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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Jamie Vanderbeken to play in Greece?

Only a rumor at this stage.


According to basketblog.gr, Jamie Vanderbeken(2.11-SF/PF) will be playing in Greece for Maroussi next season. The talented shooting forward has a UK passport and that is a valuable commodity in the European transfer market. Maroussi on the other hand are not what you'd call a model team. They are being plagued by many debts as many other Greek teams and a lack of people to manage the club, let alone players.

At the moment they don't even have a coach but the consensus is that Sotiris Manolopoulos, who was assistant last season will be the head coach this season. As for Jamie Vanderbeken, he comes from the Iowa State Cyclones where he was shooting behind the arc with 42.5% accuracy(65/153). He averaged 11.1 points 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in a total of 29 games.

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Baskonia made an offer to Pops Mensah-Bonsu

The hero of Granada could return to Spain to the team that almost signed him last summer.


According to tubasket.com, Pops Mensah-Bonsu(2.06-PF) received an offer from Saski Baskonia and he might make it into their roster after all. Bonsu was signed by Baskonia this past summer but the deal was called off and they signed Marcus Haislip(2.07-PF/C) instead. But now Mensah-Bonsu might be released from the New Orleans Hornets and a contract with Baskonia could be a good way for him to return to Europe.

He has been seeing very little playing time in the NBA with the Hornets averaging less than 5 minutes in 7 games whereas in the Euroleague and the ACB his playing time will be significantly longer. He is a vital member of the Great Britain National Team.

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Barcelona announced Joe Ingles for 2 seasons

Now it's official.


Barcelona announced via their official website the signing of Australian forward Joe Ingles(2.03-SG/SF/PF). Ingles is effectively leaving CB Granada in a very difficult position as he is the best player of the team but Barcelona have paid 450,000 euros for his transfer. On the other hand Granada are close to the relegation zone in the ACB at the moment and the future doesn't look any brighter.

Ingles will be replacing the injured Gianluca Basile and his British passport makes him a valuable commodity. So far he has averaged 13.3 points 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 7 games in the ACB for Granada. He is the second Australian to join Barcelona after David Andersen(2.11-PF/C) who is now playing in the NBA.

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Barcelona to sign Joe Ingles?

Another forward for Barcelona.


Joe Ingles(2.03-SG/SF/PF) will be the player to replace the injured Gianluca Basile according to tubasket.com. Joe Ingles is currently a player of Granada in the ACB and according to the article the transfer fee was agreed at 450,000 euros. Ingles holds a British passport so that allows him to play as a European player.

Hence Ingles will be joining Barcelona beating the other 2 candidates that were Simas Jasaitis(2.02-SF) and Bojan Bogdanovic(1.98-SG/SF). Ingles is a very versatile player that can cover many positions in the perimeter and he is also a member of the Australian National Team. So far he has averaged 13.3 points 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 7 games in the ACB for Granada.

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Budivelnyk signed Andrew Betts

Budivelnyk strengthened their frontcourt.


They added Andrew Betts  (216-C-77, college: Long Beach St.) to the roster. The 33-year-old centre spent the previous season in Greece. The British player tallied 8.4 points, 4.4 boards and 1.3 assists per EuroCup game for Aris. In A1 league Andrew Betts delivered 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per appearance. Earlier Andrew Betts used to play in Italy and Spain. Andrew Betts played for Great Britain at the 2009 EuroBasket. The centre notched 6.5 points and 3.5 boards per game in Poland.
  

source : eurobasket.com


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Aris turning now to Ndudi Ebi and waiting on Haralambidis

He was one the best players in LegaDue last season.

As the Hoop revealed 11 days ago in Twitter, Aris was interested in one of the best players of the LegaDue and that was Nigerian/British forward/center Ndudi Ebi(2.06-PF/C) that played for Rimini last season. Coach Drucker had Ebi in his sights for some time now and as of recently the interest became even more serious. Ebi can cover both positions in the front-line and he can also shoot the ball if needed. All this combined with his bosman passport make him an ideal candidate for Aris. Ebi also has NBA experience as he was drafted back in 2003 by Minnesota but he didn't get much playing time in the NBA. He has also played for Bnei Hasharon and Carife Ferrara in the past. Ferrara recently expressed interest in the player as well so Aris are not alone trying to sign the player.

Latest information suggest from his agent's side suggest that the interest from Aris is even more intense now that potentially means that the player and the team are in advanced talks. He shares the same agent with Matt Walsh that played in Aris last season. Ebi averaged 15.3 points 13.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals and 1.7 blocks in 33 games in the LegaDue making him the top rebounder of the league by far. In Aris now they're waiting for the imminent collapse of Panellinios to sign Kostas Haralambidis. More on that later.

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Pops Mensah Bonsu to play for Baskonia(announced)

The British-Ghanese forward moves from Russia to Spain.


According to elcorreo.com, Pops Mensah-Bonsu(2.06-PF) will be the new player of Baskonia. Bonsu played for CSKA last season but his role was diminished and in Baskonia they have space in their front-line and money to spend since Tiago Splitter(2.11-C) moved to the NBA.

The article says that there are advanced negotiations between Baskonia and Bonsu but nothing is finalised yet. Other information suggests that the deal could be announced very soon. Bonsu has played in the ACB before. His first appearance was back in 2007 when he played a game for Granada beating Baskonia and saving the team from relegation. He also played briefly for Badalona and a whole season for Benetton before that. In the NBA he played for San Antonio, Toronto and Houston. Last season he averaged 6.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 12 games of the Russian Superleague but with only 10 minutes of average playing time.

Editor : Baskonia, shortly after this article, announced the 1+1 season deal via their official website.

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Steve Leven to play in Greece

This one was tipped off by greekbball.blogspot.com.



Australian-born Steve Leven showed just why he is such a valuable asset to Scottish basketball with a vintage display in a 88-68 defeat to favourites Denmark in their opening clash of the Euro C Championship in Malta.
Leven, whose father hailed from Edinburgh, intends signing a new pro contract with a Greek club next season but not before the man who represented Australian Universities has performed mightily for his new country.

He scored 23 points off three from four shots from three-point range, six from 13 from two point range and eight from nine from the line and nearly brought the house down with a spectacular dunk which toppled the portable basket. Ross Campbell added 12.

Laurie Costello (Edinburgh Kings) said: "We have to play better as a team."

source : sport.scotsman.com


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