Now we are taking a look on the South and the West Region of the NCAA Tournament and its European-born players:
Artsiom Parakhouski – Radford – Belarus
I would love to hear his name being pronounced by the ESPN-guys…I bet he goes by the name of “Artie Parakowsky”. Remember Andrei Savchenko? He is his successor at Radford with probably a better offensive touch (16 points per game).
Netted in 39 points and pulled 19 boards in a loss to Liberty in the end of February.
Let’s see if he can go against Hansbrough and the Tar Heels to score in double-digits.
If he does, welcome the next Alexander Koul…well, with healthier knees.
Dejan Cvoro – Western Kentucky – Serbia
A Partizan Belgrad-product, the young guard spent parts of the season on the bench while starting in between for a couple of games, but not with much success.
No big numbers here to report, as his shot is not falling (21 % FG) for him so far.
Maybe gets his shooting touch back next season.
Uros Komadinic – Western Kentucky – Serbia
Played in some earlier games for the Hilltoppers in this season, but could be injured or just not in the rotation.
Nikola Cvetinovic – Akron – Serbia
Earned a spot on the starting five midway through the season, thanks to his defensive abilities.
And 4,4 points might not be much, but for a freshman this looks certainly promising.
Watch out for him next year where he should be set to increase his scoring output.
Eric Boateng – Arizona State – England
Disappointing center, who has been highly recruited out of high school.
Transferred to the Sun Devils after not getting along with Coach K. Now he is sitting the bench warm in the Arizona – desert.
Rihard Kuksiks – Arizona State – Latvia
Had a few bad games down the stretch in which he struggled to score, but overall could be the next big thing out of Latvia behind Andris “Drago” Biedrins.
Has a great shooting touch from beyond the arc and is still developing his inside game as he has to toughen up to compete against the more athletically gifted players out of the US.
Right now, he looks like a “tweener”, but should settle more on the shooting guard-position to have a legitimate chance in the NBA or Europe.
Sergio Olmos – Temple – Spain
Olmos is now a starting center who developed steadily over the years at Temple.
Suited best for the LEB Oro or LEB Silver once his college-career is over.
Not a great rebounder but has some post moves to convert inside the zone (8,4 ppg).
Does not enjoy the healthy American food as he is skinny as Paris Hilton and looks like Xavi Rey of FC Barcelona, but being agile against slower and smaller centers does definitely help.
T.J. di Leo – Temple – Germany
Now you wonder…kid has a German passport too and is going to play for the national-team soon. Dad Tony you may know from the Sixers…unfortunately, T.J. is not getting any time on the court, so he has plenty of time to attend his dad’s NBA games.
Kristof Ongenaet – Syracuse – Belgium
Ongenaet is hard working player in the post who is not afraid to bang with bigger guys. Not much of a scorer, but he is your hustle-guy that jumps for any lost ball.
Fits perfectly into the system of Coach Boeheim and might be a good fit for a team in Europe that is looking for a player that is not afraid to use his elbows.
Catalin Baciu – Clemson – Romania
Played a total of 44 minutes in his freshman-season and it won’t be much more.
Karolis Petrukonis – Clemson – Lithuania
Played a total of 27 minutes in his junior-season. Clemson-coach Purnell believes in the value of Euros.
>West Region
Nemanja Calasan – Purdue – Montenegro
Provides solid forward-play off the bench.
Likes to shoot the three but also to bang with the bigs and is averaging 6,5 points per game for the Boilermakers in his senior-year. Had trouble with his former team (KK Niksic) who claimed that he had signed a pro contract with them prior to his college-experience.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning – Washington – England
The junior-national player out of London is still improving his game. Hit career-high 23 points against Portland State this year although being more of a rebounder and is growing into a bigger role within the team. Could be a prospect for the European market two years from now.
Nikola Knezevic – California – Serbia
Has seen better days as he gets virtually no playing time with the Golden Bears. Played 19 minutes a game last year. This year, he provides Cevapi, Ajvar i Luk for the post-basketball barbecue.
I hope that this little guide for the tournament will help you identify the next upcoming NBA- Euroleague -Europcup – EuroChallenge – Balkan League – National 1 – Regionalliga Südwest – Star.
I’m out like Euros at Clemson
