“Ice the game.” “Milk the clock.” “Close it out.” But what are we actually asking our players to do? With 3:47 remaining, Virtus Bologna led Beşiktaş 97–84 in the Euroleague last week. Up to that point, Virtus had collected 50%…
How Spain Produces Competitors After this past summer’s Youth EuroBaskets, I found myself having recurring conversations about Belgian basketball, following a disappointing summer for the boys’ national teams. It never takes long before Spain comes up. The explanation often sounds…
Why Valencia–Olympiacos deserves a closer look. Last season, I wrote about the different rotation philosophies in the EuroLeague. Paris had been taking an unusual approach for several years: frequent substitutions, short appearances and a remarkably structured rotation pattern. The idea…
A few weeks ago, I wrote about one of the surprises of this summer’s FIBA Youth EuroBaskets. Slovenia won U18 and U20. Latvia won U16. Three titles for countries with populations of roughly 2 million. While working on that article,…
With the European season getting underway, the Supercups offered an early look at what top teams have been working on. One detail caught my eye during Valencia Basket’s game against Barça. In a timeout in the final minute, Xavi Albert…
De Belgian Cats hebben de voorbije jaren iets gerealiseerd wat veel verder gaat dan medailles en overwinningen. Ze hebben van basketbal een tv-sport in primetime gemaakt. Ze verkopen keer op keer grote zalen uit, zelfs voor oefenwedstrijden. Mensen die enkele…
The summer of FIBA national team basketball has come to an end. And at the men’s European youth championships, one observation stood out. Slovenia won U20. Slovenia won U18. Latvia won U16. Both countries have around ... two million inhabitants.…
As coaches, we often talk about taking game-like shots. You play like you practice, right? Recently, I came across a video of Belgian guard Julie Vanloo taking extra shots on her own after practice. She was wearing headphones. She wasn't…
While the NBA season is over, the Spanish ACB Finals are about to start. In the semi-finals Ricky Rubio and Patty Mills saw their season end. Man, I enjoyed watching their basketball IQ in action. Watching them over the course…
This season, Valencia has been the talk of the town in European basketball. With a relatively modest budget, they reached the Final Four, eliminated Panathinaikos in the playoffs and saw Pedro Martínez named EuroLeague Coach of the Year. This weekend…