Ferdinando Minucci 11
Euroleague Power Rankings: 2012-13 Opening Day Edition
All right, it’s that time again! With hours to go before the 2012-13 Euroleague season tips off, BallinEurope breaks out its first power ratings for the big league. Whereas normally a disclaimer to the effect of “the following ratings are based on current trending only and are not necessarily based on the overall quality of […]
The Italian Maccabi: Why Montepaschi Siena must win the Euroleague
With the Euroleague quarterfinals tournament beginning later this month, many are penciling in either CSKA Moscow or FC Barcelona as 2011-12 title holders. (Indeed, the odds at a representative sportsbook have the former at 4/5 and the latter at 5/2.) Meanwhile, relative dark horse Montepaschi Siena (running, with shortest odds, at 11/1) may be under […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: Top 16 Tip-off Edition
It seems like forever, but Euroleague 2011-12 resurrects itself for Top 16 opening night tonight. What better way to celebrate, reckons BallinEurope, than with some good ol’ power rankings? Once again, the caveat emptor-ish bit: These ratings are formulated from once source (namely yours truly) and are based on the way teams are trending at […]
Not exactly “no basketball anymore”: Notes on 34 pan-European games
“No basketball anymore”? Are you serious? The next two days will see some 34 games played out in the top three European basketball competitions: Euroleague, EuroCup and FIBA Eurochallenge. Below, BallinEurope presents some links, highlight clips and like on some of the competing teams starring Igor Rakocevic, Tiago Splitter, D.J. Strawberry and that Williams guy, […]
Revisiting the odds: Which NBA players will come to Europe for 2011-12?
After another couple weeks of speculation, hype and quotage, it’s time for BallinEurope to revisit the odds: specifically speaking, the odds on NBA players coming to play ball on The Continent in 2011-12. Once again, should note that these lines are offered at no bookmaker service and are completely arbitrary (which is to say mostly […]
Official BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings: Post-week nine
So Žalgiris gets its coach fired after playing .800 ball through 20 games, Spanish powerhouses lose in Lithuania and Germany, Valencia kills Milano, Efes Pilsen stuns PAO … just another week in Euroleague 2010-11, eh? And after happenings aplenty, it sounds like time for another edition of BallinEurope’s Official Euroleague Power Rankings! Let’s go! Tops […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week two
It’s time for the look back at the wacky Euroleague week that was with Francesco Cappelletti. This week, BallinEurope’s man in Italy examines messing with rotations in Olympiacos and Unicaja; praises Partizan for the potential blueprint win over FC Barcelona; and chides the narcissistic defending champions for their shameful general laziness. No instant replay, Partizan […]
Euroleague team preview: Montepaschi Siena
Can Montepaschi still improve? That’s the question many fans and even Euroleague 2007-2008 Executive of the Year winner Ferdinando Minucci put to the team. It’s easy to talk about windows of opportunity, but never has it been so appropriate, as Montepaschi looks at perhaps its final opportunity to get to the top of Euroleague. In […]
Just how good is Montepaschi Siena, anyway?
Poring over some Sporting Bet odds and lines on Lega Uno basketball reveals a stunning amount of continued domination from Montepaschi Siena. Not only is Ferdinando Minucci’s team a 4/15 favorite to take the Italian title, they’re also an incredible 3/10 favorite to once again (again!) go undefeated at home. So the question to our […]
Interview: Ten minutes with Montepaschi Siena mastermind Ferdinando Minucci
Coming up on his 20th anniversary with Montepaschi Siena, general manager Ferdinando Minucci shows no signs of letting up – either in terms of hard work on his winning ways. Minucci’s rise through the ranks in the 1990s coincided with Montepaschi’s increase in prestige in Serie A. Achieving the lofty title of General Director and […]
Quotebook: Euroleague 2009-10 draw
Not only was yesterday’s Euroleague group draw an official tipoff of sorts to actual play in the 2009-10 Euroleague season, it also marked the first opportunity of the year for league chiefs to publicly swell with pride at their teams, show off (mostly) gaudy neckties, talk some diplomatically-worded trash, and provide good quotes for blogs […]