Eurobasket 2022 (daily OP updates), day 11, all quarter finals teams known, Italy shocks Europe, eliminates Serbia

[Dirk]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

[UcanUwill]

Not surprised seeing how they lost all close games in the group despite having leads in 4th quarters. As I said until they have a point guard who can control the game at the end they won't ever win medals again.

modern basketball. You dont have killer guard, you as good as nothing. Valanciunas and SAbonis, star centers, still less impact than Lorenzo Brown will have.

Yup, all 4 games LT lost at the end because of game controlling players like Doncic, Fournier, Wagner and now Brown. Where is new Jasikevicius?

Obviously aren't elite at ''developing'' Lorenzo Browns like Spain. Oh well, I still rather lose, than win game because of Lorenzo Browns, JR Holdens and Bo McCalebbs of this world, but maybe I say this to ease the pain. I know I sound bitter right now, beside this tourney, nothing really bright was in my path, well, its just a game. Stepped on this naturalized rake far too many times.

[Bensonmum]

Not surprised seeing how they lost all close games in the group despite having leads in 4th quarters. As I said until they have a point guard who can control the game at the end they won't ever win medals again.

modern basketball. You dont have killer guard, you as good as nothing. Valanciunas and SAbonis, star centers, still less impact than Lorenzo Brown will have.

Yup, all 4 games LT lost at the end because of game controlling players like Doncic, Fournier, Wagner and now Brown. Where is new Jasikevicius?

Considering all the great players they produce decade after decade, it's truly crazy how none of them are point guards. Jasikevicius and Marciulonis are the only Lithuanian stars I can remember at PG. Kalnietis was good but definitely not a star.

[fteru6uhre54ew]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

If we had Ricky probably he wouldn't get selected even a lot of people was mad in Spain because he never played or lived here. But I'm sure that a lot of people now are happy lol. It's the same with the most of the countries that have a north american guard in this tournament.

[UcanUwill]

Considering all the great players they produce decade after decade, it's truly crazy how none of them are point guards. Jasikevicius and Marciulonis are the only Lithuanian stars I can remember at PG. Kalnietis was good but definitely not a star.

I kinda feel Jasikevicius kinda screwed up their PG development. Skills that made Jasikevicius great are unlearnable, actual learnable skills like good ball handling was Jasikevicius weakness. So many young kids grew up thinking if they learn no look passes, that will make them great, and we got a generation of pointguards who literally cant dribble the ball (Čižauskas and the rest). Lithuania's best 1 on 1 perimeter guy of the last 20 years, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, didnt' even play basketball until he was 16, never went through screwy academies, but was great because of sheer talent.

[Bensonmum]

modern basketball. You dont have killer guard, you as good as nothing. Valanciunas and SAbonis, star centers, still less impact than Lorenzo Brown will have.

Yup, all 4 games LT lost at the end because of game controlling players like Doncic, Fournier, Wagner and now Brown. Where is new Jasikevicius?

Obviously aren't elite at ''developing'' Lorenzo Browns like Spain. Oh well, I still rather lose, than win game because of Lorenzo Browns, JR Holdens and Bo McCalebbs of this world, but maybe I say this to ease the pain. I know I sound bitter right now, beside this tourney, nothing really bright was in my path, well, its just a game. Stepped on this naturalized rake far too many times.

As a Spaniard, I can't but agree with you. I didn't like it either when we brought Ibaka and Mirotic, but at least we knew that we had a terrific roster with or without them. The fact that Lorenzo Brown was our best player today is kind of embarrassing.

[Dirk]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

If we had Ricky probably he wouldn't get selected even a lot of people was mad in Spain because he never played or lived here. But I'm sure that a lot of people now are happy lol. It's the same with the most of the countries that have an north american guard in this tournament.

This one is very unique.

Literally asking the government "Hey, give this guy citizenship because we suck at PG".

It's fascinating that the only connection is Scariolo coaching him with the Raptors.

What's to stop Spain or any other country from "signing" more Americans this way? Is there a FIBA rule limiting the number of "Americans"?

[Evenacus]

This "buying players" for national teams is really bad imho and it should at least be reworked and some conditions added. Bringing some dude in from wherever is kinda dumb.

[UcanUwill]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

If we had Ricky probably he wouldn't get selected even a lot of people was mad in Spain because he never played or lived here. But I'm sure that a lot of people now are happy lol. It's the same with the most of the countries that have an north american guard in this tournament.

This one is very unique.

Literally asking the government "Hey, give this guy citizenship because we suck at PG".

It's fascinating that the only connection is Scariolo coaching him with the Raptors.

What's to stop Spain or any other country from "signing" more Americans this way? Is there a FIBA rule limiting the number of "Americans"?

1 naturalized player limit per team is a rule. Funny how 10 years ago, Russians of all people were fighting FIBA to eliminate limit whatsoever, those people have no shame, their clubs were putting claws in player contracts that if needed they would be forced to be naturalized and play for Russian NT

[Bensonmum]

Considering all the great players they produce decade after decade, it's truly crazy how none of them are point guards. Jasikevicius and Marciulonis are the only Lithuanian stars I can remember at PG. Kalnietis was good but definitely not a star.

I kinda feel Jasikevicius kinda screwed up their PG development. Skills that made Jasikevicius great are unlearnable, actual learnable skills like good ball handling was Jasikevicius weakness. So many young kids grew up thinking if they learn no look passes, that will make them great, and we got a generation of pointguards who literally cant dribble the ball (Čižauskas and the rest). Lithuania's best 1 on 1 perimeter guy of the last 20 years, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, didnt' even play basketball until he was 16, never went through screwy academies, but was great because of sheer talent.

That's a very interesting approach to it, thanks for sharing.

[lambchop]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

If we had Ricky probably he wouldn't get selected even a lot of people was mad in Spain because he never played or lived here. But I'm sure that a lot of people now are happy lol. It's the same with the most of the countries that have an north american guard in this tournament.

This one is very unique.

Literally asking the government "Hey, give this guy citizenship because we suck at PG".

It's fascinating that the only connection is Scariolo coaching him with the Raptors.

What's to stop Spain or any other country from "signing" more Americans this way? Is there a FIBA rule limiting the number of "Americans"?

I think it's one per team, if I'm not mistaken. I don't think Spain can have Brown, Miroti and Ibaka all on the team. And yea, definitely can't have a roster full of Americans.

[fteru6uhre54ew]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

If we had Ricky probably he wouldn't get selected even a lot of people was mad in Spain because he never played or lived here. But I'm sure that a lot of people now are happy lol. It's the same with the most of the countries that have an north american guard in this tournament.

This one is very unique.

Literally asking the government "Hey, give this guy citizenship because we suck at PG".

It's fascinating that the only connection is Scariolo coaching him with the Raptors.

What's to stop Spain or any other country from "signing" more Americans this way? Is there a FIBA rule limiting the number of "Americans"?

Has to be like that I don't know and it's weird give a nacionality just like that for me too.

Only one naturalized player can be selected. I mean I can understand Mirotic or Ibaka they grew up in Spain as a youngsters playing basketball.

[Bensonmum]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

If we had Ricky probably he wouldn't get selected even a lot of people was mad in Spain because he never played or lived here. But I'm sure that a lot of people now are happy lol. It's the same with the most of the countries that have an north american guard in this tournament.

This one is very unique.

Literally asking the government "Hey, give this guy citizenship because we suck at PG".

It's fascinating that the only connection is Scariolo coaching him with the Raptors.

What's to stop Spain or any other country from "signing" more Americans this way? Is there a FIBA rule limiting the number of "Americans"?

It's definitely not the first case of a naturalized player who has no ties with the country he plays for, but that doesn't make it less ridiculous. In this case, I think it's pretty obvious that our national federation said "we need a point guard" and they just went out and "bought" the best one they could find. The president (that's Garbo, Raptors fans!) said that Lorenzo Brown had expressed his desire to play for Spain, but no one believes that, especially now that we are not contenders.

[Bodiroga13]

Spanish=Vampires, death is not inevitable for them

Read on Twitter

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[lambchop]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

I'm not sure if players get paid a salary for the national team tbh. Of course, all spending is covered, but I'm not sure if there is an actual salary. At the end of the day, doesn't the exposure make it kind of worthwhile? You get the opportunity to play extended minutes in a lead role against NBA guys, maybe even NBA MVPs.

That's essentially a situation a lot of those naturalized players wouldn't be in, even if they're borderline NBA players, unless they just get lucky on an NBA team and multiple guys are injured for that game or they just so happen to be on a tanking team.

Guys play at the drew league for free just to get a shot at NBA guys. I don't think they need a huge salary to motivate them to play multiple real games against NBA players.

[Dirk]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

I'm not sure if players get paid a salary for the national team tbh. Of course, all spending is covered, but I'm not sure if there is an actual salary. At the end of the day, doesn't the exposure make it kind of worthwhile? You get the opportunity to play extended minutes in a lead role against NBA guys, maybe even NBA MVPs.

That's essentially a situation a lot of those naturalized players wouldn't be in, even if they're borderline NBA players, unless they just get lucky on an NBA team and multiple guys are injured for that game or they just so happen to be on a tanking team.

Guys play at the drew league for free just to get a shot at NBA guys. I don't think they need a huge salary to motivate them to play multiple real games against NBA players.

Lorenzo Brown had to renounce his US citizenship to play for Spain. I imagine he did it for more than simply playing in these international tournaments.

[UcanUwill]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

I'm not sure if players get paid a salary for the national team tbh. Of course, all spending is covered, but I'm not sure if there is an actual salary. At the end of the day, doesn't the exposure make it kind of worthwhile? You get the opportunity to play extended minutes in a lead role against NBA guys, maybe even NBA MVPs.

That's essentially a situation a lot of those naturalized players wouldn't be in, even if they're borderline NBA players, unless they just get lucky on an NBA team and multiple guys are injured for that game or they just so happen to be on a tanking team.

Guys play at the drew league for free just to get a shot at NBA guys. I don't think they need a huge salary to motivate them to play multiple real games against NBA players.

National team players get daily allowances, but for years we had reports that some of these naturalized players are actually paid like its a club. We dont have proof, because I think even nations that do that, know that its embarrassing. so they never disclose it.

a lot of Drew league guys arent even pros or semi pros from g league, of course they will play against NBA guys, I bet they would even pay to do that lol, I dont think its comparable, but I get that your point is exposure matters.

[UcanUwill]

Has Brown ever lived in Spain?

Is he getting paid a salary to play for them?

I'm not sure if players get paid a salary for the national team tbh. Of course, all spending is covered, but I'm not sure if there is an actual salary. At the end of the day, doesn't the exposure make it kind of worthwhile? You get the opportunity to play extended minutes in a lead role against NBA guys, maybe even NBA MVPs.

That's essentially a situation a lot of those naturalized players wouldn't be in, even if they're borderline NBA players, unless they just get lucky on an NBA team and multiple guys are injured for that game or they just so happen to be on a tanking team.

Guys play at the drew league for free just to get a shot at NBA guys. I don't think they need a huge salary to motivate them to play multiple real games against NBA players.

Lorenzo Brown had to renounce his US citizenship to play for Spain. I imagine he did it for more than simply playing in these international tournaments.

Most players from non EU countries get second citezenship these days, cause some domestic leagues still have foreign player limits of some kind, so there is that. I never really understood Brown's situation, why did he lose USA citezenship, seems like a lot of AMerican athletes get dual passports while playing in Europe with no problem. Was this even true, I know Garbajosa said it, cause this naturalization had very strong backlash even in Spain, not to mention other countries.

Either way, sorry, I think we derailing, I just try to find comfort after devastating evening. Spain won, that is it. We lost, but we stood to our principles, if we wanted, we could recruit good americans too I have no doubt about that.

[Taikuri]

Does anyone know if Jaleen Smith has any connection to Croatia or did they just straight up hire him? Has he ever even visited Croatia? I'm also interested what kind of salary Croatia pays him for playing for team Croatia or what is his motive behind playing for Croatia?

His Wiki page doesn't say about his connections to Croatia. I think that those connections don't exist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaleen_Smith

My understanding is that after Finland eliminated Croatia from the World Cup qualifiers and Croatia realized how weak their backcourt is they panicked and paid this guy to play for Croatia. The dates align pretty well.

"In July 2022, the Croatian Basketball Federation expressed their interest to naturalize Smith,"

same reason as Shane Larkin, Lorenzo Brown, Mike Tobey, etc.. - these fake passports are a disgrace

I agree with that. Every Balkan country except Serbia seems to abuse this to the maximum. Tobey's first visit in Slovenia was the same day he got the passport.

[Taikuri]

Does anyone know if Jaleen Smith has any connection to Croatia or did they just straight up hire him? Has he ever even visited Croatia? I'm also interested what kind of salary Croatia pays him for playing for team Croatia or what is his motive behind playing for Croatia?

His Wiki page doesn't say about his connections to Croatia. I think that those connections don't exist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaleen_Smith

My understanding is that after Finland eliminated Croatia from the World Cup qualifiers and Croatia realized how weak their backcourt is they panicked and paid this guy to play for Croatia. The dates align pretty well.

"In July 2022, the Croatian Basketball Federation expressed their interest to naturalize Smith,"

No connection other then being a merc for a Croatian passport. There was a quote from him taken by reporters that goes something like this: " I accepted Croatia's call even though I didn't even know where it is" ( not sure if true, but still fun ). There was a long battle in Croatian Bball Association wheter or not to employ mercs. Recent failure at the World Cup Qualifiers prompted a quick solution and the results are showing.

Edit: there is an interview with him on youtube where he gives that statement

Lmao, interesting info. There should be a draft where each national team of Europe can join if they want to. As in NBA draft the weakest countries would pick first. By that logic Embiid would be representing Gibraltar now.