Spurs International Update: December 2010
by Tim C. on Dec 7, 2010 10:11 AM CST
in Outside the League
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After a bit of a hiatus, it's finally time to check out what's going with Spurs prospects and castoffs across the pond. I would have loved to get this posted sooner, but the Spurs' great start to the season sort of pushed this to the back burner. Plus, it took a while for me to find all these guys and/or for them to find homes for the season.
Anyhow, the Euroleague season is well underway (it's been going for over a month now), and it's time to check in with our guys.
Let's start with the teams that have multiple names that are familiar to Spurs fans, all of whom play in Euroleage competition. We're just going to jump right in. NOTE: All stats below are from Eurobasket.com unless otherwise noted.
Partizan Belgrade [Adriatic League, Euroleague]
Partizan has the potential to be one of the best teams in Europe, and they have 2 of the Spurs 2010 training camp castaways. James Gist was signed within a few days of being cut by the Spurs, while Curtis Jerrells looked for work elsewhere in the NBA after being cut by the Hornets. As previously mentioned in a fanshot, Jan Vesely is also likely to be in the NBA at some point in the future, since he is a rare 6'11" small forward.
James Gist
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
BC Partizan MT:S Beograd
5
150
66
15-36
7-12
15-19
8
28
36
9
9
4
6
15
AVERAGE
BC Partizan MT:S Beograd
5
30.0
13.2
41.7%
58.3%
78.9%
1.6
5.6
7.2
1.8
1.8
0.8
1.2
3.0
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Partizan
6
137
60
21-34
4-19
6-10
7
25
32
5
17
3
2
20
AVERAGE
Partizan
6
22.8
10.0
61.8%
21.1%
60.0%
1.2
4.2
5.3
0.8
2.8
0.5
0.3
3.3
Not much new with James. He's a great rebounder, decent scorer, and can even step back to hit the three (though not too consistently). He's got to bring the turnovers under control though. 3+ TO's a game for a big man is just not acceptable.
Curtis Jerrells
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
BC Partizan MT:S Beograd
1
16
13
3-5
1-4
4-4
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
3
AVERAGE
BC Partizan MT:S Beograd
1
16.0
13.0
60.0%
25.0%
100.0%
0.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
1.0
3.0
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Partizan
1
20
4
2-5
0-1
0-0
0
0
0
2
2
1
1
2
AVERAGE
Partizan
1
20.0
4.0
40.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.0
2.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
There's really not much information you can garner from a two-game sample size, as the numbers above prove. But, Curtis just signed with Partizan about 10 days ago, so we'll have a better idea of his capabilities against high-level competition once he has some more experience under his belt. [Party's on? Partizan! -jrw]
______________________________
Power Electronics Valencia [ACB, Euroleague]
Euroleague Record: 3-4
Domestic Record: 4-6
Valencia is home to one of the Spurs' most interesting draft picks of the last few years, Nando De Colo. Joining SpurNando this year is Robertas Javtokas, who is perhaps the least likely of any player we're tracking to ever take the floor for an NBA squad. We're obviously going to talk about Nando more over the course of the season, but it's also nice to see Javtokas doing well after recovering from that horrific motorcycle accident a few years back. As a team, Valencia won the EuroCup last year, earning a spot with the top dogs in the Euroleague. They're having trouble with the higher level of competition, though.
Nando De Colo
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Valencia
5
119
61
12-28
3-20
28-29
6
10
16
10
10
1
9
15
AVERAGE
Valencia
5
23.8
12.2
42.9%
15.0%
96.6%
1.2
2.0
3.2
2.0
2.0
0.2
1.8
3.0
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Valencia
8
148
69
23-36
5-26
8-8
2
15
17
15
11
1
3
13
AVERAGE
Valencia
8
18.5
8.6
63.9%
19.2%
100.0%
0.3
1.9
2.1
1.9
1.4
0.1
0.4
1.6
Nando's stats are not very dissimilar to Manu's when he played in Europe, with the notable exception of 3-point shooting (and total scoring). However, he seems to have lost his starting job to Omar-Sharif Cook, but that might just be due to an injury that kept him out of some earlier games. Another interesting tidbit is that Nando is now listed at 6'8" - if true, he's grown a bit since we drafted him, and that might help his cause. But there's not a whole lot that makes him look like NBA material.
Robertas Javtokas
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Valencia
7
159
56
23-39
1-1
7-16
13
26
39
7
19
3
4
11
AVERAGE
Valencia
7
22.7
8.0
59.0%
100.0%
43.8%
1.9
3.7
5.6
1.0
2.7
0.4
0.6
1.6
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Valencia
10
235
81
38-57
0-0
5-18
19
37
56
8
22
6
5
20
AVERAGE
Valencia
10
23.5
8.1
66.7%
0.0%
27.8%
1.9
3.7
5.6
0.8
2.2
0.6
0.5
2.0
Javtokas is playing very well with his new squad, and they could be dangerous if SpurNando ever gets it together. [But what about that assists to turnover ratio, huh? Robby, that's not the one that's supposed to be doubling the other. -jrw]
______________________________
Olympiacos Piraeus BC [Greek League, Euroleague]
Euroleague Record: 5-2
Domestic Record: 7-0
Although they had a couple of NBAers on their roster last year, the deep-pocketed Greek team has had to re-tool after losing Josh Childress and Linas Kleiza, who fled back to the NBA during the offseason. They stole Vasillis Spanoulis (who was a Spur for approximately 5 seconds) away from arch-rival Panathinaikos, and convinced Rasho Nesterovic to cross the pond and play for them. They also still have another player of interest to the Spurs in Ioannis Bourousis, who has said that he wants to play in the NBA next season.
Rasho Nesterovic
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
132
71
31-48
0-0
9-13
18
15
33
1
16
4
2
8
AVERAGE
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
18.9
10.1
64.6%
0.0%
69.2%
2.6
2.1
4.7
0.1
2.3
0.6
0.3
1.1
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
6
111
75
35-49
0-0
5-8
16
12
28
2
9
4
4
5
AVERAGE
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
6
18.5
12.5
71.4%
0.0%
62.5%
2.7
2.0
4.7
0.3
1.5
0.7
0.7
0.8
Rasho is a beast for this traditional Euroleague powerhouse team. Just look at those shooting percentages. He's actually shooting better from the field than he is from the free throw line, which is insane. I kinda wish the Spurs still had him sometimes.
Ioannis Bourousis
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
126
75
27-48
3-12
12-20
11
41
52
6
13
9
5
13
AVERAGE
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
18.0
10.7
56.3%
25.0%
60.0%
1.6
5.9
7.4
0.9
1.9
1.3
0.7
1.9
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
132
81
25-46
2-3
25-33
15
31
46
8
19
5
9
14
AVERAGE
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
18.9
11.6
54.3%
66.7%
75.8%
2.1
4.4
6.6
1.1
2.7
0.7
1.3
2.0
Brontosaurus is a beastly rebounder, despite spending a lot of his time on the perimeter while Rasho works down low. He can even shoot the 3, but is pretty inconsistent at that. He still looks like a rather versatile young big who might be a worthwhile addition to next year's Spurs team.
Vasillis Spanoulis
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
202
99
15-34
10-25
39-48
0
12
12
34
19
1
6
27
AVERAGE
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
28.9
14.1
44.1%
40.0%
81.3%
0.0
1.7
1.7
4.9
2.7
0.1
0.9
3.9
Domestic League Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
185
88
23-37
7-21
21-26
1
10
11
47
13
0
8
22
AVERAGE
Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus
7
26.4
12.6
62.2%
33.3%
80.8%
0.1
1.4
1.6
6.7
1.9
0.0
1.1
3.1
Kill Bill (V-Span's nickname) is an amazing assist man. Just FYI, the Euroleague is very strict about awarding assists, and as a general rule, the assist numbers for Euroleague teams would be nearly double in the NBA. Yes, that's how good V-Span is at helping his teammates. [Oops; maybe now I owe Javtokas an apology? - jrw]
______________________________
Panathinaikos BC [Greek League, Euroleague]
Euroleague Record: 5-2
Domestic Record: 7-0
So, if you're as crazy emotionally invested in the Spurs as I am, you may recall the name Romain Sato. Back in 2004, the Spurs drafted Sato out of Xavier, and he even came to training camp, but was waived by the team before the season began. There were rumors that he was upset about playing time, hich is a big no-no with the Spurs. Anyhow, he eventually found his niche, becoming the MVP of the Italian League last year when he was with Siena (beating out league-leading scorer Gary Neal, whom you may have heard of). Olympiakos and Panathinaikos also have one of the most intense hoops rivalries in the world, so it should be fun when they finally play each other.
Romain Sato
Euroleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Panathinaikos Athens
7
199
75
18-34
6-22
21-26
8
21
29
9
16
1
7
12
AVERAGE
Panathinaikos Athens
7
28.4
10.7
52.9%
27.3%
80.8%
1.1
3.0
4.1
1.3
2.3
0.1
1.0
1.7
Greek League stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Panathinaikos Athens
6
99
53
15-25
4-14
11-13
0
5
5
7
7
1
3
3
AVERAGE
Panathinaikos Athens
6
16.5
8.8
60.0%
28.6%
84.6%
0.0
0.8
0.8
1.2
1.2
0.2
0.5
0.5
Sato's 3-ball is a little off this year, but I'd expect him to remedy that at some point. He was killing it from deep when he was with Siena. Other than that, he's doing pretty well. He's also developed a reputation as one of the best perimeter defenders in Europe. At age 29, Sato will probably never sniff an NBA court again, but it's nice to see him doing well.
______________________________
Montepaschi Siena [Serie. A, Euroleague]
Euroleague Record: 6-1
Domestic Record: 7-1
Speaking of Sato's former team, the brass at Siena decided that another former Spur would be the best choice to replace Sato when he bolted for Greece. Despite some hiccups with regards to a back injury that voided his first contract with them, Malik Hairston was signed a second time to play for the club this upcoming season. Even though they're not yet at full strength, Siena looks like a Euroleague superpower, with the highest scoring margin of any team so far. When Malik gets back, things could get epic for them, as they've never won a Euroleague title, despite 3 trips to the final four.
Malik Hairston
Malik hasn't played yet, but once he's fully rehabbed, he'll likely make the strongest defensive team in the Euroleague even stronger. We're rooting for you, Malik. Show David Moss just who deserves to start.
______________________________
Outside of Euroleague
That's it for the Euroleague Teams, now let's move further down the competitive ladder to Europe's other major hoops leagues.
Hapoel Gilboa Galil [Israeli Superleague, Eurocup]
EuroCup Record: 1-2
Domestic Record: 5-3
A couple of Spurs' training camp cast-offs have found their home with this Israeli team: Jack McClinton (2009) and Tyler Wilkerson (2010). I like both of them, but they each seemed a little cocky during their time with the Spurs. They're playing in the second-tier European league, the EuroCup, but they're not doing so well.
Jack McClinton
EuroCup stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa
3
87
47
4-10
11-17
6-6
0
6
6
3
9
0
4
3
AVERAGE
Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa
3
29.0
15.7
40.0%
64.7%
100.0%
0.0
2.0
2.0
1.0
3.0
0.0
1.3
1.0
Israeli Superleague Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Galil Gilboa
8
210
88
18-44
13-36
13-14
0
8
8
11
13
0
9
15
AVERAGE
Galil Gilboa
8
26.3
11.0
40.9%
36.1%
92.9%
0.0
1.0
1.0
1.4
1.6
0.0
1.1
1.9
Jack ain't exactly lighting the Superleague on fire, but his scoring and long-range shooting in the EuroCup is pretty impressive. He still doesn't look like a Spur by any stretch of the imagination, though. [Except he already has a PtR nickname: JackAttack! - jrw]
Tyler Wilkerson
EuroCup Stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa
3
54
28
11-20
1-1
3-4
3
8
11
2
13
3
0
6
AVERAGE
Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa
3
18.0
9.3
55.0%
100.0%
75.0%
1.0
2.7
3.7
0.7
4.3
1.0
0.0
2.0
Israeli Supe
rleague stats:
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Galil Gilboa
8
204
100
38-55
2-10
18-27
12
35
47
9
18
7
8
12
AVERAGE
Galil Gilboa
8
25.5
12.5
69.1%
20.0%
66.7%
1.5
4.4
5.9
1.1
2.3
0.9
1.0
1.5
Wilkerson seems to be having a pretty good season. If he can bring his rebounding/blocks numbers up, he might get invited back to Spurs camp at some point.
______________________________
Canadian Solar (Virtus) Bologna [Serie. A]
Domestic Record: 4-4
Before I get started on why we're paying attention to Bolgna this season, I should mention that they used to be called Kinder Bologna, back when a certain Argentine led them to two Italian League championships and a Euroleague championship. After that, the team went into a steep decline and ended up relegated to Italy's second-tier league, before finally getting back far enough to compete in Serie. A and EuroChallenge (tier below EuroCup). Even at that, they're no longer in the EuroChallenge, despite taking the title of that league in 2009.
This year, we're trying to follow them because of a 2004 Spurs draft choice, Viktor Sanikidze. Even though he was drafted so long ago, Sanikidze doesn't even turn 25 until April, so he may have a decent chance to be a Spur one day. As a 6'8" combo forward, he could be valuable someday. However, he's not getting a lot of playing time, and that's troublesome considering that his team isn't even in any international leagues.
Update on Viktor - big thanks to Alamo in the comments for finding this:
The long Georgian was injured in Caserta, and the diagnosis was not the sweetest, having the player suffered a double injury to the ligaments of the right ankle with a prognosis of at least 30 days.
Viktor Sanikidze
SUMMARY
TEAM
G
MIN
PTS
2FGP
3FGP
FT
RO
RD
RT
AS
PF
BS
ST
TO
Canadian Solar Bologna
5
90
33
9-14
3-10
6-6
13
16
29
3
11
0
2
7
AVERAGE
Canadian Solar Bologna
5
18.0
6.6
64.3%
30.0%
100.0%
2.6
3.2
5.8
0.6
2.2
0.0
0.4
1.4
____________________________________
So, that's your international update for December. It was fun tracking all of these guys down, if a bit arduous. But let me know what you think, and if you have suggestions for any other players that you'd like me to research and report on in January, let me know in the comments.
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Comments
Does growing taller affect a player’s jumpshot? Maybe that’s what’s screwing with Nando’s shooting.
"White-orange, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown"
yep. T568B user! :D
also, now that I have more time to investigate, Valencia still lists Nando at 1.95m (~6’4"). What site lists him as 6’8"?
"White-orange, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown"
Sanikidze is the guy that’s always peaked my curiousity…that is once I got over my man crush on The Shark.
BT-Dubs, did you you that back when Robertas Javtokas was living in Lithuania his daily breakfast consisted of a two badgers and a fox that he captured and killed freash daily using just his bare hands?
While complacency costs, perseverance pays
Great work, Tim
"We suck on 'D. Both individually and team-wise, we suck. We're pretty consistent that way. I don't know if I have an answer to that. If I did, we wouldn't suck quite so bad." - Popovich
by Aaron "Hirschof" Preine on Dec 7, 2010 11:06 AM CST reply actions
Looking over Viktor’s boxscores (after noticing he seems to have some nice numbers per minute), it seems like he was doing well and starting some games at the end of October through the beginning of November. His fifth game he played only 6 minutes off the bench without scoring and having only 1 rebound, and that was his last game (Nov. 13th). It made me wonder if he might have suffered an injury in his 4 games as starter and tested it in the 5th game but had to be pulled. Searching for news, I got this (dated 11/24) with the assistance of google translate:
The long Georgian was injured in Caserta, and the diagnosis was not the sweetest, having the player suffered a double injury to the ligaments of the right ankle with a prognosis of at least 30 days.
Injured, out for the whole season. In fact, I think he’s doing his surgery rehab in SA. I thought about including Gran Canaria just for the sake of having “his” team. But, if he’s not going to play, I didn’t see the point.
MANU GINOBILI Cares not for your humanity --Bushka
I recall hearing that Spanoulis was grateful to the Spurs for letting him get out of his contract, claiming there were family issues. It seems he indicated at the time that if he ever returns to the NBA he would like to do so with the Spurs. Whether he would or not, it seems the Spurs have created some goodwill with the Greek team.
There remains the problem, which seemed to apply to Spanoulis, that they come over from being a star and have to sit waiting for minutes. I would guess that they might be looking at Tiago as an example. It would seem to be an assist to recruiting any future international players if Tiago starts seeing an increase in minutes played.
Good catch on the V-Span statement (wanting to play for the Spurs as opposed to just wanting to play in the NBA)… I hope Span makes it to SA at some point. & oh yeah Tim: NESTEROBITCH!!! he’s no #50, but only #21 could say they were AT LEAST that (‘chips speak volumes man)… I swear I’m gonna shed tears the day BigFun calls it.
: [
How ’bout we get at least a back to back for that swimmer, tres-pedro?
by In the 666 on Dec 7, 2010 7:48 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
According to wikipedia, the three-year contract that Spanoulis signed in 2007 had a player opt-out clause after the first year, and he said that he might opt out and return to San Antonio if the Spurs wanted him. I don’t know if his 2010 contract has a similar opt-out clause, or even whether the Spurs’ rights to him from 2007 are still enforceable.
It would be nice to get something out of the Scola trade, but somehow I doubt that it’s gonna be Spanoulis. I’m gonna have to pin my hopes on Nando de Colo (drafted with the 2nd-round pick in 2009 we got from Houston in the trade).
btw, I found this interesting webpage speculating on some of the thinking and reasons behind the Scola trade. Rockets fans were trying to figure out why the Spurs F.O. would trade the rights to Scola to a division rival for relatively little in return. I think they may have gotten it right, though I’d need an advanced degree in capology to really understand it.
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 10:33 PM CST up reply actions
Once he bought out of his contract, the Spurs no longer had any rights to him. He apparently wasn’t able to get Houston to do the same buyout, and suggested he might return out of gratefulness rather than obligation.
It seems like there have been economic problems in the Greek league this year that might make it easier for players to get out of their contracts to move to the NBA. I doubt that would result in Spanoulis coming to the Spurs, since it seems he wants assurances of playing time and the Spurs likely wouldn’t guaranty it. I would think that the Spurs at least have goodwill that would help sign a player more content to be a role player,
Ah that’s right… the contract was voided or something like that. Spanoulis would be free to offer his services to any NBA club (assuming that he can break his current three-year deal).
He’s the kind of combo-guard that the Spurs seem to like, but the backcourt is so packed with talent right now, it’s hard to imagine that he’d be satisfied with his playing time situation. Apparently that was one of the reasons for his unhappiness with the Rockets, and Coach Jeff Van Gundy in particular.
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 8, 2010 9:02 AM CST up reply actions
Awesome research, Tim! Rec’d!!!
Your piece exemplifies one of the reasons I love PtR. Looking ahead, anticipating what the F.O. might do, etc. As a counterpoint, I was reading a Warriors fan’s FanPost on the SBNation Thuggets blog asking if they were interested in trading J.R. Smith. That’s so wrong on so many levels I can’t even begin to count them!
I assume that Simmons, Penney, Green, Temple, Gardner or the other players the Spurs flirted with during training camp or the season haven’t hooked up with a European club. I wonder where they may be…
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 12:36 PM CST reply actions
I think Temple’s back in the D-League, judging by his tweets. Penney when back to the NZ Breakers, and the others… well, I don’t know.
MANU GINOBILI Cares not for your humanity --Bushka
Rio Grande Valley Vipers(Rockets’ affiliate). That’s the same team the Spurs picked him up from last season.
MANU GINOBILI Cares not for your humanity --Bushka
Gotcha. That’s a shame. Feel like with some more work, Temple could have been productive. Was it ever known if the Spurs let him go because he wanted playing time elsewhere? (I know they’ve done that a good amount of times recently)
From training camp until his release, he was never able to calm down and play with the same aggressive-yet-under-control manner that he showed during his stint with the team last season.
RJ2.0: vive la différence.
The Temple was lost for sure… Outta control. I’m not sure what happened, but he became a HUGE liability on O, too many TOs. & IMO, Quinn looks like a more solid ball handler, at least at this stage of THIS season. Loved the father son story though.
by In the 666 on Dec 7, 2010 7:54 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Still not happy about his release… Quinn? Really?
ಠ_ಠ
"We suck on 'D. Both individually and team-wise, we suck. We're pretty consistent that way. I don't know if I have an answer to that. If I did, we wouldn't suck quite so bad." - Popovich
by Aaron "Hirschof" Preine on Dec 7, 2010 1:57 PM CST up reply actions
Spurs=shrewd… They give guys the opportunity to make the team. I always thought they kept Pain-o too long for my taste. We coulda got more for him. I have no doubt that he’s more of a “pure pointguard” than frenchy, but what good is potential that can’t be met? Especially in pro sports. Potential & the fruits of labor need to come to fruition, otherwise, Ryan Leaf syndrome…
by In the 666 on Dec 7, 2010 8:00 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
I think that the Quinn signing was more for Tiago’s sake than for having a 3rd string point. Pop did say (and I think I’m being more than generous for saying this) that Quinn knew how to run the plays.
Maybe Pop wanted someone who can run plays during garbage time so Tiago can learn faster. Instead of having the point and the center position learning the system, we can at least have a more experienced point guard running the plays.
"White-orange, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown"
Interesting point. I think Temple did have experience with the Spurs’ system, but it might indeed be better for Splitter’s development to have a player with more experience at this level. Still, I’d prefer that Tiago develop chemistry with Hill and Parker, not my 3rd-string PG, whoever that might be.
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 9:20 PM CST up reply actions
Temple does indeed have some experience in the Spurs system, but we can only guess on his actual knowledge on playing the point. We know he can score and defend, but I think Pop asked him to run plays more for the others. That kind of thing unnerves some players who have little experience doing that. (see: Mason, Roger Jr.)
Quinn has at least played the point for an actual NBA team. Since most basic NBA plays are run the same (albeit named differently) Quinn will likely be calmer and steadier playing the point than Temple (or Jerrells, for that matter).
"White-orange, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown"
by magnuskrauss on Dec 7, 2010 10:31 PM CST up reply actions
I think Temple filled in late last season for Hill (injury) and played reasonably well. Of course, a few games with the Spurs doesn’t really compare to a few seasons with an NBA team as a backup PG, so I can understand why Pop signed Quinn and released Temple.
But I’m serious about wanting Tiago to play more with Hill and Parker than with Quinn.
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 10:49 PM CST up reply actions
I agree, George and Tony needs to feel out their timing with Tiago. I think we all would like Tiago to play more with the first or second units. But, I think the schedule goes like this:
(right now) mostly 3rd unit play: conditioning and defensive/offensive rotations
(January-March?) mostly 2nd unit play: 1st-3rd option on offensive work, plus increased defensive assignments
(hopefully) starter: playoffs?
lots of question marks there, but yes, right now Tiago does seem to be physically there, but his timing on the rotations are a bit off (not late, but sometimes too early?) Plus, he needs to calm down a bit when he’s not involved. He’s practically frothing at the mouth to be involved. :D Which is good, to us fans, but bad for Pop?
"White-orange, orange, white-green, blue, white-blue, green, white-brown, brown"
by magnuskrauss on Dec 7, 2010 11:46 PM CST up reply actions
The Spurs might also want to fit him with a 3-second timer so that he doesn’t get called as often on those defensive 3-sec violations. :)
Seriously though, I like what I’ve seen so far… and want to see more. It’s a tricky balancing act for Pop. But it’ll all be good when Tiago gets into the rotation.
Five bigs, all playable. What a luxury.
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 11:51 PM CST up reply actions
Gardner joined the Toros along with Cousin and Palmer. Palmer has only started in the most recent game, while Gardner has started in 7 of the games (including the most recent) and Cousin has started them all. Gardner and Cousin are both averaging 11.8 ppg, with Palmer averaging 11.1 ppg.
Missed seeing that Gardner was one of the allocated players, or maybe didn’t remember. Seems that Buford made a point to tell him that the Spurs are interested in him. Apparently he wasn’t 100% at training camp because of an injury acting up… a season with the Toros might season him for another opportunity with the Spurs later.
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 11:47 PM CST up reply actions
The Toros are a little difficult to figure out. They have 7 players averaging in double figures (an 8th, Vernon Hamilton, seems to have left the team). Eric Dawson, who seems to have mainly played overseas last year after having played for the Toros a couple of years ago, has rejoined the Toros the past two games and is the leading scorer in ppg with 16.5 and rpg with 8.5. He is 6’9" and appears to be sharing the center spot with Cousin.
Four other players are averaging between 5-9 ppg, with three of those having at least one 17+ points in a game. They seem to be a very well-balanced team, hard to tell how good they are.
After returning to the Breakers, Penney took a leave of absence for at least a few games so that he could attend his brother’s wedding in Italy. He had been shooting rather poorly through his first games, yet managed to score 24 then 16 in the past two games thanks to getting a number of foul shots.
Long ago Spur Antonio Daniels is surprisingly playing in the D-League for the Texas Legends. I take it they are more interested is selling tickets than developing talent, since Antonio is 35+ years old. He’s not doing badly, averaging 16.8 pts and 7.8 assists; though this is the d-league. I suppose that he may be hoping to be signed by an NBA team.
What’s the english kid’s name? Any news on him?
BTW, nice work Tim, thanks for checking up on these guys. I’m sure it’s a ton of work.
Kill Bill (V-Span’s nickname) is an amazing assist man. Just FYI, the Euroleague is very strict about awarding assists, and as a general rule, the assist numbers for Euroleague teams would be nearly double in the NBA. Yes, that’s how good V-Span is at helping his teammates.
Although it was years ago, while in the NBA he averaged .9 assists per game in about 9 minutes. Has he improved that much?
thought you guys might like this
"I feel younger almost every year. I feel like I'm getting better every year. I feel like the season gets easier for me the last two years." Steve Nash
great read
where’s Haislip playing?
"He was just a young skinny guy who looked like a winner. We didn’t know he was going to be as good as he is."
—Popovich on Manu Ginobili
Crap, forgot him – he’s with Caja Laboral. I’ll add him to my list.
MANU GINOBILI Cares not for your humanity --Bushka
go easy Mr. Tim, you did a scrapping good job here with all this.
by indiancharlie on Dec 7, 2010 4:49 PM CST up reply actions
Wow, this was a really awesome post, incredible work on the tracking of our overseas players. Too bad RR can’t join the party’s on because of his injury.
"A life, Jimmy, you know what that is? It’s what happens while you wait for moments that will never come." - Lester Freamon, The Wire
by silverandblack_davis on Dec 7, 2010 5:57 PM CST reply actions
Congratz, Tim! This post made Tim Griffin’s roundup of interesting blog posts of the week!
Hey, if posting a sharp, insightful, yet non-sarcastic comment were that easy, even olf would do it.
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 7, 2010 10:35 PM CST reply actions
In the course of doing some research for something else Spurs-related, I happened to come across this interview with Viktor Sanikdze over at 48MoH and thought y’all might enjoy it. Also, I have too many bookmarks, so I might as well put it here. :)
The other interesting thing I discovered…. do you know who was drafted immediately after Viktor in 2004? A freshman from UCLA by the name of Trevor Ariza. Hmmmm…. that gives me an idea for another FP.
They're not your pop's Spurs... they're Pop's Spurs 2.0!!!
Mike Monroe: ...the uninformed presume Parker is expendable.
by freshtunarightofftheboat on Dec 22, 2010 12:50 PM CST reply actions
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