Mirsad Turkcan 23
Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! (a.k.a. *The* European basketball story of 2011-12)
Let’s put this into perspective. The last time Olympiacos took the Greek national title, they were led by David Rivers and Dragan Tarlać. Vassilis Spanoulis was 15 years old and not near professional club play. Dejan Bodiroga was in the middle of his career and Mirsad Turkcan had just turned 21. Across the pond, Lebron […]
Unics Kazan 76, Fenerbahçe Ülker 71: Impressions, highlights
Right, now we’re into it! BallinEurope was naturally pleased to see his dark horse elite-eight candidate Unics Kazan defend home court against Fenerbahçe Ülker on opening night of the 2011-12 Euroleague Top 16 round, 76-71 – though it sure wasn’t easy for Unics after they generously spotted the Turkish side a 17-point lead at halftime. […]
Euroleague Final Four flashback: FC Barcelona takes first EL title, 2003
While many of us (ahem) were shocked that FC Barcelona did not qualify for this year’s Euroleague Final Four to be played at the Blaugrana’s venue, Barca made good in defending home court the last time the Spanish capital hosted. In 2003, Barcelona brought a veritable dream team to the tournament to chase the team’s […]
Euroleague Top 16, games six: Notes, natterings and Fearless Predictions™
The quest for the 2010-11 Euroleague title is officially reduced by 50% tonight as a full slate of games completes the Top 16 round of play; three games remain relevant to the final eight round and BallinEurope below takes a brief look at each, together with YouTubes and the ever-popular Fearless Predictions™. Enjoy the games! […]
Top 100 Teams in Europe: After the cups, then what? Edition
The dust – and in Germany, the glass – has settled on a week of Cup tournament action throughout The Continent, so it’s time for BallinEurope to crunch the numbers in compiling the weekly Top 100 Teams in Europe list. But, ran the first question, what relative weight should be prescribed for these games for […]
February Madness: Rounding up the cups, serving up some highlights
Can it all be over so quickly? February Madness peaked this weekend in Europe, with several domestic cup tournaments being played out and celebrations aplenty. BallinEurope this morning provides a rundown of the action – and, naturally, video clips. Without further ado, then, let’s look in on the insanity. • To no one’s surprise, Spanish […]
Interviews: Bauermann, Barkley, Blessed Footsteps, a Blue Devil and more
The interviews, as always, seem to be coming out of the virtual woodworks online these days. BallinEurope below rounds up some links featuring recent words of wisdom straight from the warriors’ mouths – though BiE forgives you if you skip directly to Charles Barkley’s bit at the end.
Euroleague week three talking points, part II
Five Euroleague games are to be played tonight, each bearing a number of scintillating storylines – well, okay, maybe not the nearly history-bereft Cholet-Lietuvos Rytas matchup, but you get the point. For your perusal, then, a few factoids, bites of information and videos in the leadup to tonight’s action. Enjoy the games, and best of […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week two
Francesco Cappelletti’s regular column with BallinEurope is back as our man in Italy takes a look at the after-effects of Euroleague week two action. This time out, Francesco sees European basketball history returning to the old days on the Continent while Balkan squads fight economic problems but dispatch Western European teams anyway. And early on, […]
Timofey Mozgov vows “I will prove myself in the NBA”; no word from Knicks on FIBA Worlds
How did the Knicks scoop the Nets on this one? And does Mikhail Prokhorov know about this? The New York Times, among other sources, reported last night that BC Moscow Khimki region center Timofey Mozgov has signed a three-year, $10 million deal with the New York Knicks. The move comes as a bit of a […]
Fenerbahce Ulker whips Efes Pilsen (in possible last-ever meeting) to take TBL title
Congratulations go out today to Fenerbahçe Ülker, who tore apart Efes Pilsen at home, 76-51, to take the Turkish Basketball League title in six games. Four players – Mirsad Turkcan, Roko Ukic, Semih Erden and Tarance Kinsey – scored in double figures for Fenerbahçe, while Efes Pilsen was held to a lowly sub-33% on 16-of-49 […]
Euroleague All-Decade Team: The official BallinEurope ballot
The waffling is over! After a couple of weeks of mulling over the field of 50 candidates for ten spots on the Euroleague All-Decade Team, the final decision has been made (and whoo, was that painful) and the ballot submitted. The following, then, is how the official BallinEurope ballot for the 2010s all-stars, along with […]