So, since I have a little extra free time on my hands, I decided to write my first blog entry of 2007 for PLK (or is it DBE - I don't know for sure?). It has been a long time since my last blog, but I have done several for euroleague.net, so it's not like I've been sitting on my hands. However, in my absence, there has been no shortage of bloggers for this site. Tim Kisner has been consistently churning out entertaining reports from Wroclaw and now that Stinger - who could write about Polish League players and coaches longer than Tolstoy could write about War and Peace - has started blogging for PLK, there will be no shortage of insight on the Polish League. Combine that with Mirek Noculek, Adam Romanski, and the several Polish players that chime in from time to time, and you see that this website has become a veritable blog factory.
In the first paragraph I stated that my elbow was "injured". I put quotation marks around it because I really can't say that it was an actual injury. Apparently I hit my elbow on something during our game with Slupsk over a month ago. I don't actually remember when it happened or what I hit - probably Frasunkiewicz's shiny bald head or Kudriawcew's fake-flailing limbs - nonetheless, by the next morning I had a golf ball connected to my left elbow. It kind of looked like the bump that a cartoon character would get on his head - like when Fred Flintstone would club Barney Rubble. It was a bit painful, but I didn't see it as an injury, just something that hurt enough to bother me, but not keep me from playing. To make a long story short, it wasn't healing, so we (Doc, Coaches, and I) decided to find a good time in our schedule to get the surgery done. We waited until after the do-or-die game against Koln to cut me open. Is it strange that I had to take ALL my clothes off for my surgery? Don't get me wrong, I'm not shy about being seen in my birthday suit, but I had surgery to remove the sac from my ELBOW!!! Oh well, no harm done. As it turned out, I could have gotten naked in the Gdynia hospital just after our Kotwica match, because I didn't get in the game against RheinEnergie. But hey, I had only practiced about three times in the previous ten days so I can't complain too much about riding the pine. I am a little disappointed that I didn't get to go to Koszalin for our game Sunday. That gym has the softest, friendliest rims that I have ever played on. It seems like anything you throw up there will go in. Shooting on those rims could make Radek Hyzy look like Reggie Miller.
On a side note, Kager has the most forgiving backboards of all time. You can throw the ball off the "glass" harder than a Roger Clemens (the best baseball pitcher of our era) fastball and it will squish against the board as if it was hitting Spong Bob Squarepants, and drop thru the net. It may be a bit of home court advantage, but, as some of us noticed when we played them in Sopot recently, it can hurt them on the road. Pettway, Kuebbler, and the boys were having little luck attempting to utilize the hard-glass backboards at Hala Stu-Lecia. Maybe that's why, after squeaking by on a buzzer-beater in Gdynia, we were able to blow 'em out in our gym.
It looked like we were going to get blown out in Hala Oliwia last week, by Marcin Gortat and the rest of the bottom-of-Group A Koln squad. Fortunately, we turned up the defense in the second half - in time to gain a crucial victory. I say, "we", but actually I should say "my teammates", as I didn't get my warm-ups off. I did have a good view from the bench of a pretty interesting occurrence, however. I wouldn't necessarily say there was a passing of the torch, but the stellar performance of Polish Legend Adam Wojcik and the obvious talents of future star, Marcin Gortat highlighted the night. Obvioulsy, Adam is nearing the end of his career, but can still impress the fans with periodic reminders of his "glory days" and Gortat seems to have a bright future ahead of him. An NBA team occasionally asks for my input on European prospects and I definitely feel Gortat is an NBA player. I don't see him as the next Dirk Nowitzki, but he does a lot of things well that impress me and can help an NBA team. A big man who is athletic, runs the floor, shoots the ball decently, and has great footwork on defense (stepping out on screens) is not easy to find. In today's basketball one doesn't NEED to make the NBA to have a successful, high-level career, but I do think it is a goal for most young players. I think Gortat will be there soon. But what do I know? A few years ago I advised an NBA team that the player that I felt would have a big impact on an NBA team was Arvydas Macijauskas. I also felt, after two games against Ventspils (while playing for Polonia), that Andris Biedrins "...wasn't worth a lottery pick. I can't believe that there aren't 10-15 college players at that position with as much skill and talent." Results: Macijauskas wasn't happy with the Hornets (or vice versa) and is now recovering from a major injury in Athens. Biedrins - who can't drink legally in America (you must be at least 21) - is leading the NBA in FG% as well as registering a double-double average in his 30 minutes-a-game action with Golden State. OOPS!!!
Well, I hope that my elbow heals up before my parents arrive this weekend. I will miss our game in Spain against Tau, but hope to allow my parents to see me play Sunday against Polpak and in our HUGE game against Climamio next week. I really feel that we should meet our initial goal and advance to the Top 16. We have had an interesting first half of the season - with some STUPID losses to Polonia and Kotwica and the perennial talk of changes - but I think we are in a good place right now. In my opinion, our blow-out loss in Zgorzelec in December opened our eyes to the fact that we cannot just walk on the court and expect to win - even after beating "better" teams in Euroleague. We tended to act like we were better than the Polish League teams that we were playing rather than actually PLAYING better than them. I think that has changed - as evidenced by our recent play in DBL.
Well, since I stayed up till 4:30 am Sunday night watching Peyton Manning (top NFL quarterback) exorcise some demons by leading his Colts to the Super Bowl (biggest sporting event in America) with a 38-34 victory over the rival Patriots, I should probably get some sleep. No doubt some of the morning practices around the Polish league were a bit sloppy ,as I'm sure, many other American players spent the early morning hours glued to the television watching an instant classic. I would bet a duzy Tyskie and a plate of pierogi that Tim Kisner was watching. That's okay, Urlep has softened up lately - I'm sure he gave Slask a few days off. ;)