# Euroleague Top 16 Action Begins This Week



## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Euroleague Top 16 action begins Wednesday. There are four groups of four teams, each playing two games against each other team within its group. (Then comes the playoff, then the Final Four.) A brief overview of the remaining teams:

Group D:
Panathinaikos (Athens, Greece), 12-2
This team is led in scoring by NBA deserters Sarunas Jasikevicius (14.0) Vasilis Spanoulis, a 6-4 combo guard, at 10.9 ppg, and ex-Arizona St. PF Michael Batiste, at 10.5. In addition, versatile combo and defensive menace Dimitrios Diamintidis adds 8.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.4 apg and 2 spg. Not enough good guards? Add ex-Nuggets tryout Sani Becirovic, at 7 ppg and Alabama wing Kennedy Winston, at 5.8 ppg. The frontcourt isn't bad either, with Batiste joined by 6-11 F Kostas Tsartsaris (8 ppg), Demos Dikoudis (6.4 ppg), Andreja Zizic (5.8 ppg) and Serbian veteran Dejan Tomasevic.

Montepaschi (Siena, Italy), 10-4
Ex-Seton Hall wing Rimas Kaukenas leads the way at 14.1 ppg. Former Clemson PG Terrell McIntyre runs things, getting 13.4 ppg and a team-best 4 apg. 29-year-old big man Kristof Lavrinovic brings 12.4 ppg and 4.2 rpg, while former Xavier star Romain Sato adds 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.5 spg from the wing. Other key players include former St. Johns wing Bootsy Thornton (8.2 ppg), Slovenian guard Vlado Ilievski (8.1 ppg, 1.9 apg), once-publicized Nigerian big man Ben Eze (6.8 ppg and 4.9 rpg) and versatile Ohio St. and Ohio U forward Shaun Stonerook (5.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.4 spg).

Efes Pilsen (Istanbul, Turkey), 8-6
Always the class of Turkey, Pilsen has its usual stockpile of mostly imported talent (but less high-end homegrown than usual). Ex-Maryland combo guard Drew Nicholas leads at 15.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 2.8 apg. Former Kansas wing Kenny Gregory adds 11.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg. Ex-Michigan St. PF Andre Hutson contributes 11.6 ppg and 6.3 rpg, and Ohio St. PG Scoonie Penn brings 10.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg and apg. Not enough American talent? Toss in former NBA center Loren Woods, at 8.4 ppg and 6.9 rpg. And for good measure, further on the depth chart, ex-Georgia guard Rashad Wright, 4.1 ppg and 2.1 rpg. Big Albanian Ermal Kuqo brings 8 ppg and 2.7 rpg. As for Turks, there are guards Serkan Erdogan, 6.8 ppg, and Ender Arslan, 4.3 ppg.

Partizan Igokea (Belgrade, Serbia), 6-8
The best team in Serbia isn't a legitimate threat to do well in the Euroleague competition, but at least it advanced. And there is plenty of young talent here. The best player is draft-eligible center Nikola Pekovic, who is in a breakout season, averaging 17.9 ppg and 8 rpg. American Milt Palacio (12 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.8 apg) and veteran wing Dusan Kecman (11.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and young PF (1986) Novica Velickovic (11.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.6 apg) bring regular production. Another youngster, big lead guard Milenko Tepic, adds 8.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 2.3 apg. Shooting guard Uros Tripkovic continues to go backward annually, down to 6.6 ppg.

(Groups E, F and G are coming later.)


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Groupd D should be pretty easy for the two big guns, PAN and EFES. Will be interesting to see how the two games against each other will turn out, I am predicting PAN pulls through and tops the group with EFES coming in second. Crazy prediction huh :biggrin:


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

^ You said it. I'd be surprised to see any upsets in this Group...


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Group E

Lietuvos Rytas (Vilnius, Lithuania), 11-3
Offensively, this team belongs to former Oklahoma combo guard Hollis Price and Lithuanian center Marijonas Petravicius; the 6-1 guard scores 16.9 while the 6-10 forward adds 14, combining for nearly half of the team's 80.5 ppg. Versatile 6-7 wing Chuck Eidson, formerly a McDonald's All American and South Carolina standout, brings 11.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.3 apg and 1.9 spg. There is balance after that, including Australian hustle forward Matt Nielsen (9.9 and 4.8), forward Kenan Bajramovic (8.5 and 5.1) and guard Mindaugas Lukauskis (7.6 ppg). 

Tau Ceramica (Vitoria, Spain), 9-5
Tau is loaded with talent from all over the world, and despite its record, you've got to think it can come on strong and do some damage. Former NBA guard and Serbian National Team standout Igor Rakocevic leads in scoring at nearly 17 ppg, with the inside combination of future San Antonio Spur Tiago Splitter and Mirza Teletovic bringing 13.8 and 11.6, and 5.5 and 5.9 ppg and rpg, respectively. Is that all? No. Former Net Zoran Planinic, a Croat, does some of everything, with 11.9 ppg, 3 rpg and 2.9 apg. Former UAB big man Will McDonald adds 9.7 ppg and 4.6 rpg. Longtime national team fixture Pablo Prigioni brings 7.2 ppg and 3.9 apg. Former Bearcat Pete Mickael tosses in 6.8 ppg and Gabe Muoneke adds 5.2. They are good and they are deep, maybe not overly athletic in the backcourt but certainly talented.

Fenerbahce Ulker (Istanbul, Turkey), 7-7
Former Clemson star Will Solomon is the man here, with 17.8 of the team's 77 ppg. He also accounts for 3.2 rpg and 4.4 apg. Nobody else reaches double figures in scoring, but there is a lot of high single-digit scoring. The best known player on the international scene is Turkish legend Mirsad Turckan, a former NBA player and longtime Euroleague star, who still brings 9.9 and 9.3. James White and Omer Onan each add 8.8 ppg; and another Turkish legend, sharpshooting Ibrahim Kutluay (45% on 3pt) adds 7.2 ppg in just 17 mpg. There are a pair of Turkish bigs who may eventually make the NBA in 22-year-old Semih Erden (6.7 and 4) and 21-year-old Oguz Savas (7.3 and 4).

Aris TT Bank (Thessaloniki, Greece), 7-7
Ex-Kansas St. forward Jeremiah Massey and ex-Indiana and Timberwolf Bracey Wright lead the team with 15.7 and 14.9 ppg, respectively. But late-season signee Darius Washington came on for the final three games and averaged 9 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 3.3 apg. He figures only to improve as he gets familiar with his teammates. Ex-UNC forward Reyshawn Terry (9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Finnish former Utah Ute and NBA forward Hanno Mottola (8.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) add frontcourt help.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

It's fairly obvious, but I think Tau Ceramica will take first in the Group. 

How did Lietuvos Rytas manage its record? I understand that everybody's been playing well for them, but still...


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

When Oklahoma made the Final Four ('02?), Hollis Price was outstanding. He really reminded me of a Bobby Jackson kind of player, just all over the court. So if he's playing well--plus, Eidson really can plug a lot of holes, pretty much playing any position--I'm not too surprised they did well. But my money is on Tau. (Not literally. But if I were betting. Which I'm not.)


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Ah, I forgot all about how good Hollis Price was for Oklahoma. Was he even drafted by the NBA? I don't remember seeing him on an NBA court at all, which is why I blanked on him.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

No, he was undrafted and hasn't ever been signed as a free agent. I recall seeing him one year in summer league, but I forget with whom. (It would've been at the Timberwolves' league, so Milwaukee, Cleveland, New York, Indiana, Charlotte...those are the teams I recall having entries.) But he never made it.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

Interesting - I don't remember Eidson getting drafted either, though I could be wrong about that.


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## starvydas (Jul 16, 2002)

Hollis Price and Chuck Eidson both passed through French clubs before signing to big name clubs. Price is currently one of the best PG and shooter in Europe.
Though he didnt get the award, Eidson was arguably last year's MVP in France playing for Strasbourg. I like to compare his game to Ginobili's because he's a lefty and has an explosive first step though he is a more of a streaky shooter. He also missed a full season because of a knee surgery


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Krstic All Star said:


> Interesting - I don't remember Eidson getting drafted either, though I could be wrong about that.


Nope, you're correct. He was an absolute afterthought by the end of his college career, not at all what people thought he'd be. But in my opinion (and I guess as is proven by his play), he was and is a very good player. Just not the NBA's thing, I guess.

Sometime I recommend you peruse old McDonald's All-America lists. It's funny how everyone is ready to predict NBA riches for those guys, but quite a few don't even have what you'd consider star-level college careers, much less NBA careers.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Sorry, I got sidetracked last week, so these last two group previews will come even though everyone has played one game already.

Group F

Maccabi Elite (Tel Aviv, Israel), 11-3, 1-0
This is a star-laden team that just got a little thinner, as star power forward Marcus Fizer (11.5 ppg) injured a knee during the first game of Group F competition and will miss the rest of the season. Croatian center Nikola Vujcic, the best passing big man in the game today, is also out with injury. (He averages 12 ppg, 4 rpg and 4 apg.) The leading remaining scorer is F Terence Morris, formerly of Maryland and the Houston Rockets, also at 11.5 ppg and a team-best 7.7 rpg. Combo guard Yotam Halperin adds 10.8 ppg and 4.1 apg. Luckily for them, considering their injuries, the team has depth: Estaban Batista adds 9.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg; David Bluthenthal adds 9.3 ppg; Will Bynum brings 8.1 ppg; Vonteego Cummings adds 6.4 ppg; Alex Garcia adds 5.2 ppg; and Lior Eliyahu scores 4.7. Every one of those guys has been or will be an NBA player. That says something about Maccabi.

Real Madrid (Madrid, Spain), 11-3, 1-0
Ex-Michigan SG Louis Bullock is the main scorer, at 13.5 ppg. He's joined on the wings by ex-New Mexico player Charles "Spider" Smith, at 10.7 ppg. There are several options for them inside, in Spanish forward Felipe Reyes (12.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and big forwards Alex Mumbru (10.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Belgian big and Nuggets' property Axel Hervelle (9.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg). Greek center Lazaros Papadopoulous (7.4 ppg) is one of the better pure post centers in international ball. A pair of good point guards, Turkish Kerem Tunceri (7.4 ppg, 2.5 apg) and Spaniard Raoul Lopez (5.9 ppg, 2.7 apg) run the show.

Zalgiris (Kaunas, Lithuania), 8-6, 0-1
Contrary to its reputation, this Zalgiris team is guard-dominated. All four of its leading scorers are perimeter players, with American Marcus Brown (14.3), Croatian Marko Popovic (11.7), Lithuanian wing Jonas Maciulis (11.5) and American DeJuan Collins (11.3). Those three put up a lot of 3-pointers, and they hit a decent percentage--especially Brown (44%) and Popovic (43%). Senegalese center Mamadou N'Diaye came aboard just in time for the group competitions, and added 14 and 4, but it's hard to say if he can blend so well throughout the remainder of the competition. Otherwise, undersized Paulias Jankulis and Goran Jurak will hold down the inside with a combined 16 or 17 ppg and 10 rpg.

Olimpiacos (Piraeus, Greece), 7-7, 0-1
A shocking three-game losing streak ended Olimpiacos's regular season, and they carried over into group play with another loss. The talent on this team should not be losing so many games. With star guard Arvydas Macijauskas (19.3 ppg) out since Game 10 (five games ago), Lynn Greer and Marc Jackson, both of Temple and both former NBA players, are the clear stars. Greer scores 17 ppg and gathers 3.3 rpg and 3.5 apg. Jackson does his work inside, with 15.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Qyntel Woods brings 10.8 ppg and 4.1 rpg.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

I'd say that Real Madrid and Maccabi are the favorites, but losing Fizer is a huge loss. They don't have anyone with his kind of strength, though his numbers could be made up.


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## luther (Nov 2, 2007)

Partizan (Belgrade) has surprisingly advanced, and knocked Panathinaikos out of the next round. Despite Panathinaikos limiting Nikola Pekovic to a poor game, Milt Palacio had a nice scoring day and Dusan Kecman played a masterful game.


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## Krstic All-Star (Mar 9, 2005)

^ Along with most everyone else (who doesn't live in Belgrade, anyway ), I'm very surprised. I'm going to have to look up the play by play for this one.


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