Changes are needed in the Lebanese NT!

[daniab]

It becomes obvious that our NT needs some new faces especially on the pos 4 and 5 where most of our players are undersized and not skilled four men except Brian Bchara.
I know that the situation in Lebanon couldnt help anyone to fix the mistakes and find solutions before the pre-olympics but i urge the federation to work from now for the asian tournament next year.

- Starting the league btw ( 1 oct-15 oct max) and the ending could be btw (1 may-15 may).

-Adding the twins Tabet and i'm sure they will help more than most of our PFs since they are tall and sizing player.

-I'm against naturalizing any player anymore,we have a lot a lot of players who are playing in USA,Australia,Brazil....and many of them are above 210cm.
The federation should work to get them back instead of naturalizing a player bcz we will not get any player like the spirit of Joe Vogel.I will mention the name of Julian Kharnouh (209-C-86) because hes young and tall and skilled player.

-Instead of naming some players to the NT without giving them any role like Sabah khoury and Mazen,i hope to see some young faces in the NT like Bassel Bawji and hayk gyokchyan just for the sake of our future.

-Choosing a young coach for the NT,hope to see Coach Elie Nasr because hes really a great great coach who can use every player in the right way.

If i forget anything,please put ur suggestions!

[Khalid80]

Yo Daniab!
Our National Team needs new faces and a bigger rotation of players to depend on.
The team can't entirely depend on Khatib, Vogel, Fahed, Mahmoud and Bshara.
I mean if any of these guys get injured or in foul trouble then the team gets in serious trouble. You need to have a team rotation of all 12 players.

I'm also worried that the level of some players will not improve especially the young guys like Mazen Mneimneh. I don't want to see Mazen Mneimneh end up like Jihad El Murr (with all due respect to him). I remember that around 5 years ago people and analysts were saying that Jihad El Murr was going to be the next Fadi Khatib but because he wasn't given enough playing time and maybe because he didn't work hard enough and started becoming too arrogant he never was able to reach the best level of basketball.

As for naturalizing any new players, I also agree that we don't need to do this since there are better options.
I heard Vogel threatened to leave Lebanon and go back to the States when he heard that Vincent Jones might be his replacement.

[daniab]

Couldnt agree more with u Khalid.
I think El khatib,Ali Mahmoud and Rony fahed are quite young to retire,Fadi el khatib should think more that theres no real replacement for him now in waiting the young prospects to show up like Bassel Bawji and Ahmad ibrahim.
Im completely against naturalizing any player whoever he is,we should start working on the young bases,maybe we will find someday a good local center like Rony Seikaly why not !

I'm afraid like you on Mazen,but he seems that he decided to leave Riyadi and this is the right decision.

[Jalaa_Syria]

Lebanon must give chances for young players and make them ready to participate with the team but after pre olympic.

[daniab]

Lebanon must give chances for young players and make them ready to participate with the team but after pre olympic.

Agreed.
Instead of putting the players on the bench without giving them any role,lets give the young players some chances to get some experience.

[asapa11]

With Vogel out of the Lebanese NT for the Olympic Qualifying tournament. who will play as Lebanon's Centers? Of couse Roy Samaha will be the main center now, but who will back him up? Fakkheddrine 6'8"?

[daniab]

You can say that Lebanon in the future will have 2 great tall players
Charles and Philip tabet

Finallyyyyyyyy

[Khalid80]

With Vogel out of the Lebanese NT for the Olympic Qualifying tournament. who will play as Lebanon's Centers? Of couse Roy Samaha will be the main center now, but who will back him up? Fakkheddrine 6'8"?

Yo Asapa11!
Yeah unfortunately in Lebanon we have a big problem concerning the center position especially now after Vogel's injury. Yeah Roy will be the 1st center now and Fakhreddine will be a back up (I think this roster will remain like this until the end of the pre-olympics in Athens. After that we have to try to find a true center who is originally Lebanese who could help the national team).

[marko]

100% agreed on all the points

the federation should try to get players from outside with lebanese originis ..not nutralize players ...
freije - barbour - tabet twins - bawji - hayg -- and tens others r found , fortunately we know abt them due to daniab's effort in this forum


but i will add something i dunno if u agree

with these players we could still do some better results

but i think the problem is from 2 parts :

1- fatique , since the flb finished the champ very very very late ,

2- unfortunately coach fouad is doing a bad job , with the players we have we could still do better than these results

finally we can wish

1- the flb start a good job starting from this season , in terms of our nt

2- we dont get humiliated next week

[daniab]

agreed with all of you guys,i just want to add the lebanese young generation who are really catching the eyes by the american scouts,especially and lately the young player Ahmad ibrahim (16years) who was recruited by one of the best high schools,
The lebanese basketball is graduating many great basketball players: Mustapha el akkari (NCAA div 1),Bassel bawji (NCAA div 1),Tarek ammoury (NCAA div 1),hayk gyokchyan,Ahmad ibrahim nd the list is so long.
We just need a safe situation to start fixing the mistakes.

[Khalid80]

agreed with all of you guys,i just want to add the lebanese young generation who are really catching the eyes by the american scouts,especially and lately the young player Ahmad ibrahim (16years) who was recruited by one of the best high schools,
The lebanese basketball is graduating many great basketball players: Mustapha el akkari (NCAA div 1),Bassel bawji (NCAA div 1),Tarek ammoury (NCAA div 1),hayk gyokchyan,Ahmad ibrahim nd the list is so long.
We just need a safe situation to start fixing the mistakes.

The Lebanese National Team is currently passing through a slight transition period. We r currently at our worst case scenario (National Team without Vogel, and not prepared for the pre-Olympics)
If u guys remember in 2002 after the World Championships in Indianapolis we also had a similar situation but it was more serious.
We had guys who were going to retire or were getting quite old (Walid Domiaty, Yasser El Hage, Elie Mchantaf, Ghazi Boustani, George Chibani, Paul Khoury) so that's half the team.
Many fans were worried that there won't be another team that could help us to qualify again to the World Championships.
On the other hand he also had guys back then whom are the stars of the current team (Khatib, Fahed, Samaha).
So if u look at the current Lebanese team they are only 2 players whom are quite old and getting past their prime years whom we need to replace (Vogel and Bshara).
I think Khatib should stay for a few more years with the National Team until the young players (Bawji, Gyokchyan, Ibrahim, Akkari, and Ammouri) are ready to represent our senior National Team. We also have guys like the Tabet brothers, Tom Ammar, Matt Frieji, Antoine Barbour. All these guys are possible candidates for the National Team as well.
So no need to worry guys. Just hope that the situation of the country improves and we will have a great national team in the near future inshalla.

[daniab]

The Lebanese National Team is currently passing through a slight transition period. We r currently at our worst case scenario (National Team without Vogel, and not prepared for the pre-Olympics)
If u guys remember in 2002 after the World Championships in Indianapolis we also had a similar situation but it was more serious.
We had guys who were going to retire or were getting quite old (Walid Domiaty, Yasser El Hage, Elie Mchantaf, Ghazi Boustani, George Chibani, Paul Khoury) so that's half the team.
Many fans were worried that there won't be another team that could help us to qualify again to the World Championships.
On the other hand he also had guys back then whom are the stars of the current team (Khatib, Fahed, Samaha).
So if u look at the current Lebanese team they are only 2 players whom are quite old and getting past their prime years whom we need to replace (Vogel and Bshara).
I think Khatib should stay for a few more years with the National Team until the young players (Bawji, Gyokchyan, Ibrahim, Akkari, and Ammouri) are ready to represent our senior National Team. We also have guys like the Tabet brothers, Tom Ammar, Matt Frieji, Antoine Barbour. All these guys are possible candidates for the National Team as well.
So no need to worry guys. Just hope that the situation of the country improves and we will have a great national team in the near future inshalla.

The tabet brothers seems to be very athletic,agressive,and talented as many are telling me.
Their heights will give our NT a good size,especially that Vogel is injured and i dont think he will have any future role with the NT anymore.And as i said lately am against naturalizing any player whoever he is.Vogel was really an exception,when u see him on the court,u feel hes a pure lebanese even hes naturalized.
We have now the twins tabet,and i gave many names who could replace vogel like Julian Kharnoukh,and many others.
As for the coming 4 years,Bassel bawji is a good candidate to be one of the best ever PF in Lebanon,hes very skilled player offensively and deffensively (12.3ppg and 10.8 rpg), kind of Brian Bchara but pure 4 while Brian is 2-3-4.
Ahmad ibrahim (196-G-92) is a project for a long term,hes training now in US along with many superstars,and i believe he will be one of the top players in lebanon in the future.
Tarek ammoury,i saw a small video about him.His body is really great,he can use it in every penetration in the right way.I hope the NCAA's games will improve Tarek.
Am sad that hayk gyokchyan couldnt get a scholarship for D1 college,and he might sign for a junior College (NJCAA) or staying in lebanon.Everything is relate to how Hayk will perform with the youth NT.
Mustapha el akkari,another white shooter ? kind of his brothers' shooting ability but much more skilled and taller.

[daniab]

Won't talk just for talk but the game 2day was a big failure in all the history of our basketball,we have never lost by this big margin even against Argentina,and all the international teams that we played against.

We didnt loose bcz we are bad,simply we loose cz the centers of Greece were dominating everything,it isnt normal to see a 195cm defending a 210cm!

The federation should start planning for a new strategy,we need a pure shooting guards,and tall power forwards and Centers. We need them NOW!!!!
Stop postponing everything for God Sake! Some are still leaving on the acheivements that we made from 3 or 4 years,basketball is being a game of tall players and if we didnt do so we are going to loose by big margin against any tall and oversizing team,we need a new blood in our team,and players should be left the team.

At last,today i really think that Sabah khoury migh be easily the best PG in Lebanon.In 7 mins,he made 4 assists,he motivate the team,hes fast and his dribble is amazing.I hope Sabah will play from now on as a playmaker.

[daniab]

The new strategy should be separate for 2 parts,the first is to get back our players abroad,adding them to the NT.Is it possible that Roy Samaha center made only 2 rebs in a whole game ? Brian Bchara,sometimes his mistakes are jokes,u think a kid is playing,fadi el khatib is the only one who could get fouls from the greek players but someone should tell el khatib that this Leb NT not El khatib's NT.and the second is to use the young players who are doing a good job.
Im getting mad from all the things around us,no work,no money,no peace no everything ,what a shit !

"What we had built in years, our reputation, our pride, our world ranking collpased in one game.." ==> a lebanese guy said these words on other board and couldnt agree more with him.

[Khalid80]

Won't talk just for talk but the game 2day was a big failure in all the history of our basketball,we have never lost by this big margin even against Argentina,and all the international teams that we played against.

We didnt loose bcz we are bad,simply we loose cz the centers of Greece were dominating everything,it isnt normal to see a 195cm defending a 210cm!

The federation should start planning for a new strategy,we need a pure shooting guards,and tall power forwards and Centers. We need them NOW!!!!
Stop postponing everything for God Sake! Some are still leaving on the acheivements that we made from 3 or 4 years,basketball is being a game of tall players and if we didnt do so we are going to loose by big margin against any tall and oversizing team,we need a new blood in our team,and players should be left the team.

At last,today i really think that Sabah khoury migh be easily the best PG in Lebanon.In 7 mins,he made 4 assists,he motivate the team,hes fast and his dribble is amazing.I hope Sabah will play from now on as a playmaker.

I have mentioned before that Lebanon right now is in the worst condition ever. No preparation for the tournament, no Vogel, no motivation. If we don't start preparing from now for next year's Asian Championship we won't get anywhere and our ranking will get much worse.