Ricky Rubio 202
NBA Nuclear Winter, European exodus reportedly over
And just when things were starting to get interesting … D-Will going for 50 points, Lamar Odom and his reality-show entourage were set to join him in Turkey, CSKA Moscow winning without their AK-47… About two hours ago, CBS Sports reported that a deal had been reached between the NBA Players Association and owners, with […]
Eurobasket 2011 round two: Impressions, links, notes and highlights
With just two days (and one game per team) remaining in 2011 EuroBasket round two, BallinEurope takes a brief look at some issues and trends going down in the tournament – plus links and YouTubes, of course. Read on for quips, quotes and clips. • Importance of remaining games. Of six games left to play, […]
NBA Draft expansion: What does it do to/for Europe?
Sports media and the blogosphere blew up a couple days ago, as the possibility of adding a third round to the NBA draft was reported to have been discussed as part of the ongoing labor negotiations. By day’s end Wednesday, some had publicly opined that this idea could be the “Best Thing To Come From […]
Live blogging Eurobasket 2011: Spain vs. Poland
EuroBasket 2011 tips off in Panevezys with the Spain vs. Poland game. The defending champions are bringing years of experience in Euroleague and NBA stars — among them the Gasol Brothers, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes — while relatively unheralded Team Poland hopes to compete without Marcin Gortat. BallinEurope will […]
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 […]
Greatest of all-time: Yugoslavia or Spain?
An interesting exchange of tweets went down last Friday (yes, minus points for untimeliness, but on another job BallinEurope thought deep into the matter all weekend) between HoopsHype/ESPN Deportes writer Jorge Sierra and Team Australia/Milwaukee Bucks big man Andrew Bogut. Things started innocuously enough, with Sierra plugging a Spanish-language piece he’d written for Deportes: “An […]
NBA stars playing in Europe: What are the odds…?
First, BallinEurope would like to a couple more American players to The Continent, as Milwaukee Bucks second-round draft pick Jon Leuer has signed with the Bundesliga’s Frankfurt Skyliners to play during the NBA lockout and undrafted Colorado State University forward Andy Ogide has joined the ranks of LEB club Breogán. But as the BiE schadenfreudometer […]
Pop Quiz: The Euro-/NBA-centric year in basketball
Just because the NBA Draft is over, the big league is heading toward a lockout, and the top European teams are thick into the wheeling/dealing of off-season acquisitions with an eye to 2011-12, that’s no reason to forget your history. Were you paying attention this season? Test your knowledge with the official BallinEurope 2010-11 season-ending […]
Hold the tweets: Rubio already has deal in place with Timberwolves?
Is “The Decision II” forthcoming? The “flashy styled,” “baby-faced” Ricky Rubio, of whom ESPN yesterday reported was to be rethinking his incipient deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, may already be committed to playing in the NBA for 2011-12. The Worldwide Leader this morning (CET time) posted something of a backtrack from yesterday’s story, which fueled […]
Ricky Rubio to stay in Barcelona for 2011-12 after all?
For all those who figured Ricky Rubio to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2011-12 season was a done deal, well, think again. ESPN.com is today reporting the Rubio and his agent are in fact willing to discuss staying on with new ACB champions FC Barcelona. On his NBA deal (or lack thereof), Rubio stated in […]
Ricky Rubio agrees in principle to join Minnesota Timberwolves (Is end of world nigh?)
The day BallinEurope never thought would arrive may be upon us; ESPN reported early this morning that FC Barcelona wunderkind Ricky Rubio will be joining the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2011-12 NBA season – if, in fact, there is a 2011-12 NBA season. Previously stating that he was holding back on a decision to wait […]
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 […]