Casey Mitchell and Akis Kallinikidis announced by AGOR

Double whammy by the Cretan team that returns to the big league.


AGOR announced via their official website the signing of Greek veteran Akis Kallinikidis(1.97-SG/SF) and graduate scorer Casey Mitchell(1.93-SG). The deal is for one season for each player and these are the first transfers for AGOR that add experience and scoring prowess in their ranks.

Kallinikidis has played for quite a few teams in Greece and Mitchell comes from West Virginia University in the NCAA although he started at Chipola College of the NJCAA and he played for them for the first 2 seasons. His talents didn't go unnoticed by West Viriginia that brought him to the team in 2009. He averaged 13.1 points 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30 games with West Virginia. His arguments with coach Bob Huggins cost 3 games sidelined and then he saw his playing time reduced significantly which was a serious blow to his stats. Mitchell is a valid candidate for the top scoring position of the Greek A1 league next season.

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Ravern Johnson to sign with Ikaros

Another sharp-shooter in the Greek league.


According to onsports.gr, Ravern Johnson(2.01-SF) will be the next transfer of the Greek team that are playing in the big league for 2nd season in a row. According to the article Ikaros sent the contract back to Johnson to have it signed but he hasn't returned it yet. However his agent told the team that he will have signed the contract by tomorrow.

Johnson was one of the best shooters of the NCAA last season averaging 40.3% behind the arc with 83 out of 206 shots made. He graduated from Mississipi State University this summer averaging 17.6 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Bulldogs in 28 games.

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Jon Dielber signed with Panionios in Greece

Jon Diebler said this morning he has signed a one-year contract to play for Panionios in the Greek A1 League this season.


The contract does not have an opt-out clause if the NBA lockout ends and the league goes back to work, he said. Diebler was a second-round selection by the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA draft in June.

"I'm there for the year," Diebler said.

"With the lockout, it put a twist on things. I'm definitely a guy who would benefit from a full (training) camp instead of a shortened one."

Diebler said he and his agent and the Blazers discussed him playing overseas during the week between the draft and the start of the lockout. "Portland's been great. They want what's best for me."

Diebler's agent, Lance Young, said Diebler's contract is for more than $100,000 and includes "up-front money." 

"Doing stuff to protect him was our main objective," Young said, "making sure when he gets there, he gets a little chunk of change once he passes his physical." While not revealing Diebler's salary, Young said it is worth "well over the $100,000 mark.

"That was kind of our objective. Most guys in their first year in Europe make $100,000 to $120,000. We wanted to make sure we could get more than that." 

Diebler said he and his wife, Caitlin, leave later this month for Athens, where Panionios is based. He is scheduled to report to training camp August 28. His former Ohio State teammate, Zisis Sarikopoulos, was a reserve for Panionios last season, but Diebler is not certain whether he will re-sign with the team.

"I wanted to play in a really good league," Diebler said. "I was not so worried about how big my contract is. I was more worried about, for a year, going to play in a really good league with good teams and play really good competition and get better.

"I also wanted to go somewhere nice and has things to do. I wanted to have a nice situation for my wife. There’s a lot of nice places around the world, but I didn’t want to go somewhere where I'd have to worry about her when I’m on the road."

Young said another objective was to find Diebler a team that will feature him.

"There were a lot of teams interested," he said. "We were trying to find right fit for him where he was playing at a high level and for a team that was looking at him as a focal point and not as a role player.

"He's been a role player at Ohio State, and he accepted that role. Now I think he wants to take a little more of an assertive role as a two-guard and prove to the Blazers that he’s going to be ready when he goes to their camp next year to be a long-time NBA player."

source : buckeyeextra.com


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Skyliners announced Jon Leuer

A drafted prospect for Frankfurt.


It had been exactly 5 weeks since The Fraport Skyliners had acquired their last new player for the upcoming season with Joe Herber and the waiting for a new player seemed like an eternity, but the club announced today that Jon Leuer (208-F-89, agency: Priority Sports) will play for the team this season. Leuer is a 22 year old 208cm power forward from Long Lake Minessota. He is a solid power forward who is not so quick, but has great team mentality and defensive smartness. Knows how to score (and to gain fouls) in the low post, has a good outside shooting too.

He played high school basketball with Utah State player, Brad Brown (198-F) He was drafted recently by the by Milwaukee Bucks (NBA,2rd (40) and played at Wisconsin from 2007-2011 and in his senior year played 34 games: 18.3ppg, 7.2rpg, 1.6apg, FGP: 47.0%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 84.3%. 'Joe was one of the top talents in the NCAA and is a big player that can shoot and play the post. He runs the fast break very well for his size and is smart with a high basketball IQ', stated Skyliner headcoach Muli Katzurin (agency: Avi Zilberman ). Awards/Achievements in his basketball career have been Big Ten Regular Season Champion -08, Big Ten Tournament Winner -08, NCAA Sweet 16 -08, 11, All-Big Ten Honorable Mention -10, and All-Big Ten 1st Team -11. 'Joe has a very good and consistent shot. He can move very well and can play position four and five', stated Skyliner sport director Kamil Novak

source : eurobasket.com

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Oldenburg announced Bobby Brown

Nice catch for Oldenburg


Oldenburg announced the signing of American combo-guard Bobby Brown(1.88-PG/SG) via their official website. Brown will be taking his unorthodox shooting style to Oldenburg where he will be playing for them until the end of next season. He comes out of a relatively good season in Europe that started in Poland with Prokom and then he moved to Aris BC in December. He has played in Germany before back in season 2007-2008 when he played for Alba Berlin.

He had workouts with the Raptors, Pacers and Lakers this summer but the NBA lockout forced him to secure a contract in Europe instead of waiting for the lockout to end. With Aris he averaged 11.4 points 2.4 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 games in the A1 league. In the Eurocup he averaged 14.2 points 2.6 rebounds and 3.3 assits in 9 games.

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Von Wafer to play for Cremona

Von Wafer has agreed to a deal to play for Italian team Vanoli Cremona, according to his agent.


Wafer, an unrestricted free agent who spent the 2010-11 season with the Celtics, secured a coveted opt-out clause and will be able to return stateside should the lockout end during the international season.

Wafer averaged 3.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists over 9.5 minutes per game last season. He appeared in 58 games for Boston and seemed to be asserting himself before a late-season calf injury limited his playing time into the playoffs.

Last month, Wafer's agent, Terrance Doyle of the Veritas Venture Group, suggested his client would be interested in a return engagement with the Celtics.

"Von would love to be back [with Boston]," Doyle said of the 6-foot-5 swingman who has played for seven teams since being drafted by the Lakers in the second round (35th overall) of the 2005 draft. "He's never gotten that opportunity to go back with a team."

Wafer signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Celtics last August and fended off numerous charges at his roster spot and endured a locker room dust-up with teammate Delonte West to stick for the entire campaign. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge often voiced praise for Wafer and he would seemingly be a candidate to fill out the end of the Boston bench next season should the team need a depth swingman.

This will be Wafer's second voyage overseas. He chased an international payday following a breakout season with the Houston Rockets in 2009, but soon parted ways with Greek squad Olympiakos. After earning $915,852 on a minimum contract last season (and roughly $3 million in NBA contracts over six seasons), this overseas opportunity allows Wafer to earn some cash and keep sharp while waiting for the owners and players to work out a new collective bargaining agreement.

Venoli Cremona competes in Italy's Lega Serie A, the same highly regarded league that Celtics second-round draft pick E'Twaun Moore is set to join (Moore signed with Benetton Treviso last month).

source : espn.com

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Efes Anadolu announced Ersan Ilyasova

Anadolu Efes improved its frontcourt for the upcoming season by inking power forward Ersan Ilyasova to a one-year deal on Wednesday.


Ilyasova (2.07 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Milwaukee of the NBA, where he averaged 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 59 NBA games last season. In his last Euroleague appearance in the 2008-09 season, Ilyasova averaged 10.5 points and 7 rebounds in 22 games with Regal FC Barcelona, helping the team to reach the Final Four and win the Spanish League title. He has also played for Tulsa in the NBA Development league, as well as for Ulker and Yesilyurt Istanbul in Turkey. Ilyasova is also a regular member of the Turkish national team. He helped Turkey to make it to the 2010 FIBA World Championships title game last summer. Ilyasobva also won silver medals at the 2003 European U-16 Championship and the 2006 European U-20 Championship. He also led Turkey to win the 2004 Albert Schweitzer Tournament, earning MVP honors.

source : euroleague.net


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