Team Croatia 78
Posters absoluts & Monsterdunken: The Eurocentric slam dunk of 2011 – plus 25 others
Before BallinEurope signs off for 2011, let’s give a late Christmas gift to the dunkaholics out there, shall we? Below runs a collection compiled through the year featuring dunks by Europeans, on Europeans or perhaps simply in Continental games. The first 20 will listed by competition, followed the top five runners-up and the champion jam […]
Profile: Bojan Bogdanovic, no. 31 overall selection in 2011 NBA Draft
Funny … after the 2011 NBA Draft, was BallinEurope completely alone in guessing the New Jersey Nets got a steal of a pick by landing via trade with the Miami Heat the no. 31 overall selection Bojan Bogdanovic? BiE’d like to think not. After all, contributions to Cibona Zagreb last season in the Adriatic League, […]
EuroBasket power rankings, post round one edition
The 2011 FIBA EuroBasket tournament gets things started again today, after the 12 advancing teams get in a couple days’ worth of hard-earned rest. With the dust now settled, BallinEurope takes a look at how the dozen sides look going into the second round of play (numbers in parentheses represent each team’s win-loss record brought […]
Eurobasket 2011: News, notes and clips going into day five
After a bit of a free day (not 100%, though, BiE can assure you) for BallinEurope, we get back in the game – so to speak – with a few notes, links and of course YouTubes for your perusal before FIBA EuroBasket games tip off today. • BiE’s games of the day? Today, Spain-Lithuania; tomorrow, […]
Reflections after EuroBasket day one
Though only one day of the 2011FIBA EuroBasket tournament is in the books, it’s never too early to make some kneejerk reactions, right? While a few suspenseful games played out last night, most prognosticators were certainly able to score a 12-0 record in picking winners in first-day games. (BallinEurope went 11-1, but that’s only due […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Preview: Lithuania-Serbia in FIBA U19 championship; on Jonas Valanciunas and (a little) more
The FIBA U19 World Championship closes out today, and BiE is proud to say that two of Europe’s finest basketball powers, Lithuania and Serbia, will be meeting for the title. Following, a few links, video clips and the like serving as a preview for the big youth match. • The biggest audience in North America […]