Efes Anadolu announced Elias Zouros

Days after being eliminated from the playoffs race in a season for which it had Final Four hopes, Anadolu Efes decided to change course by bringing in a new head coach, Ilias Zouros, on Monday.


Zouros will replace Ufuk Sarica, who had joined Efes at a similar juncture last season, but was unable to put the team into position to try to make the 2011 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul this May. Efes remains the only Turkish team ever to make a Final Four, but last did so more than a decade ago. Zouros, 45, began this season with Zalgiris after having taken over that club in a similar situation in January of 2011. He and Zalgiris won the the Baltic League and Lithuanian League titles together last spring. Zouros was released by Zalgiris after the team lost the opening game of this Turkish Airlines Euroleague season at home against CSKA Moscow.

Zouros, a former Eurocup Coach of the Year with Panellinios of Greece, has also coached Olympiacos, Peristeri and Aris in his home country. He also coached Sagesse Beirut to the Lebanese League title and the Asian Club Championship and spent a season-plus with Paris Racing Basket of France. Efes said in a statement that Sarica, who had been assistant coach previously, would stay with the club. Efes hosts CSKA in its last Euroleague game of the season on Thursday.

source : euroleague.net

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Patrick O'Bryant to play in Puerto Rico

This is his last game.


According to basketnet.gr, Patrick O'Bryant(2.13-C) has received an offer he can't refure from Indios BCN and after tonight's game he will be leaving the team of Kavala BC. The offer is quite good and it's for 14,000 dollars a month for O'Bryant who came from the NBDL and had his break-out season in Europe.

The only other time that O'Bryant played outside Europe was in China for Fujian Xunxing. He has also played for Golden State, Boston and Toronto in the NBA and Bakersfield and Reno in NBDL. O'Bryant was the 9th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft but his stock didn't go up as expected. Nevertheless he had a productive season in Greece averaging 9.5 points 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in a total of 18 games.

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Michalis Giannakidis offered to Spanish teams

The next one to leave Paok..?


Giannis Kalambokis(1.95-SG/PG) will be playing for Alba Berlin after Paok's next game in the A1 league against Peristeri. The next player to leave though could be rising star Michalis Giannakidis (1.92-SG). Giannakidis has seen more playing time the last 2 seasons in Paok and his ability to shoot behind the arc is amongst his strong points.

According to basketplus.gr, his agents have offered him to Spanish teams that have shown some interest in the player who has a tiny contract with Paok. Valladolid and Obradoiro seem to be 2 of the teams that the player has been offered to and the success story of Kostas Vasileiadis of Bilbao seems to work in his favor. Vasileiadis started his career in Paok as well. Giannakidis has averaged 6.1 points 2.2 rebounds and 1 assists in the last 18 games in the A1 league.

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Alba Berlin interested in Giannis Kalambokis?

A better offer from Germany.

According to olapaok.gr, a website affiliated with Paok BC, Giannis Kalambokis(1.95-SG) is a target of Alba Berlin. The Greek shooting guard had a good season with Paok so far and according to article, his agent Kostas Papadakis is in talks with the German team.

Obviously there has to be a deal with Paok before he is released as the player is bound by contract until the end of the season but on other other hand it is possible that he is owed part of his contract which will make negotations easier for Alba. He has averaged so far 12.4 points 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 17 games in the A1 league.

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Dominic James paid for his letter of clearance

It's almost over..


BDA Sports will be paying Aris a compensation of the order of 40% of James' current contract with Aris according to allaboutaris.com. Rade Filipovic spoke to the president of Aris and this deal was agreed. BDA Sports did not even file any notes against Aris as the case was sent to FIBA BAT, knowing full well that Aris were well within contract limits.


Unfortunately for BDA Sports, they didn't handle the case very well and a compensation will be paid to Aris to secure James' letter of cleareance sooner rather than later. It's rumored that James will soon be free to join Partizan for a more lucrative contract than that of 8,000 euros per month.

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Uzoh was offered to release James

Negotiations are afoot..


Dominic James(1.80-PG) left Greece and went to Serbia to join Partizan but that doesn't seem to be ending well for him. The player did try to make amends and return to Aris BC by calling his former players but the team's administration are sticking to their decision to let FIBA make a ruling through B.A.T.

According to basketplus.gr, Ben Uzoh(1.91-PG/SG) was offered to Aris BC as a "boon" in order to release the letter of clearance for Dominic James. Uzoh signed initially for Montegranaro but he left them out to dry and fled hastily towards the dollars of Lokomotiv Kuban. That didn't really end too well for him and after 2 games he went back home. Now he's playing in the NBDL for the Rio Grande Vipers averaging a decent 17.9 points per game. Uzoh might be a bit on the pricey side for the shoestring budget of Aris this season and there is always the compensation to the NBDL league to release him. The Aris administration want a compensation instead.

There will probably be more to follow in the James melodrama..

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Nikos Pappas moves to Paok

Could be a good opportunity for both parties.


A few years ago (back in the summer of 2008) Nikos Pappas(1.95-SG/PG) signed a 4-season contract with Bilbao. This season would have been his last but it seems that Pappas and Bilbao went on their separate ways and Paok seized the opportunity to add a guard to their frontcourt.

Pappas was the star of the young National Teams of Greece especially in the New Zealand U19 2009 World Championship but since then he has shown very little improvement in his skill, technique and physique. He played for Kolossos Rhodes for the last 2 seasons on loan from Bilbao but still not much improvement. He's got the 2nd half of the regular season to show something but chances are he will get very little money out of Paok this season(if any) but he could convert that into a better contract next season.

Last season he averaged 7.5 points 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 25 games in the A1 league playing for Kolossos.

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Villeurbanne announced Dimitris Haritopoulos

A bargain!


ASVEL Villeurbanne announced the signing of Greek power forward Dimitris Haritopoulos(2.05-PF) via their official website. This will be the first time that Haritopoulos will play in a different league in Europe. He started his career in Aris Thessaloniki and after a tumultuous divorce with the team he went over to rivals Paok and also played for Panionios and Maroussi. In theory this will be the first time in his career that Haritopoulos will be paid on time and in full. He was even unlucky to play for Panionios the season that Elias Lianos had the unfortunate inspiration to step down as president and let others put the team in debt.

This season in Maroussi it was known in Greece that the team had no money whatsoever and the main reason that Haritopoulos and the others persevered was to get a better contract abroad. This has come to pass for Haritopoulos now who will soon be joining the rest of the players of Villeurbanne. He has averaged 12.1 points 7.6 rebounds in 14 games in the Greek A1 league this season.

Maroussi have almost certainly kicked the bucket and way or another their heading to relegation or disqualification from their league if the guarantor check bounces. Other players could soon follow Haritopoulos' example.

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Dominic James wants to leave Aris, Aris want to sell him

Time to bail out?


Dominic James(1.80-PG) didn't travel to Donetsk with the rest of the team of Aris. Instead he stayed on in Thessaloniki so that he can discuss with the administration the offers that Aris have from other teams.

According to the president's unofficial press representative James is actually owed one instalment of his contract. Rumors from the Exedra newspaper say that James has already been sold to a Russian team but he actually wants to go to Partizan for free. In Serbia the media say that James has already agreed with Partizan which is probably not far from the truth but what he wants and what the president wants are completely different things. The president's unofficial press representative says that the team's legal team will follow all the protocols to make sure that the team is covered. This one won't escape so easily it seems.

It was inevitable that something like that would happen to Aris as the president of the team has managed to alienate the shareholders and future investors of the team and now he is struggling on his own to manage the
unmanageable debts he has amassed. Selling players is his expertise anyway.

More on this to follow probably even through the course of the day. Aris might not be losing just James very soon but he might be losing his head coach as well as he made the president angry..


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Partizan consider Dominic James? possibly in vain..

His performance this season hasn't gone unnoticed.


Dominic James(1.80-PG) seems to be on the sights of Partizan Belgrade according to sportske.net. The Serbian portal says that James was considered during the summer as well but A.C. Law was signed instead. James was the driving force behind the team's rebirth this season and managed to turn the tide around and the team won some very important games and also qualified to the next stage of the Eurocup.

James is averaging 14.2 points 2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 13 games in Greece and also 14.7 points 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 7 games in the Eurocup at the moment attracting looks from all around Europe. He is an NBA caliber athlete although his point guard skills need some polishing up and his long range shot leaves something to be desired. It needs to be said that he has improved his long range shot and his free throw percentage this season. The Serbian portal says that James reminds them of Bo McCalebb with his ability to attack the basket and they are hoping that the financial problems of Aris will make him an easy target.

Aris BC are indeed in a dire financial situation(massive debts) with no money coming in from the lack of sponsors and season tickets which is a testament to the incompetence of their administration. However the president's unofficial press representative has declared that James is not one of the players that is still awaiting late payments. James is Aris' hottest asset and as the Greek A1 league offers no incentive of a Euroleague participation (only through the qualifying rounds and even that is not certain) he might be an asset that will be sold to the highest bidder and thus covering some of the older debts of the team. Some of them date back to season 2005-2006.

So if Partizan can cough up the dough they might bag themselves James. If not then James becomes a free agent next season where he will be able to claim a much more lucrative contract than what he earns currently.

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Olympiacos to sign George Hill?

They couldn't wait for Calderon apparently.



The rumor has spread like wildfire the last few hours in Greece and it has even made its way to the other side of the Atlantic. George Hill (1.88-PG/SG) will be signing a contract with Olympiacos with a clause to leave the Greek team if the lock-out ends.

The rumor has been replicated by many Greek sites. I will not quote all of them here or who was the first one to write about it but I will quote sday.gr that says that Jose Calderon was the first player on the list but he asked for a few more days to answer. He could have been possibly waiting for offers from Spain. As Calderon didn't answer the effort was focused on Hill who could be making his Euroleague debut next week against Fenerbahce.

Hill was playing for the San Antonio Spurs last season averaging 11.7 points 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 55 games. He will be playing for Indiana once the lock-out ends.. if it ends.


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Melvin Goins to play in Greece

Goins will play for KAO Dramas.


Melvin Goins(1.80-PG) will be the latest addition of A1 hopefuls KAO Dramas according to sport24.gr. The point guard of the Tennessee Volunteers will play in the same league as former teammate Scotty Hopson(2.01-SF) that plays for Kolossos Rhodes. KAO Dramas is one of the teams with the smallest budget in the league and their main goal at this stage to secure their place in next season's A1.

Goins will be in Greece tomorrow evening in order to become part of the team as soon as possible so that he gets a chance to play in this weekend's game against Aris BC. Goins will be helping veteran Sakis Karidas(1.85-PG) in the point guard position. He also confirmed himself via Twitter that he will be playing in Greece. Goins finished the season for Tennessee averaging 8.1 points 2.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 33 games.

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Eric Boateng to join Peristeri in Greece

Great Britain big man Eric Boateng has signed with Greek side Peristeri B.C for the coming season.


The 6’11″, 260lb center spent last season in the NBA’s Development League, split between two teams, the Idaho Stampede and Austin Toros. He averaged 4.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 0.9 bpg in just 16 minutes per outing, with his best two outings coming in back to back performances for Idaho against Bakersfield in December where he had a 19 point-11 rebound and 16 point-13 rebound double double respectively. The Londoner also made 5 NBA appearances with Denver Nuggets in the pre-season.

Peristeri compete in Greek’s top A1 league, where they went 12-14 last season finishing in the middle of the table (7th out of 14). They are 2-0 for the 2011/12 season so far.

Boateng averaged 1.5 points and 2 rebounds per game this summer for GB at Eurobasket in Lithuania.

source : hoopfix.com


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Dimitris Tsaldaris returns to Aris?

The saga might come to an end today or tomorrow.


Dimitris Tsaldaris(1.96-SG/SF) will be a much welcomed addition to the ailing roster of Aris BC giving them much needed experience and basketball IQ. Aris BC went to other extreme this season and instead of investing on players who are drained physically and emotionally, they decided to invest on college graduates with no experience of European basketball whatsoever. Although their talent cannot be denied they lack in other parts of the game that seasoned veterans do not.

Tsaldaris has played for Aris in the past for 3 seasons (2006-2009) and last season he played in Lega A1 for Dinamo Sassari. This time he wants to play in Greece and he is also going for a closed 2 season contract.

The president of Aris leaked through a close friend of his, that writes for pressaris.gr, that the deal will be sealed in Athens today when he will meet Tsaldaris' agent and possibly the player himself. This is done in order for Tsaldaris' salary to be guaranteed possibly through some of the money of the TV rights or the league sponsorship deal. Panionios was rumored earlier today to try and cut through the deal (to sign the player for themselves) although this could be a "strategy move" and nothing else..



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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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Mantzaris to Bilbao and then on loan to Aris

He needs playing time.


These days there isn't much time for any articles so I'll be as brief as I can but I'll also try to explain things in detail at the same time. There were previous reports that Vangelis Mantzaris(1.95-PG) had attracted interest from many teams and one of them was Bilbao. It seems now that he will be signing a multi-season deal with Bilbao that could possibly be announced this Monday according to basketblog.gr

Mantzaris' intention is to get some more playing time but he has the luxury of picking a team that can play in the Eurocup as well these days and his choice is most probably Aris (unless something really unexpected happens). Mantzaris spoke to Kostas Sloukas(1.98-PG/SG) who also played for Aris on-loan last season and the head coach of Aris told him that he will be enjoying a starting-five position should he choose to play for them. Mantzaris was recently the final cut from the final squad of the Greek National Team which is a testament to his skill level at the young age of 21.

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Adrian Oliver to play for Aris?

Fresh from his Twitter account.


Adrian Oliver(1.93-SG) said in his Twitter account just 4 hours ago:
Signed a contract to play this lockout season in Greece. Thank you all for the good wishes. Leave in about a week so gettin everything...

In a previous article it was indicated that Oliver could be playing for Aris BC in Thessaloniki Greece and that makes him Aris' 4th college boy to be added in the roster if it's actually them he signed with. This is a radical turn for Aris signing already 4 college boys and possibly a 5th one in the next few days or even hours. The roster needs to be completed by the end of this month so the preparation stage can begin. Oliver's name comes up today again in today's edition of Athlitika Nea.

Perhaps there will be an announcement earlier today.Many thanks to the mysterious Mr. Pek for the heads up this morning.

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Adrian Oliver considers offer from Greece

He's got another offer from Spain.


Adrian Oliver(1.93-SG) had a great final season with San Jose State and now he is weighing his options about the next step in his career. He's been constantly asking on Twitter whether he should go to play in Greece. He did mention he had another offer from Spain but the money was better in Greece, however odd this may sound.

Today Adrian Oliver's name came up in Athlitika Nea, a newspaper affiliated to Aris BC where it highlights Oliver as potential candidate for Aris. Could that be a coincidence or could there be more teams involved. Oliver displayed his wide array of scoring methods this past season averaging 24.3 points 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in a total of 31 games.


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Brady Morningstar agreed terms with AGOR

Former Kansas University basketball guard Brady Morningstar will begin his professional career on the Greek Island of Crete, fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.


The 6-foot-4 Lawrence native announced Sunday that he’d reached agreement on a one-year contract with A.G.O. Rethymno, which plays in Greece’s top league. Terms were not disclosed. Morningstar’s new team reached the finals of the Greek Cup in 2006-07.

“I’m excited to start a new chapter of basketball in my life,” the former Free State High standout said. “In terms of standard of living, I think it’s a great place to play. Until I go over there, I won’t know exactly what the competition is like. Right now, I’m excited for a new journey.”

Morningstar, 25, averaged 7.1 points, 3.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game last season for KU (35-3).

Will he miss KU and the fans?

“Always, always,” he said. “There’s so much love and so much support.”

source : ljworld.com


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Sergio Kerusch for 3 seasons in Aris

The 3rd college boy of Aris.



Sergio Kerusch is the latest transfer of ARIS BC, he has signed a three-year contract and will hold a European spot in the team as his father is German. Kerusch is 1,95m tall and he plays forward but he can also be helpful as shooting guard. His passion and insistence are his great characteristics that allow him to score and gain many offensive and defensive rebounds.

Who is who:
Sergio Kerusch was born on June 1st 1989 in Memphis, Tennessee. He studied in Western Kentucky University with which he played in NCAA.

2008-09: Western Kentucky University (NCAA): 34 games, 24,7min, 11,2 ppg (44,6% fgp, 25,0% 3pt, 63,7% ft) and 7,4 rpg.
2009-10: Western Kentucky University (NCAA): 20 games, 28,9 min, 14,3 ppg (45,3% fgp, 35,5% 3pt, 61,7% ft) and 7,2 rpg.
2010-11: Western Kentucky University (NCAA): 32 games, 31,0 min, 15,6 ppg (48,5% fgp, 30,7% 3pt, 64,4% ft) and 7,9 rpg.


source : arisbc.gr

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