S
sime0n2
Guest
Why isn't GB a lock for 2012 as hosts?
Tough blow for Great Britain, especially with Deng, he is the consumate team player and can do so many things on the floor. How is GB's backcourt looking? With Archibald, Pops, and Freeland, their frontcourt is looking good... it's all about chemistry though.
Stuart
They are.Why isn't GB a lock for 2012 as hosts?
With Deng and Gordon I think GB could have taken Serbia, an outside shot at Slovenia and no chance with Spain
Without them, no chance with Spain, no chance with Slovenia and an outside shot at Serbia
Hope i am wrong and sometimes the underdog has its day.
Sometimes big names means success, but they ain't guaranty for it.
Be optimistic, anything can happen...somebody in the predictions thread sincerely believes that Turkey would reach the final. Why not if they play well on key games.The only player to do so is, scratch "is", was Dirk. Deng and Gordon are decent players, commanding x amount of monies in nba but with no pedigree playing in Europe.
Paul, I agree with a) and I agree with b) as well.
I would even have a slight ray of optimism of getting through to quarterfinals, but don’t ask me how–still, there is always a chance. But I wouldn’t bet my money on this. What I would bet is GB loosing by certain amount of points
Anyway, are you coming to O2 to watch GB?
I am still hoping to make at least one day
Be optimistic, anything can happen...
I somehow aggreePG
Gordon
Deng
Mensah-Bonsu
Archibald / Freeland / Betts
Is not such a bad team. I agree with you completely about exprience and even with the NBA guys it would still be tough, that is what I was saying, we only had a chance.
Now I fear that chance is gone. Maybe in a different group the chance would be a little better, for example with a Dirk Nowitzki-less Germany and Kirilenko-less Russia
But, we have already won something and that is respect for reaching Division A so quickly and also qualifying for a major tournament at the very first time of asking
True. But, you see, I am not British, I just happen to live here. And as a matter of fact I want them to do well. And it is not conflicting as well – you can name any sport and bet it has more funding here than basketball, the game I like. So GB doing well means there should be more moneys available ,more teams to watch.
The very first question new people I meet ask me here – what team do you support, meaning football. I don’t. So it is not very surprising I sit on my own in the pub
I somehow aggree
In the group stage, there are always chances for thin teams to beat a better team (even then, of course, England would still be a serious underdog against every single team in their group). But, in the knock-out stage, it becomes more obvious that depth, experience and decision making is what qualifies. And the PG position is clearly the most important one in the international ball
I agreeWardjdim, it's not England it's GB!
I agree
Weird thing. Very weird. In football, they are England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. In basketball, they are one![]()
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_U6wUMF0aGm-VBlr7mk9sc3.articleMode_on.container_frontpage.htmlVanderbeken Committed To Great Britain
Jamie Vanderbeken has committed his future to Great Britain after being named in Chris Finch's initial 17-man EuroBasket squad last week.
The Canadian center qualifies for GB through his Scottish mother, and said he happy to pass up the chance to play for Canada in order to launch his international career immediately and try to help GB towards their goal of playing on home soil at the 2012 London Olympics.
"Even if I don't make (the final 12-man squad), the competition I'll be playing against in try-outs alone will be beneficial to bring what I learned back here," said Vanderbeken, who is currently playing at the University of Iowa.
"It'll give me a chance, if I have questions, to ask guys about it. Pops Mensah-Bonsu, (Robert) Archibald, a bunch of other guys who played in the US and Europe. It's a great opportunity.
"Just being able to play on any national team would be a real honour. I will go there and do my best.
I am just trying to make the most of it, to get exposure to make the team."
Vanderbeken will get his chance to impress when GB host Poland, Turkey and Israel at the GameOn tournament in London later this month.
GB will then play in EuroBasket warm-up tournaments in Spain and Turkey before Finch names his final squad.
"Even if I don't make the team this year, I want to leave a good impression so I can come back next year, make the team by [London] 2012," Vanderbeken added.
GB have been drawn against Spain, Slovenia and Serbia in Group C at the EuroBasket.
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_wLqt2qKkGnw93fxS5y83F3.articleMode_on.container_frontpage.htmlFinch: GB Aim To Make It Big At EuroBasket
Great Britain coach Chris Finch is certain his team will make a big impact at the EuroBasket in Poland next month.
'Big' because he has a roster stacked full of big men and a need to accommodate them all as he covers for the absence of Luol Deng.
With the Chicago Bulls star sidelined by a leg fracture, the stand-out players on the GB squad are the likes of Robert Archibald, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and Joel Freeland - who all share one common attribute - they all play center.
"We're very deep at the big man position," Finch said. "That's going to be our strength this year, going inside with Archibald, Pops and Joel.
"We have some real high-quality guys there."
GB will have to change their style of play without the versatile Deng, who has filled up to four different roles on the court for Finch.
"We're definitely less dynamic without him," Finch added. "I suppose we become a bit more of a traditional basketball team, but even so, with the talent and the depth we have, I believe that our 12-man roster will be more talented than ever before."
All three of the centers will attract attention for different reasons in the build-up to EuroBasket.
With no Deng and no Ben Gordon around, Mensah-Bonsu is the sole NBA player on the GB squad, having established himself with the Toronto Raptors last season after two seperate spells in the league trying to secure something more than a short-term contract.
Archibald is returning after missing last summer's program through injury, and the former NBA man brings a wealth of experience and a mentality to pass that knowledge on to the younger players around him.
One of those who stands to benefit most is Joel Freeland, who enjoyed a breakout campaign with Gran Canaria last year and was rewarded with a move to Unicaja Malaga - where he joins Archibald on the roster going into next season.
"He had a huge, breakout campaign last year," Finch said of the 22-year-old Freeland. "His performances with us I think really opened the eyes of his coach in Spain and when he went back there he started playing a lot more minutes. Now he's signed with one of the premier clubs in Spain.
"There's no better guy he could play with than 'Arch'. This is a guy who has played in the NBA and works extremely hard and demands the same of those around him."
GB were handed a tough draw for at the EuroBasket, where they will face Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in Group C, but Finch is not intimidated.
"People outside the group might think we're crazy, but we're going to win it," he said.
"We have to have that mentality. If we shoot for the stars, we might just get the moon."
According to Chris Finch, GB would win the group!!!!!