A little over a week ago, as the first day of EuroBasket careened to a close there was one thing that shocked everyone: Spain lost. After Spain advanced to the qualifying round another funny thing happened, they lost again. These losses were in fairness to two of the best teams in the tournament in Serbia and Turkey. But this is the almighty Spain we’re talking about here; 4/7 odds to win EuroBasket (meaning you lose money if you bet on them), they have six players with NBA experience (Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jorge Garbajosa, Raul Lopez), the best basketball prospect in Europe (Ricky Rubio), and they’re coming off a Silver Medal at the Olympics last summer. Games are not won on paper though and for Spain that’s a problem. They have lacked offensive consistency and especially a lack of outside shooting during this tournament.
Disclaimer: I suggest all Turkish or French fans might not want to read the rest of this, as you may become severely scared or frightened. SPAIN HAS ITS SWAGGER BACK. After a three point loss to an undefeated Turkish team Spain needed to pretty much win out in order to make it to the next round. This sense of urgency was not on display early in their next game against Lithuania, where they found themselves down 24-15 in the second quarter. But then a sort of epiphany happened after a Rudy Fernandez three pointer. The game and shot clocked stopped working for a few minutes, as the basketball gods gave Spain time to come reflect on the disservice they had done to basketball by putting up this type of effort. BAM! Two Paul Gasol fastbreak throw downs courtesy of Ricky Rubio passes and then an installment of aggressive full court press led to multiple Lithuania turnovers. 7 minutes later Spain had just capped a 23-0 run and looked like the best team in Europe. Many teams have played good games in this tournament but those seven minutes are the best basketball I’ve seen so far. Spain was able to run the fastbreak with ease, calmly made open long range shots, played feisty defense, and found a way to continually find their best player Pau Gasol close to the basket. The game ended with Spain winning 84-70, Gasol putting up 19-8 and Rubio dishing out 8 assists. A new Spain-or maybe the old Spain-had emerged. Next up was a Continue Reading…
Igor Rakocevic of Tau, Carlos Cabezas of Unicaja, and Raul Lopez of Real Madrid; all three guards sparked their teams to successful Euroleague campaigns just a year ago, and now all three guards will try to do the same for new teams this season: Rakocevic for Efes Pilsen and the other two with Khimki Moscow. While these playmakers were the prize catches for their new squads, their former teams have enormous shoes to fill.
And then July 16 rolled around. Unicaja snagged former Louisville star Taquan Dean, Madrid turned to former Brigham Young ace Travis Hansen, and Tau added another proven scorer with former University of Hawai’i standout Carl English, who, ironically enough, is Canadian. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the newest inductees into the trio of esteemed Spanish backcourts:
Taquan Dean, SG, Unicaja: Nobody hit more 3’s than Dean in the Spanish League last year, where he led the ACB with 107 triples (including 10 in one game at Cajasol) and was fourth in scoring at 16.7 points per game. At only 25 years of age he is already well traveled, having played in the Italian league with Angelico Biella and Casale Monferrato, the Russian league with Dynamo Moscow where he reached the Euroleague quarterfinals in 2007, and he played in the 2005 NCAA Final Four with the Louisville Cardinals. What you get with Dean is a deadly jumper that Unicaja fans will surely learn to cherish, especially if they don’t re-sign their best shooter, Thomas Kelati. Though a bit wiry, Dean is quick with the ball and can elevate enough to get his shot off over almost anybody, and pairing with speedster Omar Cook should immediately give Unicaja one of the fastest guard duos in the league. Cook and Cabezas were individually effective, however, they could never figure out how to play off of one another and it resulted in a silent struggle for the ball when they were both on the court. If Dean can get Cook to slow down a bit and look for him as a primary scoring threat, then he should be one of the Euroleague’s top scorers for a lineup that sorely needs some punch.
Carl English, SG, Tau Ceramica: So how do you replace an All-Euroleague first team performer who led the league in scoring? You don’t. You can’t. At least, not with one person. After signing Lior Eliyahu and now English (and just hours ago, Walter Herrmann), Tau will hit the floor this season with a starting lineup collectively more impressive than last year’s team which was a game away from the Final Four. English can pour it in from the perimeter as a light version of Rako, Eliyahu and Herrmann will compete for the starting SF spot with veteran Sergi Vidal, and the tandem of Teletovic and Splitter down low may be the best and most versatile in the league. All Pablo Prigioni has to do is feed the hungry mouths. English averaged 15.6 per game last season with Kalise Gran Canaria and in 2006-07 he led the Adriatic League in scoring with Zadar in Croatia. He’s a very heady player who can slide over and run the point if needed, and he’s a better on-ball defender than Rakocevic. In a starting lineup chock full o’ stars, English is the perfect blend of selfish and selfless and his first year just might be punctuated with a Euroleague crown.
Travis Hansen, SG, Real Madrid: Madrid made a pair of splashes by signing legendary Coach Ettore Messina and then picked up Rising Star award winner Novica Continue Reading…
Group D Preview – Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, Armani Jeans Milano, Asseco Prokom, BC Khimki Moscow Region, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
By: Slam
Panathinaikos looks to repeat as Euroleague Champions
Best Team – Panathinaikos: The Triple Crown Winner (Greek Regular Season, Greek Champions, Euroleague Champions) is primed for another run at the title. The Greens infused some young talent into their veteran team with the likes of Nick Calathes and Milenko Tepic joining the fold. Both Calathes and Tepic are very young players who look to have very bright futures ahead of them as they are very skilled passers and scorers. Panathinaikos still has their devastating 1-2 combo on the inside in Nikola Pekovic and Mike Batiste who can both score on anyone. The strength of this team though is in their guards as Vissilis Spanoulis, Dimitris Diamantidis, Drew Nicholas, Stratos Perperoglou, Calathes, and Tepic are all highly talented players. Panathinaikos has too much depth for any other team in this group to keep up with.
Khimki Moscow is looking to make a great first impression in the Euroleague
Surprise Team – BC Khimki Moscow: While I have said throughout these previews that buyer beware of these new teams to the Euroleague, Khimki is different. They have been attracting a lot of talent to their team this offseason with the signing of point guards Carlos Cabezas and Raul Lopez to run their offense. Khimki has two superb scorers in Carlos Delfino and Jorge Garbajosa who can both shoot lights out. Look for Khimki to play an exciting brand of basketball and score a lot of points this season.
Nikola Pekovic is an animal at attacking the basket
Best Player – Nikola Pekovic, Panathinaikos: Itwas very hard to pick the best player in the group with the likes of Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Felipe Reyes, Mike Hall, and Carlos Delfino; but when it came down to it Pekovic is the most dominating player in the group. There is barely anyone in the Euroleague that can guard him because of how strong and assertive he is on the offensive end. His only problem is his Continue Reading…
Who’s the better re-signing: Bourousis or Siskauskas? Will BC Khimki get more out of Cabezas or Lopez? And did a coach steal the show this offseason? Slam and Freaknick break down the best deals, the worst deals, and the ones that really don’t even matter in their latest podcast.
Click “PLAY” to be enlightened, one hard-to-pronounce name at a time.
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