Kostas Papanikolaou to participate in the 2011 Draft

It all depends on this season.


Kostas Papanikolaou(2.03-SF/PF) will probably be declare his participation in the 2011 NBA Draft according to sentragoal.gr. The Greek site says that Papanikolaou has already made up his mind about taking part in the Draft process and this season he is feeling readier than ever.

There have already been representatives from 4 teams to have a look at the young prospect which makes matters even more serious. Apart from the Detroit Pistons that sent 2 representatives, there have also been people from 3 other teams. First came the San Antonio Spurs via their vice-president Dennis Lindsey, then there were Adam and Jason Filippi for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trailblazers and finally there were George David and Danielle Bozielli for the Pistons. The final decision will be made in the Spring of 2011 and it will all depend on his predicted position in the Draft at that point. Worst case scenario is that will he pull out of the Draft.

More on Kostas Papanikolaou can be found here.

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Olimpija signed Davis Bertans

BC Union Olimpija signed Latvian small forward prospect Davis Bertans on professional multi-year contract.


18 years old and 205 cm tall forward is known to be one of the most talented European players of his generation. He started the season in Latvia, where he played for BK Barons Riga in Latvian first division. Bertans averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

During summer 2010 he also played on European Championship U18 in Lithuania, where he led his Latvian team to third place, averaging 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He was also selected into all-tournament lineup.

source : union.olimpija.com

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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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Qyntel Woods signed with Red Wings Samara

One of the Euroleague's top performers from a season ago is taking his game to the Eurocup with the announcement Monday that the newest Russian club in the competition, Krasnye Krylia, has signed forward Qyntel Woods to a one-season contract.


Woods (203, 29) led Asseco Prokom Gdynia to the Euroleague Playoffs last season with team-high averages of 16.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. He was the second-best scorer in the competition and the sixth-ranked player overall according to performance index rating. Woods is a gifted player for his size, able to run the floor, dribble and finish like a guard despite often holding down the power forward position. His arrival to Krasnye Krylia should immediately boost the team's chances in Group H.


Woods played just four games previously in the Eurocup, during the 2008-09 season, averaging 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Fortitudo Bologna before moving in mid-season to join Prokom in the Euroleague. Previously, Woods had played in Portland, Miami and New York of the NBA, as well as with Olympiacos of Greece in the Euroleague. Krasnye Krylia hosts Pepsi Caserta in their Group H opener on Tuesday, which is also the first game to tip off in the 2010-11 Eurocup season. It was not clear whether Woods would arrive and be registered in time for Tuesday's game.

source : eurocupbasketball.com

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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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NBA scouts for Kostas Papanikolaou

Another name to remember in the future.


According to superbasket.gr, the Detroit Pistons sent 2 of their representatives in Athens to see themselves one of the biggest Greek prospects. George David, the Director of Player Personnel for the Pistons and also Danielle Bozielli, one of the international scouts for the Pistons came to see Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou(2.03-SF/PF).

Papanikolaou is currently 20 years old and he has been slowly but steadily working his way to the Men's National Team of Greece after multiple medals and MVP titles with the Young National Teams. Papanikolaou can play both forward positions although he excels as a small forward. His athletic skills and knowledge of the game have drawn interest from the other side of the Atlantic and he could even be considered for the next NBA Draft. Papanikolaou started his pro career in Aris Thessaloniki but as he exploded into the Youth National Teams scene his team decided to sell him for the hefty price of 1 million euros in order to cover many of the team's debts. Now Papanikolaou is seeing some decent playing time under the guidance of Dusan Ivkovic who prefers working with youngsters and developing their game. So far he has averaged 7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 4 games in the Euroleague and also 6.5 points 6 rebounds and 1 assists in 4 games in the Greek A1 league.



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Giannakis the leading candidate for Valencia

It was only a matter of time before Hussein was fired.


Panayotis Giannakis is the leading candidate for the bench of Valencia and the one that the administration wants to fill in for Manolo Hussein according to tubasket.com. The Spanish site says that pretty much every single coach who is free at the moment has been offered to Valencia. Yesterday the candidates were Zouros, Comas and Becirovic.

It seems that Manuel Comas was also considered but rejected. The second runner up would be Serbian veteran Svetislav Pesic who has won a quite a few titles in his time. Giannakis seems to be the strongest candidate and he is currently available. He has been the head coach of Olympiakos for the last 2.5 seasons. Greek media seem to have picked up on the story and the consensus there is great difficulty in his case and it all comes down to the duration of the contract. There aren't any more details as to what that means though but it is expected that Giannakis will probably decline the offer.

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