Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 70
May 29th, 2010
– Nikola Vujcic Nikola Vujcic is into his second season with Olympiacos. His minutes were way down this year, averaging only 13.9 minutes per game in the EuroLeague and 12.0 in the Greek league. But this didn’t stop him producing; Vujcic averaged 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in the EuroLeague, and 6.8/2.3/1.3 in the Greek A1. Those are more like a small forward’s numbers than those of a 6’11 post player, but that’s Nikola Vujcic for you. Vujcic’s minutes took such a hit partly because he’s into his 30’s now, but also because of how deep Olympiacos are up front. With Giannis Bourousis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis getting the bulk of the starts up front, Linas Kleiza getting a dollop of power forward minutes, and with Greek internationals Andreas Glyniadakis and Loukas Mavrokefalidis also in the big man mix, Vujcic had to share time with the rest of the talent (not helped by the fact he’s Croatian; Greek teams can only have a maximum amount of six non-Greeks per game, hence the roles for Glyniadakis, Mavrokefalidis and the baffling Pangiotis Vasilopoulos). Olympiacos’s front court depth is in fact so deep that even Bourousis is moaning about his minutes. And he’s the best of the bunch. – Lorrenzo Wade San Diego State product Wade’s first professional season has seen him rack up the air miles. He started the season with Kavala/Panorama in Greece, but was released due to poor performance after only three games. Wade had averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in those three games, but apparently it wasn’t enough. He then went to the Philippines to play for the San Miguel Beerman, although I’m not sure if he ever did, because almost immediately after that news came out, Wade was also announced as signing in […]
Michael Sweetney signs in China
December 15th, 2009
As always, Chinese Basketball Association transactions are extremely hard to verify. There is no English language version of the CBA’s website, and crude Google translations aren’t really that helpful. Tryouts are often reported as signings, signings often aren’t reported at all, and lots of things go unreported. From these tatty shreds, we have to piece together the workings of an entire league. And it’s not easy. However, one thing that’s perfectly clear is that former Bulls and Knicks big big big man Michael Sweetney has joined the legion of ex-NBA big men making their way over to the Chinese Basketball Association. The story was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski over six weeks ago, and became official yesterday. Sweetney turned down the offer of a workout with the Memphis Grizzlies to go to China, fully aware of the fact that he’s not able to play in the NBA right now. The reason why he’s not able to play in the NBA right now is obvious; put simply, he’s larger than ever. Can’t play in the NBA if you can’t get off the spot. Sweetney is not a guarantee to have made the Shanxi roster; Chinese teams can only carry two non-Chinese players, and Shanxi currently rock all four of Sweetney, Maurice Taylor, Lee Benson and Donta Smith. (At least, as far as I can tell. There’s also a team called Shaanxi, which makes this all very confusing.) Nevertheless, this is the right move for him. China pays well, and the CBA tends to play more games than comparable leagues (although apparently they’re down to only 32 regular season games per team this season). The games are 48 minutes in length and not 40, and the import players will play huge minutes (as opposed to in Europe, where teams will employ 11-man […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 54
March 12th, 2009
I don’t know how to tell you this; there’s also only about three of these Where Are They Now posts left before we reach the human terminus that is Eurelijius Zukauskas. And I’ve already played my joker with the (simply astonishing) Ejike Ugboaja story. And I’m not going to start again. You’re going to promise to keep reading this website once they’ve dried up, right? Don’t go elsewhere. You’ll like it here. – Former Hornets second-round draft pick Marcus Vinicus has gone back to his native Brazil, where he averages 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists – Minor league veteran Fred Vinson retired this summer aged 37 after a season in the IBL, and became an assistant coach/director of player programs for the Los Angeles Clippers, the team that gave him his final shot at the NBA. Presumably, this new role means that he rebounds a lot of Zach Randolph three-pointers. – Former Wake Forest centre Kyle Visser is into his second season with the New Yorker Phantoms in Germany. Last season, Visser averaged 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 58% shooting, and this season he’s up to 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 62% shooting. Visser’s team features nine American players on its roster, which seems like at least five too many, regardless of the team’s name. – 7’5 former Knicks and Blazers centre Slavko Vranes is averaging 3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in the EuroLeague, alongside 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in the Adriatic League, for Partizan Belgrade in his sort-of native Serbia. – Former Hornet, Sun, Bull etc Jackson Vroman is playing for Saba Mehr for Iran. Iranian numbers are, it seems, unlookupable. – The future of the […]
