Stay classy. You don't have to insult a whole country just because you hate a certain basketball player. Oh I forgot classy and you do not go in the same sentence.
I understand. You believe the offense evolved naturally, and then the defense followed suit? I think the offense had to adapt to zone defense, with more complicated set plays and better jumpers (specially 3pt shooting which is still the best way to break any zone). Btw European basketball has been using complicated offensive plays for decades. It had to base on team play, since we never had the athletic abilities you have in US. Even the best player of the team, even Spanoulis as the triple mvp, every single one must always play within the system. P.S. I would not feel sorry for Spanoulis, he's living on the Mediterranean, playing only two games a week, and earning millions. Not a bad life at all...
Yeah I bet the economy in Greece is really taking its toll on Spanoulis and his 7 digit paycheck. The only thing the recession did was force his team to unload everyone in order to keep him and surround him with young talent and low-pay hard workers. Two consecutive titles later, I'd say it worked out pretty well. Poor him, his villa is almost within 5km of some middle class people, life must be hard!
From a vote of top the 300 basketball journalists in Europe.......... http://basketball.eurobasket.com/Euroleague/news/Eurobasketcom_All-Euroleague_Awards_2013/317011 Eurobasket.com All-Euroleague Awards 2013 - May 16, 2013 Finals MVP: Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) of Olympiacos Player of the Year: Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) of Olympiacos Guard of the Year: Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) of Olympiacos Forward of the Year: Rudy Fernandez (198-SF-85) of Real Madrid Center of the Year: Nenad Krstic (213-C-83) of CSKA European Player of the Year: Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) of Olympiacos Import of the Year: Shawn James (208-C-83) of Maccabi T-A Defensive Player of the Year: Shawn James (208-C-83) of Maccabi T-A Rising Star Award: Kostas Papanikolaou (206-F-90) of Olympiacos Coach of the Year: Georgios Bartzokas of Olympiacos 1st Team G: Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) of Olympiacos G: Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) of Panathinaikos F: Rudy Fernandez (198-SF-85) of Real Madrid C: Nenad Krstic (213-C-83) of CSKA C: Ante Tomic (218-C-87) of FCB Regal 2nd Team G: Milos Teodosic (195-PG-87) of CSKA G: Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) of FCB Regal F: Viktor Khryapa (206-F-82) of CSKA F: Nikola Mirotic (209-F/C-91) of Real Madrid C: Shawn James (208-C-83) of Maccabi T-A 3rd Team G: Jordan Farmar (188-PG-86) of Anadolu Efes G: Sonny Weems (198-G/F-86) of CSKA F: Kostas Papanikolaou (206-F-90) of Olympiacos F: Stephane Lasme (203-F-82) of Panathinaikos C: Maciej Lampe (211-F/C-85) of Caja Laboral Honorable Mention C: Kyle Hines (198-F-86) of Olympiacos F: Bojan Bogdanovic (203-SG-89) of Fener.Ulker C: Paul Davis (211-C-84) of Khimky G: Bobby Brown (188-PG-84) of Montepaschi G: Ricky Hickman (189-PG-85) of Maccabi T-A F: Bostjan Nachbar (207-PF-80) of Brose Bask. G: Marko Popovic (185-G-82) of Zalgiris All-Europeans Team G: Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) of Olympiacos G: Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) of Panathinaikos F: Rudy Fernandez (198-SF-85) of Real Madrid C: Nenad Krstic (213-C-83) of CSKA C: Ante Tomic (218-C-87) of FCB Regal All-Imports Team G: Bobby Brown (188-PG-84) of Montepaschi G: Jordan Farmar (188-PG-86) of Anadolu Efes G: Sonny Weems (198-G/F-86) of CSKA F: Stephane Lasme (203-F-82) of Panathinaikos C: Shawn James (208-C-83) of Maccabi T-A This is from a league that has many NBA rotation players playing in it. Yet, we are still supposed to believe that Van Grumpy worshipers that Spanoulis "isn't good enough to play in the NBA".
The NBA scouts and GMs that were in attendance at the 2013 Euroleague London Final Four were laughing at Morey's Euro crush, Sergio Llull, being completely dominated by Spanoulis.
Middle class people in Greece = people with a 2-ox barn. But no matter all of the luxuries he has that most Greeks don't, like electricity, slightly less choleric water, a covered latrine - he still must wake up every day with knowledge that he wasn't good enough to play in the NBA. That must sting, no matter how much extra goat butter you produce.
So, are people also complaining how NBA teams ruined/misused the other All-Euro team players like Nenad Krstic and Rudy Fernandez or how they stupidly failed to develop and fully utilize Jordan Farmar and Sonny Weems?
Read what I responded to, VSpan insulted an entire nation..... so stay classy. P.S. Greece does smell like a sewer. I have been there 3 times. Italy is FAR nicer.
I certainly don't feel bad for VSpan. He is a superstar in the second best basketball league in the world, he makes millions of dollars and has a beautiful wife. Life is good for VSpan.....
You seem incredibly dedicated to this routine. Well, unless you actually believe that... but that's an off-topic discussion in a thread that's barely on-topic in this forum as is.
You can't take the Jeff Van Grumpy only fans seriously. Anyway... [youtube]ISsH0ASbx64[/youtube] Just lol at anyone that says Spanoulis isn't good enough to play in the NBA. The Van Grumpy only fans here are just absolutely beyond ridiculous.
Bojan Bogdanović only made the Honorable Mention, but he's signing with the Nets this offseason. I guess you could say some of the guys mentioned before him would be productive in the NBA (I want to see what Ante Tomić can do, very similar skillset to Pau). Hell, even Marko Popović was on the Honorable Mention team and he's as good as Aaron Brooks.
I know the Euroleague is a mickey mouse league and euros who tend to overrate it are annoying, but seriously...wtf?
Vassilis Spanoulis, in an interview with BΗΜΑgazino: On his emergence as a leader of Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, after he left the NBA, he said: "Changes are a big and unavoidable part of the life of an athlete. I think that when I went to Houston, I was in the wrong team, at the wrong time. The NBA is not a desire, because I saw it up close while there, and I saw their best, and it demystified. I really wanted to go to America. My mistake was that I only spoke with the administration of Houston, and not with the coach, whom, as it turned out, had never wanted me on the team. Even though I felt alone there at times, I found motivation."
Here is video of Vassilis Spanoulis' first two Euroleague Final Four championships and MVP awards: 2009 Euroleague Final Four MVP: [youtube]1rd1k_MqpJE[/youtube] 2012 Euroleague Final Four MVP: [youtube]9S_g4EEEiv4[/youtube]
