Talkbasket recently had a great feature with images of 10 basketball courts from around the world; from colorful courts in Berlin, abandoned courts in Chernobyl and Russia, to snow-covered courts in the Himalayas. Other courts featured include backboards (and sometimes even rims) from Germany, Singapore, Belize, Ukraine, El Salvador, Cambodia, and Mexico. Here’s a sampling of the [...]

How we relate to basketball is generally decided by where we grew up and what we are exposed to. In the United States, the obvious influences are the N.B.A. and college basketball.  And in Europe, the Euroleague competition is the highest form of basketball on that continent. But what if you were a basketball fanatic [...]

Playing in his homeland of Ukraine, Roman Gumenyuk is beginning to play better each game for the Pulsar Rivne team. The 21-year-old player is slowly becoming a force under the basket. When you weigh in at a hefty 107 kilograms (236 pounds) and stand at 2.2 meters (7’3”) tall, it’s not hard to take up [...]

Fadi El-Khatib‘s Visa was refused by the Belgium embassy, possibly putting an end to Cherkasi-Mavpi’s participation in the 2008 FIBA Eurocup Games (at least for now), the top men’s basketball tournament run by FIBA Europe. Cherkas-Mavpi, in a move of solidarity by it’s players (including former NBA player Martynas Andriuskevicius), the director, and the organization, [...]

Ukrainian star and former NBA player Stanislav (Slava) Medvedenko is considering retiring from basketball.  According to gpu-ua.info, the 28-year old Ukrainian cites the intense pain in his back from an injured herniated disc injury suffered in 2006 as the cause for his long absence from basketball.  And because of this injury, he may not be [...]

Fadi El-Khatib, aka the Tiger, dominated in his first game for Cherkazki Mavpi, a club that plays in the national league in Ukraine. Khatib scored 37 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, passsed for 5 assists and gathered 4 steals as Cherkazki Mavpi defeated Odissa 103-77. It was a tightly contested game despite the outcome, mainly [...]

Is Lebanese superstar Fadi El-Khatib headed to the Ukrainian league? He is, according to this thread in our forum. Fadi El-Khatib will reportedly travel to the city of Cherkasy in the Ukraine next week to discuss specifics with the Ukranian club Cherkaski Mavpi. Khatib’s contract is said to include a clause that allows the former [...]