(Sullinger still rocks the familiar #0 jersey in Mexico )
Buckeye JJ Sullinger plays for Fuerza Guinda in the Mexican Cibacopa league. This is the second stint in Mexico for the explosive lefty. He arrived in Nogales, Mexico a couple weeks into March, and has already played in almost triple the amount of games than Brent Darby who played his first game in Italy around the same time. Sullinger squad is on top of the Northern Division with a 7-3 record, but #0 is currently recuperating from a recent wrist injury, get well soon JJ!
-JJ Sullinger "I'm Back" Short, couple clips from the recent games vs Bomberos
(Brent Darby, circa 2006 with Italian A Club Air AV)
(Unrelated bit on European/International crowds)
In the scripted world of Pro Wrestling, athletes perform actions with the goal of eliciting certain reactions from the audience. This reaction is sometimes referred to as crowd 'pop' or most notably 'crowd heat' (basically just a hot crowd, loud, involved & boisterous) As Sports fans, we love that we have real life examples of theater, meaning different personalities or real life drama. Some athletes play to the home crowd for momentum, others like Rasheed Wallace for example, might act kind of grumpy on the road (BTW, things like Wallace entering an arena with a championship belt is why we love the NBA, leave that stuff alone Stern), and then there are players who are just indifferent to it all and just play. A passionate game or series of games can end up being like a short move itself.
Crowd heat in international basketball games in one of the more unique aspects of the sport overseas. Many appreciate it, while a bunch of others neglect to even notice, but for us the audiences are definitely interesting & entertaining at the same time.
International basketball crowds are a combination of NCAA fan support & World Football (Soccer) passion. Like an NCAA program, a club with a good brand i.e good players & a winning culture will have a built in devoted fanbase. Another similarity is that many of these clubs are in small cities or towns. Oldenburg (Germany) for example, does not have a football team, so Rickey Paulding, Je'Kel Foster & the boys (a rising European team are the show. The other day we were viewing a game between two top teams in the Czech Republic, we see a lot of senior citizens in these old European town audiences. (which also brings the interesting moment when they play Soulja Boy during timeouts. American influence overseas is always fascinating as well) There was a man who had to be in his 70's rocking a CEZNymburk jersey.
These guys have a special passion too. Not only are they loud like any good college crowd, but they add their football culture too. This is where the constant singing, chanting, & sometimes group dancing comes from. They are also allowed to bring instruments so you will hear anything from horns to drum, ect...even sirens..it will sound like a war zone or something!..and they whistle..European crowds whistle in anger instead of just booing. In addition, some of the more edgy crowds (Turkey, Serbia, Greece) will actually light torches and shoot flares during the game.
All the noise is straight, we get used to it and we guess the players just have to get used to it of course. But some of that stuff like shooting flares is stupid. It is fairly common to see physical 'dugout' like barriers between the team bench & crowd because of uncivilized fans throwing objects at players. European homers like to say that Euro crowds go harder than American crowds, well duh! if you are shooting flares in the arena then I guess you do go hard..Americans treat basketball games like basketball games though, not like football or soccer games. But overall, we do appreciate the environments overseas, and of course love it when one of our Bucks are performing in such settings.
Former Buckeye guard Brent Darby switched from French Pro B Limoges to Italian B UmanaReyer in late February, early March. Brent joins fellow Americans Alvin Young & Tyrone Grant for Reyer (9-16). He played his first game with the club on March 14 vs Trenkwalder.
-Video..
Not the best of quality, but it is Brent's first game in his return to Italy. The always exciting Darby checked in with 1:55 to go in the 1st. He attacked right away, and then picked a guard's pocket, but shuffled his feet on the layup. Darby came back and broke the same guy off with the Motor City crossover to a jumper. at 2:15 a bigger Italian guy thinks he is going to post Brent up, but does not know about Darby's strength yet. Brent gives him a swim move, steals the ball and starts the break..the next play is just Brent being Brent..prompting the announcer to emphatically state Brent Lamar Darby!
CEZ Nymburk (34-3) did away with USK Praha again over the weekend. This time it was a 24 point victory by the Czech Champions. Ron Lewis contributed 13 points, 2 dimes & a steal in the victory.
-Video from the Czech Cup semi-finals (3.19.2010), Ron Lewis swats a would be dunk from 7'1 Prostov center Ales Chan in a heated 4th quarter. Great reaction from Lew on the help side D. It was pretty funny to us, the announcer says Ales Chan routine fashion like it was about to be a big dunk, but when he saw the ball fly he was like, "oooooooohhhh Ales Chan!?!" as if they didn't know what happened lol.
Before last night, the only game we viewed from the Cup was the finals. We watched this semi-final game and noticed how intense it was, Nymburk actually almost lost this game. But props to point guard Arthur Lee, he was a 'G' in the 4th quarter hitting big shots. We will definitely include Mr. Lee in the Czech Cup highlights video.
-2nd year player Othello Hunter hooped out big time in last Saturday's game vs Kavala. The power forward scored a career pro high of 19 pts, and brought down 10 rebounds, 2 blocks & a steal (1st European double double!) O went 7 of 9 from the floor & was a perfect 5 of 5 from the charity stripe. Good win for Ilisiakos, great game for Othello.
-Couple clips, the Ilisiakos/Kavala highlights start at the 2:30 mark, at 2:35 Othello grabs the board and says get off me! At 2:41 he tries a high/low post entry to Warren Carter (bro of Josh Carter of Oldenburg), ends up cleaning up the board. We see ya out there O..
-Basketball is basketball..does not matter if it is in the streets of an American City, or in a nice arena in Germany's most famous City.-
-Video of Je'Kel Foster in an early season game with fellow German Power Alba Berlin on 10.17.2009. Here we see a little bit of the all-around game. He knocks down a couple threes, has an ill step back to a pull up on Jenkins, and even posts up (he does it all from the guard spot). Oldenburg narrowly lost this contest by two, they came back and slayed Berlin in the rematch, but we could not get that video :( We might want to get used to seeing Oldenburg at Berlin as these teams could very well meet in a playoff series.
Round 29 of the German League Regular Season came to a close this past weekend. EWE Baskets Oldenburg returned home after a stretch of road games & locked up the LTi 46ers in route to a 58-48 victory on March 27th. In a familiar theme, former Buckeye Je'Kel Foster led EWE with 12 points & 7 rebounds. The champs (21-6..running it!) are currently on a 5 game winning streak, and are now at the top of the Bundesliga standings over Alba Berlin. Their next game is against the Artland Dragons on April 4th.
Center Velimir Radinovic had his best game of the season so far over the weekend. His 14 points & 6 rebounds led Mitteldeutscher BC (MBC for short) past Ludwigsburg in a balanced 82-59 victory on the 28th. V-Rad, now a six year veteran of pro basketball, left Greece (second division) last off-season. He waited to sign for the 2009/2010 season, and ended up in a better situation with MBC (15-14) of Germany's top league. Velimir is now 5 games into his return to the court, and looks to be back on track after this recent performance.
Paderborn Baskets fell to Ratiopharm in a tough 87-86 loss. Matt Terwilliger contributed 8 points & 2 boards in 20 minutes of action.
-Clips of the German League are scarce on the North American side unless some BBL fans happen to post videos on youtube or something. The German sport sites show highlights, but they restrict their video content from folks of this region for some reason. If we click a highlight it will be blocked. It is almost as if they know that some would like to view & use their clips :)
Tight video brought to us by Ron Lewis. Includes footage of the Czech League All-Star Game & the dunk contest in which Ron participates! Teammate Arthur Lee is also in video.
Video - Clips of Mike Conley Jr. & the Memphis Grizzlies vs the New York Knicks at the the world famous Madison Square Garden - 2.27.2010..Conley scored 18 points in the road victory. Conley joined fellow Buckeyes Michael Redd & Katie Smith as recent former Bucks who have score in double figures at the Garden. Redd's last big game in the Mecca was on December 19, 2008 (21 points).
And to address some emails, an overload of videos & other stuff unrelated to the blog has prevented us from releasing tons of videos (the monthly top plays for example), but we are certainly aware of the month of basketball that Conley Jr. is having right now.. and you can expect a couple mixes here soon. Speaking of mixes, here is an older one featuring some clips from Mike's rookie & soph pro years. We have a bunch of mixes on deck!
Congrats to the Big Ten Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. It was another fantastic season orchestrated by head coach Thad Matta. Just want to give thanks to departing Seniors Jeremie Simmons, PJ Hill, Kyle Madsen & Mark Titus. The first three came as transfers & will leave as team first Champion Buckeyes. Madsen simply kept working at it and ended up in a relatively significant backup role in his season year. The minutes for Hill & Simmons went the opposite direction in the latter part of their careers, but they too were able to contribute when given the chance. Simmons especially shined in his last collegiate game with three 3-pointers vs Tennessee.
It will be fun to follow those two should they elect to pursue a pro career. PJ is a pest on defense, and was starting to show consistent flashes of capability on O his last year (just could not get on the floor enough to show more). And Simmons' offensive skillset should definitely land him somewhere. Both of these guys bring intersting skills to the table with good D1 experience.
Shout out to the Ironmen #23, William Buckets, Diebs, & ET..it goes without saying how hard David goes, William just oozes so much talent it is scary..we look forward to seeing him in an Ohio State uniform next season, as well as Jon & Dallas. And what else is left to say about #21? The best player in college basketball who deserves/deserved a shot at the final four..we just witnessed a season that will go down as one of the all time greats. Right now he is "Game tight" in every sense of the phrase..fantastic career.
-Old video from 2008 featuring various football & basketball players for sentimental reasons. Some these guys are already gone, and others won't be on campus next year too. Good luck to Thad Gibson in the NFL! The time at Ohio State flys by!
Quick European Playoff Updates
-Nymburk fell to Bilbao Basket by a score of 57-49 in game one of the Eurocup Final 8 Playoffs on March 23rd. Ron Lewis led everyone with 17 points, but the home squad could not overcome Bilbao's fourth quarter blitzkrieg. Game two is the away matchup on March 31st. Nymburk would have to comfortably win to advance.
-While Nymburk & Bilbao are currently engaged in a two game format in the Eurocup, Olympiacos & Scoonie Penn are battling Polish Champs Asseco Prokom in a best of 5 series in the Euroleague final eight playoffs. Olympiacos has already taken two games in the series. Scoonie had 5 points & 4 assists in game one, but only put up one shot in game two (4 rebounds, 1 dime). Game three is on March. 30th.
-Two random Matt Marinchick (who is now back in the States) videos, Gameday & Dunk machine :)
- Kosta Koufos got recalled back up to the Utah Jazz late this past weekend following a successful week of D-League play. He received 14 minutes of gametime in Monday's victory against the Boston Celtics, scoring 4 points. (proving again that there is always light at the end of the tunnel)
-In what was just his forth European game ever, Othello Hunter scored 14 points versus Panathinaikos in defeat on 3.20.2010.
-Video: Rare footage footage from the now defunct Rocky Mountain Revue, the Utah based NBA Summer League similar to the annual Las Vegas Summer League. Coming off an NIT Championship, Buckeyes Othello Hunter & Kosta Koufos begin their rookie pro seasons with NBA Summer League Play. Both met up with each other in a late July 08 RMR contest between the Atlanta Hawks & Utah Jazz.
Othello played very well at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Revue, and in retrospect, that week & and a half stretch of basketball is probably what opened the door for him to enjoy his rookie season in the NBA. Hunter played with the (Hometown) Charlotte Bobcats SL team earlier that summer in Vegas, but rarely saw any action. Yet, he was able to get an opportunity with the Hawks Rocky Mountain Revue squad in Utah, where he started every game. The then 22 year old rookie, with just 2 years of D1 experience & six years of total basketball experience (did not play organized ball until jr. year of HS!) displayed nice potential, and would go on to eventually sign a rookie contract with the Atlanta Hawks. It's too bad the Revue is not in operation anymore..that is now one less place for guys to show what they can do.
Kosta Koufos was 19 at the time. Also included is a Rickey Paulding 3, he would go on to win a title with Je'Kel Foster later in the European Season.
(CEZ Nymburk celebrates Czech Cup Championship 3.20.2010 - Photos from CEZ Nymburk)
The victories keep piling up CEZ Basketball Nymburk. They captured the Czech Cup over the weekend, and now set their sights towards the Eurocup playoffs. CEZ arena will be packed today as Nymburk will host Bilbao Basket of the Spanish ACB. The Eurocup quarterfinals is played in a home & away format. In the event of a tie, the team with the better point differentials will advance. CEZ Nymburk has never been this far in the Eurocup competition, good luck guys!
“It is a different team that the one we faced last year, but keeping the same playing time, as they have the same coach as last season. Ron Lewis wasn't with Nymburk last season and he is an important player for them. He is a good scorer, either in one-on-one situations, fast breaks and open shots, a good physical player. They also added Phil Ricci, that provides consistency and toughness around the baskets. Nymburk also signed Pumprla, that adds athleticism, as well as Mike Lenzly as shooting guard and backup playmaker. He is an experienced player and a good shooter. We have to go out there to win the game without thinking on the second leg at home. People talk about an 80-minute game, but as face a tough 40-minute one tomorrow and our mentality will be to win it, not trying to get a good score."
Couple videos featuring one of our all-time favorites, Scoonie Penn.
-Scoonie returns to Olympiacos. Early January 2010 interview. Penn discusses his feelings on returning to the club, the 2007 Championship, and the passionate fans.
-Scoonie beats the 3rd quarter ending buzzer vs Partizan in Euroleague play (1.13.2010)
Second-year pro Jamar Butlerdeparted from Greek club Larissa in mid-March. He recently signed with a club called BC Igokea Partizan Aleksandrovac of the Bosnian League. Igokea currently leads the Bosnia and Herzegovina National league with a 19-2 record.
Jamar gained decent experience (stared the majority of 18 contests at around 30 mpg) in the Greek A1 League despite playing amidst a mess of a club with frequent player movement among other things. Larissa is far too out-manned in the depth department to consistently compete in Greece's top league. There was not muchafter Butler, & fellow Americans Christopher Massie, Devin Green, and German American Demond Greene.
We would be remiss not to mention Kosta Koufos' recent play with the Jazz affiliate, Utah Flash. Kosta has now played four games since being assigned to the D-League, and all four have been noteworthy performances. He's averaging 21 points, 12 rebounds, in around 34mpg so far. We got a chance to view two of the contests. What we saw was a player who was obviously more confident, especially with his offensive moves, Koufos displayed assertiveness & patience in the post. The big man could always run the floor well, but it seems like he is now really carrying his bulky frame well..at least better than the last time we saw him in extended minutes (Eurobasket 2009).
Out current evaluation/conclusion of Kosta Koufos is a good player who would prove to be better than he has shown in a different situation. We think he is ready to help some NBA teams offensively. But with Koufos & Byron Mullens, it's all about rebounding & defense right now. Can they adequately & consistently defend & board on the NBA level? (Koufos looks a little bit more aware defensively, his lateral quickness has improved, but still needs to get better) These questions will remain until they can prove otherwise. But it is nice to see Kosta getting playing time & responding. He's a good player who still has a nice future. More on Koufos
-Utah Flash Head Coach, Brad Jones on Koufos (DLeague Central)
The 'Microwave' Ivan Harris & the Erie Bayhawks will make their national cable debut (not everyone has NBATV) on the Versus Network this Saturday night (Mar. 20).
NBA D-League
-Game: Erie Bayhawks vs Dakota Wizards (2nd game in a back ton back. The first contest can also be viewed tonight on Futurecast)
1. CEZ Nymburk (33-3) 2. Novy Jicin (32-4) 3. BK Prostejov (30-6)
The defending champions of the Czech League are currently sitting pretty atop the NBL with a nice 33-3 record. Nymburk's advancement to the Eurocup quarterfinals has changed some of the dates of their NBL regular season games. The club has subsequently played games bunched together in the recent week to the tune of 3 games in the last six days. Their last win was a gritty victory over BK Decin on March 16th. Moreover, the ironman schedule will continue as the Czech Cup begins on Thursday March 18th. The Cup is a three day tournament outside of NBL league play that will feature the top 6 clubs in the country. Nymburk figures to win or at the least play for the Cup title..that would mean three straight games from Thursday to Saturday, and then they have a very important Eurocup game on Tuesday, March 23rd! This stretch will definitely be a unique mental & physical exercise for the Czech Republic's top squad. The NBL regular season will conclude in mid-april. Until then, Nymburk is probably a bit more concerned with the super playoff that is the Eurocup quarterfinals.
Oldenburg has been right with fellow German power Berlin at the top of the standings for months now. They are currently on a nice winning streak, and it is easy to understand why when you consider their team makeup & great chemistry. Like Nymburk, EWE's starting lineup is extremely balanced with multiple guys who are capable of contribution & support. You have the familiar guard lineup of Jason Gardner, Je'Kel Foster, and last years BBL Finals MVP Rickey Paulding, plus two very sound forwards in Marko & Perkovic. This core group has Eurochallenge, German Championship, & Euroleague experience. They will certainly not fold easily, and should be one of the favorites in the BBL playoffs. EWE's last victory was a road win over Paderborn, Foster led the squad with 14. The long German regular season will wrap up in late April/early May.
PAO 19-1 Olympiacos 17-3 Marousi 15-5 Panellinios 13-7
The reds are pretty much cruising through the Greek League. Now Greek heads would get upset if you call the A1 a two team league. But it's pretty much two rich clubs in PAO & Olympiacos, and everyone else. Marousi & Panellinios are both decent clubs, but they are not challenging to the top two squads. Right now, it is safe to say that Olympiacos has a bigger fish to fry, the Euroleague title..
Lugano tigers 22-4 SAV Vacallo 21-6 Starwings 20-8
We have not covered Brian Brown's new squad long enough to get a feel about their style. But the Lugano Tiger's league leading 22-4 record reveals a consistent winner. Buckeye Baller Brian Brown arrived in Lugano, Switzerland in early February. It looks like the New York native is getting more comfortable because his two best performances have came in the last two rounds. (last game 10 pts/7 assists, game before that 13 points, 4 assists) The Swiss regular season will conclude on March 24th. The Tigers will be the favorite to win the Swiss Championship, good luck Brian!
In Decent Shape(Teams who would be in if the regular season ended today)
1. Prokom 21-2 2, Anwil 21-3 3. Polpharma 18-6 4. Trefl Sopot 15-9 5. PGE Turow 14-10 6. AZS Koszalin 13-11 7. Polonia 11-13 8. Sokol Znicz 11-13 9. Energa Czarni 10-13 10. PBG Basket 10-14 11. Stal SW 8-16 12. SKK Kotwica 7-17 13. Polonia 2011 5-19 14. ISS Sportino 3-21 The Polish PLK is another underrated league that home to a lot of parity. AZS Koszalin, a team in the middle of the pack in the standings, is coming off a Polish Cup victory where they defeated some of the top squads in Poland. Most of these clubs can compete with each other, and every game from here on out in super heated. As we understand it, the top 12 teams will play in the PLK playoffs. AZS looks straight right now, but the regular season does not end until early April so we can expect many more intense contests.
Video from AZS's last game
As rotations grow shorter for the NBA Playoffs, we doubt that Byron Mullens & Kosta Koufos (you can even throw in Cook) will get any considerable time in the playoffs. But Mullens & Koufos should be major parts in the playoff runs for their D-League teams, Tulsa & Utah. The top 8 records make it to the D-League playoffs. Tulsa is in good shape if the season ended today, and Utah would just barely make the cut. The D-League schedule ends on March 31st.
1. Iowa 33-11 2. Rio Grande Valley 30 12 3. Sioux Falls 27-16 4. Austin 25 15 5. Maine 25-17 6. Tulsa 23 18 7. Dakota 24-19 8. Utah 22-20
Still Hoping (Teams making a push)
(Can the Erie Bayhawks & Memphis Grizzlies make miracle runs to the playoffs)
The Erie Bayhawks have kind of been out of post season talk all season long. But a 5 game winning streak by the two year old D-League franchise has some fans talking of a possible miracle birth into the playoffs. At 18-25, the Bayhawks would obviously need some help to catch Utah. But if there recent play is any indication, the final stretch should be pretty interesting for D-League fans.
The Memphis Grizzlies are in the same boat as the Bayhawks. They find themselves on the outside of Western Conference playoff picture, but still remain in striking distance to catch Portland for the final spot.
WNBA All everything, Katie Smith, will play for the Washington Mystics for the 2010 WNBA season! The former Buckeye great said all along that she definitely intended to play this season as long as health permitted (missed 2009 playoffs due to a back injury). And it looks like the 11 year veteran will be blessed with yet another season on the highest level of women's basketball. We would list all of her past career accolades, but that would literally take all night. Like Scoonie Penn, Smith does not need an introduction. To sum up her career, attitude & approach is to simply say she is a winner. Her desire to compete for championships is partly why she opted for free agency instead of playing for the Tulsa Shock. Smith will now join a Washington Mystics (led by former Duke hoopsta Alana Beard) club that reached the semi-finals of the eastern conference playoffs last season. Good luck Katie!
"I am really excited to be joining the Washington Mystics who are hungry for a championship. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the ownership group, coaches and staff and I feel that the transition will be a smooth one," said Smith. "I also look forward to playing in front of some of the best fans of the WNBA."
(Brief behinds the scenes look plus game highlights of AZS Koszalin's Polish Cup victory over Turow. Brought to us by George Reese productions! Koszalin is playing fantastic basketball right now. If there was a Mr. consistency award, it would have to go to George Reese, it's double figure buckets every game, all day...and Dante Swanson is a beast too.)
(NBA D-League: Byron Mullens, Ivan Harris, & KostaKoufos)
The news of a young prospect getting sent down to the NBA Development League usually elicits a hailstorm of opinions, most of which trend in the negative direction. Yet, for us it's cool because it means these guys will get some extended run in real games. After all, the actual development of the player should never get lost in any outside talk. Just how much 2nd year pro KostaKoufoshas improved is a mystery to everyone outside of the Utah Jazz franchise. The 21 year old center/forward has not played this season, and it is not hard to see why when you consider MemetOkur, a vet who possesses Koufos' skillset, a former all star in Boozer, & a beast of a PF in Paul Milsap. Add that with a strict coach & there is not much room in that front line rotation.
Koufos was first assigned to the D-League in late January. But he only played one game before being called back up by the Jazz for depth reasons. He actually played five minutes in the game vs the Kings on the day he was called up (Jan. 29). However, that just turned out to be a cruel tease of sorts because he would not even see that many total minutes for the entire next month.(grand total of 4 minsin the whole month of Feb. --yikes!) Who knows why the Jazz did not assign Kosta back to the D-League earlier, but for the young man there has to be a point where the player simply wants to play extends more than being with the team in the big leagues (and never playing). Koufos has missed a lot of game time this season, we would think now it's just about playing and improving his game.
We can not stress enough just how young he still is at age 21. It is sometimes tough for young players to find that consistency, and or definitive role on a good team. There are numerous cases, Shannon Brown with the Cavaliers immediately comes to mind. Dude looked lost..mainly because he barely got in games, and when he did he was thinking too much which made him a step slow. You can & will definitely improve practicing with NBA teams, but next to no game minutes will only get you so far.
-Koufos has scored just 6 points off 3 fgs from December to March. Here is one of the field goals. A left handed hook shot over fellow 2007 Mickie Ds All-American, Michael Beasley of the Miami Heat.
-Ivan Harris& the Erie Bayhawkshave had a disappointing second season. Not only did they enter this season without some key playes to last year's playoff team, it seems like they are swapping players every couple of weeks. Erie will not play in the playoffs this season, but they are currently playing quality basketball to the tune of a two game winning streak. Springfield's Ivan Harris scored 21 points in Erie's last victory. The Bayhawks will look to continue their success vs Albuquerque at 9m Friday night. (All D-League games can be watched live on futurecast)
-Also Saturday's Tulsa (rookie center Byron Mullens) vs Rio Grande game will be broadcasted on tape delay at 11:00pm on the national cable network 'Versus'.
CEZ Basketball Nymburk has advanced to the Eurocup Elite 8 for the first time in the club's history. Nymburk dropped their last game of the Top 16 to Telekom, but still finished 2nd in the group due to a tie breaker over Red Star Belgrade. The Czech champions turned Group L upside down when they went into the Serbia's historic Pionir Hall and thrashed Red Star by a score of 73-55on March 2nd. They entered today knowing that qualification to the next round was certain with a win over Turk Telekom, or a Red Star loss to Gran Caneria. The former did not occur, but a Gran Caneria blowout over Belgrade today officially sent Nymburk to the elite 8.#22 Ron Lewis has been pretty sharp in the month of March. He scored 17 points in the win over Red Star, 24 points in his last Czech League game, and another 17 point effort in the defeat vs Telekom.
CEZ Nymburk will now play in a mini home/away playoff series vs Spanish Power Bizkaia Bilbao. Congrats & good luck guys!
Club Fuerza Guinda de Nogales of the Mexican CIBACOPA announced the return of former Buckeye JJ Sullinger via their official webpage on March 8th. Sullinger played for Guinda in 2008 before moving on to Austria. He joins Tony Stockman (Brazil) as Buckeyes playing pro ball in Latin America. Good luck JJ!
-JJ Sullinger's Pro Timeline- courtesy of Eurobasket
-2006 August: San Antonio Spurs (NBA) mini camp -2006: Tulsa 66ers (D-League) preseason camp -2006-2007: Indiana Alley Cats (CBA,1rd(4), starting five), left in Feb.'07: 28g 19.6ppg 7.5rpg, then moved to Talk N Text Phone Pals (Philippines-PBA, starting five) -2007-2008: ASCO Slask Wroclaw (Poland-DBE, starting five), Polish League: 4 games: 8.8ppg, 2.5rpg; left in Nov.'07, in Jan.'08 moved to Spotter Leuven (Belgium-D1, starting five) -2008: In March signed at Fuerza Guinda Nogales (Mexico-CIBACOPA, starting five) -2008-2009: BSC Raiffeisen Furstenfeld Panthers (Austria-A Bundesliga, starting five): then moved to Albany Patroons (CBA): -2009: In February signed at Coca-Cola Tigers (Philippines-PBA, starting five): Fiesta Conf.: 5 games: 26.6ppg, 10.2rpg, http://www.latinbasket.com/Mexico/basketball.asp?NewsID=185912
Matt Marinchick (2001-2005), former Ohio State ball player, film critic, and music extraordinaire currently plays for Herfod in Germany's Regionalliga 2. Like so many other Buckeyes, Matt has used the world wide web to connect back with fans, friends & family. He has a youtube channel full of videos documenting some of his experiences overseas.
-After wrapping up National Cups, the stretch run of the regular season is now here for most leagues across the continent. Je'Kel Foster & EWE Baskets Oldenburg continued their winning ways in the German League with a 93-80 win over the NY Phantoms of Braunscheweig. Je'Kel had 21 points (5 of 6 from three point range), 3 rebounds & 3 assists. Oldenburg (18-6, tied for 2nd) is currently on a 3+ game winning streak, and they will need each and every W to keep pace with Alba Berlin (19-6) & Goettingen (18-6). The defending champs recently split in games with these two teams.
-alley oop from the last home game against Ludwigsburg.
Ron Lewis did his thing on March 6th as well with a 24 point effort in a W vs Opava. Nymburks holds an impressive 30-3 record in the Czech League, but are only up one game on 2nd place Novy Jicin, who is responsible for one of Nymburk's 3 NBL losses. The teams of Matt Terwilliger & Othello Hunter could not recapture the magic of the past week as Paderborn lost to the LTi 46ers & Ilisiakos got smacked pretty bad by an evidently angry Olympiakos team.
And finally, George Reese continued his All-Star heroics (hint hint) for AZS Koszalin with another solid performance..20 points, 6 rebounds & 2 steals in a super close 112-109 victory over Polonia 2010.
-video from their Polish Cup Championship celebration
Ahhh..March Basketball. For the true fans, it does not get any better than this time of the year. The Buckeyes are looking strong (actually they look like Big Ten Champions), and pro playoff races are starting to heat up worldwide.
Every possession, every foul, every timeout, and any other aspect of the game will count more to some degree. This is what it is about..seasoned teams coming together to win Championships. From meticulous film study to the most basic of calls by officials, it all will be looked at with more scrutiny & more pressure. This time of the year is home to those do or die moments that can bring stinging disappointment or the type of joy that cannot be put into words. This time of the year is home to a point where everything you have worked for builds to those clutch last moments that inevitably confirm what you about basketball. We say 'true' basketball fans, because while some may prefer the College/European style over the NBA, or vice verse, we think most can agree that a hot NCAA Tournament is always good for the sport. And the NBA playoffs are always hot in our view.
The 2009/2010 NBA Western Conference Season is currently seeing an unusual occurrence as someone has neglected to tell the Memphis Grizzlies that they are not supposed to be challenging for a playoff spot. The Grizz remain in striking distance to grab the 8th and final position. They have turned it around with All-Star Zach Randolf, whose team attitude and leadership has been nothing short of fantastic, Spanish center Marc Gasol, smooth Rudy Gay, SG OJ Mayo who has been nice this year, and of course the ever improving Mike Conley Jr. We have a tremendous amount of respect for th eyoung point guard out of Lawrence North HS. Some doubted his shooting ability, he proved them wrong. Some wondered if he could be an effective offensive threat, he proved them wrong. Mike is currently coming off a super strong back to back set where he led Memphis past New Orleans with a game high 26/7 & 5 steals, and then followed it up with a 14/8 assist game against Chicago (another W). #11 is averaging 17 & 6 in his last 5 games.
The Grizzlies will entertain the San Antonio Spurs tonight in the type of home game they have grown accustomed to taking. In March, these are the type of contests where there really is not an underdog. You are at home, and you expect to win. Lets see if Memphis can stay in this race.
Some quick hitters today before write about Nymburk's huge victory and preview the weekend contests.
Another European signing - Remember Velimir Radinovic? The seven foot center by way of Canada played at Ohio State from 2001 to 2004. V-Rad has been playing off & on in Europe since leaving the States, he has just recently signed with Mitteldeutscher BC Weissenfels (MBC) of the German League.
Another D-League Assignment - The Oklahoma City Thunder recently sent rookie big man Byron Mullens back down to the D-League for more seasoning. Byron got called up from his first D-League stint on Decenmber 28th, 2009. He has played in 12 NBA games since for a total of 56 minutes & 14 points. The center had a nice one handed alley oop dunk in his last game vs te Raptors on the 28th, we hope to obtain the footage of that.
Road to Recovery - Michael Reddundersent surgery to repair his ACL on Tuesday March 2nd. No word on the outcome, but we hope all went well.
Othello Hunter's profile on Eurobasket.com is now up, check it out.
-early/mid Feb. videos of former Buckeyes JJ Sullinger & Greg Oden. The Sullinger video is workout footage in Columbus (brought to us by Cityleaguehoops), JJ is hoping to be back on the court soon. And the Oden is an update on his knee where he should obviously be a little further along than the update from this clip. GO is passing some of his time off the court by taking some college courses at Portland State.
(Sullinger still rocks the familiar #0 jersey in Mexico )
