Dominic James to play for Aris in Greece

Dominic James has played in some hostile environments before, but nothing like what he encountered when he competed against Aris Basketball Club in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Now, the Richmond High School graduate will see the flip side of that coin. James said Thursday that he has given a verbal agreement to play for Aris.

"They go nuts, the crowd. It was great," said James, who turned 25 this week. "That team is one of the most reputable organizations in Europe and especially in Greece. It's an honor just to get an offer from that team."

It's the third overseas club for James since he graduated from Marquette University in 2009. He also played for teams in Turkey and Bulgaria.

Aris plays in the HEBA A1 League, also known as the Greek Basketball League, and competes in the Eurocup.

James will be leaving soon to join his new team.

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster for me," James said. "The hardest part is leaving. Once I get over there, everything settles down and it becomes easy. The hardest part is leaving my family behind and going over there by myself.

"It's great being over there, doing something I love to do, being paid for it and seeing the world at the same time."

James spent his 2009-10 season in Mersin, Turkey, before joining Lukoil Academic of Bulgaria's National Basketball League.

James is Richmond's second all-time leading scorer with 1,652 points. He scored 1,749 more playing at Marquette, where he graduated with a degree in public relations and was the Big East's Rookie of the Year for the 2005-06 season.

Playing overseas is all about making adjustments.

"Regardless of what kind of situation you're in, it's going to be new to you," James said. "There is an adjustment period you have to go through.

"It's just taking time to learn more and more about the game. There is a certain work ethic. This is my job and this is my livelihood. The hours I spend working out, the hours I spend studying the game, you've got to take it very seriously. It's just helped me grow all around, not only as a player, but as a person."

Lukoil won its league championship, and James was among his team's leaders in points, assists and steals before an injury derailed his season in late April.

He was driving baseline during a practice and jumped into the air. When he came down, it was right on the foot of a teammate.

"My teammate was 7-4, so he's got some big feet," James said. "I came down on his foot and ended up breaking (mine)."

James broke his right foot. He said it was the exact same injury as when he broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot late in the year during his senior season with Marquette.

"I broke my left one in college and my right one this time around," he said.

" ... It was a great season (in Bulgaria), very successful. I bounced back and I'm ready to go back again."

He's also ready to renew an area rivalry.

Aris plays Olympiacos on Oct. 12 in the Greek Cup quarterfinals. Olympiacos features Connersville graduate and Butler star Matt Howard.

James graduated from RHS in 2005, Howard from Connersville in 2007.

"It's going to be great. I'm very excited to play against him," James said. "He's a good guy, a high character guy. He's a competitor."

So is James, who continues to pursue his dream of one day playing in the NBA.

James had a spot on the Milwaukee Bucks Summer League roster in both 2009 and 2010.

The NBA is currently in the midst of a lockout. The league's preseason was canceled earlier this week.

"My goal remains the same," James said. "The goal is always to make it in the league. I'm still young. I'm still a young player. I'm still trying to grow.

"I'm just trying to go out there and become better each year and let everything else take care of itself. ... I'm just looking forward to the season. I have a lot of support around here, a lot of people praying for me. It's appreciated."

source : pal-item.com

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Cedric Simmons to get Bulgarian passport

That'll come in handy.


Former NBA prospect Cedric Simmons(2.08-C) had his breakout season in Europe with Kavala BC in Greece averaging 12 points 10 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in a total of 28 games in the A1 Greek league including play-off games. These performances attracted attention from all over Europe and now he is about to become even more popular. Simmons was the number 15 pick of the 2006 Draft but constant injuries never let him reach his true potential. However in Greece he managed to relaunch his career in a way.

According to sport24.gr, Simmons is going to get his Bulgarian passport by the end of next week. Obviously this is not the first time that his has been reported but it seems that now it's going to be even closer than before. This will allow Simmons to play as a bosman player in Europe 

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Mediterranean League - fact or fiction?

It could be closer than we think..


The rumors started last season but nowadays they keep springing up from all directions in Greece but as of yet there is nothing concrete to report. The idea is very old but the execution needed some infrastructure and most of all, some money.

Let's face it, the Greek league has seen better days. It could be classed as an example to avoid when it comes to organisation and meritocracy.

It becomes hard to find a team that doesn't owe money to players, or in taxes to the state. Some teams shouldn't even be playing in the A1 league because they can't collect all the necessary certificates that guarantee the club's financial wellbeing and stability. The president of the league becomes more of a decoration and his sole purpose at the moment is (in theory) to try and find a good television broadcast rights contract for the teams of the league. So currently we've got teams that cannot even afford hot water to have a shower after practice or teams that have changed more players and coaches than they currently have on their roster. Fortunately some other teams seem to be adapting to the

The league solely exists at the moment for the finals between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos and the same goes for the Greek Cup where (conveniently) the 2 Greek powerhouses never seem to meet before the final. This situation has the support of a body of sports journalists, who make their living out of the rivalry between the reds and the greens and also by the players themselves who can't stand up to their rich bosses. Hence one might be thinking what's the purpose of the Greek league? Let's create a new league where Olympiakos and Panathinaikos can play against more powerful opponents and one aging executive can come out as the Messiah who gave new impetus to a decomposing league.

So this is the plan.. in theory always. 3 teams from Greece, 3 from Turkey, 2 teams from Israel, the champion of Serbia, the champion of Cyprus, possibly Lukoil Akademik and last but not least one team from.. Qatar. This is not final and the specs of the league might change until the last moment. One might be thinking.. Qatar..? what the..? the rumors are that the team from Qatar will actually belong to the sponsors of the league. Hence they will provide the funds to organise the league and they will find other sponsors as well to make sure there are adequate funds to run a professional league smoothly.

The premise here is that the teams that will participate in this league will not be playing in the regular season in their corresponding countries but they would return in their local league only for the play-offs. This is the model of the Adriatic League and the purpose of it is that these teams will not be participating in a league that doesn't offer any substantial challenge. That might seem like making the league more challenging for the remaining teams but from a moral point of view it's exposing the current degradation of the league.

A Mediterranean league without teams from Italy or Spain? That sounds strange to me too but they just might be content playing for the Eurocup. For example this season we've had Gran Canaria, Estudiantes, Cajasol, Cantu, Benetton Treviso, Caserta. Why would they want to leave a league as organised and glamorous like the ACB or the LegaA1?

On the other hand, Olympiakos and Panathinaikos are gagging to leave the A1. The same goes for Fenerbahce and Efes Pilsen,  Maccabi Tel Aviv etc. The idea is that the teams picked from each country will be chosen according to their final position at the end of the play-offs. Also that the funding from the Mediterranean League itself will be significantly larger than that from Uleb leagues. This gives certain teams a motive in Greece to gain the 3rd place as it would secure their finances. The same goes for Turkey.

Chances are that the scheme will be announced some time before the end of this season and it will outline how the teams will be chosen and also the details of the league's layout. So this will be the "pilot-season" of a league that will aim to become one of the most popular leagues in Europe and rival the Euroleague, or fail miserably..


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Roderick Blakney heading to Malaga

After 3 players turning them down..


Roderick Blakney(1.85-PG) could be the new player of Malaga to replace the injured Terrell McIntyre(1.78-PG) according to basketblog.gr. Malaga's star player will be out of action for what is estimated to be about 6 weeks and so the free agent Roderick Blakney is in negotiations with the team of Malaga according to the article and it all seems to be going rather well. Blakney averaged 11.2 points 2.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 18 games in the Eurocup and also 12.1 points 1.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 36 games in the Greek A1 league last season playing for Panellinios. Blakney has a Bulgarian passport so he doesn't play as foreign player in Europe although he comes from the Dominican Republic.

Other candidates were Sarunas Jasikevicius(1.92-PG), Zabian Dowdell(1.97-PG/SG) and Aaron Miles(1.85-PG) according to laopiniondemalaga.es. Jasikevicius through his agent Mauricio Balducci declared that he is not interested in a 2 month contract where as Dowdell and Miles are still waiting on the possibility of an NBA contract.

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Willie Dean to join Nancy

His agent announced it before the team did.


Last season Willie Deane started playing for Turow in Poland but later on he moved back to Lukoil Akademik helping them to conquer the Bulgarian League once more, averaging 15.8 3.9 3.6 assists in 23 games. . His agent's announcement follows below:

In order to replace their injured guard Ralph Mims, who is out of the season with a knee injury, Nancy has signed Willie Deane (185cm, 1980.)
Willie has been an excellent scorer in his past European experiences, playing for Turk Telekom, Lukoil, Zalgiris and Vladivostok.


source : beobasket.net

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Prokom signed Giddens and Videnov

2 more additions for Prokom and their ever-growing roster.


Prokom Gdynia announced 2 signings yesterday via their official website. The first one was ex-NBA swingman J.R. Giddens(1.96-SG/SF) who finished last season with the New York Knicks. He was traded there from Boston, that picked him as the 30th overall pick in the 2008 Draft. Giddens averaged 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11 games with the Knicks.

The other addition was Bulgarian veteran Filip Videnov(1.96-SG/SF). Videnov started the season in Red Star but finished the season in FMP Zeleznik and he has also been playing for the Bulgarian National Team. He has been looking for a team ever since. He averaged 19.5 points 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 8 games with the Bulgarian National Team and also 13.9 points 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 19 games with Red Star in the Adriatic League.

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Kambala could play for Akademik next season

The controversial player could land in Bulgaria next season.


According to bulgarianbasket.com, the Latvian center Kaspars Kambala (2.06-C) could play for Lukoil Akademik next season. The GM of the club, Alex Vezenkov confirmed that the team is in talks with Kambala and that is likely he will sign for them. This could be a major transfer for Akademik that lost Pero Antic(2.11-PF/C) to Spartak St. Petersburg.

Kambala has played for the last 2 seasons in Russia for Krasnoyarsk following a 2 year ban from basketball after a positive doping test. During that time he tried his luck as a boxer but without much success. Last season he averaged 14.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 11 games in the Russian Superleague.


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Aris to sign Artsiom Parakhouski, Videnov heading to the ACB

He is the new favourite of the Belarusian crowds.


Now that Greek media decided to reveal his name, I guess I can reveal it too. Artsiom Parakhouski(2.11-C) is the best prospect to come out of Belarus in a long time. I did say he has the physique of Aleks Maric as they are of the same height and also the same wingspan(7'1'' or 2.16m) but Parakhouski is actually more athletic than Maric. He is a player that draftexpress.com ranks as number 11 in this season's top centers. Not bad for Belarus.

Parakhouski wanted to big the first player from Belarus to play in the NBA but he didn't manage to secure a contract this summer although he put up a decent effort to impress the NBA scouts during the Boston Summer Camp and the Las Vegas Summer League where he played for Boston averaging 5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 4 games. Coach Sharon Drucker managed to see him in action in Las Vegas and set the wheels in motion to acquire the player for Aris.

He graduated at the end of this season from Radford averaging the impressive figures of 21.4 points 13.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in a total of 31 games in the Big South Conference. He was born in Minsk and he only started playing basketball at the age of 16. Needless to say that he has come a long way since then and perhaps in a few years time he will indeed become the first Belarusian in the NBA.

Alexander Koul(2.15-C) and Yahor Meschcharakou(2.07-PF) have also played for Aris in the past so he will be the 3rd Belarusia in Aris if all goes well. He still has one game to go with his country's National Team against Romania this Saturday and after that he will be free to join the rest of the team of Aris. In his last game he was sidelined after 1 minute of play by light ankle injury. Information coming from the player's side suggests that his injury is already gone, that the deal between him and Aris is very close and Parakhouski is glad to start his European adventure(his own words) in Aris and Greece. Minsk 2006 also approached him, but coach Andrei Krivonos knew that they couldn't attain him.

If all goes well the deal could be announced very soon. On another issue Filip Videnov will probably prefer the money of the ACB as Aris didn't managed to match his demands (well over 180,000 euros) and he will probably go for one of his 2 offers from Spain. That means Aris will sign an American small forward that could also be announced very soon.

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A center and Videnov for Aris?

Aris are looking all over the place for new talent.


In Aris they have some targets in mind and very soon they will be sealing the deal with a hot new prospect from the north. I mentioned this earlier today in my Twitter account. Some countries are not known for their basketball talent production.. he comes from one of these countries and it's not Russia. You might think some teams would have not missed a player with the physique of Aleks Maric.

The new player that will be announced soon will close the gap in the front-line and quite possibly he will be the starting center. A fellow countryman of his has played for Aris in the past and he can vouch for how it is to play in Greece and the A1. The deal is very close to be finalised so I can't publish any more information at this time but this player hasn't played in Greece before and he is NBA material with the prospect of playing there in the future.

Also in Aris they will try to sign Filip Videnov again although there is a significant gap between what the player is asking and what Aris are willing to pay. This will allow Aris to quite possibly sign a foreign guard or if negotiations fail Aris will be signing a non-European small forward.

Videnov is currently playing with the Bulgarian National Team and he is the best player of his team so his asking price might difficult to bring down.

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Rumors about Roderick Blakney

You never know..


According to information of the Hoop, Roderick Blakney is one of the alternative solutions of Aris for the position of the point-guard.  Sam Van Rossom(1.88-PG) is the first choice but in Aris they won't be able to compete with a team that can offer Olimpia Milano more money to acquire the player on-loan.

On ther hand not much is happening in Panellinios and the team resemles a ghost town of sorts. So in Aris they're thinking that if Van Rossom is lost(Zaragoza was the last team that was interested) they could turn to veteran Roderick Blakney(1.81-PG) who knows the Greek League after many years of playing there and he also has a Bulgarian passport that allows him to play without occupying a foreigner spot. Despite his 34 years of age Blakney had a great season with Panellinios going all the way to the Final 4 of the Eurocup. He averaged 11.2 points 2.1 rebounds and 3.1 asists in 18 games in the Eurocup.

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Clark and Dikoudis out, Tapoutos in for Aris

Aris got rid of half a million euros worth of contracts.


Keydren Clark(1.78-PG/SG) and Dimos Dikoudis(2.07-PF/C) are no longer players of Aris since yesterday. The announcements came from the official website of Aris BC and both players are free to pursue their careers elsewhere. The contracts of the 2 players were too high for Aris for next season as things didn't turn out for the Greek team as they planned. The 2 of them together would make a combined amount of more than half a million euros and the administration of Aris wouldn't be able to afford them. Keydren Clark is the owner of a Bulgarian passport, a commodity that is bound to make him popular in the transfer market.

On the other hand Aris signed Christos Tapoutos(2.04-SF/PF) for 2 seasons as it was announced by the official site of the team. Tapoutos played for rivals Paok last season and as he has been a fan of the team since always, his dream became true to play for his favourite team. Tapoutos averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 26 games of the Greek A1 league last season.

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Aris signed prospect Aleksandar Vezenkov

Aris BC signed another prospect but this time he is not Greek.


Aris BC secured the signing of Bulgarian-Cypriot prospect Aleksandar Vezenkov(2.03-PG/SG) and it was announced via their official site. Vezenkov is the son of veteran player and coach Sasha Vezenkov, who is a close friend of the president of Aris. Vezenkov was a part of the Pinewood College team of Thessaloniki and now he belongs to Aris BC.

He is a member of the Bulgarian U-16 NT that will take part in the U-16 Eurobasket tournament in a few days. Vezenkov has a dual nationality, Cypriot and Bulgarian because although his parents are Bulgarian he was born in Cyprus.

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Keydren Clark to be released soon, Dikoudis to follow

Keydren Clark could be a free agent very soon.. even this week.


As I mentioned on Twitter back on July 1st, Keydren Clark(1.78-PG/SG) will soon be released from Aris BC and will probably head to Italy and Brindisi or perhaps another team. The American scorer with the Bulgarian passport will soon be released from Aris to seek a new team to play in the upcoming season.

Clark had signed an extension to his contract back in November 2008 so that he could be a player of Aris until the end of season 2010-2011. But the contract is soon to be mutually broken and Clark will become a free agent. The 400,000 dollars salary for next season would have been too heavy for Aris to bear so the team and the player decided to mutually part ways. Last season Clark averaged 10.1 points 1.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 28 games in the Greek A1 league.

Demos Dikoudis(2.07-PF/C) is the next to follow Clark out the door, whereas Nikos Hatzivrettas(1.95-SG) will stay with a reduced salary for next season.

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Brindisi interested in Clark and El-Amin

Keydren Clark might find a new home sooner than he thought.


According to senzacolonne.it, Keydren Clark(1.78-PG/SG) is the main candidate for the starting point guard  position of Brindisi. The Italian team won their promotion to the LegaA1 league in Italy and they are interested in signing Keyren Clark from Aris BC. Clark had an extension to his contract with Aris until 2010-2011 but it seems that very soon it will be announced that he is a free agent. Clark is not in the plans of Sharon Drucker for next season and in Aris they wouldn't want to get in his way of getting a new contract. Clark also owns a Bulgarian passport that allows him to play as an EU citizen.

The other candidate seems to be Khalid El-Amin(1.78-PG/SG) but Clark seems to be the main candidate. Clark has played in Italy before, during season 2007-2008, when he played for Scavolini. Last season wasn't great for Clark as he averaged 10.1 points 1.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 28 games in the Greek A1 league. During season 2008-2009 he averaged 14.3 points 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 35 games. Clark was also the top scorer of the Greek league during season 2006-2007 averaging 18.8 points per game.

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