Then & Now: 2006 Roundball Classic & Jared Sullinger's HS Farewell Tour

(Meet Jared Sullinger)

Then & Now: Buckeye super recruit Jared Sullinger is universally recognized as the top post player in the class of 2010. The Naismith Award winning power forward/center wrapped up his illustrious High School Career in the Spring of 2010. He first played in the McDonald's All-American Game in Columbus, Ohio where he won MVP. Jared then participated with Team USA for the first time at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland Oregon. Following Team USA's victory over the World Select squad, Sullinger & other All-Stars would then travel to the big apple for the Jordan Brand Classic.

Jared Sullinger's Highschool farewell tour definitely reminded us of Greg Oden & the famed 'Thad Five' Class. Oden also won the prestigious Naismith (Nation's top player) award, and at one point was thought of as the number one amateur prospect in the World. After winnings his 3rd straight Indiana State Title with Lawrence North High, Greg played his 2006 All-Star schedule while nursing a wrist injury. The man really did not have to play in these games, but he was not about to miss out on the some of the last games with his high school peers. Oden missed the Indiana vs Kentucky Sr All-Star Game, and the Jordan Brand Classic., but he did participate in the 2006 McDonald's All-American game in San Diego, California.

Greg Oden's final high school game took place in Chicago on April 9th at the 2006 Reebok Roundball Classic. He joined his high school & AAU teammates Mike Conley Jr., & Daequan Cook, as well as another future Ohio State teammate in David Lighty out of Cleveland. This was the first game where the 3 Indy Spiece Heat got to play with Lighty, all four were in the starting lineup & pretty much wrecked it (a prelude to what they would do at O-State the next season). We recorded the game off CSTV in 2006 & realized a couple years ago that nobody put any highlights online...so this is like the World Premier of the 2006 Roundball Classic yo :)

- (Then & Now videos Greg Oden & Jared Sullinger)

-2006 Roundball Classic featuring Greg Oden, Daequan Cook, David Light & Mike Conley Jr.

-Greg Oden: 2006 MickeyDs All-American Short




Check out this great interview with Jared Sullinger on ESPN First Take. Click here!

-Highlights of Buckeye recruits Jared Sullinger & Deshaun Thomas at the 2010 McDonald's All-American game in Columbus.




-Sullinger MVP Video by Cityleaguehoops



Ballislife interview before the Nike Hoop Summitt



- ill Nike Hoop Summit mix by Ballislife


Find more videos like this on BALL IS LIFE

- Jordan Classic Mix

Germany - Oldenburg Keeps Pace for #1 Seed With Two Weekend Victories! (Videos!)

(#8 Je'Kel Foster aka The Real MVP)

The defending Champion EWE Baskets (24-8) of Oldenburg, Germany kept pace with Alba Berlin (23-9) for the top seed of the German League playoffs with two weekend victories. Oldenburg first crushed MBC by a score of 71-46 on April 23rd. The Thunderbirds then defeated Rationpharm ULM in a 90-88 thriller in EWE Arena on April 25th.

Buckeye guard Je'Kel Foster led the club with 19 points to go with 2 rebounds, & 2 assists (5-5 from the ft line) Rickey Paulding out of Missouri joined Je'Kel & three other Oldenburg players in double figure scoring with 16 points. Both Foster & Paulding played over 40 minutes vs Ratiopharm.

The 2008/2009 German Champs began their journey back in October of 2009, and the regular season will finally come to a close on the 1st of May in Bonn vs Telekom. Oldenburg played an unprecedented season which included eight Euroleague games and a long Bundesliga season where they took the best shot from every club.

EWE now wants to finish in strong playoff form before getting a quick rest prior to their title defense. Oldenburg & Alba Berlin have been atop the BBL standings all season long, but their may be 3 or 4 teams in total capable of challenging for the title. It is going to be very difficult for EWE Baskets to repeat, but we would not be surprised if they did of course.

Je'Kel Foster was voted & named to the All Bundesliga 2nd Team in mid April! He also received the 3rd most votes for German Regular Season MVP. Fellow American shooting guard Julius Jenkins won (pictured left with the people's MVP)

Video - Icewater in the veins..Foster knocks down free throws to close out Ratiopharm!



- clips of Oldenburg vs the NY Phantoms on March 6th, JK had 21 pts in this game. The German heads are coming through with the clips!



-Video footage of Oldenburg At the Artland Dragons on March 4th. No game footage just the warmups. This gives you an idea of the road atmosphere the Champs endured all season long. The best players are able to tune out the outside noise & perform in any setting.

Quick Hitters (More Weekend Results)

(#42 Matt Terwilliger)

(Some more recent results from the weekend & past rounds)

4.17.2010 - Paderborn Baskets 84 at MBC 88 (German Bundesliga)

Matt Terwilliger - 10pts, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

Vladimir Radinovic - 10pts, 5 rebounds, 1 steal

4.17.2010 - Olympiacos 87 at VAP Kolossos 79 (Greek A1 League)
Scoonie Penn - 11pts, 2 assists, 1 steal

4.25.2010 - Umana Reyer 77 vs Aget IM 67 (Italian Lega2)

Brent Darby - 6pts, 2 assists, 1 steal

4.25.2010 - Paderborn Baskets 66 vs Brose Baskets Bamberg 78 (German Bundesliga)

Matt Terwilliger - 7 points, 7 rebounds,

Greece - Othello Hunter & Warren Carter Lead Ilisiakos Past Peristeri GS

(Othello Hunter looks on as Warren Carter battles for the ball)

(Othello Hunter & Greek teammate Nikos Chatzis)

4.25.2010 - Ilisiakos 76 Peristeri 72 (Greek League Regular Season)

Othello Hunter - 17 rebounds, 15 points, 3 steals, 1 block!

The 2010 Greek League regular season is now one round away from wrapping up. Olympiacos & Panathinaikos are the top two teams in the A1 standings..what else is new? Buckeye Othello Hunter arrived in Greece in late February to join struggling Ilisiakos. The former Atlanta Hawk immediately got a crash course on high level ball European play in his first month of international play. O's first career European games were against Greek powers Marousi BC, Olympiacos BC, PAOK, & champion Panathinaikos in consecutive weeks. Hunter saw some ups & downs in his early adaptation period to the European style. However, his quick aptitude has already led some nice performances (Stats).His most recent display of beastliness was a monster 15 points, 17 rebound effort vs Peristeri on April 25th.

While Ilisiakos is out of the Greek playoff race, they still face pressure to win their last games to avoid regulation to the Greek B league. Many countries have levels or divisions of basketball. Often times one basketball federation will oversee all of the domestic divisions. How it works most of the time is the worst two or three clubs in the top national league will get regulated to the 2nd best league, and a top team or two from the B league will get a chance with the big boys. All season long Ilisiakos has been lead by Americans Vonteego Cummings & former Fightin' Illini Warren Carter. Carter helped Hunter out inside vs Peristeri with 15 points, 8 rebounds, & two blocks.

Warren Carter recently wrote an interesting blog piece about his experience in Europe & with Ilisiakos. It serves as a bit of insight on what Othello is experiencing in terms of the on court adjustment & crowd atmosphere. Hunter will play his last game of the season on April 28th vs AEK (we'll have more in his season review)

Later today - Oldenburg update plus videos galore

The Lugano Tigers Advance to the Swiss Semi-Finals! Nymburk Rolls Over BC Kolin in Game 1 of Czech Playoffs

(Brian Brown Circa 2010 - Swiss League Playoffs)

4.24.2010 - Lugano Tigers 96 at Geneva Devils 84 (Swiss League Playoffs - Quarterfinals Game 3 - Lugano Advances)

Former Buckeye guard Brian Brown may be in the middle of a run that could result in his first career Pro Championship. Like his former OSU teammate Scoonie Penn, Brown currently finds himself with the opportunity to win a league title in the latter stage of his career after coming close in past years. The near ten year veteran (pro years) from Brooklyn, New York has played pro ball in the States, Germany, Poland, France & now Switzerland. He made the German League semi-finals with Telekom Baskets Bonn in 2003, & the D-League semi-finals with the Fayetteville Patriots in 2004. Brian has also played in two German League All-Star games in 2005 & 2006..earning MVP in the latter year.

A league title would be a nice additional accomplishment to his solid career. The combo guard got one step closer to the ultimate prize this weekend when his Lugano Tigers advanced to the LNBA (Switzerland) Semi-Finals. The regular season champion Tigers met up with the 8th seeded Geneva Devils in round one of the 2010 Swiss playoffs. Lugano cruised past Geneva in two easy home court victories to go up 2-0. They would later close out the Devils on the road in game 3 by a score of 96-84 (4.24.2010) Brian Brown contributed 11 points in game one, 8pts in game two, and 7 points in game 3. The Tigers now await the winner of the Starwings/BBC Nyon series for the semi-finals round.

- Swiss League Playoff overview

(Ron Lewis throws it down vs Kolin - 2010 NBL Playoffs - Image CEZ Basket)

4.24.2010 - CEZ Nymburk 105 vs BC Kolin 61 (Czech Republic Playoffs - Quarterfinals Game One)

Championship Time: The reigning Czech League Champions, CEZ Nymburk began defense of their crown on April 24th vs 8 seed BC Kolin. The Czech NBL has the familiar eight team, 3 round format for their playoff tournament. Nymburk destroyed BC Kolin in a 105-61 opening game blowout. (Ron Lewis 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, a couple nice dunks) We watched most of the game, & it frankly resembled many of their regular season routes. We think Nymburk's main challengers for the title will inevitably end up being their season long rivals BK Prostejov & Novy Jicin. Fortunately for CEZ, the bracket setup means they will only have to face one of those squads on the trail to their Championship. There will definitely be clips of Nymburk's playoff run.

- Czech League Playoffs overview

(Game Two - CEZ Nymburk at BC Kolin 4.28.2010)

Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs (State of the Buckeyes)

(Rookie Byron Mullens & Kosta Koufos have both experienced on court playoff action)

The opening week of the 2010 NBA playoffs has concluded, and the action has been exciting & entertaining as expected. But as we watch clubs like Portland & Milwaukee hold their own so far, we can not help but lament the absences of Buckeyes Greg Oden & Michael Redd. If healthy, both would have had notable roles in their teams' playoff runs. It is tough for us just as fans, so we can not even imagine how it must be for two big time competitors like Mike & Greg. Only time will tell how these guys will bounce back from the injuries. It seems like the Blazer's confidence in Oden remains fairly strong. Redd on the other hand might see a more murky situation next season. #22 will not only have to physically rehab this summer, but also mentally prepare for a diminished role with Milwaukee or possibly a new club altogether.

Speaking of bouncing back, SG Daequan Cook will be one tough minded pro if he can bounce back from this season in the 2010/2011 run..because he simply did not get enough playing time to really get better this season. The minutes disparity from last season to the present is partly a result of the addition of Quentin Richardson & emergence of Dorrell Wright. And while Quan has shown some flashes in the limited time this season, his shot has largely been inconsistent, and we guess (nobody really knows except the coaches who see him in practice everyday) he has not significantly improved other areas in his game to warrant rotation minutes. But with that in mind, it's been pretty wild lately..no PT at all in recent weeks. Even some Heat fans, who have not exactly had great sympathy are wondering what is up. Evidently it would kill Head Coach Erick Spoelstra to try Cook. Could #31 be that much worse than Q-Rich on D? And Wade barely has help on O..if any..

Daequan will have to work super hard this upcoming summer. In the meantime, he's been apparently learning Spanish from Carlos Arroyo :) (NBA commerical)




With Mike Conley Jr. missing the playoffs, Oden & Redd sidelined, and Cook not getting any love from the PT gods, the only two Buckeyes to see playoff action are the two young centers Kosta Koufos & Byron Mullens (almost ironic when consider all the criticism these two endured). Koufos was called upon to fill Utah front line depth following an injury to Memet Okur. Koufos is another example of why you have always have to ready irregardless of situation. The big man out of Canton has not seen much action on NBA courts this season, but he now will have to be ready to perform at a playoff level if Boozer, and or Milsap get into foul trouble. Any positive contribution should be a great boost for Kost's confidence going into next season.

Rookie Byron Mullens received his first career playoff minutes in Oklahoma City's game 4 blowout of the Lakers. Mullens came in with about four minutes to go in the 4 quarter. He missed a couple jumpers and knocked down a free throw shot. Byron started the month of April with the Tulsa 66ers. He was solid in the D-League playoffs before being recalled back up to the Thunder prior to the NBA playoffs. Anything from here on out will be gravy on what has been a decent rookie season for Mullens. Hopefully the young center can build on this season, and push towards possibly stealing some rotation minutes on a good young Thunder team next year.

(the video below shows Koufos hitting a shot in the 4th quarter of game 2 vs Denver. He has some choice words afterwords..lol)

Poland - AZS Koszalin Advances to the PLK Quarterfinals! (George Reese Short + All Star Weekend Video!!)

(George Reese: Image - Jacek - Koszalin)

4.19.2010 - AZS Koszalin 84 - Stal SW 80 (Poland: PLK Playoffs 1/8 Finals Game One)

(George Reese: 23 pts, 9 rebounds, 2 steals!)

4.20.2010 - AZS Koszalin 108 Stal SW 83 (Poland: PLK Playoffs 1/8 Finals Game Two)

(George Reese: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks!)

The 2010 PLK Playoffs should prove to be one of the more exciting tournaments in Europe (atmosphere & competitiveness). In Poland the top 12 teams from the regular season earn playoff berths with the first four G enjoying first round byes. Buckeye George Reese & AZS Koszalin finished the PLK Regular season with a sixth place 15-11 record. The 2010 Polish Cup Champions have already advanced to the Quarterfinals following two recent round one victories over Stal SW. George Reese's game high 23 points fueled lifted Koszalin in a tough 84-80 Game #1 W (April 19th). #9 would receive more help in game #2 as Koszalin players scored in double figures to close out Stal on April 20th (108-83)..the fiery forward contributed 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, & evidently a technical foul almost put his next playoff game in jeopardy.

-Two brand new video releases-

(George Reese Short - 2009/2010 clips & a brand new release from #9 himself, exclusive VIP footage of the 2010 PLK All-Star festivities!)

Switzerland - Brian Brown & The Lugano Tigers Hammer Geneva in Opening Playoff Contest

4.17.2010 - Lugano Tigers 92 Geneva Devils 59 (Switzerland - LNA Playoffs - Quarterfinals Game One)

The 2010 playoff season has already begun in the country of Switzerland. The LNA Championship Tournament consists of the league's top eight teams (Quarterfinals: Best of Five Series). The favorites to take the 2010 Swiss crown are last year's Champions SAV Vacallo (24-6 regular season), Fridbourg (21 - 9), and the 2009/2010 Regular Season LNA Champion Lugano Tigers (26-4).

The Tigers boast one of the deepest rosters in Switzerland. In recent months former Buckeye guard Brian Brown has established himself as a dependable reserve scorer for the club. The shooting guard is averaging 13 pts/4 assists (just 18 mpg) in his last 4 games including 18 points on April 3rd & 11 pts in Lugano's 92-59 demolition of Geneva in game one of the playoffs. Lugano will host Geneva again for Game two on Wednesday April 21st. The series will then swing back to Geneva for Game 3 on the 24th.



Lugano Tigers vs Geneva Devils - Playoff Schedule.

Latin America - (Brazil) Untimely Injury Sidelines Tony Stockman. (Mexico) Guinda Nogales Searches for Consistency

(Tony Stockman)

(Brazil)

Brazilian club Vivo/Franca suffered a big blow when former Buckeye Tony Stockman broke his hand in practice on April 7th. The 2010 Brazilian League All-Star's setback occurred right before a pre-playoff tournament in Argentina. With Stockman out (4/5 weeks), Franca will now look to advance in their opening round of play in hopes of getting Tony back for the semi-finals. Stockman was recently named as Import Player of the Year by Latinbasket.com & Blog Cesta Certa. In addition to these honors, Tony Stockman will also be inducted into the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame in June 2010. Congrats and good luck with the recovery!

Stockmanbasketball.com

(JJ Sullinger)

(Mexico)

Fuerza Guinda Nogales got off to a nice 7-3 l start, but injury attrition prevented the club from staying on top of the CIBACOPA. They lost former Big Ten Champion JJ Sullinger & Joesph Tyrozic to injuries in late March. JJ returned about a week into April, and Tyrozic was replaced with Blake Walker. But Nogales has yet to capture some of the early season consistency they possessed. They are currently 4th in Cibacopa standings with a 10-8 record. Their last game was a narrow 72-70 defeat at the hands Mazatlan (Sullinger 13 points, 8 boards) #0 has already scored over 35 points twice!

JJ Sullinger Stats

-Youtube video by Guinda...has a couple clips of JJ, first one is right before the 1:00 minute mark. (JJ is #0..he's seen with & without the headband in these clips..oh yeah disregard the add before the video lol.)

Video Gauntlet - Greg Oden, Evan Turner, Mike Conley, & Daequan Cook

(#52 Greg Oden)

-Video Gauntlet-

(The latest episode of On the Go with Greg Oden. This is probably the best to date, we hear Greg's take on driving. Some Evan Turner videos of the last couple weeks, and a couple crazy shots from Mike Conley Jr. & Daequan Cook..pretty self explanatory. European & Latin American Updates coming up later today!)





Evan Turner Wins 2010 Naismith Award
Uploaded by BuckeyeBallersTV. - More hot vids from BuckeyeBallers!


Evan Turner Turns Pro
Uploaded by BuckeyeBallersTV. - Check out more hot vids from BuckeyeBallers!

(Throwback Vid) Clark Kellogg #8th Pick at the 1982 Draft

(Special K)

As 2010 Player of the Year Evan Turner prepares for the NBA Draft, we will post throwback draft related videos of former Buckeyes leading up to the 2010 NBA Draft. Old videos are always interesting for memory sake, and or if the setting happens to take place before your time. Those who are not very familiar with Buckeye History, time to step your game up! starting now..

-Video-

Junior Clark Kellogg becomes the 8th overall pick of the Indiana Pacers at the 1982 NBA Draft. (Al Albert & Lou Carnesecca hosting, Eddie Doucette on the interview.)

So lets see, seasoned Junior, quality young man, dominated College, NBA Ready..sounds like another Ohio State Junior :) It should & will be reiterated again and again, hard work, a good attitude & professional approach will most likely lead to success, Clark Kellog is yet another example.

4.14.2010 - Memphis at Oklahoma City - ESPN 8PM (Conley's Season Finale!) Plus Recent Videos

(Art by Regulator317)

Mike Conley Jr. & the Memphis Grizzlies (40-41) will close out their 2009/2010 NBA season in a Nationally televised (ESPN 8PM EST) road game against the playoff bound Oklahoma City Thunder (49-32). In our minds, this can definitely be called a positive season for Memphis. At one point the Grizz were realistically challenging for a Western Conference Playoff spot, but in the end too many rough stretches prevented the young squad from contending. They knew the March & April schedule would be difficult, and the situation became even more improbable when Memphis lost starting center Mark Gasol in late March...(2-8 in last 10 games)..Perhaps a strong season finale on national television could bring a therapeutic aura of confidence for next season?

The Wednesday night ESPN game will give us one last look at pg Mike Conley's rock solid game for the 09/2010 season. #11 has simply been killing Spring 2010. He had 13 double figure scoring games in month of March, including two double doubles. April? No problem..he has scored at least 14 points in every game this month so far (7) - Last two games: 22 vs Denver & 23 vs Philly. We will have more on Mike Conley Jr. in our player by player season reviews later this season.

-Videos-

Nice mix "Head to the Ground" by a big Memphis Grizzlies & Bone Thugs N Harmony fan Joandre. This guy has to be either one of the Grizzlies' camera guys or has the inside hookup because these are the pro angles with the exclusive type stock footage..super jealous!..nice use of the piano intro to lead in the track.



Some clips from the last two contests vs Denver & Philly. Mike has a nice steal to a buzzer beating 3 vs the Sixers.

The Kid Has Entered The Show - Evan Turner Declares for the NBA Draft!

(ET with his AP trophy:via AP wiretap)

**Edited 11:13 pm**

http://blog.dispatch.com/hoopsscoops/2010/04/turner_to_enter_nba_draft.shtml

Evan Turner, the consensus Player of the Year for the 2009/2010 NCAA season has announced his intentions to enter the 2010 NBA Draft. The scintillating point forward revealed his decision alongside Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matt in a mid day press conference on April 7th. While it will be sad to see ET leave Columbus, the realization of dream a coming true is great to see, especially for a quality young man like Evan Turner. #21 is yet another example of what you can accomplish with hard work, and a strong passion for the game. His game & draft look will be analyzed by many for weeks, this is short & sweet..this is the time to simply celebrate one of the best to ever play at The Ohio State University. Evan Turner.."The Next"..

Team check - KK Igokea - Bosnia (Jamar Butler)

(The Iceman - Jamar Butler)

Quick rundown

Jamar Butler

Position: Point guard extraordinaire/versatile enough to play off guard if need be

Years Pro: 2

Teams: 4 - Eldo Caserta in Italy, a squad in Turkey (Rookie Year), Olympia Larissa in Greece, and nowKK Igokea in Bosnia (2nd year)

Former Buckeye Champ Jamar Butler joined KK Igokea (Bosnia) in March. English coverage of the Bosnian League is scare, but the team's official website is good for game by game updates as well as images. Igokea is one of the best teams Bosnia and Herzegovina League, they recently acquired some big additions to help win the second leg of the regular season (currently 2-2). In addition to signing Butler, Igokea also added Lavell Blanchard (Michigan), and in a cool twist, post player Christopher Massie (Michigan), Butler's teammate at Larissa. These two already have chemistry together, similar to Ron Lewis & Phil Ricci (both moved from Isreal to the same Czech squad). Hopefully some video emerges of KK Igokea so we can see Jamar Butler back in action.

(Video!) CEZ Nymburk 2010 Czech Cup Champions - Ron Lewis, Arthur Lee

(CEZ Basketball Nymburk - Get familiar)

All season it has been about our triple threat of European teams in Oldenburg, Nymburk & Koszalin with the two favorites Je'Kel Foster, Ron Lewis, and of course George Reese in Poland. All three have been putting in major work for three teams that play at a high level. In early march we saw Reese and AZS Koszalin celebrate a thrilling Polish Cup Title. And now we have video of a another former Buckeye, Ron Lewis & his club getting in done in the late March Czech Cup Tournament. We have definitely enjoyed watching Nymburk march through the NBL, as well as their super nice run in the Eurocup. As noted many times before, they have a nice core of Czech players, older and younger, to go with their products of NCAA basketball led by Arthur Lee, Phil Ricci, Mike Lenzly & #22 Ron Lewis.

-Team Video Style, but features Arthur Lee + Ron Lewis

CEZ Nymburk Czech Cup Champions, some highlights from the semi final game against Prostov & the final vs Jicin. Arthur Lee did work in the semi final, had a real nice drive to seal the victory. Something crazy occurred in the finals. Ron Lewis was just being Ron Lewis and banged so hard that he accidentally ripped the net! It ended up causing a 15 to 20 minute delay, but once play resumed Nymburk took control and won the cup. Even included some of the celebration to see how Nymburk does it.

Elite Company: tOSU's Clark Kellogg & President Obama! (4.1.2010)

(Awesome no matter how you slice it!)

Okay, so we have the top High School player coming in next season, the current best player in College Basketball & the next..opps..to be continued :), and now..a former Buckeye great just happens to be shooting hoops with the President of the United States on one of his off days. Yeah, that is just how the Bucks do it. You've probably already seen this clip of Clark Kellogg playing President Barack Obama in a friendly game of (P.O.T.U.S) They met on April 1st for the recording which was shown on National television during the Butler/MSU halftime show.

A couple of Clark's shots leading up to his last looked a little suspect lol. He should have known not to give the President an opening, we all know Obama was a hooper back in the day.





-Excellent clip of Clark reflecting on his career among other things with guys around the Pacers franchise. Kellogg is currently the lead NCAA B-ball analyst on CBS. He was able to get a bevy of seasoning by calling Indiana Pacer games over the years. We love his overall positive attitude..his "glass half-full" approach is one that we ideally follow as well.

2009 Rookie Class Video - Byron Mullens (D-League Playoffs 4.8.2010)

-2010 Rookie Class: Byron Mullens

-Age 21

-Games Played As of today: Oklahoma City (NBA) 12 Tulsa (D-League) 27

-11 double figure scoring games in March 2010, including four 21+ point games

-First Pro career playoff game: (4.8.2010) Tulsa vs Sioux Falls (1:30pm)



After another interesting D-League regular season, the 2010 playoffs are here. Rookie center Byron Mullens and the Tulsa 66ers (27-23) secured the 8th & final playoff spot. They will play Sioux Falls (32-18) on Thursday April 8th during the day at 1:30pm (Round One - best 2 of 3 series)

Tulsa is a solid D-League club with talent worth taking a peek at. Familiar names Mustafa Shakur from Arizona & Deron Washington out of Va Tech have put in a lot of work for the team all year. Devon Hardin from Cal & Moses Ehambe (Oral Roberts) contribute..you also have Latvious Williams, the first player to go straight from high school to the D-League. The 66ers have also enjoyed the off and on services of Oklahoma City Thunder assignees Byron Mullens, Kyle Weaver, and DJ White throughout the season as well. Mullens has somewhat quietly come into his own in the D-League, averaging 15 points & 8 rebounds a game. He is coming off a monster March where you could just see the confidence rising.

Looking past the early draft entry, and the what if game. You can say this has indeed been a positive year in Mullen's development. He got warmly welcomed by an up & coming franchise that is mindful of his down the road capability (and willing to give him time). Byron has received ample minutes of experience in the D-League, playing against talented guys his size. OKC recalled Mullens a couple times & rewarded his play with game time action (which can be seen in this video), and when BJ wasn't playing, he was able to soak in atmosphere around a winning team.

The major story of his rookie development is perhaps a reliable jumper that now extends even to 3 point range. Mullens' soft touch for a big guy can make for some pretty plays when he aggressively converts. He's athletic with a nice developing finesse game (can hit the open J, fadeaway from guys with ease, hook shot sometimes)..but we think the next step for this summer is to simply get naturally stronger (which will especially help on defense) The young center must now attempt to shake off the physical & mental fatigue of the longest season of his career..he's got a playoff game to play..

(Some 2010 clips)

Final 4 Flashback Videos

(Mike Redd, George Reese, Big Ken behind Coach, Scoonie up front & a young Brian Brown in back right)

Each year the NCAA Tournament brings back memories of the great moments from the past. Every Tournament victory is huge & stands on its own..Buckeye fans should especially cherish each & every March victory after enduring some droughts in between runs over the years. All teams strive to ultimately win the National Title, something the 1960 Ohio Team did. But folks not around during that time might look back more fondly on teams from the current era. The early success by former Head Coach Jim O'Brien made for an incredible run in 1999. We would go on to discover how hard it is to return to that level in the proceeding years, even failing to make the dance in 2003. The 2005/2006 brought home the first NCAA tourney win since 2002 (Davidson in Dayton), paving the way for the fantastic run tot he National Title game a year later.

-Videos

1. The final minutes of the Elite 8 clash vs a great St. Johns team (South Region 1999)

(The 4 Horsemen - Mike Conley, Ron Lewis, Greg Oden, & David Lighty)

2. Two news segments followed up by the starting lineups for the 2007 Final Game between Ohio State & Georgetown (Great setting for a heavily hyped contest - 2007 Atlanta)

Olympiacos Advances to the Euroleague Final 4! (Scoonie Interview!) Nymburk Closes Eurocup Play With Victory in Spain

(James Penn strips the ball from a Prokom player: Image - Baloncesto)

-4.1.2010: Olympiacos 86 Asseco Prokom 70 (Euroleague Playoffs)

Greek Club Olympiacos advanced to the 2010 Euroleague Final 4 in Paris, France with an 86-70 series clinching win over Asseco Prokom in Gydnia, Poland. The Reds took the first two contests of the 5 game series in Athens. Prokom prevented the clean sweep by winning Game 3 at home in Poland. But Olympiacos' depth of talent proved to be too much in the end as they would have four players score in double figures (led by 22 from Josh Childress) en route to the Game 4 victory.


Olympiacos will reach the Euroleague Final Four for the second season in a row. They join Spanish power Regal Barcelona, Russian stronghold of CSKA Moscow, and are matched up against Partizan of Belgrade, Serbia. Olympiacos had Partizan in their opening Euroleague grouping, they split the two game setup, winning at home & losing in Belgrade.

This will be the first Euroleague Final 4 for reserve guard Scoonie Penn. The former Buckeye has played in 6 Euroleague seasons, but has not quite made it this far in his illustrious career. And speaking of Scoonie's career, Penn conducted a short interview with Red Planet in Poland right after the victory..he talks about the game, heading to the final 4, and how he feels like he can still go a couple more years!

With the Euroleague Final 4 not beginning until May 7th, Olympiacos now has a chance to chill a little bit and put sole focus on the Greek Championship in the month April. Good luck guys!



-Video interview before Game 4



-throwback video from late 2007, EuroleagueTV interview with Scoonie when he was with Euroleague team Efes Pilsen (Turkey)In this video Penn talks about how he wants to make it to the final 4 really bad. Well he did not do it with Efes in Turkey, but he eventually got there a couple years later. You never know when an opportunity might come up down the line, especially if you are a great pro such as Scoonie who has established lasting relationships.

-3.31.2010 CEZ Nymburk 52 Bilbao Basket 46 (Spain - Eurocup Playoffs Game 2)

CEZ Basketball Nymburk closed out Eurocup play on a high note with a road victory (in Spain) over Bilbao Basket. Arthur Lee led Nymburk with 12 points, followed by Petr Benda's 10. Ron Lewis scored 5 points & 2 assists in the defensive struggle. CEZ won the final game, but lost the two game series (should be best 2 of 3!) due to the point differential technicality.

Nymburk lost at home in game one by 12 points. So that means the Czech Champs missed a shot at the final 4 & Triple Crown (winning your national cup, European tournament, and league championship) by measly 6 points! However, Nymburk can favorably look back on 2009/2010 Eurocup season as a historic journey. They made it to the Eurocup Quarterfinals for the first time in club history, followed that up by making the Elite 8. Moreover, they were able to capture lasting victories in countries such as Spain, Serbia & Turkey.

Like Je'Kel Foster (Eurochallenge, Euroleague), Guard Ron Lewis established himself as a formidable threat on the European level (meaning the big competitions that span countries like Eurocup/Euroleague). He entered new environments, & played against storied clubs with some players with NBA & Euroleague experience. Lew's biggest Eurocup scoring outputs were against BK Venstpils (22 & 23 in two games), but perhaps his best performances were at Red Star Belgrade (17 in a crucial game), and game one vs Bilbao (17 in defeat). Nymburk will now concentrate on bringing home another Czech League Title.