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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Bamberg announced PJ Tucker

They replaced Kyle Hines with another tough player.


Bamberg announced P.J. Tucker(1.98-SF/PF)via their official website and he will their player until the end of the season. Tucker's last team was in Puerto Rico but he has lots of experience in Europe. He will be replacing the loss of Kyle Hines(1.98-PF/C) who went to Olympiacos and he will be adding much needed strength under the baskets. Like Hines, Tucker is also known for his impressive strength and he can cover both forward positions if need be.

Tucker's real name is actually Anthony and the P.J stands for Pop Junior. It's a nickname that his father gave to him soon after his birth and he has been carrying it ever since. He graduated from the University of Texas back in 2006, where he won numerous awards. He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 35th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and signed a two-year deal with them on July 26, 2006. He spent some time in the NBDL with the Colorado 14ers and was waived by the Raptors finally in 2007.

During 2007-2008 he spent his pro season overseas where he conquered the Israeli league as a player of Hapoel Holon and he was also named the MVP of the league. After that he signed with BC Donetsk but had a serious injury that sidelined him for 2 months. Nevertheless he was one the top scorers of the Ukrainian league averaging 19.4 points per game. Last season BC Donetsk had serious financial issues so he returned to Israel and Bnei Hasharon averaging 17.3 points 9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 12 games.


This past season he started playing for Aris BC averaging 12.2 points 7.4 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 games in the Greek A1 league. After that he left the team because the head coach Sharon Drucker was sacked and he had a falling out with the administration. He managed to break his contract with Aris and helped Montegranaro to stay in the LegaA1 averaging 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in 3 games. He also played in Puerto Rico for Quebradillas averaging 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 15 games.

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Maroussi announced Denis Clemente

Subject to the medical tests of course..


As expected, Maroussi BC announced the signing of Puerto Rican point-guard Denis Clemente via their official website yesterday evening. Clemente will be arriving to Athens today and then he will undergo the standard medical tests and if all goes well he will sign his new contract with Maroussi.

He will be replacing Tony Weeden(1.88-PG/SG) who is currently waiting to hear his penalty as he was found positive on forbidden substances during a routine drugs test. Clemente will be playing his first game against Panellinios on the 31st of January.

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Maroussi waiting on Denis Clemente's contract

He will be replacing the "intoxicated" Tony Weeden.


Denis Clemente(1.85-PG/SG) is supposed to be returning his contract to Maroussi anytime now according to basketnet.gr. The Puerto Rican point guard started the season in Israel playing for Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion but he was waived by his team because they wanted a pure scorer. He averaged 9.6 points 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 7 games in the Israeli League. He graduated in 2010 from the Kansas State University but went undrafted.

If he sends back his contract signed he will be replacing Tony Weeden (1.88-PG/SG) who was caught positive in a drugs test for a forbidden substance. It was part of a medication that he hadn't warned his team about and so Maroussi had to waive him although he wasn't doing bad, averaging 10.4 points 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 7 games in the Greek A1 league.

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Rick Pitino to coach Puerto Rico NT?

We can say that this fits the PBT format because Rick Pitino once coached professionals (you can insert your Louisville basketball jokes here), or that the Puerto Rican national team features NBA players such as J.J. Barea and Carlos Arroyo. But the honest truth is we just find this fascinating.


Pitino is in talks to take over as coach of the Puerto Rican national team. He will meet Sunday in Miami with officials from the island nation to talk face-to-face, according to ESPN Dallas. Barea confirmed the news to ESPN.

“He’s very excited and it’s almost a done deal,” Barea said Wednesday before the Mavs faced the Portland Trail Blazers. “And I’m excited for it. We need a guy like that. It’s going to help us as a team.”

Puerto Rico has a good basketball tradition — remember they beat the USA in the Athens Olympics — but last summer they did not impress at the World Championships in Turkey. There are questions about whether they can to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics (that qualification tournament takes place next summer in Argentina, the USA already qualified this summer by winning the World Championships).

So, the Puerto Ricans are going big — not Coach K big, but they are desperate enough to go outside their own group of guys.

“He’ll bring defense and discipline and I think guys will listen to him more than they listen to the guys in Puerto Rico just because he’s Rick Pitino,” Barea said. “I think that will help.”

Celtics fans, stop laughing.  This is seriously going to happen.


source : http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com


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Villeurbanne added Angel Vassallo

ASVEL Villeurbanne signed Angel D. Vassallo (198-G/F-86, college: Virginia Tech) for the next season.


The 24-year shooting guard / small forward arrives to ASVEL from Puerto Rican team Galitos de Isabela. He joined them in May this year, after he finished the season with Paris-Levallois. It was the first overseas job for Vassallo, who demonstrated great performance in Pro A. He appeared in 31 games averaging 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals. Vassallo ended the contest as No.4 in scoring. His season-high was 29 points against Rouen (twice) and Orleans. It seems he showed enough to earn a deal with the former French champion, who will play in Euroleague qualifications next season.

Angel D. Vassallo is a product of Virginia Tech University. He spent four years there and graduated in 2009. In his senior season Vassallo had 19.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 2.6 apg in 34 games. He played at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament after that. However, none of the NBA teams was interested to offer him a deal. Vassallo joined Criollos de Caguas after that for 2009 BSN season in Puerto Rico.

Daniel Vassallo is a member of Puerto Rican National Team since last summer. He appeared at the FIBA Americas Championship in San Juan last year averaging 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds for 10 games. He helped Puerto Rico to win the Silver medal.


source : eurobasket.com

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