NBA 550
Boris Diaw starts for San Antonio Spurs, designs new Nike kicks
Here’s one for the basketball sneaker junkies out there. Tweeted the Team France/San Antonio Spurs’ power forward Boris Diaw this morning: “another nice win tonight. here is the shoe i made last night on Nike ID. it’s simple but got swag. what do you think?” As for the nice game itself, the Western Conference matchup […]
Ersan Ilyasova, your English teacher du jour
BallinEurope’s friends over at online language tutoring site English Baby recently managed to enlist another Continental star into assisting some students with their second-language studies: At right about the time Ersan Ilyasova was taking NBA Player of the Week honors, English Baby “asked him to teach the English learning masses about [offensive rebounds and second-chance […]
On the continued rise of The Dragon
A breakout year from Team Slovenia’s Goran Dragic with the Houston Rockets deserves a look – and some embedded YouTube clips. Today, Sam Chadwick takes that look on BallinEurope. Developing in the cool climate of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Goran Dragic’s rise to basketball success was a game of waiting. After a Slovenian league championship in the […]
Never mind the Bullock: Wild rumor has Asefa Estudiantes courting Lamar Odom
For those of you who thought the wild rumors of NBA players coming to Europe for 2011-12 ended with the cessation of the player lockout there, well, here’s another for you. According to Spain-based Sentimiento Amarillo y Naranja, Liga Endesa club Asefa Estudiantes is in the hunt to sign Lamar Odom, who arranged a deal […]
British Basketball announces 21-man national team roster, dubbed “strongest Team Britain ever”
Head coach Chris Finch and the British Basketball Federation today released a preliminary roster of 21 players to compete for spots on the host team’s 2012 Olympic team. Given the fairly short modern history of FIBA-level basketball on the ‘Isles, the claim from the federation that this is the “strongest-ever preliminary GB men’s squad” isn’t […]
Boston Celtics to take on Fenerbahce Ulker, Milano in October
For the first time since 2007, the Boston Celtics will do some training camp and play exhibition games in Europe this autumn. Reports the Boston Herald: “Sources have confirmed that, barring any logistical problems overseas, the Celts will hold workouts and face European teams in [Istanbul and Milan]. There are still some contracts to be […]
Highlights from Dennis Rodman’s Easter weekend in Bulgaria
Former Detroit Pistons/Chicago Bulls/Torpan Pojat power forward and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman was in Bulgaria this weekend to help that nation’s league celebrate its all-star break and oh yes, he left his mark. Ireland-based The Score reported somewhat hyperbolically that the appearance was part of a full-on comeback to the game by […]
Marco Bellinelli: “Chris Paul is the best PG”, “I want to stay in the NBA”
The Italian-language version of MSN news is today running an exclusive interview with Marco Belinelli, the New Orleans Hornet whom the outlet calls “the most American-style” of all three of Italy’s NBAers. Belinelli weighs in on all things NBA; some choice quotes include the following. “Obviously, [Chris Paul] is the best [point guard] in the […]
On the Road to London: Zinedine Zidane, Yannick Noah ♥ Tony Parker
Now available online at YouTube and DailyMotion – not to mention embedded below – is episode three of the short documentary series “On the Road to London” featuring Team France in the runup to the 2012 Olympics. Le troisième épisode is entitled “La Star,” which might perhaps be best translated as “Tony Parker: The Love […]
Kemzura releases extended Team Lithuania roster: No to Lavrinovic brothers, yes to Kleiza
National head coach Kestutis Kemzura has released his list of 18 candidates who could be suiting up for Team Lithuania in the 2012 Olympic qualifiers and beyond. On paper at least, the selection looks pretty good – particularly compared to the Eurobasket 2011 version of the team which included a single true no. 3 after […]
Why Andrei Kirilenko and CSKA Moscow must win the Euroleague
Regular readers of BallinEurope may recall a similarly entitled writeup on Montepaschi Siena on these pages from a long time ago – actually two weeks, but already it *feels* like quite a spell. Contributing writer Enrico Cellini was as surprised as any of us when Olympiacos began Siena’s ejection from the tournament, Facebook-messaging BiE with […]
Dragon produces Euro-centric NBA highlight of the night
Euro-centric NBA highlight clip of the night? That’s easy. Check out Goran “The Dragon” Dragic leading the break for his Houston Rockets, slickly executing a behind-the-back dribble to blow past Jason Kidd and then dish a no-look pass in the lane to former Saski Baskonia stud Luis Scola for an incredibly easy two. Unfortunately for […]