Great Britain National Team

[FilWelsh]

Deng included in strong GB squad

Deng has been a force for the Bulls in the play-offs
Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng is one of three NBA players called up by Great Britain coach Chris Finch for the team's summer programme.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu of Dallas and Golden State's Kelenna Azubuike are the other NBA-based players in the 24-man squad.

The squad assembles in Florida in July to prepare for four crucial European qualifiers in August and September.

Finch has recalled 11 of last summer's team to a squad that is probably the strongest ever assembled in Britain.

"Definitely the loyalty factor was at work there," said Finch. "All 11 of them won't be on the final squad, but those guys made the commitment last year.

"We have to build commitment into the programme."

Finch describes the squad's potential as "a tantalising thought - we have some top talent. It's important that talent turns up, though."

Azubuike, 23, was born in London and indicated to Finch only last weekend that he wished to be included.

The Golden State player was visited two weeks ago by GB assistant coach Tony Garbelotto in a bid to secure his involvement.

Azubuike has yet to acquire a British passport, but has been selected as a wild card by Finch on the assumption that he will have one by the time the qualifiers begin.

Deng starred on Monday as the Bulls secured a 4-0 whitewash over reigning NBA champions Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference first-round series.

Four of the players, including captain Andrew Sullivan, play in Spain's ACB League, rated the best in Europe.

Only six members of the squad played in the BBL last season.

Finch will bring the squad back from Florida in early August for a series of seven warm-up internationals in France, Croatia and London before the opening qualifier against Slovakia in Newcastle on 21 August.

Great Britain will probably need to win all four of their matches in order to qualify from Group B for a two-leg promotion play-off tie in mid-September.

In all, the team are scheduled to play 13 internationals including the other qualifying ties against Netherland, Albania and Belarus.

Great Britain squad

Luol Deng (Chicago Bulls) 6'7" F
Kelenna Azubuike (Golden State Warriors) 6'5" GF
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Dallas Mavericks) 6'9" F
Kieron Achara (Duquesne Uni, USA) 6'10" FC
Robert Archibald (Badalona, Spain) 6'11" CF
Andrew Betts (Badalona, Spain) 7'1" C
Andrew Sullivan (Badalona, Spain) 6'8" F
Mike Bernard (Teramo, Italy) 6'9" C
Eric Boateng (Arizona State Uni, USA) 6'10" C
Flinder Boyd (Rosalia, Spain) 5'11" G
Jermayne Forbes (Dombovar, Hungary) 6'1" G
Joel Freeland (Gran Canaria, Spain) 6'10" F
Nick George (Imola, Italy) 6'6" F
Steven Hansell (Evreux, France) 6'4" G
Chris Haslam (Kunin, Czech Rep) 6'10" C
Roger Huggins (Charleroi, Belgium) 6'7" F
Tarick Johnson (London United) 6'4" G
Julius Joseph (Scottish Rocks) 6'4" F
Michael Martin (Guildford) 6'7" F
Richard Midgley (unattached)
Nate Reinking (Bree, Belgium) 6'0" G
Chris Sanders (Penne, Italy)
Alto Virgil (Chester) 6'2" G
Yorick Williams (Leicester) 6'4" G

[rikhardur]

http://forums.interbasket.net/showthread.php?t=3195&highlight=deng

Anyway, welcome aboard :)

[HIGHLANDER]

A Welshman, welcome.
Thats looks like a strong squad. Maybe a bit late though to convince the FIBA that they are good enough for the Olympics. I see 2 Scotsman in there.
Don't see any Welsh though. What do you think about that Filwelsh.
By the way u are not Phil who played for the national team for many years are u:cool:

[jramoyo]

ok, so they don't send teams as england, wales, scottland, ireland like in football?

[FilWelsh]

Historically, Home nations such as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland send separate teams in international sports competitions. However, basketball is not such a big thing in UK as in other countries. To make it more appealing, more representative and more stronger for the British public forming a unified team is paramount.

In 2005 after winning the 2012 Olympic bid, England Basketball, the sport's governing body in England along with basketballscotland and their counterparts in Wales combined forces to form the Great Britain national basketball team or Team GB, with the target goal to field a competitive team capable of winning medals at the London 2012 summer Olympics.

[alermac]

Don't British nations always compete as GB in the Olympics?

[HIGHLANDER]

Yes they do compete in the Olympics. However i would prefer they competed as Scotland, England, N.Ireland and Wales separately. I think with the population of England being around 55 million and for example Scotland 5.5 million, well that is not hard to figure out who will have the most athletes competing..:cool:

[donmar]

Historically, Home nations such as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland send separate teams in international sports competitions. However, basketball is not such a big thing in UK as in other countries. To make it more appealing, more representative and more stronger for the British public forming a unified team is paramount.

In 2005 after winning the 2012 Olympic bid, England Basketball, the sport's governing body in England along with basketballscotland and their counterparts in Wales combined forces to form the Great Britain national basketball team or Team GB, with the target goal to field a competitive team capable of winning medals at the London 2012 summer Olympics.

The same goes with football (soccer)... in 2012 Olympics... Britain will field a unified football team

[HIGHLANDER]

Article from Edinburgh Newspaper..

Crunch tie sees stars line up at Meadowbank

MEADOWBANK (Edinburgh) ticket office has opened for bookings for one of the most important basketball games to take place there since the centre opened in 1970.

Chicago Bulls superstar Luol Deng and Scotland's first NBA star Robert Archibald are just two of the likely Great Britain team to meet Albania in a game which could decide whether the host nation plays in the London 2012 Olympics.
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GB coach Chris Finch has named London-reared Deng, Archibald and Scot Kieron Achara in a 24-strong squad for the remaining half of the European B Championship from which the GB side must gain promotion to clinch their 2012 place.

Deng was inspirational for the Bulls in their 4-0 thrashing of the defending NBA champions Miami Heat in the first round last month and some are tipping him as the next Michael Jordan.

Archibald, after two years in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies, has been starring in the ACB, the top Spanish pro league, for DKV Juventut Badalona, along with two more of the likely GB side for Meadowbank, Andy Betts, the 7ft English centre, and Drew Sullivan, the GB captain and former Newcastle Eagles star.

:cool:

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

...combined forces to form the Great Britain national basketball team or Team GB, with the target goal to field a competitive team capable of winning medals at the London 2012 summer Olympics.

I have read and heard so many..., allow me to say, naive statements like the above from the British media about the 2012 Olympics. The media trully believe that team GB can build (within 5 years) competitive, medal-candidate, teams in basketball, handball, volleyball and waterpolo (just to give 4 examples) when virtually GB does not exist in these sports right now. I seriously doubt that team GB can build teams decent enough to even prevent being anihillated in these events. With the inclusion of certain Dengs and Gordons the basketball team may just about lift itself from where it is now, but talking about medals is extremely far-fetched. I don't wanna sound harsh, but that's true. I would love to see a strong GB in these sports but it won't happen. 5 years are just not enough.

[HIGHLANDER]

I don't believe they would win a medal but if they have all the players available to them they could compete and put in some respectable performances..
That squad they have is decent and i think they have a good coach in Chris Finch plus being the home team..:cool:
Carlos Nadal, where have been hiding?

[joel23]

How about Ben Gordon is Great Britain right??

[HIGHLANDER]

I think there was talk of Gordon but nothing seemed to happen after that..:cool:

[FilWelsh]

GB SQUAD ANNOUNCED
Head Coach Chris Finch has announced a 20-man roster for the Florida Training Camp due to start today (20th July).


The squad, featuring players from the NBA, NCAA and Spain's ACB league, is without question the finest collection of British Basketball talent ever assembled and will meet up in Florida this weekend to begin preparations for next month's EuroBasket campaign - arguably the most important series of games in Great Britain's history.


Coach Finch said that he couldn't wait to start work with Britain's 'largest collection of basketball talent'.


''The effort to bring us to this point has been monumental. Over the past 10 months we were able to put into play many lessons learned from our inaugural campaign and I am confident in saying that the British player will never have experienced such professionalism during their national team duties. Placing the programme on this level is something that we are very proud of and I personally would like to thank all those who have worked so hard and contributed so significantly, including those individuals at England Basketball and Basketball Scotland who were instrumental in giving us life last summer,'' he added.


The full roster is:-


Achara, Kieron SCO Duquense - USA

Archibald, Robert SCO Azovmash - Ukraine

Bernard, Mike ENG Teramo - Italy

Betts, Andy ENG Badalona - Spain

Boateng, Eric ENG Arizona State - USA

Boyd, Flinder ENG Rosalia - Spain

Deng, Luol ENG Chicago - USA

Freeland, Joel ENG Gran Canaria - Spain

George, Nick ENG Treviso - Italy

Hansell, Steve ENG unattached

Haslam, Chris ENG Novy Jicin - Czech Rep

Huggins, Roger ENG Liege - Belgium

Johnson, Tarick ENG Hospitalet - Spain

Joseph, Julius ENG Scottish Rocks

Lenzly, Mike ENG Apoel - Cyprus

Mensah-Bonsu, Pops ENG Dallas - USA

Midgley, Richard ENG unattached

Reinking, Nate ENG Mons - Belgium

Sanders, Chris ENG Penne - Italy

Sullivan, Andrew ENG Badalona - Spain


GB Replica Jerseys and other official merchandise can be found on the sportserve website - http://www.sportserve.co.uk/cat.php?cat=101

[penzias]

How about Ben Gordon is Great Britain right??
Ben Gordon played for USA in 2003.
http://www.usabasketball.com/biosmen/ben_gordon_bio.html
* Member of the 2003 USA Men's Pan American Games Team that finished with a 2-3 record and in fourth place, playing against internationally experienced senior national teams from North, South and Central America, in the Dominican Republic; averaged 5.6 ppg.
* Scored a tournament high 12 points against Puerto Rico in the bronze medal game.

[penzias]

I read that Northern Ireland federation didn´t joined GB NT. Is it true?
As far as i know Wales, Scotland and England keep playing separate for U-18, U-16 and U-14 competitions.

[penzias]

What about the 7'7" Neil Fingleton? :p
http://www.solobasket.com/fotos/3546_10.jpg
http://www.muevetebasket.es/uploaded_images/neil_jordi.jpg

[FilWelsh]

Fingleton's game is very sluggish. He is more of a liaibility than an asset for Team GB. . .

[FilWelsh]

Eurobasket 2009 Qualifying
Group B

Team Pts Pld W L PF PA Diff

Netherlands 7 4 3 1 278 242 +36
Belarus 7 4 3 1 290 274 +16
Great Britain 6 4 2 2 265 250 +15
Slovakia 6 4 2 2 296 303 -7
Albania 4 4 0 4 285 345 -60

First Round

September 2, 2006 Slovakia 73–62 Great Britain

September 9, 2006 Great Britain 63–39 Netherlands

September 13, 2006 Albania 69–72 Great Britain

September 16, 2006 Great Britain 68–69 Belarus


Second Round


August 21, 2007 Great Britain – Slovakia

August 29, 2007 Netherlands – Great Britain

September 1, 2007 Great Britain – Albania

September 5, 2007 Belarus – Great Britain

[penzias]

Fingleton's game is very sluggish. He is more of a liaibility than an asset for Team GB. . .
Yeah i know. I watched him trying to do something similar to play basketball some time ago. I just was kidding.

[Hoopman8]

Great Britain coach Chris Finch has named his training camp roster for the 6-7 of August at the K2 Centre (Crawley).

The 13-man squad comprises of:

Robert Archibald
Andy Betts
Eric Boateng
Flinder Boyd
Luol Deng
Chris Haslam
Roger Huggins
Julius Joseph
Mike Lenzly
Richard Midgley
Nate Reinking
Chris Sanders
Andrew Sullivan

With less that three weeks until their first Eurobasket game against Slovakia at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, Finch is looking to build upon the success of the first training camp in the sunshine state.

Paisley-born Archibald is currently nursing a sore ankle while Boyd's attendance is still being held up by his Spanish club, Rosalia.

After their brief spell in the UK the squad will fly to Pau to play two test games against Georgia, where they will also be joined by Luol Deng, who will in the meantime be attending the NBA's Basketball Without Borders elsewhere in France. The team are then destined to play New Zealand and Finland as well as the hosts, in Croatia.

The Team has also been bolstered by the news that BPB has arranged for some of this summer's EuroBasket crunch ties to be shown on SKY Sports. Matches that will be featured are:

* GB v Slovakia on August 21 in Birmingham - Broadcast date August 22nd at 19.00hrs-21.00hrs.

* Promotional match to be played on either September 11th or September 15th in Sheffield - broadcast date September 17th at 19.00hrs-21.00hrs.

For any interested Facebook members, there is a GB Mens Basketball Group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2416099565

[Souljacker]

The 13-man squad comprises of:

Robert Archibald
Andy Betts
Eric Boateng
Flinder Boyd
Luol Deng
Chris Haslam
Roger Huggins
Julius Joseph
Mike Lenzly
Richard Midgley
Nate Reinking
Chris Sanders
Andrew Sullivan

Lenzly, Reiking and Sullivan will play for Finch in Mons. Lenzly just recently signed. Is it the first time he's a part of the national team?

[HIGHLANDER]

News
12 August 2007
Croatia Hold Off Plucky Brits

Hosts Croatia survived a fourth-quarter scare against Great Britain to win 74-64 on the opening night of their self-styled World Cup in Rijeka.

Having led 52-39 at the end of three quarters, Jasmin Repesa's side stretched the lead out to 14 points, but were then stung by a 13-2 run, studded with three-pointers from Julius Joseph, Nate Reinking and Mike Lenzly and two more baskets from Andrew Sullivan.

Repesa then put the ball into the hands of Zoran Planinic, his best player on the night, and he and Stanko Baric saw Croatia home.

Planinic and Baric scored 14 points each and Mario Kasun added 12. Andrew Betts scored 13 points and Sullivan 12 to lead the British.

Croatia began the game confidently, posting a 9-0 start and winning the first quarter 23-17.

Their biggest lead was 48-29 in the third quarter after holding Britain to just two points in seven and a half minutes.

In the other game on opening day, New Zealand had reason to rue poor free throw shooting (11/23) as they took an 85-79 tumble to Finland, who connected on 17 of their 39 three-point attempts.

The Finns, led by Shawn Huff's 22 points, effectively won the game when Kirk Penney missed three shots from the line with 11 seconds to go.

Craig Bradshaw had 13 points and skipper Pero Cameron 12, while Jukka Matinen added 17 for the Finns.

The tournament now moves onto Crikvenica on Monday before finishing in Delnice on Tuesday.

(Source: FIBA Europe)

I think giving Croatia a game kind of proves they could challenge in the forth coming games in the qualifiers, all be it Croatia are not the power they once where.:cool:

[HIGHLANDER]

14.08.2007
GREAT BRITAIN SEE OFF KIWIS

Great Britain finished their five game road trip on a winning note, dumping New Zealand 82-75 in their final game of the Svietski Cup in Croatia.

The Brits pulled ahead early and held the lead 22-12 after the first quarter and by five at the half. The Kiwis made a run in the third quarter and shrunk the lead to 41-38 before threes from Midgley and Lenzly stretched the lead to 52-44. New Zealand cut the lead to two late in the game, but a big bucket and free-throw from Andy Betts sealed the victory. Chris Haslam had his best match this season, scoring 7 points in the final quarter.

Leading scorers for Great Britiain: Betts 15, Sullivan 12, Lenzly 12, Haslam 11, Reinking 8

Leading scorers for NZ: Penney 25, Bradshaw 11

The team return home on Wednesday in order to prepare for the two Test matches against Ireland on 16th and 17th at the K2 Centre in Crawley. Both matches tip-off at 19:30.

[FilWelsh]

News
22 August 2007

Men See Off Slovaks For Opening Euro Win

Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng scored 21 points on Tuesday night to help Great Britain notch up an opening EuroBasket victory against Slovakia. [Boxscore]

Deng and Robert Archibald were the star performers in the 77-52 win, which was played out in front of a 3,500 strong crowd at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Having recovered from an ankle injury which saw him miss most of GB training camp, Archibald came off the bench to land a blistering dunk in the first period and anchored a huge defensive effort as GB moved up to joint second place in their EuroBasket Division B group.

"This was all about getting my legs back. I felt good out there but I was still getting tired which is all down to sitting out those ten days with the injury. But we got the win, it was a good performance and now it's up to us to carry that forward next week against the Netherlands." said Archibald.

The Scot's initial contribution capped an early 6-0 run which pushed Britain towards a 19-14 lead after ten minutes but it was in the second stanza that Deng rose above the fray, scoring four times in an 11-2 burst which effectively killed off any ambitions of victory that the visitors had.

Up 39-22 at half-time, Great Britain never allowed the Slovaks to come closer than 13 and each time Deng drove his lithe frame towards the hoop, or rose to make a spectacular block, there was an air of expectation among the crowd.

Archibald, an able foil, rifled six rapid points as Britain extended their advantage to 55-37 at the end of the third quarter and their cushion grew to as much as 36 in the fourth with Richard Midgely also netting 14.

Scottish Rocks shooting guard Julius Joseph missed the match after having to return to London to attend to a family matter.

He is expected to rejoin the squad in time for next week's trip to the Netherlands and what is expected to be a critical tie, against Albania, in Edinburgh on September 1.

(Source: British Perfromance Basketball Ltd>

[Joško Poljak Fan]

How is the publicity of the British NT like for those games, considering Deng is playing for them, it should've improve, right?

[HIGHLANDER]

I think there is a buzz about the media at the moment especially because of Deng. Also the coming games will be shown on SKY TV i believe.
The whole thing is geared towards the Olympics which will be a huge shot in the arm for basketball. Providing FIBA allow them to play in the Olympics (London).

[HIGHLANDER]

Scot Robert Archibald after beating Slovakia.
Listen to the Scottish accent with an American slang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPtHyaiduwo

[HIGHLANDER]

Article from the Scotland On Sunday,

IT IS four hours until game time, and Robert Archibald is preparing for his afternoon nap. Scotland's biggest sporting star, as defined by feet and inches, is full of nervous energy for the contest, but 40 winks is the preparation for efforts ahead.

Such has been his life of late. Play and rest. Landings and take-offs. Stops and starts. For the most lauded basketballer that Dunfermline has produced, this is the whirlwind. Time for refreshment is precious indeed.
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As a new recruit to Great Britain's cause to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, Archibald's four weeks on national duty so far have been plagued by false starts. Two days into training camp in Florida, he injured an ankle and was forced to observe while team-mates were bonding on the parquet. "It was really hard to be on the outside looking on."

That distaste of merely spectating swelled during a two-year spell spent in the NBA after graduating from a stellar stint at the University of Illinois. There he was a star, but amid the game's ultimate players he was an after-thought, what Americans like to call "a scrub".

In Memphis, where he was initially drafted, then in Orlando, Phoenix and Toronto, sitting on the bench became a chore. Hence why, having laboured since he was a teen dreamer in Fife to reach that plateau, he has spent the past three campaigns plying his trade on this side of the Atlantic, resisting offers to return.

"The NBA was an amazing experience, but at 22 years old I probably didn't get as much out of it as I could have. Mentally, I wasn't ready for it, and it's a difficult transition to go from being an established college player to a guy who's at the bottom of the ladder. I didn't mind putting in the extra time, doing more shooting or weights, but it certainly got frustrating not really playing much."

European basketball is a notch below the NBA, but not that much behind, and last season he played at Joventut Badalona in Spain alongside GB cohorts Andy Betts and Drew Sullivan. Before that he was in Italy, and next month he will move to Ukraine, where he will earn a reported $1m a year from Azovmash Mariupol, a club bankrolled by a steel magnate. Constant upheaval aside, being an international gun for hire is not a bad existence, particularly when, unlike the NBA, graft on the practice court is rewarded with responsibility.

"The last three years have been great. I've enjoyed that, being out on the floor, having a role. I feel a lot more comfortable. For a lot of players, there is that question you ask of yourself. 'Do I give the NBA another try; am I okay with where I'm at?'

"The reality is there are a lot of guys who are bouncing back and forth, who are on the cusp of it. It's always a long shot to get on a roster, and to stick on a roster. It's something you look at and decide upon on a year-to-year basis, depending on how your body is feeling."

Within Great Britain's plans, Archibald figures to remain a constant. His competitive debut arrived in Birmingham last Tuesday in a 77-52 victory over Slovakia in which the 6ft 11in centre scored 14 points, and at times out-shone his much-hyped colleague, burgeoning Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng.

Ahead for Chris Finch's side are a mid-week meeting with group leaders Holland in Almere, an awkward trip to Belarus, and in between what could be a pivotal encounter with strugglers Albania at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, come Saturday.

Sitting second and needing to finish top to go into the play-offs, which afford promotion to Europe's elite and a near-guaranteed home berth at the London Olympics, much is at stake. This is, as Archibald concedes, a construction job.

"The identity and some of the pride is still being developed," he reflects. "The GB programme is still in its early stages. I'm in my first year. For most of the other guys, it's only their second. They may have done some stuff with England, but the GB team is new. As we continue each year and become more competitive, everything will grow."

It was at Meadowbank that Archibald played his final game for Dunfermline before moving to the US a decade ago. "It will be nice to be home," he says with a smile. The dreams may have changed since he last visited, but it is time the country awoke to the talents within.

Saturday: Great Britain v Albania, 7.30pm.

[HIGHLANDER]

Injured Archibald may miss his homecoming


LUOL DENG, the Sudanese-born, London-reared Chicago Bulls forward whose performances in the NBA last season elevated to almost superstar status, is fully prepared to let Dunfermline's Robert Archibald take centre stage when Great Britain run out to play Albania in a vital European Basketball Championship game at Meadowbank tomorrow night (7.00pm).

Although Albania are winless at the bottom of the group, they took an admittedly much weaker British side to overtime in Tirana last year and only succumbed to a last- second three-pointer, so GB will be taking nothing for granted.
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But there is a real danger that Scotland's only representative in the 12-strong side, who are on the cusp of hoops history, may not take the court at all after the 6ft 11in ex-NBA centre suffered severe spasms in his back midway through the GB game with the Netherlands at Nijmegen the night before last.

The 27-year-old Queen Anne High former pupil was unable even to sit on the bench in the second-half, which he spent lying on the floor while his teammates, inspired by 27 points from Deng, racked up a convincing 83-64 win.

"He had severe back spasms and we're taking it hour by hour," said coach Chris Finch, who has steered the GB side to a 4-2 record in their group and two games away from a play-off for promotion to Division A and an almost certain place in the 2012 London Olympics.

"It's getting better and we're really hoping he can play, not just because of the difference Robert can make on court, but also because we know how much he's been looking forward to playing at Meadowbank again before his home fans."

Robert and his father, Bobby, the MIM Livingston pivot who won ten GB caps in the ultimately unsuccessful 1984 pre-Olympic qualifying campaign, are the only father and son to have played for Britain and Bobby, now based in the US, never played a GB game in Scotland.

In fact, the last Great Britain game to take place in Scotland was during the 1973 European Pre-Olympic Tournament, also at Meadowbank.

Archibald senior played 88 times for Scotland including an unforgettable role in an upset win over Sweden at Meadowbank in 1989.

Archibald junior has never played for a Scottish senior team, though he has five under-23 caps from a tournament in Finland in 1997, but he certainly has fond memories of his last game at Meadowbank when he overcame a bout of food poisoning to inspire Dunfermline Reign to a last-gasp victory over the favourites City of Edinburgh Kings in the 1997 Scottish Junior Cup final.

Soon after, Archibald left with his family for a new life in the US going on to star in High School in St Louis and Illinois University before becoming the first Scot to play in the World's top professional league, the NBA, signing for the Memphis Grizzlies as the 33rd pick in the Draft.

Two years and three teams later, Archibald decided to return to Europe to obtain more court time, signing first for Valencia in Spain before transferring to Scavellini Pesaro in Italy.

Basketball fans will be hoping Archibald can now help a British team to the Olympic finals for the first time since the last London Olympics in 1948.

This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport.cfm?id=1387392007


The Under 23 tournament in Finland is when i played with him..:cool:

[HIGHLANDER]

The GB Team beat Albania in Edinburgh last night 110-78.
Luol Deng had 19 points and Robert Archibald had 21 points and 7 rebounds.
The GB team are now 1 more victory away which will give them a play-off game with the chance to go into the big boys league in division 1.

[FilWelsh]

From Times OnlineSeptember 4, 2007

Britain expects . . . despite loss of Haslam against Belarus
Ian Whittell

The personnel problems that have dogged Great Britain’s European Championship preparations continued on Tuesday morning when Chris Haslam, the back-up forward, was called from the check-in line at Edinburgh airport to be with his pregnant wife.

The 6ft 7in Haslam has emerged as an increasingly able and important back-up to Andy Betts, Robert Archibald and Roger Huggins, the big men in Britain’s European Championship campaign, and his late withdrawal was hardly ideal as Chris Finch prepared his team for Wednesday’s vital concluding group game against Belarus in Minsk.

Already without Nick George, Joel Freeland, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Eric Boateng and Mike Bernard, who all withdrew from the national team under pressure from their clubs, the latest departure leaves the Great Britain coach with just nine men for the winner-take-all encounter with a big and bruising Belarus team.

However, Finch remained philosophical about the latest developments. “We knew from day one of our training camp that there was always a possibility of Chris being called away and, obviously, that is exactly what has happened,” he said.

Related Links
Britain face Belarus with depleted squad
Deng does it again for Great Britain
“We were stood in the check-in line when he received the phone call to say his wife had gone into labour, that’s how close it all was. It is unfortunate for us but some things in life take precedent and this is one of them. We’re excited for Chris and we wish him and his family all the best.

“We knew Chris was desperate to be a part of the GB team and we also knew he would accept his role on the team which meant backing up guys like Andy and Rob. He has done that really well and played increasingly effectively for us. But I think Belarus is going to be more a power game and that isn’t really Chris’s style of play so, in that regard, his loss isn’t too harmful.”

Haslam’s departure places more emphasis on the veteran Roger Huggins, who celebrates his 40th birthday on Wednesday. Finch said: “I don’t know what more you can say about Roger and the career he has had. It’s nice that we’re all going to be able to celebrate his birthday with him and it’s a testimony to the type of player and the type of person he is that he is still able to play a meaningful role in international basketball at his age.”

Britain will face a fine for having fewer than ten players on the bench although that will prove a minor inconvenience should they beat Belarus, a result that would win the group and see them advance to a two-legged decider against Switzerland, Finland or Romania — the winners of which gain promotion. Defeat on Wednesday, however, would mean Britain cannot gain promotion to Europe’s A Division until 2009, at the earliest.

Finch said: “For our programme, this is the ultimate game and, because of what is at stake, it has to be one of the most important games I have ever coached in. We have been working towards this goal for a year and half now and taken some major strides. I’m looking forward to the game and seeing how our players respond to the challenge.

“My major concern is about our mental toughness. Belarus are a big team and they are going to play dirty. We have to match that.”

Britain: Sullivan (Mons, Belgium, capt), Deng (Chicago), Archibald (Mariupol, Ukraine), Betts (Sevilla), Midgley (Newcastle), Lenzly (Mons), Huggins (unattached), Reinking (Mons), Sanders (unattached).

[Picek]

Great Britain with +15 lead at the end of third..
so they've made it..
4 wins in 4 game..
is that it? or do they need to play additional games?

[Nikoo]

result that would win the group and see them advance to a two-legged decider against Switzerland, Finland or Romania — the winners of which gain promotion

[HIGHLANDER]

The GB Team beat Belarus 83-51 last night to play Switzerland i a play-off the gain promotion.
Deng had 27.
I think this proves that with all the players available they belong in the top level.
By the way i would not normally support the GB in any sports but as we don't have a representative Scottish team i will follow them. And they have 2 Scots in the squad anyway..:cool:

[FilWelsh]

Great Britain surpasses Belarus to win Group B

by Eurobasket News - Sep 6, 2007

Belarus - Great Britain 51:83

Great Britain won their last game in Group B of Eurobasket Division B and enured the playoff birth. They finished with 6-2 record on top of the ladder and will now face Switzerland in a two-game qualifying battle.
Both teams entered the game with 5-2 records and needed a win to advance. However the encounter turned out to be rather one-sided traffic as Belarus were not able to maintain British superstar Luol Deng (201-F-85, college: Duke). Chicago Bulls forward led his team with 27 points, 7 steals, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Belarussian players could hardly match up his effort and had to surrender at the end.

Kudrautsau opened the scoreline with a knocked down free throw to give Belarus 1:0 lead. However Andrew Betts (216-C-77, college: Long Beach St.) replied with a jump shot 28 seconds later to claim 2:1 lead for good. Great Britian never gave it up further on and drove to a comprehensive victory at the end. British team led by 8 points at halftime 38:30. Belarus came up as close as 5 points early in the second half on Kudrautsau's jumper. But Great Britian held on to the advantage and entered the fourth frame leading 60:46. A bunch of misses early in the fourth frame from the hosts enabled Great Britain to establish a 68:47 gap and Belarus never recovered.
Andrew Betts provided 12 points and 10 boards for the winners. Vladimir Veremeenko (208-F-84) answered with 13 points and 11 boards. Egor Meshcherakov netted 12 points in defeat.

Great Britian tip off the series against Switzerland on September 11.

Belarus: Vladimir Veremeenko 13+11 boards, Egor Meshcherakov 12
Great Britain: Luol Deng 27, Andrew Betts 12+10 boards

[FilWelsh]

After brilliantly topping their group, Team GB will next face the Swiss team in two-leg playoffs. . . It would be an exciting match, imagine Luol Deng against his Chicago Bulls' teammate Thabo Sefolosha, who is the main man for the Swiss. . .

[HIGHLANDER]

I think they have made quite an impressive turnaround recently.:cool:


Deng leads GB to comfortable win
by Rob Dugdale in Sheffield

Luol Deng
Deng once again led the GB team to victory
Luol Deng hit Switzerland for 31 points and Nate Reinking added 13 as Great Britain won the first leg of their European promotion tie 74-41.

GB's defence proved decisive with Switzerland managing only 15 points in the second and third quarters.

Deng's Chicago Bulls team-mate Thabo Sefolosha had 21 points for the Swiss.

GB travel to Geneva for the second leg on Saturday knowing only a disaster would prevent them qualifying for Europe's Division A for next season.

Once there, they will have a chance to qualify for the 2009 Eurobasket and the 2010 World Championships.

Either of those results would guarantee them taking a host spot in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Deng had 13 points in the third quarter and nine more in the last 10 minutes as GB's lead stretched towards 34 points.

GB coach Chris Finch was satisfied with his team's performance in a dour, defensive encounter - especially the work they did guarding Swiss danger man, Sefolosha.

"The guys really take pride in their defensive focus - Dru (Andrew Sullivan) is our best defender and he keeps Luol from getting into foul trouble," he said.

"With a player like Sefolosha, you just have to run as many guys at him as possible to keep him on the back foot. We didn't care if he scored a lot of points as long as he took a lot of shots doing it."

Finch expects that his team will finish the job in Geneva on Saturday but is warning against dangers like complacency and injuries.

"Our biggest thing is we want a really good start. If we put distance in the game right away, then life gets really difficult for Switzerland."

[FilWelsh]

Britain secure promotionE
Eurosport - Sun, 16 Sep 15:36:00 2007


Great Britain secured promotion to Eurobasket A with a 89-78 victory over Switzerland in the second leg of the play-offs. Despite arriving in Geneva with a 33-point lead, Great Britain were handed their sternest test of the campaign as their defence was unable to recreate a similar display to that in Sheffield, which emphatically shut the Swiss out of they game.

Four Brits ended on double figures, Scotland's Robert Archibald (pictured) led on 23, Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng on 22, captain Andrew Sullivan with 12 and finally Nate Reinking with 10.

Another dominant lead looked to be on the cards in the first quarter thanks to some sweet drives by Sullivan and yet another one of Reinking's tasty three pointers, but the tide turned in the final quarter as the Swiss fought hard to give the home crowd something to cheer about.

Twice they clawed their way back to within a one-point deficit, which was in no small part down to Derek Stockalper and David Ramseier, who scored a combined total of 14 in that final ten minutes.

Britain were forced to dig deep but in the end they did what was required to secure victory and more importantly ensure that they will be mixing it with Europe's elite next summer.

And chairman of British Performance Basketball, Alistair Gray, was delighted with the summer's work: "As far as the guys are concerned this is an outstanding achievement and surpasses anything the team has accomplished in the modern era. The players and coaches deserve congratulations for everything they have done.

"The margin of victory has been pleasantly surprising. It gives us hope that with further seasons we can be in good shape. Everyone involved in preparing the team could not have done better.

"The last five years in basketball in Britain, and England in particular, has been a sorry and sad sight. Many people have said to me that this season's campaign has been a breath of fresh air in a sport where there has been too much stagnant air over recent years.

"2012 has created a point for a new beginning in basketball in this country and there is this real opportunity to now take this sport and move it on, because no one is going to give it to you. You have to take it and deliver it."

And it was not just the men celebrating on the continent this weekend, as their female counterparts beat Portugal 60-49 on the same day to secure a promotion playoff game against the Netherlands, to take place at the Amaechi Centre, Manchester on 22 September.

Luol's sister Arek Deng was forced to sit out the game through injury, while Kirsty Lavin top-scored with 18 points and Megan Moody finished with 12

Eurosport

[FilWelsh]

Finally, we got it. . . it's a beginning of more uphill battles ahead facing those Euro basketball elites next summer. . . Kudos to the lads for their brilliant performance, winning all their 6 games this summer. . . albeit with the help of Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng. . .

[HIGHLANDER]

European draw offers GB men hope
Chris Finch
Chris Finch's team avoided top-ranked France and Italy in the draw
Great Britain men's team have been handed a real hope of qualifying for the 2009 European Championship after the draw was made in Venice.

Chris Finch's team were drawn with Israel, Bosnia and the Czech Republic, avoiding top-ranked Italy and France.

In contrast, the women were handed a tough draw against Lithuania, Germany, Israel and Ukraine in Group A with only the top two teams sure to advance.

The qualifying matches will take place in August and September.

The winners of the four men's qualifying groups, plus the three best second-placed teams, will qualify for the European finals, with one more place available next year.

Both teams are looking to secure a hosts' spot in the 2012 Olympics.

"We managed to stay clear of the some of the traditional powerhouses," said GB men's coach Chris Finch.

"But the most important thing for us, and for the other teams, is to get our best players together.

Finch's team benefited from adding top-flight European-based players and Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng last season.

"There's still a lot of excitement and momentum out there (among the players) for the programme."


We have to respect everyone and fear no-one

GB women's coach Mark Clark

GB women's coach Mark Clark admitted the draw was a tough one. "There's never an easy draw in the A Division," he said. "Every one of these teams has a pedigree.

"Last year we focused on doing what we're good at. This time we're going to have to play at high level every game and make sure we get some wins at home."

Both teams won promotion from Division B at in September 2007 after recovering from difficult starts in their respective qualifying groups and staying unbeaten.

"It's similar to Chris' position - if we have all our players and the team stays healthy, we'll be competitive," said Clark. "We have to respect everyone and fear no-one."




I don't think there are any easy games but if they have all there players available (Mens that is) they can qualify..:cool:

[mvblair]

Some expected news:

National pride (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080331-tyrus-thomas-chicago-bulls,1,1463949.story?track=rss) -- Chicago Tribune, April 1, 2008, by KC Johnson

Ben Gordon, who was born in London, has joined Luol Deng on Britain's roster for this summer's European Championship qualifiers. Britain will play six games in late August/early September trying to qualify for 2009 EuroBasket in Poland and an eventual berth as London plays host to the 2012 Olympic Games.

There's no guarantee Gordon will play, but he's now eligible...

[damelo]

Denng only brought them instant punch, I think they went unbeaten last summer with him, after losing all without him?

Maybe Azubuike could join too... He is listed as British by nba.com

I'm happy France is not in their qualification group( i think tey're not).

[Neozyrus]

Some of the players of the final roster for the pre-olympic could be maybe here:

Great Britain:

POINT GUARD

F. Boyd (Rosalia) - 1.80 - 1980
M. Lenzly (Mons) - 1.89 - 1981
N. Reinking (Mons) - 1.83 - 1973
R. Midgley (Newcastle) 1.98 - 1983
A. Virgil (Sheffield) - 1.88 - 1982

SHOOTING GUARD

B. Gordon (Chicago) - 1.88 - 1983
K. Azubuike (Golden State) - 1.96 - 1983
T. Hansell (Apoel Nicosia) - 1.92 - 1975
T. Johnson (L´Hospitalet) - 1.92 - 1981

SMALL FOWARDS

L. Deng (Chicago) - 2.01 - 1985
A. Sullivan (Mons) - 2.03 - 1980
N. George (Alicante) - 1.98 - 1982
J. Mccord (Strasbourg) - 2.01 - 1973
C. Sanders (Gothia) - 2.02 - 1982
R. Richards (G. Canaria) - 2.05 - 1991
M. Martin (Guilford) - 2.00 - 1974

POWER FOWARDS

P. Archibald (Azovmash) - 2.11 - 1980
J. Freeland (G. Canaria) - 2.08 - 1987
D. Phillip (CAI zaragoza) - 2.01 - 1978
P. Mensah-Bonsu (Benetton) - 2.06 - 1983
M. Bernard (Napoli) - 2.05 - 1978

CENTER

A. Betts (Sevilla) - 2.16 - 1977
w. Helliwell (Rieti) - 2.12 - 1979
c. Haslam (Everton) - 2.08 - 1974
D. Clark (Breogan) - 2.01 - 1988
Boateng (Arizona St) - 2.08 - 1985

[jugoplastika]

Ben Gordon has already played several games for USA NT.
So, as I know, he cannot play for Great Britain NT.

[FilWelsh]

Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon called up to British basketball squad

LONDON (AP)—Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon is the latest NBA player to be
selected to the fledgling British basketball team that’s trying to qualify
for the 2012 Olympics.

Gordon, who turns 25 on April 4, moved to the United States shortly after he
was born in London.

The former Connecticut star was drafted by the Bulls in the first round in
2004. He was one of two Bulls players to appear in all 82 games last season,
averaging 21.4 points.

British Basketball named Gordon and Bulls teammate Luol Deng to its 33-man
squad Tuesday to play in Eurobasket qualifiers.

“He has been very positive about playing and we are going to meet with him
again in Chicago within the next two weeks,” British Basketball performance
manager Ron Wuotila said of Gordon.

“The prospects are bright for our senior teams this summer due to the talent
included on these squad lists. There are a number of younger players on the
list who can contribute in the near term and are embarking on a
10-to-15-year career that will ideally include years of British
representation.”

Deng made his competitive debut for Britain in August 2007. The 22-year-old
Sudanese native moved to London as a child to escape the conflict in his
homeland.

Between 15 and 20 British players will be invited to a training camp in May
or June to prepare for September’s EuroBasket qualifiers against Israel,
Czech Republic and Bosnia.

The winner of that group will qualify for the 2009 European Championship in
Poland. Basketball’s world governing body, FIBA, has ruled that a British
team must qualify for the 2009 or 2011 Europeans in order to play at the
2012 Olympics.

England, Wales and Scotland compete individually at world championships and
Commonwealth Games, but are part of a combined Britain team for the
Olympics.

Other American-based players on the roster are forward Kieron Achara from
Duquesne; center Andy Betts from Arizona State; forward Matthew
Bryan-Amaning from Washington; forward Dante Cunningham from Villanova;
forward Ben Eaves from Rhode Island; guard Paul Guede from Tallahasse
Community College; guard Matt Guymon from Oklahoma City University; guard
Justin Robinson from Rider; and forward Shane Walker from Maryland.

The British women’s 27-player squad includes former WNBA player Megan Moody
and eight players who are playing for U.S. colleges.

[FilWelsh]

Gordon is named in Britain squad

By Rob Dugdale


Gordon is a team-mate of Luol Deng at Chicago Bulls in the NBA

Ben Gordon, a team-mate of Luol Deng at the Chicago Bulls, has been shortlisted for Great Britain's summer programme.

Gordon, who represented USA in 2003, is still eligible to play for GB because he was born in London.

Chris Finch's squad, which contains all but one of the players that won promotion to European Division A last summer, contains few surprises.

Great Britain's men's and women's teams will both be attempting to qualify for next year's European Championships.

British Basketball officials will meet Gordon in Chicago in the next two weeks after receiving encouraging signs that he was interested in the programme.

Men's coach Finch hailed the 33-man squad, which will be cut down in May or June to 15-20 for a training camp in August, as "our best-ever group".

"Our challenge now is to identify the best 12-14 players who will give us a shot at winning through to Poland 2009," he added.

"As ever, our success will be largely influenced by the commitment these outstanding players make to the programme."

The women's squad also contains new and younger faces as well as the players that helped secure promotion last season.

"The depth of available talent is clearly moving in the right direction," commented women's coach Mark Clark, whose son Daniel is named in the men's squad.

"This initial squad has a balance of experienced and young players with great potential. The players on this list are aware that to compete, we will need to step up our level of performance."

The men's team will play Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel and the Czech Republic in this summer's qualifying matches, while the women face Israel, Lithuania, Germany and Ukraine.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Men's squad: Kieron Achara (Duquesne - US), Robert Archibald (Mariupol - Ukr), Mike Bernard (Eldo - Ita), Andy Betts (Seville - Spa), Eric Boateng (Arizona St - US), Flinder Boyd (Rosalia - Spa), Matthew Bryan-Amaning (Washington Uni - US), Daniel Clark (Estudiantes - Spa), Dante Cunningham (Villanova - US), Luol Deng, Ben Gordon (both Chicago Bulls - US), Ben Eaves (Connecticut - US), Germayne Forbes (Boulazac - Fra), Nick George (Alicante - Spa), Paul Guede (Valparaiso - US), Matt Guymon Oklahoma City - US), Joel Freeland, Ashley Hamilton, Ryan Richards (all Gran Canaria - Spa), Steve Hansell (Apoel Nicosia - Cyp), Jarrett Hart (Keravnos Nicosia - Cyp), Chris Haslam, Richard Midgley (both Everton), James Jones (Guildford), Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Treviso - Ita), Mike Lenzly, Nate Reinking, Andrew Sullivan (all Mons - Bel), Justin Robinson (Rider - US), Chris Sanders (Gothia - Swe), Shane Walker (Maryland - US), Yorick Williams (Milton Keynes).

Women's squad: Kim Butler (Kosit - Slo), Kate Butters, Siobhan Prior (both Nottingham), Joanna Claydon, Georgia Jones, Kristy Lavin (all Manchester), Laura Calder (Northumbria), Stef Collins (UWIC), Josette Campbell, Azania Stewart (both Notre Dame Acad - US), Arek Deng (Solent), Louise Gamman (San Bonifacio - Ita), Chantelle Handy (Marshall - US), Meagan Hoffman (Alvargomez - Spa), Lucy Hutchinson, Helen Naylor, Sarah Naylor (all Sheffield), Sally Kaznica, Harriett Yea (both Rhondda), Johannah Leedham (Franklin Pierce ¿ US), Nikki Luckhurst (Tulane - US), Rosalee Mason (Chieti - Ita), Sarah McKay, Megan Moody (both Cadi La Seu - Spa), Toni Newman (Cal Poly - US), Julie Page (Saarlouis - Ger), Lauren Johnson-Thomas (Kirkwood).

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/7324570.stm

[rikhardur]

Archibald out for Great Britain

Great Britain have suffered a huge blow ahead of their EuroBasket 2009 qualifying campaign with center Robert Archibald ruled out due to injury.

The Brits are to take on the Czech Republic, Israel and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Division A this year.

"We will certainly miss Robert during our upcoming qualifying games," Great Britain coach Chris Finch said.

"He was a large part of our success last summer and a key player in the building of our program. We wish him the best in his recovery."

Luol Deng, meanwhile, has signed a new deal with the Chicago Bulls and that means that he can firmly focus on Britain's games.

The 23-year-old Londoner agreed a new six-year deal with the Bulls.

"I'm pleased to have signed a new contract with the Bulls prior to the GB training camp so I can fully focus on the job ahead this summer," said Deng.

"I wanted to have this finalised before the British games ..."

Deng is excited to be joining his British teammates.

"I hope now that the focus will return to our performance on the court," he said.

"I'm looking forward to gathering with the rest of the team and stepping out at The O2 for my first game in London."
http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOr Uf9le2.coid_f3zY3x35J56aEep6gIiph2.articleMode_on. html

[Kings]

Roster

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182121618922.jpg
No.4 Jarrett Hart - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=79&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182120228901.jpg
No.5 Richard Midgley - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=18&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_1218211926954.jpg
No.6 Nick George - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=10&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182120076424.jpg
No.7 Pops Mensah Bonsu - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=17&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182120523282.jpg
No.8 Andrew Sullivan - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=21&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182118934414.jpg
No.9 Luol Deng - Sudan (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=7&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182122491025.jpg
No.10 Dzaflo Larkai - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=96&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182119122952.jpg
No.11 Joel Freeland - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=9&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182120372175.jpg
No.12 Nate Reinking - USA (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=19&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182121771541.jpg
No.13 Steve Leven - Australia (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=81&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182118713857.jpg
No.14 Flinder Boyd - USA (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=6&type=men)

http://www.basketballgb.com/images/players/img_12182118506653.jpg
No.15 Eric Boateng - England (http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams&id=5&type=men)


http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8384/7thna2.jpg
2008.08.28 Great Britain 58 - Turkey 82 (http://www.efesworldcup.com/efesworldcup/worldcup2008.nsf/0/5d1f98081010be05c22574b4004d7057/$FILE/tur_ing.pdf)
2008.08.29 Great Britain 100 - Bosnia Herzigovina 98 (http://www.efesworldcup.com/efesworldcup/worldcup2008.nsf/0/068f3f73b2a0a383c22574b60057ac52/$FILE/eng_bos.pdf)
2008.08.30 Great Britain 80 - Portugal 79 (http://www.efesworldcup.com/efesworldcup/worldcup2008.nsf/0/b62e0e29a8bf17d7c22574b6005a13c6/$FILE/por_ing.pdf)

http://www.fibaeurope.com/files/{65106918-38DC-48AE-9B5E-13D6C64F4411}.gif
Qualifying Round
2008.09.03 Israel 102 - Great Britain 92 (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_6330-D-2-1.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6326.teamID_.html#{1069DEBF-F6B0-48E8-9680-5C0DE029CF6B})
2008.09.06 Great Britain 87 - Czech Republic 68 (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_6330-D-3-2.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6326.teamID_.html#{1069DEBF-F6B0-48E8-9680-5C0DE029CF6B})
2008.09.10 Great Britain 82 - Bosnia & Herzegovina 74 (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_6330-D-6-3.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6326.teamID_.html#{1069DEBF-F6B0-48E8-9680-5C0DE029CF6B})
2008.09.13 Great Britain 96 - Israel 86 (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_6330-D-8-4.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6326.teamID_.html#{1069DEBF-F6B0-48E8-9680-5C0DE029CF6B})
2008.09.17 Czech Republic 63 - Great Britain 67 (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_6330-D-9-5.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6326.teamID_.html#{1069DEBF-F6B0-48E8-9680-5C0DE029CF6B})
2008.09.20 Bosnia & Herzegovina 89 - Great Britain 80 (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_6330-D-12-6.compID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundI D_6326.teamID_2791.html#{1069DEBF-F6B0-48E8-9680-5C0DE029CF6B})

[bigyellow]

luol deng is gonna play?

[Picek]

luol deng is gonna play?
I'm quite sure I've read somewhere he won't play in this qualies..

[Dtown]

I thought it was Ben Gorden who wasn't going to play.

[JGX]

Deng is out as of now, the insurance company is refusing to cover his NBA contract in the case of any back injuries...

[Dtown]

Great Britain needs to qualify for Eurobasket, to have a team in the Olympics correct? Either this year or 2011?

[hotjam_2]

Great Britain needs to qualify for Eurobasket, to have a team in the Olympics correct? Either this year or 2011?


The host country automaticly qualifies for the Olympics

[C2Hamm]

i hope gordon joins in by the time London 2012 comes around.

[reignman]

I am almost sure that Gordon has played for the US... so he cant play for the GB.

[zwbgr]

I am almost sure that Gordon has played for the US... so he cant play for the GB.
You're wrong

[Joško Poljak Fan]

They'll make some noise if they get their both NBAers, but they won't be anything special, more of one of 13-14 strong teams (out of 16) competing in the EC.
I'd bet on Montenegro to make better results in front of them...

moved to the More european discussion forum as it doesn't have anything to do with euroleague.

[Dtown]

The host country automaticly qualifies for the Olympics

Yes but I've heard there are regulations to make Britain at least competitive in the olympic competition and that in turn meant qualifying for one of the Eurobaskets. I could be wrong of course.

[Lietuvis]

I hope you are wrong. Having a C grade team play is going to be ridiculous and of course will take a spot from european teams.

England should stick to their version of basketball which is called netball. I am sorry but I hate netball with a passion, voted worst sport in the world..

[Dtown]

I hope you are wrong. Having a C grade team play is going to be ridiculous and of course will take a spot from european teams.

England should stick to their version of basketball which is called netball. I am sorry but I hate netball with a passion, voted worst sport in the world..

Actually that's what I meant, is that Britain has to advance up from their C grade level to be granted their spot in the olympics, and that means at least qualifying for Eurobasket. Of course I'm getting this all second hand, someone who actually follows British basketball could give a better answer.

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

The host country automaticly qualifies for the Olympics

Not necessarily. They first have to meet some standards and the one set by the IOC is for the to get to the first division of Eurobasket and qualify for one of the final tournaments.

[usausa]

Not necessarily. They first have to meet some standards and the one set by the IOC is for the to get to the first division of Eurobasket and qualify for one of the final tournaments.

Yes that is true from what i read. on britains website, there is a search for players who have like british decent or something like that. they are desperate for good players. i forget what they have to meet, but i believe its to qualifytfor euro, which means deng might can miss the tournamenht because gb is so damn good.:rolleyes: i mean, when i first heard they were hosts, i was scared for their bball team and the massacre that would oocur. i am scared of this because that might ruin their olympic exper.

From http://www.british-basketball.co.uk/Competition-Programme/default.aspx
"Great Britain Senior Men will take part in the Division A qualifiers for Eurobasket 2009. To ensure qualification for the tournament in Poland, they will need to win their group. ".
"The major goal of the BBF is to gain entry to the London Olympics in 2012 for Great Britain Men’s and Women’s teams by proving our competitiveness in European competition. "
Check this http://www.british-basketball.co.uk/apply/default.aspx

From FIBA Europe
"Great Britain expect to have Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng in their lineup again this year when they play EuroBasket 2009 qualifying games but the country has yet to gain clearance from the NBA.

Deng signed a lucrative contract extension earlier this summer but he needs to have his insurance in place before running onto the court to begin training with the national team."Read more here (http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.teamID_2791.compID_qMRZ dYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2009.roundID_6326.coid_4 f,a56usGTI0ymxSHabas2.articleMode_on.html)

[Khalid80]

Great Britian is going to need to work their asses off to assemble and prepare a decent competitive team if they are to qualify to the Olympics through advancing to the later stages of Eurobasket.

[damelo]

I think they will do it with Luol Deng.

Last year, he turned this middle B-Div team into a plane in this second division. Thabo Sefolosha wasn't able to do that all, with Swiss, which may have better backcourt already.

I think they can be a nice team, they have size, muscles, an good-minded superstar. Now, they have to play seriously, but it may remember me a little Germany.

[Khalid80]

I think they will do it with Luol Deng.

Last year, he turned this middle B-Div team into a plane in this second division. Thabo Sefolosha wasn't able to do that all, with Swiss, which may have better backcourt already.

I think they can be a nice team, they have size, muscles, an good-minded superstar. Now, they have to play seriously, but it may remember me a little Germany.

Yeah Deng (like Dirk) is like 50% of the whole team so without him GB will definitely suffer big time. Is Olowakandi still playing for GB NT these days?

[damelo]

Yeah Deng (like Dirk) is like 50% of the whole team so without him GB will definitely suffer big time. Is Olowakandi still playing for GB NT these days?

I thought he was Nigerian...

[Khalid80]

I thought he was Nigerian...

Just like Deng is Sudanese :) . Olowakandi was born in Nigeria but he was raised in England. I don't know when he got the British citizenship but I do remember when he was drafted in the NBA in 1998 they were saying that he was the first British to be drafted as a first pick.
I don't think we should be surprised to see that the GB NT will mostly be made up of non-UK born players.

[damelo]

Just like Deng is Sudanese :) . Olowakandi was born in Nigeria but he was raised in England. I don't know when he got the British citizenship but I do remember when he was drafted in the NBA in 1998 they were saying that he was the first British to be drafted as a first pick.
I don't think we should be surprised to see that the GB NT will mostly be made up of non-UK born players.

Yep, but, I think he played for Nigeria. I never heard about him playing for NT, unlike Mbenga for example.
I think best player born in England was John Amaechi. First one to make a coming out too^^.

[Khalid80]

Yep, but, I think he played for Nigeria. I never heard about him playing for NT, unlike Mbenga for example.
I think best player born in England was John Amaechi. First one to make a coming out too^^.

I don't think he played for the Nigeria NT (anyways I have attached the link for your info. http://www.nba.com/uk/british_players.html )
As for Amaechi yeah u can say that "he came out of the closet" after leaving the NBA and it made a big deal especially when Tim Hardaway said very harsh words about him.

[Saskibaloia]

I still remember Steven Leven playing in the Australian league however, due to his "Bad Boy/ Dennis Rodman" type attitude on and off the court the clubs were reluctant to sign him up. Having grown up in the rough side of Sydney (Campbelltown) his style of game was always more leaning towards the "And1/ streetball" style of play.

[JGX]

If Britain can assemble all their potential players they should at least have a respectable team. If they're going to be allowed to compete in sports like volleyball and handball where they are really going to be overmatched they ought to be able to field a basketball team as well.

Steve Bucknall was probably the first British-born player to make an impact.

[Dtown]

I hope the British are successful, might do wonders for expanding the game there.

[JGX]

Kieron Achara walks out on the team to sign with Fortitudo Bologna:

http://www.basketball247.co.uk/news/archives/00000170.shtml

[Dtown]

Kieron Achara walks out on the team to sign with Fortitudo Bologna:

http://www.basketball247.co.uk/news/archives/00000170.shtml


ow...well here's some good news for them

http://www.basketball247.co.uk/news/archives/00000171.shtml

Deng cleared to play for them :)

[Pistol Pete]

I still think that the players of this British Empire will lose against Israel, with or without Deng :)

[Mindozas]

Well, Great Britain just beat Bosnia&Hercegovina 100:98 in "Efes Pilsen Cup". Best scorers were N.Reinking - 21pts, N.Mensah-Bonsu - 20pts and 7rbs, S.Leven with 19pts.

Quite surprising I'd say :) B&H looks like played with their best squad

[flyinturk]

statistics for efes w. cup
http://www.efesworldcup.com/efesworldcup/worldcup2008.nsf/0/76E1A8BD674FB8A9C225733D0044F148?OpenDocument
Finder Boyd is assists leader.

[Prizmatic]

What about Kelenna Azubuike, he would be a huge addition o the team and solidify their backcourt. Plus, isn't Bryan Mathew Amaning also on the GB team?

[krikit]

What about Kelenna Azubuike, he would be a huge addition o the team and solidify their backcourt. Plus, isn't Bryan Mathew Amaning also on the GB team?

Azibuke was denied citizenship when he applied last year, were some issues with his parents paperwork (legal status) at the time he was born in London.

[DAB]

If Britain can assemble all their potential players they should at least have a respectable team. If they're going to be allowed to compete in sports like volleyball and handball where they are really going to be overmatched they ought to be able to field a basketball team as well.

Steve Bucknall was probably the first British-born player to make an impact.


It may still be a little early for Team GB to have a significant impact in Europe but I think we'll be competitive. Yes, Deng is 50% of the team, but Richard Midgley, Andrew Sullivan, Pops Mensah-Bonsu (in particular) and Andrew Betts are all good players while the new generation - Ryan Richards (in particular), Dan Clark, Joel Freeland will soon be in the mix. It's just a matter a keeping the core squad together. The British league remains weak, so the majority of our top players are scattered across the globe - NBA, NCAA, Spain etc. - so getting them together can be problematic. But we have to prove we can be competitive internationally before we're allowed to play in London 2012. If we do, it will not only be huge for the sport - additional sponsorship, boosting the league, enhancing grassroots basketball in the country - but inevitably it will also further open the door to the possibility of an NBA franchise. Anyway, will be catching the qualifying games over here so will report back.

Much respect to whoever mentioned Steve Bucknall. Buck opened the doors for British basketball (first Brit in the NBA, first to play regular ball in the major European leagues pre-Bosman). Along with John Amaechi and Luol Deng, he is British basketball GOAT.

[DAB]

Azibuke was denied citizenship when he applied last year, were some issues with his parents paperwork (legal status) at the time he was born in London.

Azubuike not playing is a major blow, as is the injury to Robert Archibald and the likelihood of Ben Gordon never playing for Great Britain. Regarding Olowokandi, he has never represented England or Nigeria. I don't believe he has ever intended to represent the UK

[Richey666]

Damn Deng&Co were 1 second away from upsetting Israel in an away game, Israel had only 3 seconds for last attack...but there was supposedly a foul 1 second before the end of the game, while GB was up by 2, I hope someone puts these last seconds up so we could see was it a phantom foul or not...very stupid foul, if there was one.

[Dtown]

If it was a foul and not the ref being an idiot, then Reinking deserves a healthy portion of the blame. Not only missing the free throw that would have put them up three, but committing the foul that led to them tying the game.

[Manu Ginobili]

That call was very doubtful in my eyes..certainly not a clear cut foul, though there was some contact. But usually it's not a call that should be taken, taking into account the situation in the game. We were very very lucky on this one..at least you can be comforted by the way Deng has played. You could not even noticed this guy joined the team before only two days..and Freeland was pretty good too.

[Richey666]

That call was very doubtful in my eyes..certainly not a clear cut foul, though there was some contact. But usually it's not a call that should be taken, taking into account the situation in the game. We were very very lucky on this one..at least you can be comforted by the way Deng has played. You could not even noticed this guy joined the team before only two days..and Freeland was pretty good too.

England coach not satisfied with refereeing: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article4670272.ece

[rikhardur]

Rule Britannia! Brits Clinch Eurobasket Spot


Great Britain confirmed their status as one of Europe's new elite by clinching a spot in their first EuroBasket on Wednesday with a 67-63 triumph at the Czech Republic.

Playing in Division B just one year ago, the Brits improved to 4-1 and sealed first place in Group D of Division A.

The Brits, told by FIBA they must prove their competitiveness before taking up the spot normally reserved for host nations at Olympic Games, have probably done enough to justify their place at the London 2012 Games.

Luol Deng and Co will try to put an exclamation point on their qualifying campaign by winning their last game in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday.

They will then try and make an even louder statement next summer in Poland where the final round will be staged only there, the Brits will encounter world class opponents like Russia, Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Croatia and Germany.

All of those sides played at this summer's Olympics in Beijing.

Britain, whose only defeat came at Israel in their opening game, a 102-92 overtime setback, became the first team in the group to win on the road.

Deng, the country's Chicago Bulls star, led the way with 21 points and Nate Reinking added 20.

The Brits overcame a terrific effort by the Czechs' Jiri Welsch, a player who scored a game-high 28 but missed a layup in the closing seconds that could have forced overtime.

After Tomás Satoránský buried a three-pointer to give the Czechs a 63-60 advantage with 2:36 remaining, Pops Mensah-Bonsu closed the gap to one with just under two minutes left by making two free throws.

Each team then committed a turnover, and Deng blocked a lay-up attempt by Welsch with 1:10 left.

Flinder Boyd committed his second straight turnover with a bad pass, but Welsch missed a three and fouled Deng.

The Sudan-born forward who moved to London at a young age made both free throws for a 64-63 lead.

After the Czechs missed, they fouled Richard Midgley and he was only able to convert the second for a 65-63 advantage with 10 seconds to go.

The Czechs inbounded the ball to Welsch at midcourt coming out of a timeout and he dribbled in for what looked to be an easy lay-up, using his body to shield himself from Mensah Bonsu.

The Unicaja Malaga swingman laid the ball off the glass too hard with his left hand. Satoránský tried to tip the ball in but missed and Mensah-Bonsu rebounded.

The Czechs fouled the DKV Joventut center and he made both for the four-point win.

Great Britain won, but the game was there for the taking for the Czechs. They missed nine of their 18 (50%) free throw attempts while the visitors sank 17 of 23 (73.9%).

The Brits won despite turning the ball over 24 times compared to just 11 for the home side.

Mensah-Bonsu had 12 rebounds to go with his nine points.
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_G0OesEKPI8-eqaemzH4682.articleMode_on.container_frontpage.htm l

[vaslover]

O temperes,o mores(latin.)... It,s no secret,that England invented football for others(Brazil,Arg,Italy,Cameroon,Zimbabve,Armenia, even Lithuania;) ).But i couldn,t imagine that Great Britain basketball NT much stronger than England football NT!:D

[Khalid80]

"GB chase Kelenna Azubuike (by Eurobasket News)

GB bosses are back on the trail of NBA star Kelenna Azubuike (196-G/F-83, college: Kentucky) as they look to strengthen their squad for the 2009 European Championship Finals.

The Golden State Warriors guard does not yet possess a British passport, even though he was born in London prior to his family moving to the United States.

But he has indicated he is keen to pursue one and join the GB squad as it continues its successful march towards the 2012 Olympics.

GB performance manager Ron Wuotila said: 'We have had discussions with the NBA's international people, as well as Kelenna's people themselves, and every indication is that he is very keen to play.

'We understand that last year he had to concentrate on his NBA career and make sure that he had a contract to sign at the end of the season.

'But now that he has done that, we are investigating fully what needs to be done to help him obtain his passport.

'The NBA have been great partners for us in this and, hopefully, he will be another player we can add to the squad for the challenges ahead.'

GB continue to hold a regular dialogue with Chicago star Ben Gordon, a team mate of GB's Luol Deng at the Bulls, who has also committed his long-term international future to the country of his birth.

Like Azubuike, Gordon withdrew from consideration last year because of contract uncertainty at his club, but officials are hopeful that he will be available for the Finals in Poland.

And that could give coach Chris Finch three established NBA stars in his squad for a tough campaign that sees the Brits take on world champions Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in their opening group".

If GB can get Azubuike to play with them, they will be a very dangerous team in the 2009 European Championship. Good luck maties :D

[rikhardur]

Brit Pops Adds Fizz To Spurs


Great Britain international Pops Mensah-Bonsu is making headlines again after his departure from Spanish basketball earlier this season.

The 2.06m forward, who played a prominent role for the Brits as they finished top of their EuroBasket 2009 qualifying group, had shoulder problems but instead of following the advice of DKV Joventut to have surgery, he agreed to part ways with DKV and travelled to the United States.

While averaging 26.6 points and 13 rebounds in eight games with the NBDL's Austin Toros, Mensah-Bonsu caught the eye of the San Antonio Spurs and was this week signed to a 10-day contract.

The Spurs were looking for help in the frontcourt with big man Tim Duncan suffering from a right leg injury.

"I felt confident that the way I was playing in the D-league, I had confidence I would be with an NBA team soon," said Mensah-Bonsu.

"I'm excited to be in an NBA organization with such class and history.

"I will hopefully have the chance to stay and represent my country."

DKV had hoped to sign the 25-year-old Mensah-Bonsu to a deal that would keep him in Badalona with Ricky Rubio and Co for next season but his decision to follow his dream of playing in the NBA looks to have paid off.

Great Britain coach Chris Finch will be counting on him when the team plays world champions Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in the Final Round at the EuroBasket in Poland.

"I'm really happy and excited for Pops, his determination to create this opportunity for himself is nothing short of amazing," Finch said.

"We wish him all the best and we all hope he will be able to turn this into a long-term NBA career.

"He certainly has it within him."

Britain, who finished ahead of Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic in qualifying, are shaping up to have quite a team.

Unicaja Malaga center Robert Archibald is planning to return to the squad which already includes Chicago Bulls ace Luol Deng.

London-born Ben Gordon, also with Chicago, is a player Britain are hoping to have in the national team as well.

"We are a pretty talented group," Mensah-Bonsu said.

"We want to gain respect from the rest of the countries and then see where we can take it.

"Playing for GB is the high of my priority list. Last year was the first chance to play.

"I have always wanted to be first onboard. Now, with us going to the EuroBasket Finals, I'm not going to let anything get in the way.

"I'm sure whatever team I'm with, I will be able to get to Poland and represent my country."

Mensah-Bonsu played college basketball at George Washington and did spend some time with the Dallas Mavericks earlier in his career.

He wound up in Europe with Benetton Treviso and then joined Granada for the final game of last season and had a match-winning performance against Tau Ceramica in the regular-season finale to keep the club in the top flight.

Mensah-Bonsu attempted to secure an NBA move last summer but ended up joining outfit DKV in Spain and was so good early on that he earned Week 2 MVP honors in the Euroleague.

He will be on the bench on Friday night when the Spurs host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_fF0HEbluIYgtTw2ArYYHy0.articleMode_on.contain er_frontpage.html

[vaslover]

My favourite british player still more than alive!!!
Last night Pops Mensah-Bonsu statistics against Miami Heat: 15 min, 4pts+10reb(!) :cool:. I think quite good beginning.
P.s. How,s pity, that he doesn,t play in Badalona until the end of the season...

[rikhardur]

GBR – Raptors quickly snap up available Brit Mensah-Bonsu

TORONTO (NBA) – Pops Mensah-Bonsu didn’t last long in San Antonio but he has quickly found a new team after signing with the Toronto Raptors and this time, the Great Britain international has found a club for the remainder of the campaign.

The Raptors have confirmed the deal on their website.

“The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed centre Pops Mensah-Bonsu to a contract for the remainder of the season,” the team said.

The 6ft 10in Mensah-Bonsu impressed for Great Britain last summer, helping them finish top of their qualifying group for this year’s EuroBasket where the Brits will take on Serbia, world champions Spain and Slovenia in group play.

He began this season with DKV Joventut and thrived, even earning Euroleague Player of the Week honors once, but suffered an injury and ended up parting with the team.

Mensah-Bonsu travelled to America and once fully fit, averaged 26.6 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in eight games with the D-League's Austin Toros.

He had six double-doubles, with a high of 39 points at Colorado and three games of 18 rebounds (at Anaheim, Colorado and Rio Grande Valley).

Mensah-Bonsu impressed in his brief stint with the Spurs on a 10-day contract but the club deemed him surplus to requirements after the return of big man Tim Duncan from injury.

The 25-year-old was released by San Antonio on Wednesday after playing in three games, averaging 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 6.7 minutes.

He appeared in 12 games with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006-07 season where he totaled 29 points and 22 rebounds in 72 minutes.
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/29558/arti.html

[mvblair]

Pops Mensah-Bonsu with a solid game in his fourth with the Raptors. He scored 21 points (5-10) in 21 minutes and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Happy dude (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/4201/photos;_ylt=AliTmcSZw0OHtQZM7xXy20KkvLYF?slug=c3c4 2fec489caf8e061a557e8285f3ee-getty-82992870rt09_pacers_raptors#photoViewer=urn%3Anews ml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cap%3A20050301%3Anba%2Cphoto%2C b2903c4583a04e018ec8febe40c2bbb9.pacers_raptors_ba sketball_cfwy114%3A1)

[mvblair]

Deng to play this summer for GB...
DENG TO HELP GB IN "SOME CAPACITY" THIS SUMMER (http://www.basketball247.co.uk/news/archives/00000351.shtml) -- March 15, 2009, Basketball 24/7, by Ian Whittel

Luol Deng will fly in the face of advice from his personal coach and, most likely, his club the Chicago Bulls and play for Great Britain in this summer's European Championship Finals.

The 6'9" forward is currently sidelined with a stress fracture in his right leg that may require minor surgery, the latest in a series of niggling injuries that have plagued the Sudanese-born Deng since his international debut.

Deng, 23, missed just four games out of 164 in the two seasons before his first game for the newly-formed GB team in the summer of 2007.

...Deng's concession of playing fewer warm-up games could potentially disappoint GB fans who had hoped to see him play in a tournament planned for London in August.

And GB will still have to negotiate the Bulls' understandable dissatisfaction that their highly-priced asset is about to spend two months of the close season on internatonal service.

However, as long as the British federation covers the insurance for the $62 million remaining on Deng's contract, the Bulls will be powerless to prevent Deng from playing for his country.

[Blinky]

May I ask guys, how legal is it for England-Scotland-Wales-Ireland to send a unified team under the name of GB?

Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing, because these countries have low basketball quality, and a unified team can make them more competitive, and also help the sport in thos countries.

However it stil seems weird to me how FIBA would allow this. Imagine if other countries took advantage of this and let's say there was a "Mediterannean NT" formed with players from Spain, Italy and Greece....it would simply dominate and would be so unfair...

[damelo]

May I ask guys, how legal is it for England-Scotland-Wales-Ireland to send a unified team under the name of GB?

Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing, because these countries have low basketball quality, and a unified team can make them more competitive, and also help the sport in thos countries.

However it stil seems weird to me how FIBA would allow this. Imagine if other countries took advantage of this and let's say there was a "Mediterannean NT" formed with players from Spain, Italy and Greece....it would simply dominate and would be so unfair...

GB is ONE country, and is sending ONE team in the olympics.

Yet, it is composed of several nations, which have different NTs and championships for football and rugby. But, Not for the Oympics.

Once, Cataluña talked about having its own basketball NT.

[Dtown]

From what I understand the only reason that there isn't a team GB in soccer, is each of the individual nations gets a say in FIFA matters and they don't want to give up any power in the sport. In Basketball this isn't even remotely an issue.

As was pointed out above Great Britain puts on a united front for the Olympics, so I don't see this as being different.

[Fearless]

May I ask guys, how legal is it for England-Scotland-Wales-Ireland to send a unified team under the name of GB?

Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing, because these countries have low basketball quality, and a unified team can make them more competitive, and also help the sport in thos countries.

However it stil seems weird to me how FIBA would allow this. Imagine if other countries took advantage of this and let's say there was a "Mediterannean NT" formed with players from Spain, Italy and Greece....it would simply dominate and would be so unfair...

Mediterranean -----> not a country
Great Britain -----> a country

[mvblair]

May I ask guys, how legal is it for England-Scotland-Wales-Ireland to send a unified team under the name of GB?

Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing, because these countries have low basketball quality, and a unified team can make them more competitive, and also help the sport in thos countries.

However it stil seems weird to me how FIBA would allow this. Imagine if other countries took advantage of this and let's say there was a "Mediterannean NT" formed with players from Spain, Italy and Greece....it would simply dominate and would be so unfair... I get your point. I wondered whether or not this is fair. Honestly, if all three of those teams were good, I'd probably be outraged. But, I guess since all these "nations"/"ethnic groups" (we need a discussion in the UN section) are more or less governed by the same body, it's OK.

[rikhardur]

GBR – Britain to host EuroBasket warm-up event at The O2

LONDON (EuroBasket 2009) – Great Britain will host a four-team tournament in August at The O2 Arena in London as part of their preparations for this year’s EuroBasket in Poland.

The Brits, who topped their qualifying group ahead of Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic, will play in Warsaw in September’s Final Round against world champions Spain, Slovenia and Serbia.

At The O2 Arena from August 14-16, Great Britain will face EuroBasket-bound sides Turkey, Slovenia and Israel.

"We just feel we need to play as many games at The O2 as possible in the run up to 2012 (Olympic Games),” Great Britain coach Chris Finch said.

"We don't have a 'home' but we feel like it's home to us even though we have only played one game there. That was a great game and great atmosphere last year and it really set us up well for the next two home games.”

The game Finch referred to was played on September 6 last year when the Brits beat the Czech Republic 87-68.

They followed that up with triumphs over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel before travelling to the Czech Republic and winning again to secure a spot in Poland.

Luol Deng, the 23-year-old captain of the Britain team who has missed a lot of games with the Chicago Bulls this year due to a stress fracture in his tibia, expects to be fully fit by the time the games are played.

Born in Sudan, Deng moved to the London area as a child.

"It meant a lot playing at The O2 arena in front of our fans,” he said.

”It's always a great feeling to put on the GB jersey and represent our nation in a sport that we all love playing."
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/29624/arti.html

[rikhardur]

GBR – Deng upbeat about British chances

LONDON (EuroBasket) – Luol Deng hasn’t played for the Chicago Bulls since February 28 because of a leg injury but he’s optimistic about representing Great Britain at EuroBasket 2009 and fully expects his national team to be a force.

The star of Britain’s qualification campaign has been sidelined with a stress fracture in his right tibia but come September in Poland, Deng hopes to be available when his adopted country goes up against world champions Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in Group C.

"Again based on last summer's experience and success, we have every right to remain optimistic about our chances in Poland", Deng said.

"No doubt, it will be a much tougher challenge but we have a very talented team and a very well organized and prepared coaching staff.

“I have a lot of belief in my teammates and I know with an extra year of experience under our belt, we will be sharper and more prepared coming out of training camp in the summer."

Great Britain recently announced plans to host a ‘Game On’ - a warm-up tournament at London’s O2 Arena with Slovenia, Israel and Turkey from August 14 to 16.

The 23-year-old Deng, who was born in Sudan but moved to London as a small boy with his family, said: "Having ‘Game On’ at the O2 will help us tremendously.

“The tournament gives us a chance to go up against very talented and well organized teams in Europe.”
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/29691/arti.html

[rikhardur]

GBR – Deng hopeful of recovering in time to play for Great Britain at EuroBasket

CHICAGO (EuroBasket/NBA Europe Live) - Great Britain star Luol Deng hasn’t played for the Chicago Bulls since February 28 because of a leg injury but he hopes to be ready to lead the Brits in September when they compete at the EuroBasket in Poland.

The 23-year-old averaged more than 24 points and almost six rebounds per game last summer as Britain finished top of their qualifying group.

“I feel that I will be fit (for Poland) as of right now,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.

“I think my recovery is going well. My rehab is going well. I’m feeling a lot better. But to be honest, I’m not going to know until I’m on the floor playing.

“It’s one of those injuries, how my body responds to it when I’m playing, when I’m full speed. Right now I feel that I’ll be able to avoid surgery and be fit.”

Deng thought he had a bruised shin and “just soreness” but examinations by doctors showed something else.

“The MRI revealed that I have a very small stress fracture, not a major stress fracture but a beginning of a stress fracture,” he said.

“Me and several different doctors, including my Bulls doctor, felt that in order for it to heal right, I had to take some time off to rest it instead of making it any worse and also to avoid surgery.”

The 6ft 9in forward says he is likely to start running again this week.

Deng’s status has his Great Britain coach Chris Finch and his teammates who are with their club sides all over Europe and North America concerned.

When asked by FIBA.com if he’d been in touch with Finch, he said: “I’ve been talking to Chris Finch back-and-forth by email and my teammates and other guys that are involved with the British team.

“I’ve been able to just keep them informed and let them know. They’ve all been very supportive. Coach Finch has been very supportive.

“The talk has just been about what the outcome will be; if I will be able to just rehab and be back which is what I think is going to happen.

“But I think everyone knows how I love playing for the national team and how badly I want to play. I don’t think that’s the question.

“It’s something that we have to deal with. The injury has come at the wrong time. It’s an injury that you never want to have. It is what it is, and it’s just time to rehab and get better.”

Deng also offered his thoughts on the possibility of his London-born Bulls teammate Ben Gordon playing for Britain.

“With Ben Gordon, to be honest with you, I don’t know what Ben is going to do,” he said.

“I think being in the European Championship and the summer that we had and everything, I think it caught his attention and I think he wants to be a part of it.

“But at the same time, Ben Gordon is in the summer of his contract year and I don’t see him going to play without a contract. So I think that is going to play a major role in his decision, also.”

Deng was speaking to journalists in a conference call following the announcement that Chicago will play Utah in a NBA Europe Live game in London in October.
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/29715/arti.html

[Luíz for 3]

And what about Ben Gordon and Kelenna Azubuike??? Will they play for GB in the next EuroBasket?? This team has great chances in the EuroBasket, even without these two players. With Pops, Deng and Archibald they have team to reach the second group phase...

[FilWelsh]

I had just received my ticket (worth £54) in a 4 Nations Basketball tournament this August 15 in O2 Arena in London. The tournament features Team GB, Poland, Turkey and Israel. It is a tourney which would prepare Team GB for Eurobasket Champs this September. . It would be a rare opportunity to watch NBA stars Luol Deng, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Ben Gordon (GB) and Mehmet Okur and Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey). . .

[mbenga]

Hi, i'd like to know where can i buy a british NT shirt, either online or in a store in London. Thanks.

[ArnoldPettybone]

Hi, i'd like to know where can i buy a british NT shirt, either online or in a store in London. Thanks.
http://camisetasfiba.blogspot.com/

[mvblair]

Azubuike is out for September:

AZUBUIKE 'GIVES UP' ON EUROBASKET (http://www.basketball247.co.uk/news/archives/00000373.shtml) - by Basketball 24/7, April 21, 2009

NBA baller Kelenna Azubuike has given up his dream of playing for his homeland Great Britain in this summer's European Championships.

Despite being born in London, the Golden State Warriors starter has been refused a British passport.

British Basketball are currently trying to help Azubuike negotiate the red tape required to successfully complete the necessary paperwork.

But with Eurobasket looming in Poland in September, the 6'5" guard does not expect to make his GB debut in 2009.

He said: "Definitely not this summer. I have kind of given up on it.

"They haven't even told me they are close to getting a passport so it will be tough for this summer.

"I'm still trying to get it worked on and I'm not really sure what the timeline is because of the complication with the changes in the passport rules.

"I definitely still want to play for the British national team at some point but I'm not just sure when."

Azubuike, 25, truly established himself as an NBA regular this season, averaging over 32 minutes a game and scoring 14.4 points and 5 rebounds per outing.

His Warriors team mates Andris Biedrins (Latvia), Marco Belinelli (Italy) and Ronny Turiaf (France) could all be in action in this summer's Eurobasket.

And Oklahoma-raised Azubuike added: "I talk to Andris about it and he says he enjoys playing international ball, it's a great experience and I definitely should do it.

"And of course the 2012 Olympics are definitely attractive, it would be a dream. The Olympic Games are an amazing event so it would be a dream to be part of it."

Biedrins promises to be one of the major stars in Poland and believes his team mate has what it takes to make his mark in Europe.

Biedrins added: "He's an overall really good player who can do a lot of things - he's great offensively and can score and is pretty solid and works hard at the defensive end.

"Plus, he can run and jump, he's athletic so he won't have any problems in international basketball."

Azubuike's problems with his passport application relate to the status of his parents when he was born in London and the fact he missed an earlier cut off point to apply for his passport, having left the UK as a baby.

[AlbionGate]

Ben Gordon Named In Training Squad Roster

Head Coach Chris Finch has compiled a 24-man squad list for the training camp in August. Included are the NBA's Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, although Gordon is yet to confirm his availability.

There are also three names from the British Basketball League, including 22-year-old newcomer Tafari Toney, who has starred for the league winning Newcastle Eagles this season.

Full Squad:
Kieron Achara - Fortitudo (ITA)
Rob Archibald - Unicaja (ESP)
Andy Betts - Aris Thesaloniki (GRE)
Eric Boateng - Arizone State University (USA)
Flinder Boyd - Leicester Riders
Matthew Bryan-Amaning - Universtiy of Washington (USA)
Dan Clark - Estudiantes (ESP)
Daryl Corletto - Melbourne Tigers (AUS)
Luol Deng - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Germayne Forbes - Nyon (SUI)
Joel Freeland - Gran Canaria (ESP)
Nick George - Gravelines Dunkerque (FRA)
Ben Gordon - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Randall Hanke - Providence University (USA)
Jarrett Hart - Keravnos (CYP)
Dzaflo Larkai - L'Hospitalet (ESP)
Mike Lenzly - Harem Scafati (ITA)
Steve Leven - West Brabant Giants (NED)
Pops Mensah-Bonsu - Toronto Raptors (CAN)
Richard Midgley - Everton Tigers
Nate Reinking - Mons Hainaut (BEL)
Justin Robinson - Rider Univertisy (USA)
Andrew Sullivan - CSK VVS Samara (RUS)
Tafari Toney - Newcastle Eagles

[vaslover]

Ben Gordon Named In Training Squad Roster

Head Coach Chris Finch has compiled a 24-man squad list for the training camp in August. Included are the NBA's Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, although Gordon is yet to confirm his availability.

There are also three names from the British Basketball League, including 22-year-old newcomer Tafari Toney, who has starred for the league winning Newcastle Eagles this season.

Full Squad:
Kieron Achara - Fortitudo (ITA)
Rob Archibald - Unicaja (ESP)
Andy Betts - Aris Thesaloniki (GRE)
Eric Boateng - Arizone State University (USA)
Flinder Boyd - Leicester Riders
Matthew Bryan-Amaning - Universtiy of Washington (USA)
Dan Clark - Estudiantes (ESP)
Daryl Corletto - Melbourne Tigers (AUS)
Luol Deng - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Germayne Forbes - Nyon (SUI)
Joel Freeland - Gran Canaria (ESP)
Nick George - Gravelines Dunkerque (FRA)
Ben Gordon - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Randall Hanke - Providence University (USA)
Jarrett Hart - Keravnos (CYP)
Dzaflo Larkai - L'Hospitalet (ESP)
Mike Lenzly - Harem Scafati (ITA)
Steve Leven - West Brabant Giants (NED)
Pops Mensah-Bonsu - Toronto Raptors (CAN)
Richard Midgley - Everton Tigers
Nate Reinking - Mons Hainaut (BEL)
Justin Robinson - Rider Univertisy (USA)
Andrew Sullivan - CSK VVS Samara (RUS)
Tafari Toney - Newcastle Eagles

I,ve no doubt that football England NT doesn,t have such strong squad as their basketball compatriots! Furthermore, GBR NT has more chances to win eurobasket than England NT can win EC in football!!! :D

[Neozyrus]

With this players a very interesting 12-men roster could be made:

PG
Nate Reinking - Mons Hainaut (BEL)
Flinder Boyd - Leicester Riders
SG
Ben Gordon - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Nick George - Gravelines Dunkerque (FRA)
SF
Luol Deng - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Andrew Sullivan - CSK VVS Samara (RUS)
PF
Joel Freeland - Gran Canaria (ESP)
Dan Clark - Estudiantes (ESP)
C
Pops Mensah-Bonsu - Toronto Raptors (CAN)
Rob Archibald - Unicaja (ESP)
Andy Betts - Aris Thesaloniki (GRE)

Being the last spot in the roster between:
Mike Lenzly - Harem Scafati (ITA)
Jarrett Hart - Keravnos (CYP)

If the best men of this roster arrive in shape to the tournament, this team could put into real trouble almost any NT.

[AlbionGate]

With this players a very interesting 12-men roster could be made:

PG
Nate Reinking - Mons Hainaut (BEL)
Flinder Boyd - Leicester Riders
SG
Ben Gordon - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Nick George - Gravelines Dunkerque (FRA)
SF
Luol Deng - Chicago Bulls (USA)
Andrew Sullivan - CSK VVS Samara (RUS)
PF
Joel Freeland - Gran Canaria (ESP)
Dan Clark - Estudiantes (ESP)
C
Pops Mensah-Bonsu - Toronto Raptors (CAN)
Rob Archibald - Unicaja (ESP)
Andy Betts - Aris Thesaloniki (GRE)

Being the last spot in the roster between:
Mike Lenzly - Harem Scafati (ITA)
Jarrett Hart - Keravnos (CYP)

If the best men of this roster arrive in shape to the tournament, this team could put into real trouble almost any NT.

I don't think so. Although the major part of starting five (Mensah-Bonsu, Freeland, Deng, Gordon) is very good, this team don't have reliable back-up players. Moreover playmakers are really weak. And finally, we have to see how will Gordon adapt to FIBA rules.

[Neozyrus]

I don't think so. Although the major part of starting five (Mensah-Bonsu, Freeland, Deng, Gordon) is very good, this team don't have reliable back-up players. Moreover playmakers are really weak. And finally, we have to see how will Gordon adapt to FIBA rules.

Yeah i get your point but i think that the most important thing for this team will be the team work and the chemistry among the players, cause they already have some players that can really decide a game. And watching how the team played in the last tournament against Bosnia, Israel..etc im pretty optimistic.

Imo you have a couple of players that can create easily their own shots like Gordon and Deng with a quite high accurancy. The substiute of Deng really wouldnt mind as there is no doubt that he must play as many minutes as he can (more or less like Nowitzki does in Germany).
The omly problem with Bonsu should be his shot selection, if he's able to improve a little this aspect, he can have a relly impressive tournament. And apart from that, with him you have a machine near the rim at both ends of the floor and a defensive monster ( if he can maintain himself out of the foul trouble). And you have also a great backup in this position as Archibald is, that can give the team a lot of fight, hustle, rebounds, points and some really quality minutes with or without Pops in the court.

About the rest of the positions, i hope Freeland got some rest before the trainig camp, cause the lenght of the season seems to be causing him some phisychal problems. If he manages to be at 90% for the tournament, you will have a great help in the pf position, and a player that could open many many spaces for the shots of Deng and Gordon.

The subsutitue of Gordon should be George, that, although is clear that his not going to be a reference in the team, normally he doesnt make easy mistakes in the plays, he can shoot and seems to be quite confortble inside the team. A decent replacement imo.

And probably you're righ in the pg position, but i was gladly suprise by Reinking in the last games. He has been doing some good seasons in Belgium, and has adquired enough experience to know what he can do and what he cant do ( and thats a really important factor in a pg). And despite hes getting old, in he can be in shape at the beginning of the tournament, i now he wont be able to compete with the best guards, but he can be a great help for his teammates.

[FilWelsh]

Yeah i get your point but i think that the most important thing for this team will be the team work and the chemistry among the players, cause they already have some players that can really decide a game. And watching how the team played in the last tournament against Bosnia, Israel..etc im pretty optimistic.

Imo you have a couple of players that can create easily their own shots like Gordon and Deng with a quite high accurancy. The substiute of Deng really wouldnt mind as there is no doubt that he must play as many minutes as he can (more or less like Nowitzki does in Germany).
The omly problem with Bonsu should be his shot selection, if he's able to improve a little this aspect, he can have a relly impressive tournament. And apart from that, with him you have a machine near the rim at both ends of the floor and a defensive monster ( if he can maintain himself out of the foul trouble). And you have also a great backup in this position as Archibald is, that can give the team a lot of fight, hustle, rebounds, points and some really quality minutes with or without Pops in the court.

About the rest of the positions, i hope Freeland got some rest before the trainig camp, cause the lenght of the season seems to be causing him some phisychal problems. If he manages to be at 90% for the tournament, you will have a great help in the pf position, and a player that could open many many spaces for the shots of Deng and Gordon.

The subsutitue of Gordon should be George, that, although is clear that his not going to be a reference in the team, normally he doesnt make easy mistakes in the plays, he can shoot and seems to be quite confortble inside the team. A decent replacement imo.

And probably you're righ in the pg position, but i was gladly suprise by Reinking in the last games. He has been doing some good seasons in Belgium, and has adquired enough experience to know what he can do and what he cant do ( and thats a really important factor in a pg). And despite hes getting old, in he can be in shape at the beginning of the tournament, i now he wont be able to compete with the best guards, but he can be a great help for his teammates.

Whoever Chris Finch decide to be included in his final roster for Eurobasket, i think will be good enough considering the depth of talent the Team GB having now. . . I believe they will make a noise even a scare against teams in their group including Pau Gasol's Spain. . .

[reamily]

I know its a long shot I hope also filwesh can help me invite the GB national team or even your pool to come to philippines and play our rp team this coming summer(july) part of our preparations for the regional qualifiers for wbc. You will learn alot from the rp teams and also vice versa. Thanks for reading.:D

[sixama23]

I don't think so. Although the major part of starting five (Mensah-Bonsu, Freeland, Deng, Gordon) is very good, this team don't have reliable back-up players. Moreover playmakers are really weak. And finally, we have to see how will Gordon adapt to FIBA rules.

I totally agree with you. I don't think that the British point guards have the ability to react really well against the Spanish or Serbian pressure on defence. Also, they are placed in a very difficult group. The main advantage of this team is their front-line which includes players like Archibald, Mensa-Bonsu and Betts. But with play-makers such as Reinking or Boyd, there won't be many passes inside the "paint". Of course Deng is a great player, but well-organized teams such as Spain, Slovenia and Serbia cannot be beaten by only one player. Things will be very tough for the British NT at this Eurobasket.

[rikhardur]

Mensah-Bonsu, Gordon And Deng In British Squad

Great Britain coach Chris Finch has included Chicago Bulls duo Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, and Toronto Raptors center Pops Mensah-Bonsu in the country's 24-man preliminary squad for September's EuroBasket.

The Brits will take on Serbia, Slovenia and world champions Spain in Group C in Warsaw.

Gordon, who was born in London but grew up in the United States, has yet to represent Britain but is enthusiastic about joining the national side, though he has yet to commit for 2009.

He is currently with the Bulls in the NBA play-offs.

Deng hasn't played for the Bulls since February 28 because of a minor stress fracture in his leg and is a big uncertainty for the Final Round in Poland while Mensah-Bonsu finished the season on a high after signing with the Raptors.

A couple of other big names in the squad are Unicaja Malaga's Robert Archibald and Gran Canaria's Joel Freeland.

The 24-man preliminary squad:

Kieron Achara (Fortitudo, ITA)
Rob Archibald (Unicaja, ESP)
Andy Betts (Aris Thesaloniki, GRE)
Eric Boateng (Arizona State, USA)
Flinder Boyd (Leicester Riders, GBR)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning (University of Washington, USA)
Dan Clark (Estudiantes, ESP)
Daryl Corletto (Melbourne Tigers, AUS)
Luol Deng (Chicago Bulls, USA)
Germayne Forbes (Nyon, SWI)
Joel Freeland (Gran Canaria, ESP)
Nick George (Gravelines Dunkerque, FRA)
Ben Gordon (Chicago Bulls, USA)
Randall Hanke (Providence, USA)
Jarrett Hart (Keravnos, CYP)
Dzaflo Larkai (L'Hospitalet, ESP)
Mike Lenzly (Harem Scafati, ITA)
Steve Leven (West Brabant-Giants NED)
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Toronto Raptors, USA)
Richard Midgley (Everton Tigers, GBR)
Nate Reinking (Mons Hainaut, BEL)
Justin Robinson (Rider University, USA)
Andrew Sullivan (no club)
Tafari Toney (Newcastle Eagles, GBR)
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_U1eg9YU1JRYy-IIqSo8gf1.articleMode_on.container_frontpage.html

[FilWelsh]

I totally agree with you. I don't think that the British point guards have the ability to react really well against the Spanish or Serbian pressure on defence. Also, they are placed in a very difficult group. The main advantage of this team is their front-line which includes players like Archibald, Mensa-Bonsu and Betts. But with play-makers such as Reinking or Boyd, there won't be many passes inside the "paint". Of course Deng is a great player, but well-organized teams such as Spain, Slovenia and Serbia cannot be beaten by only one player. Things will be very tough for the British NT at this Eurobasket.

You are right. Backcourt is the weakest link of this Team GB. . .But you will never know, we are capable of giving upsets against teams in our group. . .

[g.g]

You are right. Backcourt is the weakest link of this Team GB. . .But you will never know, we are capable of giving upsets against teams in our group. . .Big congrats to GB team....can anyone let me know if/when British TV wold broadcast any games prior to the Euro so I can see the team's strenght?
I think it would be v hard for GB in this group but good luck anyway.

[auris1]

Big congrats to GB team....can anyone let me know if/when British TV wold broadcast any games prior to the Euro so I can see the team's strenght?
I think it would be v hard for GB in this group but good luck anyway.

Very unlikely. Not on the freeview anyway .Bbc holds rights for a cup final ,and that is that.

[g.g]

Very unlikely. Not on the freeview anyway .Bbc holds rights for a cup final ,and that is that.I live in the UK but have Greek sat TV as well...so lots of top BB but I would love to see the GB NT playing.

[inaminute23]

I do hope a British tv station picks up the rights to show it, but i won't hold my breath. There is some good news however, Setanta have signed a deal to show the NBA playoffs starting tommorow at 8.30pm BST (LAKERS V ROCKETS). They are scheduled to show 2 live games a week, plus the finals in its entirity. So we never know Setanta might show Eurobasket, the do currently show Fiba basketball every Monday.

[mvblair]

Wait, wait, are you guys saying that you can't see the national team on the TV? That's awful. Surely NT games will be shown during the lead up to the Olympics, right?

[Dtown]

Wait, wait, are you guys saying that you can't see the national team on the TV? That's awful. Surely NT games will be shown during the lead up to the Olympics, right?

Well the best comparison I've heard from my British friends, is Basketball in Britain is like Soccer in the US only much much worse. They have no history with the game, and the national league (BBL) barely draws. This year's Eurobasket is all about setting up the grassroots, so they will have tv contracts and a better following going into 2012.

[auris1]

Wait, wait, are you guys saying that you can't see the national team on the TV? That's awful. Surely NT games will be shown during the lead up to the Olympics, right?
I do refuse to sign for Sky (satellite) or virgin (cable) because it just sucks / cost a lot and because I think that 30 channels on freview are enough. Now – channel 5 have live Nba games every Tuesday with decent commentary from M Webster and the guy who’s name I cannot pronounce. I do not like the one with name I cannot pronounce as well but he is in wheelchair. But I did liked the guy who’s named I forgot (he used to play in nba) and is openly gay (he’s currently doing some chat show by sitting on some the panel).The only problem that the game starts at 1 a.m and by that time I am fast asleep .When I was not working I used on Tuesdays to drink beer calling it warm up for my big NBA night – did not see that many games either for the same reasons(getting smashed long before game starts).
I have never been interested in British national championship and as a matter of fact, NT team due to them being completely shit. I do not expect that to change either. But I hope I am wrong – there would be sufficient interest mainly from immigrants having decent team in euroleague /euro cup.

[Khalid80]

I do refuse to sign for Sky (satellite) or virgin (cable) because it just sucks / cost a lot and because I think that 30 channels on freview are enough. Now – channel 5 have live Nba games every Tuesday with decent commentary from M Webster and the guy who’s name I cannot pronounce. I do not like the one with name I cannot pronounce as well but he is in wheelchair. But I did liked the guy who’s named I forgot (he used to play in nba) and is openly gay (he’s currently doing some chat show by sitting on some the panel).The only problem that the game starts at 1 a.m and by that time I am fast asleep .When I was not working I used on Tuesdays to drink beer calling it warm up for my big NBA night – did not see that many games either for the same reasons(getting smashed long before game starts).
I have never been interested in British national championship and as a matter of fact, NT team due to them being completely shit. I do not expect that to change either. But I hope I am wrong – there would be sufficient interest mainly from immigrants having decent team in euroleague /euro cup.

I believe u r referring to John Amaechi whom is mentioned in Matt's (Mvblair's) signature if u read it :D

[auris1]

I believe u r referring to John Amaechi whom is mentioned in Matt's (Mvblair's) signature if u read it :D
YES I was indeed.
I had a nap in between reading it though

[obe31]

Well the best comparison I've heard from my British friends, is Basketball in Britain is like Soccer in the US only much much worse. They have no history with the game, and the national league (BBL) barely draws. This year's Eurobasket is all about setting up the grassroots, so they will have tv contracts and a better following going into 2012.

You are absolutely right. I lived in the UK for 8 years. I was studying there. Basketball is non existant in terms of press or TV coverage. The pool talent however is immense. Being typical Greek I played for the university league, in a team with only two Brits in it.
You would see a lot of talented athletic guys but it was obvious that they lacked good trainers to teach them. I remember playing and thinking " how can this guy be so crap at the basics of BBL!"
I mean we had to join the B league to find decent opposition. If and that is a big if, they decide to develop basketball I would say that they could be up there in the top 5 european teams.
Saying that, i left UK in 2002 :p nothing happend since then...
I will be rooting for UK this year. It is a pity a country that big to be left out of the second biggest sport in the world. Surprise... rugby is not the second biggest sport in the world, neither pool nor cricket.

Cheers
Nikos

[Luíz for 3]

The country of the football has a great basketball NT!! I have to congratulate the british federation for their job in order of developing basketball in the island. I hope they make to the second phase in the Eurobasket, however they are in the strongest group (Serbia, Spain and Slovenia)...

[12isaac12]

im English, will be a great squad but not quite good enough to be champions especially with the great group they are in. We can give it a go though

[London Towers]

official Pops Mensah-Bonsu will be in the squad for Eurobasket after we thought that maybe he will want to rest after his injury.but he is fit and will join the squad.
BTW reports says Pops is on his way back to europe and will play for Maccabi Tel-Aviv

[obe31]

im English, will be a great squad but not quite good enough to be champions especially with the great group they are in. We can give it a go though

Nobody is saying that they would be euro champions. Far from it i would say. However if they manage to go through to the second stage of the champioship I would be satisfied.

Cheers

[HIGHLANDER]

I think if you look closely at the squad they have, they are pretty strong.
They will surprise a few people in the Eurobasket but i do think even although they have NBA guys and good players playing in Europe and the College level in the States they are inexperienced at this level.
I think they will be entertaining though.

[London Towers]

I think if we manage to get to QF so it will be great success.if we can finish 6th so we can go to Mundobasket.
we have very talnted squad,from SG to C .the main problem i think is in point guard position where we have problem

[Mindozas]

I think if we manage to get to QF so it will be great success.if we can finish 6th so we can go to Mundobasket.
we have very talnted squad,from SG to C .the main problem i think is in point guard position where we have problem

The main problem is that you're in too tough group. Spain even without Gasol (if he won't play) and Calderon is way stronger, Slovenia this year also should bring the best squad in years. IMHO for GB only Serbia might be beatable, which will not be at full strenght and the upset might happen. In any other group GB would have really good chances to progress to the second round, but here... well, it will damn tough task. But GL :)

[London Towers]

Well,everytime Slovenia has big expectations and always they fail to achive their goal.but almost everytime they dont send their strongest squad.we will have to see the final squad to say.
Spain,of course are hot favorites for this group.but all other places are open.Serbia it seems will send a young squad with no superstars.

the squad that i thing GB sould send is:

PG:Richard Midgley
SG:Ben Gordon
SF:Loul Deng
PF:Pops Mensah-Bonsu
C:Rob Archibald

Joel Freeland
Germayne Forbes
Nick George
Jarrett Hart
Michael Lenzly
Andrew Betts
Nate Reinking
Kieron Achara

[damelo]

Well,everytime Slovenia has big expectations and always they fail to achive their goal.but almost everytime they dont send their strongest squad.

Yes, but counting Slovenia out is a big big error. Even with a second squad they can easily beat GB(or France), even if you send Deng and Gordon(We had Parker and Diaw in 2007). For me, Slovenia is going to the second round, unless they are in the same group as Spain and Lithuania.

Still, beating them is your best chance to go through the first round.

[Mindozas]

Well,everytime Slovenia has big expectations and always they fail to achive their goal.but almost everytime they dont send their strongest squad.we will have to see the final squad to say.
Spain,of course are hot favorites for this group.but all other places are open.Serbia it seems will send a young squad with no superstars.


Well, this time Slovenia seems serious about EC, all the best players accepted to play, except Nesterovic, who retired from NT, so it should be different now. Only problem might be head-coach, but if Zdovc will be able to make a good team from strong individualities, then Slovenia for me is strong candidate for top places or even gold medals

[g.g]

I think if we manage to get to QF so it will be great success.if we can finish 6th so we can go to Mundobasket.
we have very talnted squad,from SG to C .the main problem i think is in point guard position where we have problemI think GB has a chance to go through the next round by doing one win against Serbia (young team). QF I believe is very optimistic but you never know.

[rikhardur]

I'm not so optimistic about GB. On paper at least they look good, but team chemistry and lack of experience at this level might affect them negatively. Serbia is young but Serbian basketball is Serbian basketball no matter what. We've already seen the quality of those youngsters and what they're capable of.
Portugal did well in 2007 after 50 years, so you never know...

[Picek]

Serbia is young but Serbian basketball is Serbian basketball no matter what. We've already seen the quality of those youngsters and what they're capable of.
yes, after losing to Nigeria, Iran etc., ending last in their last visit to big championship.. losing to a newcomer would be something they never did before in Europe :p
truth to be told I think there are lot more questionmarks about Serbian team then about GB team..
their last few coaches weren't able to get anything out from the success they had with youngsters..

[frodoborg]

official Pops Mensah-Bonsu will be in the squad for Eurobasket after we thought that maybe he will want to rest after his injury.but he is fit and will join the squad.
BTW reports says Pops is on his way back to europe and will play for Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Great player! Do you have any reports in England about him moving to Maccabi, or just feeding on rumors like the best of us?

[HIGHLANDER]

I'm not so optimistic about GB. On paper at least they look good, but team chemistry and lack of experience at this level might affect them negatively. Serbia is young but Serbian basketball is Serbian basketball no matter what. We've already seen the quality of those youngsters and what they're capable of.
Portugal did well in 2007 after 50 years, so you never know...

Lack of experience i think could be a problem in close games for sure.
Team chemistry i don't think will be a problem because they have a very good coach in Chris Finch.
I think the main problem will be as someone said before the Point Guard position.
To be honest they just need someone who can bring the ball down without any problems and distribute the ball because they have scores and a decent threat from the post.

[inaminute23]

Totally agree! As long as our PG's handle the ball well, we will be ok there. At the minute I think Boyd or Reinking will run the point, but will also depend on if Gordon is there (god willing). I would like to see Forbes get a spot as he played very well in the 2006 Commonwealth games, and can be a good shooter on his day.

[g.g]

Lack of experience i think could be a problem in close games for sure.
Team chemistry i don't think will be a problem because they have a very good coach in Chris Finch.
I think the main problem will be as someone said before the Point Guard position.
To be honest they just need someone who can bring the ball down without any problems and distribute the ball because they have scores and a decent threat from the post.Chemistry and experience is most important in the Euro. The best teams have a core of players that play together for years and they only make 2-3 changes in the roster each year. They also have play their opponent several times in the past and know how to react. This however may be an advantage for Britain as no one has played the before so the definition of surprise is valid..

[London Towers]

Totally agree! As long as our PG's handle the ball well, we will be ok there. At the minute I think Boyd or Reinking will run the point, but will also depend on if Gordon is there (god willing). I would like to see Forbes get a spot as he played very well in the 2006 Commonwealth games, and can be a good shooter on his day.

I am not Boyd big fan.i prefer Reinking or even Midgley.anyway its not secret that we have a big problem in the PG position.

frodoborg -about Pops,well it seems now that he is more close to stay at the Raptors than moving to Maccabi.last week it was seems that he will sign for the Israelis but not it is very highly that he will sign a new contract at the Raps

[didait]

I am not Boyd big fan.i prefer Reinking or even Midgley.anyway its not secret that we have a big problem in the PG position.

frodoborg -about Pops,well it seems now that he is more close to stay at the Raptors than moving to Maccabi.last week it was seems that he will sign for the Israelis but not it is very highly that he will sign a new contract at the Raps

So there are basketball fans in England, thank God!! I've lived in London for 9 months and didn't find a single person who liked basketball or knew what basketball is and that London had a team!!

[inaminute23]

Breaking news.....It looks like the BBC have secured the rights to show Eurobasket, albeit through the red button. No official announcement yet, but should become official shortly!!

http://basketballgb.blogspot.com/

[Khalid80]

So there are basketball fans in England, thank God!! I've lived in London for 9 months and didn't find a single person who liked basketball or knew what basketball is and that London had a team!!

:p They're a minority that's for sure.
Unfortunately the main team from London (London Capitals) sux big time and they ended up in last place in the BBL (British Basketball League :))

The guys I used to play with in my uni. there were mostly Greeks, Nigerians, Chinese, as well as a few Lebanese)

(I believe the London Towers are in the 3rd division if i'm not mistaken)

[Khalid80]

Breaking news.....It looks like the BBC have secured the rights to show Eurobasket, albeit through the red button. No official announcement yet, but should become official shortly!!

http://basketballgb.blogspot.com/

I Really hope that turns out to be true. I can't imagine how the commentary will be though :D

[inaminute23]

I hope it will be a guy called Mike Shaft commentating. If it is the BBC though i expect it to be john Amaechi, and the other guy who did the Olympics.

[HIGHLANDER]

So there are basketball fans in England, thank God!! I've lived in London for 9 months and didn't find a single person who liked basketball or knew what basketball is and that London had a team!!

Basketball fans in Scotland as well mate!

The BBC will show the usual bollocks of the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes.

Mike Shaft is terrible.

[didait]

Basketball fans in Scotland as well mate!



Do you use the word "mate" for girls as well? My american friend calls me buddy, but i find it very masculine and don't like it very much :D

Anyways, I thought the main team in London were the Towers... hell, you've got to spread basketball all over your country!

[inaminute23]

I disagree, Shaft has a very good commentating voice & is very knowledgeable. Sometimes he goes a bit OT, but i think that will work in the favour of fans viewing, maybe for the first time.

Who would you like to hear commentating?

[inaminute23]

Do you use the word "mate" for girls as well? My american friend calls me buddy, but i find it very masculine and don't like it very much :D

Anyways, I thought the main team in London were the Towers... hell, you've got to spread basketball all over your country!

Lol, i'm a man, but find it very strange to call a female "mate".

[didait]

Lol, i'm a man, but find it very strange to call a female "mate".

Then don't you all call me mate :D

[HIGHLANDER]

I think mainly in the context of 'mate' for females we are talking about- for example lions mating...ha ha

Shaft-actually that is a great name..bloody brilliant name..
To be honest maybe you have a point in that he could create a bit of excitement and has a bit of knowledge, compared to the others of the past who don't even follow basketball , so in that respect i think you are right.

By the way Nate Reinking at the PG, i am not sure about that. He was always a 2 man.

[Khalid80]

Then don't you all call me mate :D

From what I remember everyone calls everyone mate in the UK :D
But it's more like "cheers mate" and everyone's had quite a lot to drink :D.

The word most likely to be used for a girl though is "lass".
Or they can call a girl "darling'' or "love" (I don't know if u say "ciao bella" in Italy though).

Back on topic. Just go for Amaechi as the commentator. At least the guy was an NBA player and knows what he's talking about

[inaminute23]

From what I remember everyone calls everyone mate in the UK :D
But it's more like "cheers mate" and everyone's had quite a lot to drink :D.

The word most likely to be used for a girl though is "lass".
Or they can call a girl "darling'' or "love" (I don't know if u say "ciao bella" in Italy though).

Back on topic. Just go for Amaechi as the commentator. At least the guy was an NBA player and knows what he's talking about

One problem...he love nothing more than GB to fail, well the organisation anyway.

[Khalid80]

One problem...he love nothing more than GB to fail, well the organisation anyway.

Why is that?

[inaminute23]

He has always had chip on his shoulder. He still thinks the organisation is spending there funds unwisely, where as it couldn't be any different. A couple of years ago he was kicked off the board at England Basketball for being to opinonated. He needs to support team GB, from the organisation to the team, and everything in between. Speak to anyone involved in British ball, and they'll tell you the same, if not worse.

[inaminute23]

I think mainly in the context of 'mate' for females we are talking about- for example lions mating...ha ha

Shaft-actually that is a great name..bloody brilliant name..
To be honest maybe you have a point in that he could create a bit of excitement and has a bit of knowledge, compared to the others of the past who don't even follow basketball , so in that respect i think you are right.

By the way Nate Reinking at the PG, i am not sure about that. He was always a 2 man.

At the moment i think, going with Gordon & Reinking will be the best option as we need to be a constant threat from 3 point land. Reinking can defo handle the ball as well as Gordon can. With those 2 on floor, and Deng we can be a huge 3 point threat. We need to be hitting 40-45% 3 pointers to stand a chance of going through. Hopefully our inside game will look after itself, as we will match up well, hopefully better than 2 of the 3 opponents at least. I said last year our 3 point game is the key to winning the group, but i didn't realise how dominat we were inside. This time it will be definately different....big shots will have to be made! Last season we hit 37.4% 3 pointers, but i don't think we ran that offense too much, so improvement will be made.

Just looked at 3 point percentages from Eurobasket 2007 and found that Slovenia shot 32%, Spain 38.9%, & Serbia only 23.8%.....very interesting!!!

[HIGHLANDER]

Yip, i agree, the shots must be dropping to stand a chance.
Inside we have proven Big Men at the highest level in Europe with Archibald and Betts so hopefully they will hold their own.
Roll on September-this GB team i will support.
I won't support the GB Football team at the Olympics though! ha ha

[inaminute23]

Yip, i agree, the shots must be dropping to stand a chance.
Inside we have proven Big Men at the highest level in Europe with Archibald and Betts so hopefully they will hold their own.
Roll on September-this GB team i will support.
I won't support the GB Football team at the Olympics though! ha ha

Me neither! However this has pi**ed me off a bit because it will take the countries eyes off the basketball team. Basketball now is the biggest draw, barring athletics in the Olympics, so to have football take over this (well for the London Olympics) is a kick in the nuts for people like me who wants Basketball to hit the big time in the media. Am i right in thinking Olympic football is for under 23's anyway? Hopefully that will take the gloss off it a bit.

[FilWelsh]

I am losing interest in football as officiating is really bad. . . having watched Champions' League matches, i was exasperated with with those unfair decisions. . . they say officiating in basketball are also below par but i don't agree with them officiating in basketball is way above, better than football. Deputizing 3 referees plus the use of video reviews in contested calls makes officiating in basketball more credible than that of football.

I am supporting Team GB football team in Olympics but not the same vigour as i'm going to show for its basketball counterpart. . .

[FilWelsh]

What is the latest for Team GB? did Chris Finch has already started practice sessions with the players? What is the status of Ben Gordon?

I am looking forward to Four Nations Basketball Tournament this coming August. . . I just got my ticket on the said fixtures. . .

[inaminute23]

The training camps starts the back end of July. What i can tell you though is that British Eurosport will be televising Eurobasket! Brilliant news & a great boost for the game in the UK.

[auris1]

British Eurosport will be televising Eurobasket! Brilliant news & a great boost for the game in the UK.
My main issue is that the commentary probably will be provided by curling experts; coverage is not going to be live or complete – i.e. they are still advertising NBA finals – apparently all you have to do is to sign on with them to watch games 6 and 7. Plus eurosport is not on freeview.
And this boost is more like a short term fix due to olimpics with years to come of …well, nothingness. To have 4 teams tournament in O2 with ticket prices like this – how is it going to help anyone to promote the game?

[inaminute23]

My main issue is that the commentary probably will be provided by curling experts; coverage is not going to be live or complete – i.e. they are still advertising NBA finals – apparently all you have to do is to sign on with them to watch games 6 and 7. Plus eurosport is not on freeview.
And this boost is more like a short term fix due to olimpics with years to come of …well, nothingness. To have 4 teams tournament in O2 with ticket prices like this – how is it going to help anyone to promote the game?

The commentators will be basketball experts, Roy Birch, Martin Henlan (former England international) etc. Eurosport may not be freeview, but a hell of a lot of people have access to this station. Also what are you going on about regarding ticket prices for the tournament at the O2? I've paid £45 for 6 games of basketball. Im going to Warsaw too where i've paid only £56 for 6 games. So I don't know what your point is.

[mvblair]

The commentators will be basketball experts, Roy Birch, Martin Henlan (former England international) etc. Eurosport may not be freeview, but a hell of a lot of people have access to this station. Also what are you going on about regarding ticket prices for the tournament at the O2? I've paid £45 for 6 games of basketball. Im going to Warsaw too where i've paid only £56 for 6 games. So I don't know what your point is. Those aren't bad prices, man. When I went to the 2002 WBC, I think that was about the same. Take some pictures for us when you go, OK man?

I hope we start to get some rosters soon...

[auris1]

The commentators will be basketball experts, Roy Birch, Martin Henlan (former England international) etc. Eurosport may not be freeview, but a hell of a lot of people have access to this station. Also what are you going on about regarding ticket prices for the tournament at the O2? I've paid £45 for 6 games of basketball. Im going to Warsaw too where i've paid only £56 for 6 games. So I don't know what your point is.
How about the family of four?
Do you care to do the math? 4 *11 for tickets, 4 *1.75 service charge, another 2 or 3 for delivery + 20 for the parking .How about multiplying this for 3 days? And that’s is the cheapest ones – there are 18 and 50 per person per day

Roy Birch interview - In our first season of ULEB Cup, we couldn't get to the most distant games, so we did some by satellite. The first one was with Martin Henlan, and we were supposed to be doing Dynamo Moscow; as soon as the pictures came through, I looked for Lazaros Papadopolous, in white, as a starting point, but the teams were in Yellow and Purple, and all the graphics were in Russian. I knew we had the wrong game, but we hadn't got a clue which game we had. I got on the phone to Paris to tell them. And they eventually got the right game over the satellite but Martin and I had to waffle on for 15 minutes (it was Unics Kazan). That was hard work, and it was Martin's first game!

I suspect they never stopped waffling ever since (that’s based on this years final 8 eurocup commentary).

[inaminute23]

How about the family of four?
Do you care to do the math? 4 *11 for tickets, 4 *1.75 service charge, another 2 or 3 for delivery + 20 for the parking .How about multiplying this for 3 days? And that’s is the cheapest ones – there are 18 and 50 per person per day

Roy Birch interview - In our first season of ULEB Cup, we couldn't get to the most distant games, so we did some by satellite. The first one was with Martin Henlan, and we were supposed to be doing Dynamo Moscow; as soon as the pictures came through, I looked for Lazaros Papadopolous, in white, as a starting point, but the teams were in Yellow and Purple, and all the graphics were in Russian. I knew we had the wrong game, but we hadn't got a clue which game we had. I got on the phone to Paris to tell them. And they eventually got the right game over the satellite but Martin and I had to waffle on for 15 minutes (it was Unics Kazan). That was hard work, and it was Martin's first game!

I suspect they never stopped waffling ever since (that’s based on this years final 8 eurocup commentary).

Since when was I a mind reader? As in previous posts you have stated nothing about ticket prices, or how many of your family were going. Also don't park @ the o2! You can get plenty of public transport there.

[Dtown]

Bulls trainer doesn't believe Deng will be able to go for Britain. With the group they're in if this is true their odds plummet.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1641835,CST-SPT-bullnt27.article

[inaminute23]

If it is true, who do you think will play his position. Pops, Sullivan, George, or A N Other? If he is out, then I still think the squad is stronger than last year as long as Gordon plays. Don’t forget we didn’t have Archibald, Freeland has improved greatly again & Betts is fully fit & had a great season. I now think Finch might put more emphasis on a 3 point game, but to have any chance now we need Ben Gordon! I think his contract will be sorted very soon, maybe as soon as Wednesday when the free agency begins.

[arturcia]

sometimes I hate the NBA that they ruin European Basketball

[inaminute23]

sometimes I hate the NBA that they ruin European Basketball


You are so right! In my eyes he could continue his rehab in Britain, and see how it goes. Sooner or later he has to try & play again so why not with GB? Also it is still 10 weeks away from Eurobasket, so how does Forman know? It is just wishful thinking on his part I hope. Even after Eurobasket there is still 6-8 weeks before the NBA season starts! This is very premature and I think it is Gorman putting pressure on Deng. Deng is strong minded & hopefully he will be fit enough & tell Gorman where to go.

[HIGHLANDER]

You are so right! In my eyes he could continue his rehab in Britain, and see how it goes. Sooner or later he has to try & play again so why not with GB? Also it is still 10 weeks away from Eurobasket, so how does Forman know? It is just wishful thinking on his part I hope. Even after Eurobasket there is still 6-8 weeks before the NBA season starts! This is very premature and I think it is Gorman putting pressure on Deng. Deng is strong minded & hopefully he will be fit enough & tell Gorman where to go.


Could not agree more.
Sometimes these NBA guys think the NBA comes before country.
To an extent that is right as far as paying wages and insurance but
they must understand some players are passionate about playing for their countries.
So yeh..f-off Gorman ya wank..

[g.g]

Can you please explain a bit more your world rankings?

[Dtown]

Can you please explain a bit more your world rankings?

I'm assuming you mean me, they were made after one of the many discussions on this board about how much the FIBA rankings make little sense, and didn't reflect a team's strength (see Serbia ranked 5th). So I cut it to a 4 year window (region 05,world 06,region 07,olympics 08), kept FIBA's point system, and eliminated the junior competitions from scoring then counted it all up (I was very bored that week).

I think it's pretty good at measuring the teams '05 to the present.

[akitto]

i think that ur national team is good but need some work so u can compete in high levels

[inaminute23]

As I predicted Gordon's contract saga did come to a head on Wednesday, and he has signed for the Pistons. Hopefully now he will fly to the UK in a few weeks to start training camp with GB. Great news in the face of the possible doubts over Deng's fitness.

[inaminute23]

It goes from bad to worse for GB. It now seems Ben Gordon will not play now, for reasons I do not yet know. With him & Deng out GB have a massive task ahead. One thing is for sure though, we will still be ultra competitive & won’t go down without a fight!

[rikhardur]

Nilsen: GB Captain Prepares For Life Without Deng & Gordon

Great Britain captain Andrew Sullivan has admitted the Eurobasket newcomers will have to rely on their fighting qualities as they start their preparations for the tournament without NBA star duo Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.

Speaking to gbbasketball.net the Londoner was in an upbeat mood despite the potential loss of the talismanic Deng who may have to miss the tournament due to injury.

He explained "It's a massive blow for us that Luol probably won't be in Poland to help us because naturally a lot of the things that we run on the court go through him."

"The other factor in that is the number of open looks he gets the rest of us and the space he creates for his team-mates on the floor."

"It's not just about him being an NBA player, it is about the influence he has on the team and everything else that goes with it. Also as it is now looking like Ben (Gordon) won't be going either, it will be a real dogfight for us."

While everyone associated with British basketball are desperately hoping that Deng can still make a miraculous recovery and take his place, Sullivan is preferring to face up to having to do things the hard way - without Deng and Gordon.

"I think that suits us fine and we are a team that has experience of doing things the hard way as we have climbed the ladder - that is how we have been playing ever since Coach Finch took over this team."

Sullivan has been with the Great Britain team ever since their rapid and hugely impressive rise from Division B and clearly feels that despite the probable hammer blow of losing such NBA quality, they won't be lying down or feeling sorry for themselves.

"This is a huge opportunity for us and we are not a team that is interested in glitz or glamour. We aren't worried about elaborate plays, dunks or alley-oops. We are a team that is concerned with hard work, defence and getting in your face."

"We have proven we can be effective by topping our group and we have a lot of determination. I know that we never back down from a challenge and we won't be backing down from this one."

"Win or lose, every team in our Group will know they have been in a tough game because we won't wait around, we will get in people's faces first and show our team ethic."

Rather than dwelling on who won't be around in Poland, Sullivan, who has played in the Spanish ACB and Russian Superleague, was adamant that there is enough talent for the newest team on the EuroBasket block to do themselves justice - reminding everyone that they will get one ex-NBA player back

"It is natural people will focus on Luol and Ben but I think that it is more important we remember that we will be getting a player like Robert Archibald back. Someone who has a great skills set and with the likes of Andy Betts, Joel Freeland and Pops (Mensah-Bonsu) gives us a lot of strength."

"These guys will all go into the tournament with the mind-set of leaving that court in Warsaw knowing they have ensured every game has been a fight. When you have players like Pops and those type of guys on your team you can guarantee we won't be wondering if we could have done any more."

While Sullivan seems to be preparing for the worse, British fans and indeed Eurobasket fans generally will be hoping and praying that both Deng and Gordon can still pull on a National team jersey in Warsaw.
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_YNUQERAcHKMq9hCRdrbdY0.articleMode_on.contain er_frontpage.html

[auris1]

It goes from bad to worse for GB. It now seems Ben Gordon will not play now, for reasons I do not yet know. With him & Deng out GB have a massive task ahead. One thing is for sure though, we will still be ultra competitive & won’t go down without a fight!
I liked the way you tried to stay positive in the end – unfortunately that means that little chance team GB had are gone now. And let be honest – “ultra competitive & won’t go down without a fight “equals – we need a miracle not to be annihilated.

[Dtown]

Without Deng and Gordan I'm having trouble seeing this team snag a win. In any other group they could maybe pull an upset, but with Spain, Slovenia and Serbia.:(

A damn shame I was thinking this could be a spring board of sorts for British Basketball.

[fthesaint]

Terrible news for GB basketball. With Gordon and esp Deng out, the team is losing at least 40 pts per game plus other intangibles...Being in a very strong group also doesn't help. But what the heck the ball is round and Team GB will be fighting all the way!

[Alyosha12]

I wouldn't underestimate the choke job slovenia can do lol.

[Picek]

A damn shame I was thinking this could be a spring board of sorts for British Basketball.
just the fact they qualified is that already..
you have GB at the championship and you won't have France/Italy (maybe both)..
and with Gordon and Deng noone could guarantee that they would win a game or two...

[Paul Nilsen]

I am hoping it is an elaborate plan to throw Slovenia and Serbia off the scent and lull them into a false sense of security :)

Not one of the articles I have particularly enjoyed writing

Still a slim chance either or both could play of course as there are 2 months to go but underdgos have done it before I guess.

It is a shame because with Gordon, Deng, Pops, Archibald back and Freeland an even better player from last summer it would have been interesting to see how they would have competed.

Shame. I do however have the not so bad option of my second team being Spain. Not that I am a glory hunter (honest) but on the account my sister will be marrying into a Spanish family :D

That is a good basketball decision by my sister :p

I also have a good feeling about Croatia ;)

[Picek]

I also have a good feeling about Croatia ;)do you have another sister? :o

[Paul Nilsen]

he he :D :D

Thankfully not ;)

[auris1]

I think you need about 6 to 8 sisters for this championship to be sure. You might want to double up in some cases if you are betting man.

[Paul Nilsen]

True - but I am happy with the sister I have got and I think her choice was an excellent one! :)

I am part Norwegian by the way but they dont seem to dig this game we love :mad:

[sime0n]

why isn't gordon playing? he better have legit reasons or they should never invite him back.

[auris1]

why isn't gordon playing? he better have legit reasons or they should never invite him back.

And? It’s not like he was begging to play for the team gb before.

[inaminute23]

http://badaball-boards.com/gbbasketball/

Official, no Deng or Gordon!

Massive blow & probably need a minor miracle to get out of the group.

[HIGHLANDER]

Yip, that is a massive blow.
I feel without those 2 players they will not have a chance of qualifying.
However if they play as the captain stated in his article (getting in faces and playing hard defense) then they could gain some respectable scores.

I think people forget that most of the squad have alot of experience in playing for big European clubs or in big leagues.

To be honest though i don't care what happens, it is just great they will be there and it can only be good for the game in the 4 countries of the UK.
Most of all i am happy that Scotland will have a player or 2 representing.

[inaminute23]

Where does the absense of Deng & Gordon put us now? We need at least 2 players to excel, perform like they have never before. More emphasis will have to be put on a 3 point game, so i'm thinking the back court will now have to be Lenzley & Reinking. I Can't see us starting with just one 3 point threat (Nate).

Which 5 out of the 17 won't make it? My guess would be Robinson, Clarke, Hanke, Forbes, & Achara. Just think Vanderbeeken will have a better shot at 12th man as he is a good shooter, well by looking at his stats anyway.

A massive bonus will be if Pops can play the 3. If not, do we expect Betts to drop to the bench in place of George or Sullivan at the 3? Again George might be favourite as he can shoot the 3 well.


So my final 12 would be.....

BETTS
ARCHIBALD
MENSAH-BONSU
BOYD
LENZLEY
LEVEN
REINKING
FREELAND
SULLIVAN
GEORGE
HART
VANDERBEEKEN

My starting 5 (if pops can play the 3)

C - BETTS
PF - ARCHIBALD
SF - POPS
SG/PG - REINKING
SG/PG - LENZLEY

Or if Pops can't play the 3

C - ARCHIBALD
PF - POPS
SF - GEORGE
SG/PG - REINKING
SG/PG - LENZLEY

We will go there with less pressure now, which hopefully will help us. Stranger things have happened, but there is always hope & you have to believe we can win one of these games. Whatever the outcome I just hope we try our best, and do ourselves proud!

[Paul Nilsen]

In a nutshell it puts Great Britain as probably the worst team in the tournament

:eek:

thank goodness for my sister and my new family ties :cool:

[stuart]

Tough blow for Great Britain, especially with Deng, he is the consumate team player and can do so many things on the floor. How is GB's backcourt looking? With Archibald, Pops, and Freeland, their frontcourt is looking good... it's all about chemistry though.

Stuart

[sime0n]

Why isn't GB a lock for 2012 as hosts?

[inaminute23]

Tough blow for Great Britain, especially with Deng, he is the consumate team player and can do so many things on the floor. How is GB's backcourt looking? With Archibald, Pops, and Freeland, their frontcourt is looking good... it's all about chemistry though.

Stuart

The back court will probably be

LENZLEY – SG/PG
REINKING – SG/PG
BOYD - PG
LEVEN - SG
HART – PG

The guards are steady, can shoot well on any given day, but lack someone who can dominate the floor. Saying that our guards are probably better than they were last year.

[rikhardur]

Why isn't GB a lock for 2012 as hosts?
They are.

[auris1]

0-3
Point’s difference – minus 50 plus

[Paul Nilsen]

I will settle for

a) Being there and deservedly so
b) Keeping games to 6-16 points and respectable, maybe 20 points v Spain

Much as it pains me, mayube you are not too far away with that assessment.

With Deng and Gordon I think GB could have taken Serbia, an outside shot at Slovenia and no chance with Spain

Without them, no chance with Spain, no chance with Slovenia and an outside shot at Serbia

Hope i am wrong and sometimes the underdog has its day.

Also while we seem to have a monopoly in big guys (which we do at the five spot), the one pitfall of all three of our guys who are good players is that they dont have any range to step outside and consistently make any kind of shot. Archibald, Freeland and Betts

A lot of onus will be placed on Reinking in my opinion because he has to shoot the lights out to keep us in games

The guys will fight and it is not a downer on the guys we have got - take Nowitzki and Kaman out of Germany and it has the same effect

Just glad we are representing and luck with Deng deserted us

[SunOverHStreet]

With Deng and Gordon I think GB could have taken Serbia, an outside shot at Slovenia and no chance with Spain

Without them, no chance with Spain, no chance with Slovenia and an outside shot at Serbia

Hope i am wrong and sometimes the underdog has its day.

I don't want to be disrespectful, but do you really think that with that two players you could do so much as you speak of. I think you should be realistic a little bit. If someone plays in NBA, that doesn't automatically means that he's better than other euro-based players and that he's overbalance to his side.
You should take into consideration that this is your EC debut, and that majority of GB's players are inexperienced to such level of competition.
Lot of Serbian NT players are very young, but the majority of them played or playing in Euroleague for years and already played in EC.
Sometimes big names means success, but they ain't guaranty for it.

[auris1]

Sometimes big names means success, but they ain't guaranty for it.

The only player to do so is, scratch "is", was Dirk. Deng and Gordon are decent players, commanding x amount of monies in nba but with no pedigree playing in Europe.
Paul, I agree with a) and I agree with b) as well.
I would even have a slight ray of optimism of getting through to quarterfinals, but don’t ask me how–still, there is always a chance. But I wouldn’t bet my money on this. What I would bet is GB loosing by certain amount of points
Anyway, are you coming to O2 to watch GB?
I am still hoping to make at least one day

[g.g]

The only player to do so is, scratch "is", was Dirk. Deng and Gordon are decent players, commanding x amount of monies in nba but with no pedigree playing in Europe.
Paul, I agree with a) and I agree with b) as well.
I would even have a slight ray of optimism of getting through to quarterfinals, but don’t ask me how–still, there is always a chance. But I wouldn’t bet my money on this. What I would bet is GB loosing by certain amount of points
Anyway, are you coming to O2 to watch GB?
I am still hoping to make at least one dayBe optimistic, anything can happen...somebody in the predictions thread sincerely believes that Turkey would reach the final. Why not if they play well on key games.

[auris1]

Be optimistic, anything can happen...

True. But, you see, I am not British, I just happen to live here. And as a matter of fact I want them to do well. And it is not conflicting as well – you can name any sport and bet it has more funding here than basketball, the game I like. So GB doing well means there should be more moneys available ,more teams to watch.
The very first question new people I meet ask me here – what team do you support, meaning football. I don’t. So it is not very surprising I sit on my own in the pub

[Paul Nilsen]

I am not going to make it to the 02. I am heading for the Seville tournament the week afterwards instead ..... :D South London or Andalucia....what a choice :p

Dont worry about being disrespectful SunOverHStreet, just lay it down as you see it, that is why we are here I guess - would be boring if we all agreed :)

I do think that had Deng and Gordon played, Great Britain would have had a shot at making it through - I say only a chance. They would still be a quality point guard away maybe

But

PG
Gordon
Deng
Mensah-Bonsu
Archibald / Freeland / Betts

Is not such a bad team. I agree with you completely about exprience and even with the NBA guys it would still be tough, that is what I was saying, we only had a chance.

Now I fear that chance is gone. Maybe in a different group the chance would be a little better, for example with a Dirk Nowitzki-less Germany and Kirilenko-less Russia

But, we have already won something and that is respect for reaching Division A so quickly and also qualifying for a major tournament at the very first time of asking

[wardjdim]

PG
Gordon
Deng
Mensah-Bonsu
Archibald / Freeland / Betts

Is not such a bad team. I agree with you completely about exprience and even with the NBA guys it would still be tough, that is what I was saying, we only had a chance.

Now I fear that chance is gone. Maybe in a different group the chance would be a little better, for example with a Dirk Nowitzki-less Germany and Kirilenko-less Russia

But, we have already won something and that is respect for reaching Division A so quickly and also qualifying for a major tournament at the very first time of asking
I somehow aggree

In the group stage, there are always chances for thin teams to beat a better team (even then, of course, England would still be a serious underdog against every single team in their group). But, in the knock-out stage, it becomes more obvious that depth, experience and decision making is what qualifies. And the PG position is clearly the most important one in the international ball

[inaminute23]

If we can sneak through, on paper the 2nd group stage would be slightly easier. Just getting throught to the 2nd round would be a hell of an achievement anyway. We will need chemistry & bit of luck for this to happen though.

Looking forward to the friendlies before hand. Should give us a good indication of wether we can sneak a win or not.

[obe31]

True. But, you see, I am not British, I just happen to live here. And as a matter of fact I want them to do well. And it is not conflicting as well – you can name any sport and bet it has more funding here than basketball, the game I like. So GB doing well means there should be more moneys available ,more teams to watch.
The very first question new people I meet ask me here – what team do you support, meaning football. I don’t. So it is not very surprising I sit on my own in the pub

Hahahahahaha! You last comment was hilarious. Hahahaha!

On a serious note, I too will support Britain I just think that it is time British take notice to the sport and invest more on it.
I have lived some years in UK when i was getting my bachelors degree and I can tell you there is bucketloads of basketball talent but noone cares for the sport and coaching just awful..

[HIGHLANDER]

I somehow aggree

In the group stage, there are always chances for thin teams to beat a better team (even then, of course, England would still be a serious underdog against every single team in their group). But, in the knock-out stage, it becomes more obvious that depth, experience and decision making is what qualifies. And the PG position is clearly the most important one in the international ball

Wardjdim, it's not England it's GB!

[wardjdim]

Wardjdim, it's not England it's GB!
I agree :)

Weird thing. Very weird. In football, they are England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. In basketball, they are one :D

[inaminute23]

I agree :)

Weird thing. Very weird. In football, they are England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. In basketball, they are one :D

It is so we can compete in the Olympics.

[KokkinosVasilias]

Gordon and Deng will participate for sure?

[rikhardur]

Vanderbeken Committed To Great Britain

Jamie Vanderbeken has committed his future to Great Britain after being named in Chris Finch's initial 17-man EuroBasket squad last week.

The Canadian center qualifies for GB through his Scottish mother, and said he happy to pass up the chance to play for Canada in order to launch his international career immediately and try to help GB towards their goal of playing on home soil at the 2012 London Olympics.

"Even if I don't make (the final 12-man squad), the competition I'll be playing against in try-outs alone will be beneficial to bring what I learned back here," said Vanderbeken, who is currently playing at the University of Iowa.

"It'll give me a chance, if I have questions, to ask guys about it. Pops Mensah-Bonsu, (Robert) Archibald, a bunch of other guys who played in the US and Europe. It's a great opportunity.

"Just being able to play on any national team would be a real honour. I will go there and do my best.

I am just trying to make the most of it, to get exposure to make the team."

Vanderbeken will get his chance to impress when GB host Poland, Turkey and Israel at the GameOn tournament in London later this month.

GB will then play in EuroBasket warm-up tournaments in Spain and Turkey before Finch names his final squad.

"Even if I don't make the team this year, I want to leave a good impression so I can come back next year, make the team by [London] 2012," Vanderbeken added.

GB have been drawn against Spain, Slovenia and Serbia in Group C at the EuroBasket.
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_U6wUMF0aGm-VBlr7mk9sc3.articleMode_on.container_frontpage.htm l

[rikhardur]

Finch: GB Aim To Make It Big At EuroBasket

Great Britain coach Chris Finch is certain his team will make a big impact at the EuroBasket in Poland next month.

'Big' because he has a roster stacked full of big men and a need to accommodate them all as he covers for the absence of Luol Deng.

With the Chicago Bulls star sidelined by a leg fracture, the stand-out players on the GB squad are the likes of Robert Archibald, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and Joel Freeland - who all share one common attribute - they all play center.

"We're very deep at the big man position," Finch said. "That's going to be our strength this year, going inside with Archibald, Pops and Joel.

"We have some real high-quality guys there."

GB will have to change their style of play without the versatile Deng, who has filled up to four different roles on the court for Finch.

"We're definitely less dynamic without him," Finch added. "I suppose we become a bit more of a traditional basketball team, but even so, with the talent and the depth we have, I believe that our 12-man roster will be more talented than ever before."

All three of the centers will attract attention for different reasons in the build-up to EuroBasket.

With no Deng and no Ben Gordon around, Mensah-Bonsu is the sole NBA player on the GB squad, having established himself with the Toronto Raptors last season after two seperate spells in the league trying to secure something more than a short-term contract.

Archibald is returning after missing last summer's program through injury, and the former NBA man brings a wealth of experience and a mentality to pass that knowledge on to the younger players around him.

One of those who stands to benefit most is Joel Freeland, who enjoyed a breakout campaign with Gran Canaria last year and was rewarded with a move to Unicaja Malaga - where he joins Archibald on the roster going into next season.

"He had a huge, breakout campaign last year," Finch said of the 22-year-old Freeland. "His performances with us I think really opened the eyes of his coach in Spain and when he went back there he started playing a lot more minutes. Now he's signed with one of the premier clubs in Spain.

"There's no better guy he could play with than 'Arch'. This is a guy who has played in the NBA and works extremely hard and demands the same of those around him."

GB were handed a tough draw for at the EuroBasket, where they will face Spain, Serbia and Slovenia in Group C, but Finch is not intimidated.

"People outside the group might think we're crazy, but we're going to win it," he said.

"We have to have that mentality. If we shoot for the stars, we might just get the moon."
http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_wLqt2qKkGnw93fxS5y83F3.articleMode_on.contain er_frontpage.html

[g.g]

http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_wLqt2qKkGnw93fxS5y83F3.articleMode_on.contain er_frontpage.htmlAccording to Chris Finch, GB would win the group!!!!!:eek:"People outside the group might think we're crazy, but we're going to win it," he said. He may meant to win the tournament..LOL:D

[Picek]

According to Chris Finch, GB would win the group!!!!!:eek:"People outside the group might think we're crazy, but we're going to win it," he said. He may meant to win the tournament..LOL:Dwas he supposed to say: "we are going there to be humiliated by losing with 30 points to everyone..
but hey that is life , what can you do.."?

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

I think his intention was to say that they have to go there with the menality that they can win every game and by doing so they may actually do some damage (e.g. win a game). I don't think he is disilusioned enough to believe that GB will win the Group.

[wardjdim]

I like this coach :D

[HIGHLANDER]

I think his intention was to say that they have to go there with the menality that they can win every game and by doing so they may actually do some damage (e.g. win a game). I don't think he is disilusioned enough to believe that GB will win the Group.

Correct

[inaminute23]

GB have major injury concerns ahead of this weekends O2 tournament & possibly beyond.

ARCHIBALD, BETTS, BOYD, VANDERBEKEN, & LEVEN are all out! Together with Pops Mensa Bonsu (still in the US sorting contract out).

GB have drafted in Tafari Toney, and Flo Larkai.

This is my worse nightmare!

[Alyosha12]

GB have major injury concerns ahead of this weekends O2 tournament & possibly beyond.

ARCHIBALD, BETTS, BOYD, VANDERBEKEN, & LEVEN are all out! Together with Pops Mensa Bonsu (still in the US sorting contract out).

GB have drafted in Tafari Toney, and Flo Larkai.

This is my worse nightmare!

Oh my and i thought Slovenia's problems were bad.

[auris1]

I CALLED O2 to ask if they had any tickets for sale.
The lady on the other end: for what event?
And when I hesitated-she goes: Michael Jackson?
I said no, basketball.
She started to laugh. She thought I was mad, more mad than people asking for M Jackson tickets.

[inaminute23]

Little bit more info on the injury front. Leven is back training so should be good to go. Boyd will sit out as a precaution, Betts isn't injured but has had to fly to Spain for personal reasons. Archibald is hoping to be fit for the Seville Tournament, and Pops is hoping to be In the UK very soon!

So who would you like to see start tommorow?

I'd go...

C - FREELAND
PF - SULLIVAN
SF - GEORGE
PG - LENZLEY
SG - REINKING

[zik013]

so is this the very first match of GB this summer ??

[inaminute23]

so is this the very first match of GB this summer ??

Yes it is. There is a live stream tonight aswell

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=46086&part=sports

[ivanfabric]

Poland have impressed in two friendlies v. Croatia and given the absence of GBs NBA stars its gonna be plus 15 easy-peasy.:D

[FilWelsh]

looking forward to watch games tomorrow @ O2 Arena. . . go go go Team GB !!!

[ivanfabric]

Tough game versus Poland yesterday, but even tougher against Turkey today.
Feel sorry for you lads...There are some skilled players on your team eg Sullivan, George, Freeman but at the end of the day it is all about a team.
Without your NBA stars you're not gonna win a single victory i'm afraid...Minus 20 against Turkey and that's it..Sorry...

[Panathinaikos b.c.]

British basketball ???? :D

I can remember a british player played against Olympiacos before many years.
I cant remember his name or the team he was playing for. I think it was a team from Poland?

Definetely i remember that he was so fat like 2 times the size of Shortsianitis :eek:
Does any one remember that player? :D

British people dont like basketball. Give them cricket golf & football to watch.
But not basketball. They dont even know what is the color of the ball.

I'm joking.
No hard feelings right? :D

John Amaechi was a good player. He played for Panathinaikos as well.
he was a fine player.

[auris1]

I was at the o2 arena yesterday as well.
Just a few points to make – organization - since the scoreboard is tiny there should be more announcements – like starting fives, who scored etc.
Cheerleaders – if ones from Zalgiris can get through an actual basketball hoop here is the case that even if they made it there somehow without breaking the basket, they would just get stuck in the middle anyway.
O2 arena- bastards. The non re-admittance policy together with non smoking policies just sucks –having few beers didn’t help either (that’s four and a half hours we are talking about).
I liked the atmosphere - thanks to polish fans.
All in all – good experience but ,unless there are Lithuanians involved on the court, i wont be attending soon

[Alyosha12]

Any boxscores to the game?

[auris1]

Any boxscores to the game?
bbc review
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/8202704.stm

official website for the tournament
http://www.gameongb.com/home.php
sorry,no boxscores so far

[FilWelsh]

I was in the O2 Arena yesterday. . . Team GB game against Turkey was marred with referees' inconsistencies of their calls and noisy, small crowd of Turkish fans. . . I was disappointed as there's a lot of British players missing such as Deng, Mensah-Bonsu, Betts, Archibald, Sullivan, etc. . .

It is really disappointing day for me as my two teams Team GB and Philippines (in Asian Championships in Tianjin, China) lost their games same day. . . Add to the fact sitting in supposed to be in courtside (as shown in my ticket i should be in first row, courtside) but found somebody already sitting there. . .And the beer, lager man is so out of this world at £4.50 who do you would really enjoy the day? ? ?

[auris1]

the beer, lager £4.50
it is £ 4,30

[inaminute23]

Just got back from the O2! Really enjoyed the weekend, gutted most of our starting 5 were out though.

Positives

Clark what a revelation! Looks like he is going to have a break out year. Similar player to Freeland & can go a long way.

I thought our defense was outstanding in the first 2 games, let it slip tonight though. With the additions of the big names I fear nobody.

Gave everyone a match with a hugely depleted team. The Turkey game was there for the taking (i'll get back to how we lost it)

Justin Robinson shows really good promise for a very young inexperienced guard. This guy has a bright future.

Again was mightly impressed with Boyd on Saturday. Played the point really effectively bringing up the tempo, and in on instance did a massive cross over on a Turkish player that he twisted his ankle!

Bench scoring, yes bench scoring! This bodes extemely well! In theory all our points scored over the weekend were mainly from the bench. My guess of the players that were in the squad this weekend only Reinking & Boyd will start. Over the weekend performances George might get the 3 spot over Sullivan (carring an injury though). If all players return i think we have an arsenal of attacking options on the bench.

Take 3-4 top players out of Israel, Poland & Turkey's teams, and the GB team that played this weekend batter these teams no doubt in my mind we would be just to strong defensively. I would challenge anyone to argue that.

Another positive is the offense over each game got better. Ball movement was better & cut down slightly on stupid turnovers. This was always going to be the hardset part but it did improve & like i said befor in theory it was bench scoring.

Must applaud BPB for the merchandise, it weas selling like hot cakes!! £25 for a replica vest in blue or white with Deng, Freeland, Pops, Betts, Archibald printed on. Good value in my opinion & they have took alot of money over weekend. Hundreds of shirts definately sold.

Negatives

Now this totally pi**ed me off! Free throws, an absoloute disgrace! I've not seen official stats but for the 1st 2 games it must be 45-50% max! TRULY APPALLING AND NEEDS TO DEALT WITH QUICK! I never seen a proffesional team be that poor. If it wasn't for poor free throw shooting we would've beat Turkey, no doubt about it. Again if we would've hit 20% more against Poland it would've been tighter. The Israel game we let our defence slip but our Offense definately stepped up!

Obviousley our offense wasn't great but did improve. Very understandable with the squad that was out though.

Some players who got court time did not make the most of it. Hanke, a huge guy who plays like a scared scrwany kid, missing simple lay ups not moving his feet fast enough on defense & basically lost!
Leven, again offered nothing! Poor shot selection & non existent defence. Germaynes Forbes offered zero anything. Toney a bit harsh didn't have much court time but he was called up late & doesn't look with it.

So players to be cut are Hanke, Leven, Toney, Forbes, Achara (because of how good Clark has been).

The commentator was not bad, but never mentioned Eurobasket at all till the final day late on. Or letting the crowd know about the players who were out injured. Most people watching will think were crap, well far from it!

All in all i'm quite happy. I din't think we would win any of the games with the players who were out. However I didn't think we could compete to such a level which must make the other teams think GB can do some serious damage with their big guns back.

Keep the faith because hopefully soon were about to blow some big fish out of the water!!!

[HIGHLANDER]

I think the signs are pretty good so far.
Ok they lost all the games in London and lost by 20 to the world champions last night but it looks as though with some key players just coming back they might peak their performance just at the right time.
I think they need to knock down those 3 point shots to be competitive though which will give space for the low post game. Defensively it looks like they will be ok.

[inaminute23]

Read the report at the website below. What did improve was our free throw shooting (72%), and we out rebounded them heavily. It should’ve been closer if it wasn’t for some appalling refereeing.

[HIGHLANDER]

Read the report at the website below. What did improve was our free throw shooting (72%), and we out rebounded them heavily. It should’ve been closer if it wasn’t for some appalling refereeing.

Where are the stats? Don't see them...

[auris1]

Very decent second quarter for team GB – still, you cant call it a close game.
and yes,is there any stats on the website mentioned?

[Dtown]

Wow Britain got a win over Slovenia. Maybe there's some hope of them accomplishing something in the tournament after all.

[sunara]

Someone remember in what year England win a game against Slovenia? Thanks

[AirBall]

Someone remember in what year England win a game against Slovenia? Thanks

It has nothing to do with quality of Slovenian players...

The problem is with mentality imo, seems that they dont have normal conversation between players and Zdovc has serious problem. He must cut troublemakers or he must be ready for catastrophy at Eurobasket

[inaminute23]

Someone remember in what year England win a game against Slovenia? Thanks


It was in 2001, Division A, Coventry, England

[Alyosha12]

It has nothing to do with quality of Slovenian players...

The problem is with mentality imo, seems that they dont have normal conversation between players and Zdovc has serious problem. He must cut troublemakers or he must be ready for catastrophy at Eurobasket

Nah it has nothing to do with team spirit. Everybody is getting along very well.

The problem today was that nobody could make a damn 3 to save their lives.
We missed about 25 open three point attempts and when i say open i mean OPEN.
That right there is the diference maker, once GB saw we couldn't hit the ocean in the middle of the Atlantic they packed the paint, and there was no more inside game.
Now i would be scared if our missed shots were the result of great GB defense but they were really not, their shots were clear as day, but they just didn't go in.

I am not worried yet, and am not sounding the alarm. Even Serbia lost to Germany and Lithuania for example lost to Spain today by almost 30.

[g.g]

Nah it has nothing to do with team spirit. Everybody is getting along very well.

The problem today was that nobody could make a damn 3 to save their lives.
We missed about 25 open three point attempts and when i say open i mean OPEN.
That right there is the diference maker, once GB saw we couldn't hit the ocean in the middle of the Atlantic they packed the paint, and there was no more inside game.
Now i would be scared if our missed shots were the result of great GB defense but they were really not, their shots were clear as day, but they just didn't go in.

I am not worried yet, and am not sounding the alarm. Even Serbia lost to Germany and Lithuania for example lost to Spain today by almost 30.Oh you should be worried as I am, Greece played uninspired bb tonight and lost to Serbia having received 30 points on the last quarter. One thing for sure, what even if your name is Greece or Slovenia, or Lithuania...with performances like tonight you do not win medals