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Talked to the Head of Scouting about Spanolis/Badiane

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Bullard4Life, Dec 6, 2005.

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  1. Bullard4Life

    Bullard4Life Member

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    I got to go to a Rockets hosted dinner tonight for season ticket holders and Dean Cooper, the head of scouting for the Rockets gave a little speech about how the Rockets go about scouting. Most of the people asked him GM questions about trading Mike James, etc. I asked him how Spanolis and Badiane were doing. He seemed really positive.

    Badiane: He said one of the Rockets scouts had watched him last night. Said at 21 years old his body, athleticism, and mannerisms are eerily similar to Mutombo. He's averaging 10 rebounds a game in Germany and is becoming a good shot blocker as well.

    Spanolis: He said that if Spanolis's team had one its league last year, he would have been Euro League MVP. Spanolis was MVP of the week last week in the Euro League when he led his team to a victory at Chechka (I can't spell Russian) in Russia, a team he said was the best in Europe this year. He said that they are really impressed with Spanolis and are going to try to bring him over next year.

    I didn't get to ask a follow up about Spaonlis's money issues because some guy in a Boston jacket started hounding him about why Yao was setting picks at the three point line (something the director of scouting has nothing to do with). However, I got the impression the Rockets are really enthusiastic about Spanolis. I know this is a bit of a repeat of what some other threads have said, but coming as a positive outlook from our director of scouting, it's exciting news to me.
     
    #1 Bullard4Life, Dec 6, 2005
  2. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Contributing Member

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    There's zero doubt that Sponialous will be coming stateside this upcoming season. Why? Simple: we'll have about three spots in the backcourt available at the end of this season when DW/JB/Moochie's contracts are up, and we will finally get smart and stick to the guys we draft like Dallas does to mix things up with our two stars and other veterans.
     
    #2 tigermission1, Dec 6, 2005
  3. YallMean

    YallMean Member

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    Then why the hell is he still playing in Euro Legue while we are depending Wesley to make miracles for us. I have seen him play this summer in Euro Cup. Not too impressed with him, to be honest.
     
    #3 YallMean, Dec 6, 2005
  4. wireonfire

    wireonfire Contributing Member

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    Yeah, not too impressed. He didn't even start for the Greeks.
     
    #4 wireonfire, Dec 6, 2005
  5. Bullard4Life

    Bullard4Life Member

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    If you remember the offseason, we didn't have room with the way the cap was to give him much money to come over here. Next off season we should probably have the money to make a real offer. He stayed in Europe this year to make more money.

    If you look at his line in the Euroleague right now, he's shooting 67% from the field and 41.6% from three with 16 points, 2 assists, and 1 steal per game. I think he looks like he can be a nice athletic pick up for next year. I can't speak for his performance in the Euro Cup, but I wouldn't judge a player based on how he plays with a national team...
     
    #5 Bullard4Life, Dec 6, 2005
  6. user

    user Member

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    So Badiane has a body similiar to 38 years old Mt. Mutombo at age 21? We all know that Mutombo is 58 years old right now.
     
    #6 user, Dec 6, 2005
  7. Stephen1616

    Stephen1616 Contributing Member

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    body meaning size and shape, not quality
     
    #7 Stephen1616, Dec 7, 2005
  8. tiger0330

    tiger0330 Contributing Member

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    His body is not the problem, it's his head (basketball iq), knows less about the game then Slowmile. He wasn't ready last year.

    I do hope these guys do make it though we will need an infusion of talent when JB, Deke and DW are gone.
     
    #8 tiger0330, Dec 7, 2005
  9. ralph

    ralph Member

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    plus panathinaikos is one of the best teams in Europe and Euroleague stats for assists is not same as NBA. 2 means 6 actually
     
    #9 ralph, Dec 7, 2005
  10. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    Spanolious (whatever the spelling is :eek: ) seems to be skillful enough to play in the NBA. But I think it was said somewhere that he could make more money in Europe than in the NBA as a rookie. So the money issue could be a problem for the Rockets to sign him even if he's good enough to contribute for the team.
     
    #10 Easy, Dec 7, 2005
  11. hotballa

    hotballa Contributing Member

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    It's so sad that the rest fo the country is wondering along with CLutchfans about this, and yet JVG won't change
     
    #11 hotballa, Dec 7, 2005
  12. crash5179

    crash5179 Contributing Member

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    How great would it be for V-Span to work out.

    I think we all love what Luther Head is doing right now but he is not a natural point and is just a little short for the prototypical 2 guard. However...V-Span is 6-5 and has enough (reported) athletisism to guard 2 guards in the league while he would run the point on offense.

    I'm keeping my fingers crossed for V-Span.
     
    #12 crash5179, Dec 7, 2005
  13. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    V-Span could be a nice find for the Rockets. I think one of the things JVG likes most in players is that "inner drive" and that "grit". Luther Head has it. He has demonstrated his tough as nails play in the NCAA Tournament and that has froged his tough mentality. V-Span also seems to have this mentality in Europe. V-Span can be a solid contributor here considering our guard problems and lack of speed. We certainly could use a nice guard with some length that can bring speed and hustle to the team.

    If V-Span can be like the Bulls Nocioni, with a bit more offense, then we would have found a very nice role player for this team!

    Of note though, to SIGN V-Span next year, we will have to dip into our MLE money. So chances are we will probably have to use half our MLE on V-Span.
     
    #13 Deuce, Dec 7, 2005
  14. Bullard4Life

    Bullard4Life Member

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    I totally agree about V-Span being the athletic presence we need to guard 2s. I'm really hoping (and it's not a fool's hope) that he can become a better shooting and defensive version of what Bob Sura was to the team last year. A gritty player who will get after rebounds, create some problems with his penetration and generally elevate his teammates.
     
    #14 Bullard4Life, Dec 7, 2005
  15. Little O

    Little O Contributing Member

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    Glad to hear that the Rockets still think positively of him. I think he has some potential.

    He had 17 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl, 2 rb, 3 TO today against Pau-Orthez. Shot 10-10 from the line and 3-7 from the field. Seems to be playing pretty good over there. It will be interesting to see if he gets an invite in the summer and if these stats translate well over here.

    Box Score
     
    #15 Little O, Dec 7, 2005
  16. ubigred

    ubigred Contributing Member

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    knowing the rockets , I doubt they will
    :rolleyes:
     
    #16 ubigred, Dec 7, 2005
  17. r-fan-since-81

    r-fan-since-81 Contributing Member

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    #17 r-fan-since-81, Dec 7, 2005
  18. BrockStapper

    BrockStapper Contributing Member

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    Hasn't the head of Rockets scouting talked to IllSkillz about Badiane???

    What the hell is he thinking?
     
    #18 BrockStapper, Dec 7, 2005
  19. Ottomaton

    Ottomaton Contributing Member
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    Not that I'm particularly trying to look down on you or anything, I just think it might help understanding to let you know that "checka" is how you pronounce the Moscow team whose name is written CSKA.

    They are more or less the top Russian team. They are the only Russian team that gets regular play on NBA TV and as far as I know every recent Russian league player drafted to the NBA has played for them. (At any rate they've had 3 or 4 players drafted to the NBA in the last couple of years.)

    Here is their 'Eurobasket' web page.
     
    #19 Ottomaton, Dec 7, 2005
  20. Bullard4Life

    Bullard4Life Member

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    I got an invitation. It was for first year season ticket holders only. Apparently they're having several of these through the season to thank people in their first year. It was in the banquet room next to the R&W Bistro.

    Yeah, my bad. Didn't put the two together until after I had posted. I'm familiar with CSKA from Ford's articles on NBA Insider, just didn't connect the two at the time...
     
    #20 Bullard4Life, Dec 7, 2005
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