averaged eight points per game in his rookie campaign with Paris Basket Racing […]
Zalgiris keeps Klimavicius, Prokom extends Brazelton
Lithuanian product Tadas Klimavicius will be staying put through 2010-11. Though the veteran of six seasons has played for Greece- and Italy-based clubs before, Klimavicius passed on offers from those countries this time around to stay with Zalgiris Kaunas: “Playing in the Euroleague, working with familiar trainers and living at home with my family were […]
Tuesday transactions: Blanco to Unicaja, Gordon to Cibona
A pair of Euroleague signings were made official on Tuesday, with homegrown product Saul Blanco staying in Spain to sign with Unicaja Malaga and second-year pro Jamont Gordon arrives in Cibona Zagreb after the sinking of Fortitudo Bologna.