Evans signing could push Pops out

The word in Toronto is that the Raptors/ Philidelphia 76ers - Jason Kapano/Reggie Evans trade this week is likely to mean that Pops Mensah-Bonsu will leave the Canadian club.

Raptors of course already boast a strong front-court in Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion & Andrea Bargnani and Evans is expected to take over Mensah-Bonsu's role of providing boundless energy off the bench.

Mensah-Bonsu's performances for Raptors though, where he averaged over five rebounds and five points per game in under 14 minutes of court-time, will mean that he is not short of NBA suitors for next season.

That should ensure that the North Londoner can ink a deal without having to try-out for clubs over the summer and so there will not be a repeat of 2007, where Mensah-Bonsu missed out on the Eurobasket qualifiers as he sought to secure an NBA contract.

World Student Games - An opportunity missed

The World Student Games start in Belgrade in less than a months time but Britain have only entered a Women's team in the Basketball competition.

Some commentators have suggested that as the Men's U20 European Championships are also taking place in Macedonia in July, BPB opted for that event ahead of the Universiade. That seems a strange explanation given that most of the players who'd have been likely to represent GB in Belgrade are over that age bracket.

Taking a look at the GB Men's squad the likes of Eric Boateng, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Robinson and Randall Hanke would all have been eligible for selection. Indeed, as athletes can still represent our University national team even if they graduated in 2008 Keiron Achara, Dzaflo Larkai and Tafari Toney could also have suited up.

With Chris Finch now done with his club commitments (Mons were swept in the Belgian League Finals, losing Game 3 on Friday) he could have taken this group of players plus the likes of Ben Eaves, Paul Guede, Matt Guymon and Shane Walker to Serbia and seen how they came up to scratch in international tournament conditions.

As Toney recently admitted in an interview with the BBC he is not expecting to make the final roster this time around, so when and where does he get the chance to gain international playing experience?

See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/basketball/8072737.stm

The gap between U20s and the GB Senior team is likely to become increasingly big as we head up the rankings and other than perhaps playing for England or Scotland in the Commonwealth Basketball Championships (first event in Bangalore in 2010) young fringe players over 20 will have few opportunities to play.

It has to be concluded that declining to participate in Belgrade is a short-sighted decision, especially given the increased funds that BPB now has at its disposal.

Club v Country: Will the pressure subside?

As revealed by www.gbbasketball.net on Friday, Andy Betts is the first of Team GB's European players to be inked for next season. Betts has been rewarded for a fine spell at Aris who he joined in January and was given an Honourable Mention by the influential Eurobasket.com in their Greek League awards this week.

Signing for a major club means that Betts should not be under any pressure to withdraw from the GB team. Betts highlighted such demands from clubs in an interview with Basketball 24/7 last year. Demands that he has resisted both for GB and previously with England.

Whilst it is against FIBA Europe rules for European clubs to prevent players representing their national teams in FIBA competitions, clubs have found ways and means of getting players to seriously consider opting out of national duty - except of course when the national team is the club's country of origin.

Last year, Mike Lenzly and Dan Clark both of whom had a strong shot at making the final twelve dropped out before training camp. Lenzly had just signed the biggest deal of his career in Italy and Clark had not broken through as a regular at Estudiantes. Under those circumstances both players were in a vulnerable position - where their clubs could persuade them that participating in a Eurobasket qualifying campaign was not in their career interests.

Now that Britain have made Eurobasket will our programme get the respect that Betts has demanded? If foreign clubs do continue to put pressure on players to opt-out will all be able to resist now that a place on a Finals roster is at stake?

Team GB: The (R)evolution

Having had a first stab at predicting who the Final 12 for Eurobasket will be a couple of weeks ago - thought it would be interesting to track the evolution of the GB team, since its inception in 2006 (the team that Chris Finch nicknamed the "Little Pioneers") through to the potential class of 2009.

2006	2007	2008	2009?
Starters	Starters	Starters	Starters
Hansell	Midgley	Boyd	Boyd
Reinking	Reinking	Reinking	Gordon
Joseph	Deng	Deng	Deng
Sullivan	Archibald	Sullivan	Archibald
Huggins	Betts	Mensah-Bonsu	Mensah-Bonsu
Rotation	Rotation	Rotation	Rotation
Johnson	Lenzley	Hart	Reinking
Williams	Sullivan	George	Sullivan
Sanders	Huggins	Freeland	Freeland
Haslam	Haslam	Betts	Betts
Bench	Bench	Bench	Bench
Lawson	Joseph	Midgley	Lenzley
Freeland	Sanders	Leven	George
Reed	Boateng	Achara	Achara

A striking point looking at that potential line-up for 2009 is to think back to where we were at the end of that 2006 campaign. In possession, a point down to Belarus with seven seconds to go in Sheffield - the possible go to men for that final shot were our two stars on that team: Nate Reinking or Dru Sullivan. In the end Reinking was closed out and Sulli missed a tough off-balance shot.

If we are in a similar position in a Eurobasket game this time around - there is a strong chance that neither of those players will be on court and our go to man will be arguably the leading "clutch player" in the world.

Full marks to all those who committed for that first team, when everything was still run by EB and very flaky, especially the likes of Sulli and Reinking - as they started that journey to Eurobasket 2009.

Nice touch would be to invite those players no longer involved to the Game On event in August to let the GB fans show their appreciation.

Big assists in the Big V for Corletto

GB new boy Daryl Corletto is staying in shape in the Australian off-season by turning out for his Melbourne Tigers club in the Victorian State Championship - the Big V. Corletto racked up 13 assists in a 155-93 blow-out of Waverley last weekend.

In the NBL this season he was a back-up point guard on a Tigers team who reached the Finals losing a thrilling series 3-2 to local rivals South Melbourne Dragons. Corletto is an experienced pro heading into his tenth season with the Tigers and though his stats didn't exactly light up the league last year, coach Finch clearly thinks that he is worth a look at in our problem position

Brits heading out of Chicago?

With 28 teams now on the beach, those NBA trade rumors are flying thick and fast. The pure speculation regarding the British stars is as follows.

Although new Bulls GM Gar Forman has said that inking Ben Gordon is his priority - the feeling is that Big Ben will head out of the Windy City in search of a bigger cheque. With their cap space Detroit Pistons are being touted as a likely destination for Gordon but only if they can secure their number one target Carlos Boozer - and then still afford the London born sharp-shooter.

The other story is that Gordon could end up joining old teammate Thabo Sefolosha down in Oklahoma City.

Just as long as the deal gets done by August so that Gordon can join Team GB is the cry from us British fans.

Surprisingly, given that he only signed a major deal with the Bulls last summer Luol Deng has also been the subject of trade talk. This is due to the whispers that Toronto Raptors may look to shift franchise player Chris Bosh on this year - before he is free to walk next year. If Bulls want Bosh they'll have to offer Toronto something decent in return, hence Deng coming into the equation.

So Luol to team up with Pops north of the border? Well the certainty that Mensah-Bonsu would definitely stay at Raptors has also cooled a touch. The Londoner wont be short of offers after an impressive end to the season in Toronto.

So will all three Brits find themselves on the NBA merry-go-round this summer?

Breaking News: Finch and Reinking's Mons team fell just short in the opening game of the Belgian Play-Off Finals going down 76-75 at Charleroi. Reinking's numbers: 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Game 2 is in Mons on Thursday night

GB can wait for Finch and Reinking

It will be a little while longer before coach Chris Finch and Nate Reinking turn their attention to Team GB - as their Mons team beat Aalstar 109-94 last night to secure their place in the Belgian Play-Off Finals. Reinking came off the bench and scored all his 12 points with threes, nailing 4 out of 6 from beyond the arc.

It is the second time that both coach and player have made the Ethias League Finals they lost out to Oostende whilst at Bree two seasons ago. Going one step further this time will be a tough task as Mons will be up against current champions, the big-spending Charleroi.

Game 1 of the best of five series is in Charleroi on Tuesday night.

By the way check out this video from the Mons website - an extended Day in the Life interview with Finch as he prepared his team for the play-off series against Aalstar.

http://www.eknetwork.tv/parcourir/noeud/127

Is there anyone else that you'd want coaching our national team? Thought not.

Breaking News: Robert Archibald's Malaga lost the first game in their ACB Play-Off series 70-62 to Barcelona tonight. Arch scored 8 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench.

Eurobasket 2009 will be on British TV

Basketball GB Blogspot can exclusively reveal that Eurobasket will be on British TV this September.

A major British station is in final negotiations with FIBA Europe for the rights.

British fans may need to press their "red button" to watch the action but English commentators covering GB games on the TV is far far better than the alternative - dodgy internet feeds from our opponents broadcasters.

More to follow...

Hedo's magic is coming to The O2

If BPB are searching for an angle to promote their Game on at The O2 event in August then they need look no further than the Orlando Magic right now.

Magic took Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals 107-106 at the Cleveland Cavaliers last night - with Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu proving once again to be Mr. 4th Quarter, grabbing 9 of his 15 points in the last 12 minutes.

For game highlights go to: http://www.nba.com/video/games/cavaliers/2009/05/20/nba_orl_cle_0040800301_recap_gm.nba/index.html?ls=st1hp0040800301

The Turkish talisman will be at The O2 in August and will face his Magic team-mate the "Polish Hammer" Marcin Gortat on Sunday 16th. The centre from Lodz is enjoying an epic rise in fortunes after he started last season in the D-League for Anaheim Arsenal. Gortat is now playing a vital role backing-up Magic's franchise player Dwight Howard, as the team from Mouse-town aim to reach their first NBA Finals since 1995.

From a GB perspective the match-ups between Gortat & Pops Mensah-Bonsu on Friday 14th August and Turkoglu & Luol Deng on the following night will be worth the door money alone.

http://www.gameongb.com/home.php

BPB to link up with the NBA for O2 event

In his latest Guardian Blog Mark Woods adds a footnote (scroll right down to the end) that BPB and the NBA will team up to publicise their respective events at The O2.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/may/19/carmelo-anthony-denver-nuggets

Got to be great news and wouldn't be a surprise if that partnership went so far as ticket offers i.e. purchasing a ticket for the NBA Europe Live Bulls v Jazz game - http://www.nba.com/2009/news/03/24/europe.live/index.html - entitles you to a discounted ticket for one of the days of the Game On at The O2 event. http://www.gameongb.com/home.php

Game On at The O2 is going to be a great weekend of basketball but it is an ambitious event to stage at this point in the GB team's history. The Eurobasket qualifier against the Czech Republic drew just over 7,000 fans last year so it will be interesting to see if each day matches or exceeds that number - especially as lower tier seats have risen in price from £15 to £25.

A single game against a box office opponent - European Champions Russia for instance - would have been a bigger draw. Expect that The O2 owners AEG Europe were keen for a tournament event though, with a mix of supporters present, to give them some experience before they host the Euroleague Final 4 in 2010 or 2011.

The plan is clearly to choose opponents in Poland, Turkey and Israel who not only will provide strong opposition but also have large communities in London who will swell the crowd numbers. Really hope that British hoops fans and those from our opponents do turn out in force, as such games need to become a fixture on the British sports calendar.

Arch fouls out but Unicaja stay alive

Robert Archibald didn't have one of his greatest nights, fouling out after just 12 minutes on court, but his Malaga team did just enough to beat Gran Canaria 70-68 in Game 2 of the ACB play-offs.

Joel Freeland grabbed a team high 9 rebounds for Gran Canaria in a game that both Brits started. That narrow defeat on their home court though means that Gran Canaria will once again return to Malaga in a winner takes all clash on Sunday (24 May).

See game highlights (including a nice dunk from each Brit) at: http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1850

Finch's elite eight

Nice interview by Jimmy Double-H with Chris Finch on the Basketball 247 website at the moment.

Check it out at: http://www.basketball247.co.uk

As you'd expect from a man and a coach of Finch's quality he doesn't give too much away - but it is clear that if everyone is healthy and available - there is a core of eight players who will definitely be on the plane to Warsaw.

Not surprisingly that includes our three NBA men in Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Finch also name checks Robert Archibald and Andrew Betts given their proven quality and experience. After his performances last Summer and his break-out season in Spain Joel Freeland is now also on the elite list. Finally, there are Finch's trusted lieutenants who have been with him on every GB squad: skipper Dru Sullivan and Nate Reinking.

So taking the optimistic view that everyone shows - the remaining sixteen players at camp will be fighting for the final four slots.

Although in the interview Finch makes a point of stating that Deng can play from 2 to 4, reckon he'll be looking to take at least two more recognised guards.

So take your pick from Lenzley, Midgley, Boyd, Corletto, Forbes, Hart and Robinson. Reckon the likely choice based on past GB performances and European experience will be Boyd and Lenzly. Boyd as he is the best ball handler in that group and Lenzly because he is the best outside threat at Euro level.

Although a fit Deng will play most of the minutes per game at small forward, reckon Finch will favour Nick George as back-up ahead of someone such as Steve Leven.

That leaves one more big from Achara, Bryan-Amaning, Boateng, Clark, Hanke, Larkai and Toney. Given an encouraging first season at a big club in a tough league think Achara will get the nod for that final slot.

Plenty more fantasy basketball to come for us GB fans as all the twists and turns of the Summer pan out!

First blood to Freeland in ACB play-offs

Photo by Karl Southern ©

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It was a good Saturday night for Joel Freeland in the Battle of the British Bigs - his Gran Canaria team pulled off a shock 96-90 overtime road win in Malaga against Robert Archibald's Unicaja.

Catch the highlights at: http://acbtv.acb.com/video/1839

Both British players pulled down 4 rebounds each but Freeland scored 10 points to Arch's 5. Omar Cook led the game scoring with 25 points for Unicaja but Gran Canaria had five players who put up double digits including Melvin Sanders with 17 points.

The action now moves to the Canary Islands on Tuesday where it will be a case of win or go home for Archibald and Malaga.

Meanwhile, the domestic season is over for Andrew Betts as his team Aris were swept 3-0 by Panathinaikos in the semi-finals of the Greek League play-offs last night. Betts scored 6 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 20 minutes as Aris ran the Euroleague Champions close before losing 71-69.

Eurobasket update - Still no UK TV deal

With Eurobasket 2009 now less than four months away Britain disappointingly, but not surprisingly, is the only one of the sixteen countries competing without a broadcast partner.

FIBA Europe have struck deals with television companies in 41 countries in Europe and residents of a further 65 countries around the world will be able to watch the tournament but at the present time we are facing a blackout in the UK.

This is the premier sports event in Europe this year, the British team qualified in style and could have three NBA players on their roster.

Just what will it take for British broadcasters to wake up and smell the coffee!

Betts to battle against Euro champs

GB centre Andy Betts and his Aris Thessaloniki teammates take on recently crowned Euroleague Champions Panathinaikos tomorrow night in Game 2 of the A1 Semi-Finals. Aris were squeezed out 84-80 in Game 1 in Athens on Saturday night with Betts scoring six points and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench.

The back injury that kept Betts out of most of GB's Eurobasket qualifiers last summer delayed him signing a deal this season but he has made up for lost time inspiring Aris to a 10-3 run since joining in January.

They don't come any tougher than the Greens of Athens though and if Betts and Aris are to stop the current Greek Champions from retaining their seventh successive title, they must make home advantage count in front of their boisterous crowd at the Alexandreoi.

Gordon's stellar play-off form raises doubts

Ben Gordon's sensational play-off form, which saw him average over 24 points per game as Chicago Bulls took NBA Champions Boston Celtics all the way to Game 7 in the first round, has raised more questions than answers regarding his contract situation. That unfortunately is bad news for team GB.

Gordon has always said that he'll only play for GB when his long-term future is resolved. The word was that he was likely to be on his way out of Chicago this Summer who are overloaded with options in the back-court. With Gordon proving to be the main man for the Bulls post-season though including a game saving three in Game 4, the management at the United Centre will be looking to do all they can to keep him.

Bulls have little room to manoeuvre under the salary cap and if they want to improve and keep Gordon it may take some creative trading. The problem is that with Gordon out-of-contract and now rightly on the look-out for the big deal of his career, negotiations are likely to be drawn out.

The longer Gordon goes without securing that big contract in Chicago or elsewhere then the chances of him suiting up for GB in Poland in September diminish.

Arch and Freeland to go head-to-head in ACB play-offs

Unicaja Malaga secured 3rd place in the ACB yesterday with a 79-73 victory over Bruesa. The win took Malaga to a 24-8 record and sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final match-up between two of GB's leading Centres: Robert Archibald of Malaga and Joel Freeland of Gran Canaria.

Arch bagged 8 points and 7 rebounds off the bench for Malaga but it was Freeland who took the plaudits on the final day of the Spanish regular season, leading Gran Canaria with 15 points and 7 rebounds in their 74-71 win against Valencia.

In their regular season clashes it has been honours even between the two teams with Gran Canaria winning 74-68 on their home court back in November before Malaga too revenge in March with a 91-78 victory in the return fixture.

Malaga have the psychological advantage though after their Copa Del Rey 79-69 victory quarter-final over the Canary Islanders in February. Neither Brit shone on that occasion with Freeland only contributing 3 points and Archibald fouling out after just 11 minutes on court.

Expectations for both players will be much higher when the three game series starts in Malaga on Saturday (16 May), with bragging rights at the GB Training Camp as well as semi-final place at stake.

Eurobasket on Channel 4?

The odds on Channel 4 picking up the rights to Eurobasket must be drastically cut now that Martin Henlan is heading up their 4Sport project.

4Sport's remit is to bring minority sports that can deliver audiences to Channel 4's mobile, web and television platforms.

With Channel 4 under funding pressure it was rumoured that they may drop their sports coverage altogether. It was announced this week that their Head of Sport Andrew Thompson has stepped down and that they may have to forfeit their one marquee holding - Horse Racing - unless that sport increases its contribution to production costs.

Henlan's role suggests that Channel 4 Sport is not dead yet and that the channel is returning to its innovative roots - that for example first brought regular basketball coverage to British screens back in the early 1980s.

Former England international Henlan has turned to basketball for his first commission - highlights of the British Women's relegation game against Finland at Worcester.

It looks as if British Basketball has lucked in once again - with our sport's leading media champion landing an influential role at a major British television channel at exactly the right time.

Women fly past Finns

Whilst this blog will unashamedly focus on the Men's team, January is all about the Women and their fight to stay in Division A. Coach Mark Clark's team got off to the best possible start today with a gutsy 63-61 win in Finland.

Leading guard Kirsty Lavin returned to the GB line-up, after missing the 2008 international season through injury but the star performers were the post players: Kim Butler (17 points, 7 points and 4 assists), Sarah McKay (12 points and 6 rebounds) and Rosalee Mason who posted a double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds).

Britain now head into three consecutive home games, starting with Bosnia in Sheffield on Wednesday 7 January. If GB can win that one and then beat Romania in Nottingham (Saturday 10 January) and the return against Finland (at Worcester on Tuesday 13 January), then Division A status will be retained before the final two road games. Two out of the four teams in the group will be relegated to Division B.

Although relegation will not necessarily result in FIBA excluding the British team from automatic qualification as hosts for London 2012 (FIBA has been deliberately ambiguous in stating the standards that both British teams must reach to claim those spots – and it is unlikely that either team would be denied) it will definitely reduce the Women's share of the £8 million plus funding dedicated to performance basketball by UK Sport.

So arguably these are the most important games in British Women basketball's history, as they will ensure that the Women's team are fully funded up to the London Games.

Ticket details for the home games can be found at: http://www.basketballgb.com/index.php?go=teams/tickets