News for the 2006/2007 season

[Juan Carlos Nadal2]

Does anyone know where that dude, Gagaloudis, will be playing next season? Has he signed anywhere already or is he still free? Any rumours?

 

[rchos72]

he gave an interview about a month ago saying that he most probably will play in italy but till now nothing.you don't hear his name for any team in greece.

 

[mitsos132]

Well, it's not... athletic news exactly, but Panathinaikos BC has opened an online superstore at:
http://www.paobasketshop.gr/

 

[Trifilli2]

Some more news from the A1:

Maroussi has signed Danya Abrams from Apollon Patron.

Blagota Sekulic will leave the team from Athens and is rumored to be close to PAOK.

Loukas Mavrokefalidis said that he decided to stay at least one more year with PAOK.

AEL-GS Larissa signed Wilbur Johnson (PF/C, 2.06m) who played for the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the BBL last season. The team from Larissa also agreed terms with Zlatko Bolic (G/1.95m) from Hemofarm.

Panellinios agreed terms with Damir Rancic (G/1.98m) from Cibona but lost Michalis Pelekanos again in a court dispute with AEK, it was decided that Pelekanos still had a valid contract with AEK and therefore he couldn't sign with Panellinios. It's not sure at all that he'll play for AEK though, they might try to sell him, Maroussi is rumored to be interested. Panellinios still hopes for him as well but claimed that they won't pay a buyout.

Olympiada Patras made an offer to Nikos Vetoulas (1 year contract worth 150k), Vetoulas seems to prefer to continue playing abroad though and also has an offer from Reggio Emilia in Italy.

Panionios agreed terms with Dragan Dojcin (F/2.04m) from Khimik (Ucraine).

 

[hagakure2]

It looks like Panionios will sign Darius Washington from Memphis University. Washington is an undersized SG, but he is very skilled and he could be very successful.
Panionios wanted to sign Gerry McNamara from Syracuse but it looks like he will sign with Olympiakos.

Also AEK is interested in Kommatos, McPherson, Corsley Edwards, Nemeth, Vetoulas and Loncar (23 y.o.). Loncar is probably too expensive and they will more than likely sign only one of the two PGs (Nemeth or Vetoulas).

 

[woma2]

It looks like Panionios will sign Darius Washington from Memphis University. Washington is an undersized SG, but he is very skilled and he could be very successful.

Also AEK is interested in Kommatos, McPherson, Corsley Edwards, Nemeth, Vetoulas and Loncar (23 y.o.). Loncar is probably too expensive and they will more than likely sign only one of the two PGs (Nemeth or Vetoulas).

Darius Washington is a PG, not an-undersized SG; but it's tough to believe that D-Wash, who didn't finish NCAA (left this spring after his sophmore seasons) and is only 21 years old would play well overseas.

And according to Eurobasket AEK indeed did sign Kommatos, it will be interesting to see him again in Greece, as well as my favorite player from Bosna Sarajevo - Jasmin Perkovic. I would love to see Corsley Edwards being signed too, since I always wanted to watched him in some games .

The same thing goes with Arthur Lee, who was signed by AEL Larissa - on paper he looks like a very good signing.

And last thing - from what I saw during 04/05 season, I like Dragan Dojcin for Panionos... but his style is so similar to Economou, maybe Dojcin will be his back-up?

 

[hagakure2]

Darius Washington is a PG, not an-undersized SG; but it's tough to believe that D-Wash, who didn't finish NCAA (left this spring after his sophmore seasons) and is only 21 years old would play well overseas.

And according to Eurobasket AEK indeed did sign Kommatos, it will be interesting to see him again in Greece, as well as my favorite player from Bosna Sarajevo - Jasmin Perkovic. I would love to see Corsley Edwards being signed too, since I always wanted to watched him in some games .

The same thing goes with Arthur Lee, who was signed by AEL Larissa - on paper he looks like a very good signing.

And last thing - from what I saw during 04/05 season, I like Dragan Dojcin for Panionos... but his style is so similar to Economou, maybe Dojcin will be his back-up?

Washington isn't a PG. All he did at Memphis was shoot the ball. He could be a good player for Panionios but he will be inconsistent. I think McNamara would be a better option now that Olympiakos is not interested anymore.
It looks like most teams are making good signings despite their limited budget but the only two contenders will again be Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.

 

[Trifilli2]

Another update about the A1:

Panionios agreed terms with Andre Hutson, who played for Ural Great Perm last season but suffered a severe knee injury that forced him to stay out half of the season. Hutson played for Peristeri, Maroussi and Makedonikos in Greece before (reached the ULEB Cup Final with Makedonikos 2004-2005).
Panionios is also said to be interested in Robert Conley (F/2.00m) from Hemofarm Vrsac.

PAOK is said to be close to Andy Panko from Bilbao and Vlado Scepanovic from Panathinaikos (Scepanovic seems to have a better offer from Panellinios but PAOK seems to have the better chances to sign him atm, according to rumors). The club from Saloniki also seems to be interested in last years Olympiakos player Lazaros Agadakos (PF/C/2.07m), who was said to be close to Panionios as well.

AEK agreed terms with Nestoras Kommatos, Nikos Vetoulas (G/1.91m from Snaidero Udine) and Paul McPherson (G/1.93m), who played for Livorno in the Lega A last season. The club is also said to be close to Alexander Radojevic, Prodromos Nikolaidis (both from Olympia Larissa), Sotiris Nikolaidis (from Maroussi), Christos Tapoutos (from Panionios) and to be interested in Vladimir Krstic (G/1.85m) from Menorca.

Makedonikos will finally stay in the A1 as it seems atm – but the team from Kozani will move back to Saloniki most likely.

Apollon Patron agreed terms with Ivo Josipovic (F/2.05m) from Surgut in the first Russian division, signed Alexander Koul from Aris, Patrick Lee (G/1.87m) from Makedonikos and is said to be interested in Lewis Sims (F/2.04m) from Rimini in the Lega Due.

Olympia Larissa signed Corey Belser (F/1.98m) from the San Diego Toreros (NCAA), Savo Djikanovic (C/2.12m) from Hemofarm Vrsac, Nikos Kouvelas (F/2.03m) from Iraklis and is also interested in Vladimir Krstic.

Olympiada Patras signed Antonis Asimakopoulos from Aris and Jugoslav Dasic (F/1.98m). The case of Dasic might go to court though as Sporting from the A2 claims that they signed the player first.

 

[elaj2]

Andre Hutson was also on the wish list of Red Star Belgrade.

 

[Trifilli2]

Some more A1 news:

Panionios brought another former Makedonikos player to Athens, after signing Andre Hutson recently. The team from Nea Smyrni inked Dragan Lukovski (PG/1.89m) from BC Kyiv.

PAOK finally signed Andy Panko (F/2.03m) from Bilbao.

Savas Iliadis (G/1.92m) and Panionios officially split ways yesterday, Iliadis travelled to Saloniki rightaway to sign his new 2+1 contract with Aris.

AEL-GS Larissa agreed terms with the young (21 years) greek player Savas Manousos (PF/C/2.06m). The club from Larissa is also said to be interested in Hector Romero (F/2.02m) from Venezuela.

Olympia Larissa made an offer to Istvan Nemeth (G/1.92m), who played for Prokom in the Euroleague last season.

Maroussi agreed terms with Philippos Simeonidis (F/2.04m) from Makedonikos.

AEK moved from Galatsi to the OAKA, where the team will also play next season. The club from Athens also agreed terms with Prodromos Nikolaidis (F/2.01m), who should be announced tomorrow.

Olympiada Patras brought Davor Kurilic (F/2.02m) for a try-out, to see if he’ll fit into the team – if that’s the case he’ll get a contract .

 

[woma2]

Trif - did the Larissa clubs (one of them) confirmed Brad Buckman? It's few weeks now after I've heard it's done, but no official info, at least I can't find it...
And both clubs from Larissa are hiring one non-Europe player after another, so I don't know if Buckman is still an option there...

I am surprised that Olimpia Larissa signed Cory Belser - with limited spots for US players in Greece, it's very rare to see team hiring a defensive specialist like Belser is, with very limited offensive skills. Or maybe they just don't know him and think that he will be a scorer for them .

And with AEK hiring Paul McPherson, we have one question already answered even before season starts - we know who will win Slam Dunk Contest during A1 All Stars Game .

 

[Trifilli2]

Trif - did the Larissa clubs (one of them) confirmed Brad Buckman? It's few weeks now after I've heard it's done, but no official info, at least I can't find it...

Yeah, Olympia Larissa did. Here's the link to the official announcement.

 

[Billy2]

Yeah, Olympia Larissa did. Here's the link to the official announcement.

But...why??? He is a banger and nothing else to it. Surely they could have found a Greek player who could achieve results similar to what can be expected out of Buckman?
Also, does this mean Fredrik Jönzen is out of the team?

 

[woma2]

But...why??? He is a banger and nothing else to it. Surely they could have found a Greek player who could achieve results similar to what can be expected out of Buckman?

I think that Buckman can surprise some people offensively, his role in Texas was very limited, mostly because of Aldridge and PJ Tucker. But he has decent post moves and nice shooting range, will also score inside off passes and offensive rebounds.
I still don't know what to expect from Belser though...

 

[Trifilli2]

I'm a bit surprised with Olympias signings as well. They signed Belser and Buckman for the US positions + Djikanovic and Kurtovic for the european positions, while extending Vukadinov. So if they also sign Nemeth their foreigner spots are full and I guess Jönzen is gone (he also didn't attend the first practise). What is interesting is that Larissa has a lot of young greek players on the roster - some of them have to get playtime as it looks atm. Maybe they hope for one or two of them to grow into an important role during the season, like it happened on other teams like Iraklis or PAOK before. If that won't happen their roster doesn't look too great, really.

 

[Billy2]

I think that Buckman can surprise some people offensively, his role in Texas was very limited, mostly because of Aldridge and PJ Tucker. But he has decent post moves and nice shooting range, will also score inside off passes and offensive rebounds.
I still don't know what to expect from Belser though...

I have gone through five of my eight Texas games for this year and so far I have not seen a single occasion when Buckman has taken any offensive initiative. When have you watched him?

 

[woma2]

I have gone through five of my eight Texas games for this year and so far I have not seen a single occasion when Buckman has taken any offensive initiative. When have you watched him?

Check Kansas vs Texas in Big 12 Tournament Final for example. And to be precise - I didn't write about games when Buckman had taken any offensive initiative; I just think that he has some skills to do more than he show playing behind Tucker and Aldridge.
Plus, he had a bigger role on offense during 04/05 season, when Tucker and Aldridge were out, him and Jason Klotz were only low post scorers there...

 

[Trifilli2]

Some more A1 news:

It seems now that Makedonikos won’t be able to participate in the next A1 championship, the team will start in the B Ethniki most likely (3rd division), back in Saloniki.
The number 1 candidate to replace Makedonikos would be Rethymno from Crete.

AEK has money issues as well, their president Filippou refused to spend money for the team, and atm it looks like the clubs budget will be pretty low. The team doesn’t even have a homecourt yet (earlier reports about an agreement with the OAKA were denied) and will start the practise with the junior team most likely. It’s not sure yet that Alexandris really will be the teams coach if this policy continues.

Panionios signed Kennedy Winston (SF/1.98m) from Gran Canaria.

Panellinios seems to give up on Vlado Scepanovic, while Damir Miljkovic is likely to head to Virtus Bologna, so Panellinios might end up signing Damir Rancic from Cibona, who already seemed to be a sure signing some weeks ago.

Olympia Larissa signed Vladimir Kristic (G/1.85m) from Menorca, AEK was also interested in Kristic, but he decided to move to Larissa because of AEKs current problems.

AEL-GS Larissa is interested in Donnel Harvey, who played for Panionios last season.

Olympiada Patras currently tries Milos Pavlovic (F/2.09m). Patras is also interested in Nikos Vetoulas, who already agreed with AEK, but who might be available again due to AEKs situation.

Aris was also said to be interested in Vetoulas, the club from Saloniki denied the rumors though.

Apollon Patras is interested in Dwayne Mitchell (G/1.96m) from the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns, who still tries to find a spot in the NBA though.

 

[Juan Carlos Nadal2]

Some more A1 news:

It seems now that Makedonikos won’t be able to participate in the next A1 championship, the team will start in the B Ethniki most likely (3rd division), back in Saloniki.
The number 1 candidate to replace Makedonikos would be Rethymno from Crete.

Wow, where did you hear about that? I would love to see Rethymno in A1, but not at the expense of Makedonikos. Real shame for what president Mesaikos did for the club and a real shame that he was financially betrayed following the Olympics. I just hope that Rethymno would have enough time to build a competitive team for the new season. A1 needs a team from Crete and given that Irakleio (or Irakleio/OFI as the club is now known after the merge) is in the 3rd division with loads of financial problems, Rethymno is the only competitive candidate from the island. I am worrying though about the fan support Rethymno (AGOR) will have. I mean, Irakleio OOA was based in a big city and yet suffered small attendances, what would be the situation with AGOR given that it's based in a town much smaller than Irakleio and also given that they play in an even smaller arena? Too bad Chania has no team at a high level (Kydonas plays in the amateur leagues) as they are both a relatively big town and also have a brand new 3.500 arena... (not to mention a strong sport-loving (albeit Olympiakos-affiliated) population).

 

[Trifilli2]

Wow, where did you hear about that? I would love to see Rethymno in A1, but not at the expense of Makedonikos. Real shame for what president Mesaikos did for the club and a real shame that he was financially betrayed following the Olympics. I just hope that Rethymno would have enough time to build a competitive team for the new season. A1 needs a team from Crete and given that Irakleio (or Irakleio/OFI as the club is now known after the merge) is in the 3rd division with loads of financial problems, Rethymno is the only competitive candidate from the island. I am worrying though about the fan support Rethymno (AGOR) will have. I mean, Irakleio OOA was based in a big city and yet suffered small attendances, what would be the situation with AGOR given that it's based in a town much smaller than Irakleio and also given that they play in an even smaller arena? Too bad Chania has no team at a high level (Kydonas plays in the amateur leagues) as they are both a relatively big town and also have a brand new 3.500 arena... (not to mention a strong sport-loving (albeit Olympiakos-affiliated) population).

Several greek sport portals like betsmart.gr or sportfm reported about it. It's a shame, really, that the story of Makedonikos has to end like this. I don't think that Rethymno will be able to build a strong team. They have waited so far with building their roster, as they didn't know in which league they would end up, but one has to keep in mind that time is running away and that most decent greek players found clubs already, while a lot of those who didn't are most likely too expensive for a team like Rethymno. Their goal must be to build a team that can stay in the A1 next season. If they succeed they'll have more time and chances in the following offseason to build a more competitive team. It's both a risk and a chance for them imo. Dunno about the fan support though, you might be right that this will become an issue.