Bootsy Thornton returns to Siena

Mens Sana Basket informs you that the club has signed Bootsy Thornton through the end of the season.


Born in Baltimore on July 30, 1977, the player spent the last three seasons in Turkey with Efes Pilsen, to whom he was linked by a very generous contract. The player satisfactorily dissolved the agreement with the Turkish club, thus creating the circumstances where he could reach an agreement with Mens Sana Basket.

Bootsy’s first words were, “I’m very linked to the club and the city. My hope has always been to return to Siena.” 

Bootsy Thornton began playing basketball at Dunbar High School in Florida before proceeding to Tallahassee Junior College at age 19. He’s chosen by the prestigious St. John’s University in 1998, winning the 1999/2000 Big East Conference title and earning the title of tournament MVP. After being chosen by some minor U.S. leagues (Cba, Usbl, Ibl) in the 2000 Draft, Bootsy Thornton chooses Europe and goes to Pallacanestro Cantù in January 2001.  He spends two and half very impressive seasons in Brianza, which earn him his first call from Montepaschi Siena in 2003. The Bootsy-Mens Sana Basket match-up is immediately a success. Thanks also to his performance, they win an Italian title (2003/2004) a SuperCup (2004/2005), and qualify for a Euroleague F4 (2004) all in a two-year period. Thornton becomes a hot commodity on the international market, and switches from Siena to Fc Barcelona. After getting off to a great start, the second half of the season is conditioned by some physical problems that prohibit him from performing to the best of his ability, but don’t stop him from playing a starring role in the 2006 Euroleague F4. This gained credibility allows Bootsy to immediately find a new home in Spain for 2006/2007 at the ambitious Akasvayu Girona lead by coach Svetislav Pesic. As “specialist” (approx. 15’ court time per game), Thornton competes in the Liga ACB arriving at the quarterfinals (year average of 5.2ppg and 1.6rpg) and wins the 2007 Fiba Eurocup, closing with an average of 7.2ppg and 3.2rpg. The following season he returns to wear Montepaschi’s jersey, with whom he wins the Supercoppa and Italian National Title, and makes the Final Four in Barcelona. His performances in Europe earn him a spot on the All Euroleague Second team. The 2008/2009 season, he heads to Turkey to play for Efes Pilsen Istanbul, where he spends three seasons and wins the championship, the Turkish National Cup and the Turkish President Cup.








source : menssanabasket.it


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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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Tony Parker will play for Villeurbanne

A long-heard rumor came true on Wednesday when Asvel announces the arrival of point guard Tony Parker, also its general director of basketball operations.


Parker (1.83 meters, 29 years old) arrives from San Antonio of the NBA, where he has played in each of the last 10 seasons. He led the Spurs to three NBA titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007, when he was chosen as the Finals MVP.

Last season, Parker averaged 17.5 points and 6.6 assists in 78 NBA games. He has accumulated 12,481 points and 4,285 assists in 746 regular season games, as well as 2,591 points and 682 assists in 138 playoffs showdowns. Parker started his career with INSEP and also played for Paris SG before joining San Antonio. He is also a regular member of the French national team, to which he led to the EuroBasket 2011 title game this summer. Parker was EuroBasket 2011's top scorer (22.1 ppg.) and was chosen to the All-Tournament team.

source : eurocupbasketball.com

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