I wonder if V-span is going to picture JVG's face on every american player. my mama said, my mama said....
"I will enjoy it, you know." -VSpan referencing the upcoming match with Kobe Bryant. DD, I would bet VSpan's line is under 12 points, and under 5 assists, with 3 or more turnovers.
It will be interesting to see....Kobe is the best in the world, so he should be able to shut him down. In Fiba ball 5 assists would be a huge number, like 8-10 or so in an NBA game....so I doubt he gets that. Washington post article about V-Span -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spanoulis Isn't Eager To Make NBA Return Greek point guard Vasileios Spanoulis has been one of the best players through the first two days of the Olympics, showing a tremendous ability to get to the basket without much resistence. After scoring 23 points in Greece's 87-64 win over Germany on Tuesday, Spanoulis reflected on his brief, forgettable season with the Houston Rockets in 2006-07. "I was not happy there," said Spanoulis. A muscular, 6-foot-4 guard with a decent handle and great scoring ability, Spanoulis arrived in Houston with immediately after he helped dismantle the United States during Greece's huge upset in the FIBA world championships. He scored 22 points in a 101-95 win. But after spending several years as the primary scoring option for Greek power Panathinaikos, he struggled to find a role on a team that already boasted Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Former Rockets Coach Jeff Van Gundy rarely played him and Spanoulis rarely made much of his minimal minutes, as he averaged 2.7 points, 0.9 assists and shot 32 percent in 31 games off the bench. Van Gundy was in a contract year and the rookie was turnover prone. The two feuded over playing time and Van Gundy once said, "He says, 'I was McGrady back home.' Great. McGrady is McGrady here." Spanoulis's primary gripe was that he opted out of the final two years of his contract with Panathinaikos, turning down more money - more than $1 million annually in salary - to leave his hometown fans and pursue his dream to play in the NBA. But while Rockets saw him as a player for their future, Spanoulis couldn't handle waiting around. He didn't hide his unhappiness, and was dealt to San Antonio the following summer as part of the Luis Scola trade. "In life, even in your good days, and even in your bad days, you have to learn something," Spanoulis said. "I expected differently there. It was a misunderstanding between me and my previous team, with the GM and the coach. That's why I didn't have a good time there. I have to be happy to my soul." His desire to make his soul happy led him to pass on an opportunity to play with the Spurs so that he could return home to Panathinaikos for a greater role and considerably more money. He said Spurs point guard Tony Parker tried to convince him to join to the team. "Of course, of course, it was completely different team that have more European players," he said. "He tells me it is a different situation, but I already made my decision." It is a decison Spanoulis doesn't regret. Last season, he led Panathinaikos to the Greek Cup and the Greek Championship. "I'm very good with my team. I'm very proud to be with my squad and enjoy every day there," he said. "Now it is not on my mind to leave." Spanoulis, 26, will have the face some of America's best NBA players on Thursday in a rematch of that surprising upset two summers ago - before he realized the NBA isn't for everyone. But he didn't rule it out a return when his contract with Panathinaikos expires in two years. "Maybe in the perfect situation, but now I don't think it," he said. ________________________________________________________________ In the bolded part it sounds like he is saying JVG and CD disagreed on him....interesting. DD
ESPN Article about the game tonight. Link to article From the article about V-Span. "Spanoulis: A better scorer than he was two years ago when he had 22 points in the victory over the U.S. An extremely confident player; sneaky-quick; a go-to guy; the key to their team." Coach K "Krzyzewski said Bryant will be the primary defender on Greece's best offensive player, Vassilis Spanoulis," From Kobe: "And Spanoulis seems to be more of a setup guard who will score, more of a combo, but he gets them into the offense quite a bit." VSpan about Kobe guarding him "Spanoulis' take: "I will enjoy it, you know. He is a great player, and he will come with his best for me." <object width="440" height="361"><param name="movie" value="http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3533590"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3533590" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="440" height="361" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object> DD
i'm just double checking that i'm reading the schedule correctly... greece v usa at 7 am houston time right? looking for some of that infallible DD confirmation so i can rest easy
I dont get why a lot posters here hate VSpan so much. Is it because the fact he torched the USA 2 years ago or he left the rockets in bad term? A lot posters said he quit on the rockets, IMO, he didn't quit. He played his heart out when he was on the court. Yes he had some feud with JVG but he gave his all and things didn't work out, why hate him? VSpan and JVG's Rockets was worst matchup on the very first day. VSpan's game more suited to teams like Suns and Raptors where his penetration and passing skills can be more utilized than being a shooter in the JVG Rockets. Maybe VSpan will be more effective in Adelman's Rockets. But whatever he is Houston Rockets history now. One thing for sure, after tonight game if VSpan played poorly, all his haters wil come out and i told you so, he sucks! If VSpan played extremely well, the haters will say is only ONE game and the international game sucks!
It's not really up for debate - he literally said "I quit". He was under an NBA contract that he walked out on and vowed to never play in the NBA ever again because it was too difficult for him. if you looked up "quit" in the dictionary it would have his picture.
He could have been great but he thought he had already earned minutes based on his performance overseas. If he would have proven his skills when he had the opportunity to here he could have excelled in this league. Oh well we got Scola out the deal so I'm not trippin'...
V-Span again proved he can play with the best in the world, he was far and away Greece's best player and played all the US point guards very tough on both ends. I think that if VSpan can score on Kidd, Paul, Bryant and Wade, that he has proven he could play in the NBA. DD- FTW
Uh - huh....can't take the heat, call someone a name. Typical....let's not talk about basketball skills, just name call. Typical classless move by Sammy. V-Span played pretty well, he got rejected a couple of times, once as the shot clock expired at half time, but the others are when he was being aggressive going to the hole. And he played pretty well... V-Span proved he can play against the best, his team is clearly not as good as the USA's. Right next to JVG's for quitting on the Knicks when he realized his team was not going to be any good anymore.... DD
Greece was owned like the b****es they are, Spanoulis was completely overmatched and embarrassed, and you look like the fat loudmouthed idiot that you are. You continue to compound your mistake by insisting otherwise. In conclusion, you're an idiot.
Wow - so someone has a different opinion than yours, and you call them this.....just amazingly classless. What's next Sam? I am sure if Clutch allowed cursing you would be tossing those around too......simply amazing in your lack of class..... V-Span struggled from 3pt land...0-5, but was 4-8 from 2pt range and still attacked the basket and managed to score 14pts. You are just a hater, who fails to see the truth. The guy can play the game against the best in the world, sure their team is not as good as the USA, so what? The point I have been making all along is that the guy is good enough to play in the NBA....still is....always was....still will be. I still can't believe how you think it is ok to come into a thread of a guy you obviously hate and simply start callilng people names.....why even bother? It just makes you look bad. Ignore the thread about V-Span, I like him, others do to, why does it bother you so much? I mean you go above and beyond the call of rudeness......WOW DD
No - it's not that DaDakota, and you know it. It's your obnoxious stupidity that has populated this board and annoyed hundreds of people for years. That's why nobody has any patience with you anymore. You didn't watch the game did you? He scored nearly all of his points in garbage time after the game was decided against zone mismatches when guarded by big men on the perimeter. I saw the game. You didn't. He wasn't, so he's not. End of story.
You mean.....YOU don't have any patience......can't please everyone.....I guess having a different opinion makes it stupid..... He scored the first bucket of the game on a nifty move, attacked the basket, played hard, but was not the focus of the Greek game plan, that was clearly Papaloukas...and while he shot 6-10, he had a ton of turnovers.... I watched every second, and clearly have a deeper understanding of basketball than you do..... You just can't stand him, look at the Greece USA thread it is all you making fun of V-Span, you are just a hater.....who can't stand that other people like a player that you HATE.... And then you resort to classless name calling, get personal, and spew venom as a defense mechanism...... So sad, and so classless, and so typical. DD
D'oh! I missed it. V-Span with 14 points on stinky 4-13 shooting (I didn't anticipate him jacking up the most shots on the entire team, and I didn't anticipate 7 free throws.) 1 assist (international rules). Turnovers are not counted. Wow. Good showing by Team USA.
They count turnovers, I don't think the full box score has been announced yet. V-Span stunk it up from 3pt land...0-5...but the rest of his game was pretty good. I know he had one turnover when he was trapped in the 2nd quarter....I think that might have been his only one. (Edit) nope he had 2, they gave him another one on that pass on the sidelines that CP3 tipped off of him. Papoloukas had at least 5, he was murder on the pass today. DD
