Italian Taken With 1st Pick!

After weeks of speculation Andrea Bargnani became the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. He was one of nine players that were chosen from Europe, the most surprising choice being England’s own Joel Freeland, who? That’s Joel Freeland! He was taken by Portland with the 30th pick in the first round. Only 2 weeks ago I was speaking with Mark Clark, whose son Dan plays in the same Spanish league as the 7’0” forward. Mark and I discussed the interest in the forward by NBA scouts, but neither of us believed he would be taken this year and so high!

It’s pretty major as most people thought Pops Mensah-Bonsu would be the next British name called behind Luol Deng a couple of seasons ago. Mensah-Bonsu was not chosen in either round, so he will have to wait and see if he is invited to play in the summer league in order to get another chance to impress.

However Freeland, a former player at the Solent Stars, was never really a player that you would have predicted to go so high in this year’s draft. But his time in Spain at Gran Canaria Fadesa seems to have paid off. Don’t expect to see him lighting up the NBA courts anytime soon – scouts feel he may need a little more time perfecting his skills and bulking up his 225ilb frame before he’s ready to take on a gruelling NBA season.

No 'Sub' For Experience

So cats out there were thinking Miami were cooked, no one thought that a 4 game winning streak was on the cards; but they did it!! A monster play-off performance by D-Wade was enough to get his team their first Championship in franchise history.

No, I’m NOT jumping on the bandwagon (just check my show tape before the play-offs started). I felt that the experience of such a big occasion would be the deciding factor. Between Shaq and Riley, they could write an encyclopaedia on how to win and lose a championship.

You look at the hunger of Alonzo Mourning, who has been through so much, his career on the brink after having a kidney operation a few years back. Gary Payton, who chased the dream in Seattle, then crawled to the Lakers and failed. With one last desperate attempt at putting his ego to one side, he finally acquires a ring in dramatic fashion by hitting the eventual game winner in game 3. The veterans came up big.

No doubt every coach who thinks he has the stomach will look to recruit some NBA strays, egos and underperformers. As they will look to turn them around and by doing so earn them a championship! Easier said than done, Riley already knows it takes a serious case of ‘nutz’ to manage egos and get them ALL to focus on one goal. That’s why a huge amount of respect must go out to Pat, he has what it takes (a cupboard full) to get it done!

Summer's Here

Summer 2006 – Ballers is back!! The regular season has come and gone (again). Now is time for the summer action to kick in. The reason it is welcomed with open arms in the UK (London especially), is that all the fellas return home to give us another glimpse of their skillz!

Not likely to be seen are Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Nick George and probably Richard Midgely. Of the three, Midgely had a rather poor senior year at California; he produced some mediocre performances which saw him fall way off the potential he showed as a budding sophomore. No doubt he will still be chasing his dream of making it to the next level - by trying to catch the eye of NBA scouts at pre-draft camps that he is lucky enough to get a squeeze into.

Like most, I thought he would be a perfect fit for the league, however unless he shows up ‘BIG’ at a camp his next stop will be Europe. On the other hand Pops is looking to break into the 1st or 2nd round of the draft. He played well for his GW Colonials this year, they finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 which should see his stock rise a lot from this time last year.

Nick George is an outsider at this moment in time; currently he (and Pops) is attending the Orlando NBA Invitational Camp, hoping to be given an opportunity to fulfil his dream. Nick is talented and must show that he has the work ethic and basketball savvy to make his way onto a roster and into a uniform.