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From A.I. to Zalgiris: The top stories in 2009-10 European basketball
As BallinEurope closes the book on the 2009-10 basketball season, it’s time to take stock of the year that was with the clarity of history. Without further ado, let’s retrospect on the top 10 Eurocentric basketball stories of the season.
List of 2009-10 European basketball champions
League play is now accelerating to a close all over The Continent, and BallinEurope’s “List of European Champions” page gets more updates. Most men’s domestic leagues have completely closed up shoppe for 2009-10, but BiE has also listed a few details on where other leagues stand at present; links are provided where possible. If no […]
It’s David Blatt for Maccabi Tel Aviv
Forget about American players making good in Europe: David Blatt is simply one of the top head coaches on The Continent, and the Team Russia miracle worker has just added another gold star to his resume in “coming home” to Maccabi Tel Aviv on a three-year contract. Blatt has some huge shoes to fill in […]
Gershon out in Tel Aviv, Sakalauskas in in Kaunas
A couple of news bites this morning on some high-profile coach firings and hirings in European basketball. In Tel Aviv, Pini Gershon is out as head coach and heavy rumor-mongering has Maccabi picking up current Team Russia/former Aris Thessaloniki head coach David Blatt as a replacement. After two telephone meetings with club management, Maccabi officials […]
Ten nations in rebellion against FIBA Europe
Ten countries have come together to establish a coalition formally protesting the current management situation at FIBA Europe, charging that the recently-formulated newest board does not adequately represent The Continent. Within the group are some national basketball organizations quite significant to the federation, including Russia (currently at no. 4 in FIBA’s combined rankings) Greece (no. […]
A look at Gilil/Gilboa's stunning Israeli championship win
In an upset some are calling “history-making” while others (okay, Pini Gershon) grouse about the Israeli league playoff format, Galil/Gilboa pulled off the big upset away over Maccabi Tel Aviv, 90-77. This marked the second time in three years that Maccabi lost in the single-game final after having taken the previous 36 of 37 national […]
“Playoff” pre-production: Danny Huston cast as Father of Israeli Basketball
Richard the Lion-Hearted has been recast as Ralph the bravehearted: comes the casting news that Danny Huston, currently co-starring in Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood,” (you may also remember him from such films as “Clash of the Titans” and “Children of Men”) From the Cannes Film Festivalhas won the lead role in “Playoff.” Playoff tells the […]
Albert Schweitzer youth tourney this weekend
The 25th annual Albert Schweitzer youth tournament tips off this weekend in Mannheim, Germany, with 16 teams from all six continents participating: The countries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Croatia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and of course 10-time champion Team USA join two squads from Germany to comprise the field. The […]
Eight random odds ‘n’ ends on Euroleague playoff games three
This one’s exactly what it says: A grab bag of clippings and clips regarding the eight teams squaring off in tonight’s Euroleague semifinals games. Enjoy the factoids, enjoy the games! • If it’s March, tradition tends to demand that CSKA Moscow basketball augment its collection of trophies; 2010 is proving no exception. This month saw […]
Coming soon(-ish) to a theatre near you: “Playoff – The Ralph Klein Story”
Slightly belated congratulations from BallinEurope to Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis, recipient of funding from European Union film subsidy organization Eurimages for his biographical film based on the life of much decorated Maccabi Tel Aviv player/coach Ralph Klein. Eurimages representatives announced Riklis’ “Playoff” as one of 14 European co-productions to receive backing for production, distribution and/or […]
Tyler drops agency, agent drops Tyler; spin machine on phenom continues
With a couple of months left to go in most European basketball seasons, 18-year-old Jeremy Tyler is without a team and without defined plans for his future. He’s also now minus two agents. Bernie Lee, one of Tyler’s legal representatives (and in fact the key player in negotiations with Maccabi Haifa, the club who signed […]
Jeremy Tyler watch: Wait 'til next year!
It’s official: 18-year-old American phenom Jeremy Tyler has washed out with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa but will stay in Europe next season to further his career and heighten his currently well-low standing on 2011 NBA Draft boards. Tyler, as you may recall (funny how the early hype machine mysteriously went really silent for a long […]