2011 NBA Draft 31
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, […]
Profile: Jan Vesely, Washington Wizards first-round draft pick
Despite the bad news handed down by NBA commissioner David Stern, BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, is optimistic enough to suppose that the big league will be playing ball in 2011-12 – or at least optimistic enough to submit a draft profile on Jan Vesely. How good will the Czech be once NBA […]
Profile: Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz' no. 3 overall draft pick
With Team Turkey bounced from Eurobasket 2011, BallinEurope’s Sam Chadwick takes a brief look back at the play of prospective Utah Jazz big man Enes Kanter during the tournament — and a look forward to speculate on what he can do in the NBA. Will he be a Al Horford type? Can he compete against […]
Profile: Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors lottery pick
Which player was the sensation of this year’s U19 European Championship (and the guy whose arrival Toronto Raptors fans should be anticipating with optimism)? Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania, of course! Today, Sam Chadwick takes a look at this rising star and his recent successes in youth tourney play. Name: Jonas Valanciunas Country: Lithuania Club: Lietuvos […]
Profile: Nikola Mirotic, future Chicago Bull (?)
BallinEurope’s man in England, Sam Chadwick, today takes a look at the recent performance and future prospects of one of his new favorite players (What can BiE say? Chadwick’s a Chicago Bulls fan): No. 23 overall 2011 NBA draft pick and current Real Madrid basketballero Nikola Mirotic. Name: Nikola Mirotic Born: Montenegro Country: Spain Club: […]
A dunking ninja in America: Clips, comments on Jan Vesely’s draft night
On NBA Draft night, surely no European player – not even the mysterious (to the American market) Enes Kanter – drew as much notice as no. 6 overall Jan Vesely. In a serious case of instant fame injection, the Czech big man leapt into the collective consciousness thanks to a post-draft smooch and the resulting […]
From Kanter to Bogdanovic: Brief looks at seven Europeans drafted into NBA
The 2011 NBA Draft is still going on as of this writing, but with the amazing amount of Continental players going early and often – a direct contrast to last year’s greatly Europe-bereft selections – BallinEurope gets in a quick two Eurocents with a brief look at (and YouTube clips of) the first seven players […]
Enes Kanter at NBA Draft Combine: “Evet” to Cavs, Wolves, Wiz; “Yok” to Raps, Bucks, Jazz
As Enes Kanter’s standing rises on mock draft boards, so too is his self-confidence, it would seem. According to The Sporting News, not only does Kanter feel his game has improved despite having to sit out a season of organized ball – “I worked on my shot, on my face-up game and I think I […]
Free Enes (video)! Footage of Kanter in high school
While we in Europe have certainly not forgotten Turkish wunderkind Enes Kanter, he may have left the consciousness of many American hoops fans after having to sit out an entire 2010-11 season for which he was supposed to have played at the University of Kentucky. Neverthless, he’s still held in high esteem by those in […]
Briefs, highlights on European prospects bound for NBA (maybe)
Basketball has needed the “Darkometer” for years, and the innovative duo over at Euroleague Adventures has finally delivered on our collective desire. Check out the introduction to the concept, which seeks to define a handful of would-be NBA draft picks against the utter awesomeness of the Darko Milicic phenomenon, i.e. the unknown quantity-cum-no. 2 overall […]
Remember this name, NBA Draftniks: Nikola Mirotic
Despite his impressive performance at the FIBA U20 European Championship and a nice 14-point seven-rebound performance in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit game, Nikola Mirotic hasn’t fully captured the imagination of international basketball media types until just about three months ago with Real Madrid. In was in week 13 of the ACB when then coach-Ettore […]
Nike Hoop Summit: Nine named to World Select Team (but not Enes Kanter)
Rosters for the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit have been released and while The Continent is well-represented on the World Select Team, BallinEurope considers there to be at least one shocking omission. Team World will include Davis Bertans (Latvia/Union Olimpija); Evan Fournier (France/Poitiers); Przemyslaw Karnowski (Poland/SMS PZKosz); Mateusz Ponitka (Poland/Tempcold AZS); and Dario Saric (Croatia/KK Zagreb). […]