The Battier of the Middle East?

In an article on ESPN.com, about Israelis and Palestinians playing basketball together in an attempt to provide hope to some of these kids that times will one day be better... Chad Ford wrote an article about this guy who plays on an Israeli basketball team and runs this youth program. He draws a comparison of the guy to BATTIER.

In Israel, Minoff is known as "the hustle guy." He has scabs on his knees and court burns on his forearms. He's the Shane Battier of Europe and relishes the role. He'll stroke it from 3-point range effortlessly for hours before the game. But once the ball is tipped, he has to be wide open before he even thinks about pulling the trigger.

Minoff also has Battier's brain. Even basketball players have to be smart at places like Yale. Minoff spent time in college studying military conflict and history. What he learned reframed the world for him. "I realized how much suffering there was out there and wondered what I might be able to do to help alleviate it," Minoff says. "I was pretty naive about so many things. When I came to Israel, my family was worried about my safety. I realized that there are so many sides to this conflict that you never see in the U.S. It was a rude awakening."

For him to use Battier as someone to COMPARE TO for hustle and brain is a great compliment. I know we traded A LOT for Battier but he's a great player who will become a fan favorite quick... and is reaching his prime now. Hustle and Brains are two things this team can use more of.

For the full article about the basketball youth program in Israel - see here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=playingforpeace