Her new championship Basket League or otherwise the once A1 Men's Basketball, makes his first jambol for the new season, having as a main asterisk the absence of Olympiacos. Although in no case Greek basketball no longer has the shine of the past, nevertheless the 1st game includes two big derbies, Panathinaikos-AEK and Aris-PAOK.
Both the evolution with the "red and whites" and (and mainly) the difference that the two "eternals" acquired over the years, especially due to their participation in the closed club of the Euroleague - a phenomenon that is not only Greek, but it engages the players of the sport in all the major Leagues on the old continent, it created new data, in an area where in previous years the competition was much more intense.
Especially in the 1980s and 1990s, but also at the beginning of the new millennium, the Basquein Greece had a very different form. Now, it seems unlikely that even the latter will look «in their eyes" giants ". But then the "little ones" had in their ranks some players who could make a difference. Over the years and with the increase of the allowed foreign players (something that favors the strong), A1 became the zenith and at the same time… condemnation for many clubs, which after their relegation to A2 either made a "free fall" or were dissolved financially.
Few clubs that fans have admired in the past have endured a leading role, or found stocks to stay… in life. However, they left some great memories of great basketball players that they brought and will be remembered for years to come. With a little "squeezing" of the mind, we attempted a nostalgic flashback and chose the top ones.
Alfonso Ford: Papagou, Sporting, Peristeri, Olympiakos
Such a reference could not but begin with Alfonso Ford. Already from his college years he showed what he can do with the "pimple", as he became the first player of all time in the NCAA to complete all four seasons with an average of over 25 points. The NBA was the natural sequel to the Philadelphia Sixers and Seattle Super Sonic, followed by the CBA. After making a pass from Spain and the humble Penia Huesca, in the 1996-97 season he came to Greece. The team that "closed" him was that of Papagou.
The following season he played for a few games in Turkey, after being diagnosed with leukemia for the first time in August 1997. In the 1998-99 season he returned to our country to play for Sporting, while the two years 1999-2001 followed in Peristeri, with which he also played in the Euroleague. In the 2000-01 season he was named MVP in A1 and was acquired by Olympiakos.
He was twice named top scorer in the Euroleague, while during his time in Greece, before going to Italy for Siena and Scavolini, he won the title of top scorer. A1 four times (1996-97 with 23,9 points average, 1998-99 with and 1999-2000 with 22,7 points average and 2000-01 with 24,1 points average). The last team of his career was that of Pesaro, shortly before the disease stopped his frantic course on the floor. He died at the age of 33 on September 4, 2004, in a Memphis hospital, almost two weeks after being diagnosed with the disease.
Richard Relford: AEK (just two months), Daphne, Pagrati, Heraklion
One of the great scorers of the past was Richard Relford. Although he did not do much in the US, with a small pass from the San Antonio Spurs in 1988 at the NBA level, when he came to Europe (a small pass from Israel) and then in Greece he began to show his… real basketball himself. He initially played for AEK in 1990, but only for two months and continued the many journeys in his career.
The American returned to our country in the period 1992-93 on behalf of Daphne and left everyone alone. With an average of 27,8 points and 9 rebounds, he became the first US player to become a top scorer in the A1. Although short for "four", only 198 cm and full, he was an invincible force near the basket, while from a medium distance he was a killer.
Pagrati followed in the 1994-95 season, after first making another pass from Israel with an average of 23,7 points and 9,7 rebounds, while in Heraklion he did the same, with 24,8 points and 6,4 rebounds average. condition. When he left Greece he played for a while in Cyprus and stopped his wandering in Latin America.
Mitchell Wiggins, Milonas, Sporting, Panionios
Mitchell Wiggins was not just another American who played in the Greek league. Former teammate of Hakim Olazouon and finalist of the NBA playoffs with the Houston Rockets in the 1985-86 season made a great career in the world's top basketball league. And if he was not the "demon" of substances, he would hardly come to Greece, especially for groups that are not among the top in the country.
He graduated from college in Florida and in 1983 was selected in the drafts by the Indiana Pacers. He won the silver medal in the 1982 Mud Basketball with the USA, while he played in the Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia Sixers and of course in the Texas team. He also had some passes from the CBA. He came to us at the age of 34 for Milonas, however that did not stop him from becoming the top scorer of A1 with an average of 31,3 points. He then went to Sporting, where he was the absolute leader and his presence led the Patissia team to Europe.
He won the title of A1 top scorer again in the 1995-96 season with an average of 29,5 points, while he could have done something similar last season, if it were not for Walter Berry - with the Hercules jersey then. He went to Panionios again (1996-97) and returned to Sporting (1997-98), however he did not end his career in our parts.
Jeff Malone: BAO
Jeff Malone is the least known of the three with this surname that dominated the NBA floor in the 80's and 90's. And he may lack the brilliance of Carl and Moses, he is still one of the biggest names to ever cross the Atlantic to come to the old continent and even for a team that… did not fill the eye, BAO.
He began his NBA career with the Washington Bullets, with whom he played for seven seasons (1983-90), always a double-digit average of five to over 20. This was followed by the Utah Jazz (1990-94), with scoring never stopping, always in double digits, a three-year stint in Philadelphia on behalf of the Sixers (1993-95) and one for the Miami Heat.
Then came Thessaloniki. Considering the team that went, it may be the biggest "colpo grosso" in European basketball. After all, he was a player with an average of 19 points in 13 seasons in the NBA. In BAO he had his Egyptian teammate Samir Gouda, her first rebounder and blocker A1 in the 1996-97 season. Although in the end the relegation was not avoided, the great victory (80-79) over Olympiakos, which won the triple-crown that season, was written in history.
Byron Dinkins: Panionios, Panathinaikos, Iraklis, Peristeri
Another NBAer who came to Greece, initially not for one of the so-called "big ones", although the team that brought him to our place was one of the top of that period. From the University of North Carolina, Byron Dinkins then played for the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers - not with terrible statistics.
After every basketball player in the USA made his dream come true, he then wrote history on Greek courts, first with Panionios (1995-96) and then with Panathinaikos (1996-97), Iraklis (1998-2000) and Peristeri (2000-02). ). During this period he became three times the top passer of A1, in 1996 with the "blue and reds", in 1997 with the "greens" and in 2000 with the "blue and whites". After passing through Cyprus, he ended his career in 2005 in his country.
Melvin Chitum: Daphne, Larissa, Peristeri
Melvin Chitum, who played in positions "3" and "4" was one of the most athletic players that Greek fans saw. It started basket ball at Alabama College, but the United States did not do well for him and in 1991 he crossed the Atlantic on behalf of Daphne. He finished his first season with an average of 26,5 points and 12,5 rebounds, while after going to Murcia he returned to our country in the two years 1993-1995 with the jersey of Larissa.
He continued the ργ orgies (25,3 points and 11,4 rebounds average in his second year there), to follow Peristeri (1995-97). There he found Prest Letterdale, with whom they composed an exceptional tall duo in the first season, while the same work followed with Marlon Maxey in the second. He played in 67 games with the team of the western suburbs and scored more than 1.000 points, while collecting more than 500 rebounds. After France and Paris, followed by Turkey and Ulker, in his last good season, after wandering in the Philippines, Saint Dominic and Belgium.
Prest Lauderdale, Peristeri
He started professionally (1995-96) in the basketball team called Peristeri, coming from Central State University in Ohio. With a height of 2,24 meters, he was the ideal to frame Melvin Chitum in the front line. This year gave him a place in the 1996 drafts with the Atlanta Hawks, in which he first played, and then the NBA included the Denver Nuggets.
However, the continuation of Prest Lauderdale's career was not proportionate. In addition to the CBA, the brutal center has roamed Venezuela, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, China and the United Kingdom.
Tony Costner: Sporting, AEK, Papagou
Tony Costner was one of the quietest and at the same time one of the most valuable players on the Greek floor. Every time he held the orange ball in his hands, he defied the nickname "grandfather". It was a basketball phenomenon that has been around since graduating from St. Joseph College in Atlanta in 1984, becoming the all-time leading scorer with 1.729. In fact, he was a candidate to play in the US Olympic team.
Although selected in the drafts by the Washington Bullets, he never played in the NBA. After his transfers to Napoli, Las Palmas, Udine, Montpellier and Limoges, with some "stops" in the USA and the CBA, he came to Greece on behalf of Sporting. Together with Mitchell Wiggins he managed to celebrate some great victories, while -in between- the 1993-94 season he played for AEK. After passing through Argentina, he returned to Patissia in 1994, before moving to Papagou to end his career. With 1.626 rebounds and 193 blocks, it is one of the best of all time A1 basketball.
Henry Turner: Panionios, Maroussi
One of the most spectacular players to come through Greece is without a doubt Henry Turner. He graduated from California State University and after playing in the BCA, in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, then in Italy (Udine and Florence), in 1993 he was acquired by Panionios to play Panagiotis Giannakis, Fani Christodoulou and Edn Stod team of Plateia, which reached the semifinals of the Korats Cup.
The "High Flyer" went down in history for his stopper Nikos Galis, as well as his 30 points at halftime against PAOK in a European game. The very good year he had in Nea Smyrni, gave him the opportunity to become a "king" again and return to the NBA (1994-95). He crossed the Atlantic again on behalf of Fenerbahce (1995-98), while after a short stay in Siena he came back to Greece, playing in Maroussi (1999-2000). When he left, he went again… next door, to Italy, where he finished his career in 2002. Fans in our country will always remember him for both of his victories in the nailing competition in the All Star Game.
Buck Johnson: Apollon Patras, Iraklis, Daphne, Peristeri
Another player from the… Greek Rockets team. His professional career began in 1986, when he was selected in the 1986 drafts and in the 1986-92 season he played in Houston with a good presence. In the 1992-93 season he competed in Washington, D.C., for the first transatlantic voyage to Tofas, Turkey (1993-94), followed by Hapoel Jerusalem (1994-95).
He came to our country for the first time in the 1995-96 season on behalf of Apollon Patras with coach Costas Diamantopoulos. After returning to Israel for Maccabi, he went to the Spanish Girona (1997-98). But, the "Greece" chapter was not closed, as in 1998 he wore the blue and white of the "old". Although 34 years old, he looked like a teenager. He continued in our parts for five seasons with three different teams: Iraklis 1998-2000, Dafni 2000-02, Peristeri 2002-03), while his career ended in England.
Lawrence Vanderberk: Ampelokipi, PAOK
After the university teams of Indiana and Ohio, Lawrence Faderberk came to Greece on behalf of Ampelokipi in the 1994-95 season, being excellent. The following season (1995-96) he went to PAOK of Bane Prelevic and Petza Stojakovic, but was not eligible to participate in Europe, as he was declared by Hapoel Eilat, losing the Cup Winners' Cup final. He then played for a year in Ortez and in the Euroleague.
His performances on the old continent gave him the opportunity to play in the NBA and the Sacramento Kings. Competing in the "kings", where he later found Stojakovic as a teammate again, in the 2001-02 season he participated in the finals of the Western Region. After six years there, he played for the Chicago Bulls to end his career.
Andres Gibbert: Sporting, Apollon Patras, Near East, Heraklion, KAO Drama
The first player on the list who is not from the USA. The dynamic power forward / center from Cuba began his professional NBA career in the 1994-95 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After Spain and Puerto Rico, which was to become his permanent residence, Sporting made another "matte" move (1996-97). He went to America again, returned to Europe for Scavolini (1997-98), to return to Greece and Apollon Patras.
In the summer of 1998, Panathinaikos moved to acquire him, but Andres Gibbert failed to issue a community passport, as a result of which he went to Achaia (1998-99). This was followed by the Near East (1999-2000), Heraklion (2001), Treviso and again Puerto Rico, before going to KAOD (2001-02), to continue the comings and goings in Europe-America, until 2004, who decided to stop. He was twice the first rebounder of the Greek championship: in the team of Patissia with 11,4 points. and in that of Drama with 10,1 m.o.
Shane Hill: Near East, Macedonian
The blonde "killer" from Melbourne played a lot in his homeland, until he showed his value through the Olympic Tournament in Atlanta in 1996 with the Australian national team. His performances there gave him the "ticket" to the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves (1996-97). In the USA he did not land and returned to Oceania, for Near East to play for him in Greece, in another transfer-surprise.
He played with the club of Kaisariani in the period 1998-2000, to "load" the opposing baskets in his favorite way, from the three-pointer. He made some trips to Australia and Europe before going back to the NBA in 2003 for the San Antonio Spurs. He returned to Greece in the period 2003-04 with Makedonikos, to say goodbye to our country with the representative team of his country, at the Athens Olympic Tournament (2004). Since then he only played in his homeland, however his name was "dirty" when he later became a coach, as he was accused of betting against his team.
Marko Jaric, Peristeri
Marko Jaric is perhaps the most typical example of a player who was not born in Greece, but started his career on the floor of our country, reaching the highest level. Peristeri, always hospitable to talents, was the one who made him stand out, with whose jersey he made excellent appearances and started to show how much he is worth. He played in the western suburbs of Athens for two seasons (1996-98), before moving to Italy on behalf of the two "big" Bologna players, Fortituto (1998-2000) and Virtus (2000-02).
The NBA was the next leap in his career, where he initially played for the Los Angeles Clippers (2002-05), Minnesota Timberwolves (2005-08) and Memphis Grizzlies (2008-09), before returning to Real Madrid (2009-10). and Siena (2011), in which he ended his career.