The Global Game

How is the sport of basketball played in each country? Allow me to reprint in whole an article by Joel Bell that came out in the 1994-95 Street & Smith's Pro Basketball Guide. The Philippines is mentioned here. Just check it out.



Shhh, be quiet. There’s a secret meeting going on and we can’t give it away. Well, I suppose if we don’t reveal at least part of it, this will be a very short story. The NBA Board of Directors is together now, assessing that every nation in the world is angling to be considered for for a team when the league goes global. We don’t mean merely marketing Phoenix Suns kimonos in Tokyo or Charles Barkley sombreros in Mexico. we mean a true Global League concept. The NBA is already moving to Canada with the Toronto Raptors, so can teams such as the Belgian Waffles or the Berlin Wall be far behind? The following are hypothetical reports that might come in from nations seeking an NBA team, with the qualifications each has to be considered a candidate for an NBA expansion team and the popularity of the sport in those nations. The only rule that was set is that NBA team nicknames must be better than the Mighty Ducks, which isn’t hard to do. Let’s look at some of these reports:



ITALY

Strengths
For a long time, Italy was the capital of basketball in Europe. One could not imagine an expansion outside the U.S. without visualizing the NBA golden sneaker being laced over the boot of Italy. In many ways, despite a downswing in the Italian economy which has greatly reduced the money spent on Italian basketball, this may still be the case. Cities such as Pesaro. Bologna, and Verona are very supportive of their teams. Carlton Myers and Ricardo Pit tis are two of the best players in Western Europe, and there are several excellent coaches, including Sergio Scariolo, Valerio Bianchini, and the rising young Gianpiero Hruby. An NBA expansion team could play in a professional arena with all the amenities, and would boast strong ownership and a good pool of players. The Milano team of 1994-95 will feature Italian nationals Davide Cantarello, Fernando Gentile, Gregor Fucka, and Yugoslavian star Dejan Bodiroga.

Unique Features
The paparazzi will photograph every move a player makes on and off the court, criticize each action heavily, and then incorrectly analyze each player and his entire family. The press adds a lot of stress to playing basketball in Italy.

Popularity
Solid.

Best American Player
Henry Williams (UNC-Charlotte)

Highest Paid American Player
Cliff Levingston (Wichita State)

Top American Scorer
Henry Williams, 26.6 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Charles Shackleford (N.C. State), 8.8 rpg



GERMANY

Strengths
Leverkusen is a threat every year to win the championship of European basketball. The American players on the team, Abdul Shamsid-Deen and Tom Garrick, are among the best in Europe, and the German stars Include Christian Weip, Michael Koch, and perhaps the best player ever from Western Europe, Henning Harnisch. Some German players on other teams include former Indiana Hoosier Uwe Blab and former North Carolina Tar Heel Henryk Rodl. A united German team could field an impressive squad. In 1993, the German National Team won the championship of Europe. Overall, probably the best pool of local talent in western Europe.

Unique Features
German basketball has taken the unique step of postgame question and answer session between coach and fans as a step toward educating the public about basketball. Alter each game, the head coaches take a chair at center ‘court and answer the questions of the spectators for as long as there are spectators to ask questions. This has proven to be quite popular with everyone but the head coaches. Many fans not only anticipate the event, but are known to come to the game solely for the chance to harass the coach. This postgame interrogation sometimes features questions by fans with a lack of knowledge of basketball and a propensity to have a few beers during the game, and you can see why this is big fun. The following are actual questions which have been asked:
“Why did your team not make more baskets?”
“Will we win next week or will we lose?”
“Why did Henrich miss the shot at the three-minute mark?”
“The game statistics say we are getting outrebounded. Can’t we play five big players and get all the rebounds?”
“How much are you getting paid?”

Popularity
Not very popular right now, because the Germans are involved in so many sports that they all seem to get lost behind soccer, If there were one strong team that was well- publicized and made to seem as if it had a huge following, other Germans would support the it. There has not been much financial support for German basketball because of all the other sports, but this could easily change.

Best American Player
Abdul Shamsid-Deen (Providence)

Highest Paid American Player
Abdul Shamsid-Deen

Top American Scorer
Derrick Taylor (LSU) 23.6 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Abdul Shamsid-Deen, 9.6 rpg



FRANCE

Strengths
The team of Limoges is one of the best in Europe, and probably the best-coached, as it is led by the legendary Baldizar Malkovic. The French players tend to be more concerned with style points than with rugged basketball, but this is O.K. from a spectator point of view. The French game has been drastically improved by the French Basketball Federation, allowing players from one-time French colonies such as Guyana, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast to be declared as French players, thus greatly improving the talent pool available. (The Federation could next attempt to allow players from Louisiana to play as Frenchmen, but this is not likely.) All in all, basketball in France has improved more in the last five years than anywhere in Western Europe.

Unique Features
In 1994 the French basketball world was searching for ways to cope with demands for higher ethics and honor in their sport. For example, there is a mandate that teams may have to demonstrate to the league, before the season begins and as a requirement to participate, that they have the financial ability to survive the year and to honor all contractual commitments. This would eliminate the practice of having numerous American players sign offer sheets with the team, and the French team waiting until the last moment to pick just two players to sign contracts. In the past few seasons some teams, having been sued by parties who have not been paid on some of these contracts, have had to be run by government bodies.

Popularity
As a result of Limoges winning the 1993 championship of Europe, basketball has skyrocketed in popularity to a place behind only soccer, tennis, golf, handball, horse racing, swimming, auto racing, and baking.

Best American Player
Michael Young (Houston)

Highest Paid American Player
Michael Young

Top American Scorer
Terence Stansbury (Temple), 27.6 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Brad Sellers (Ohio State), 10.8 rpg



SPAIN

Strengths
The young local players, such as Alberto Herreros and Sergio Luyk, have a bright future, but Spain will have a hard time replacing players such as the great Epi.

Unique Features
The fastest-paced, most athletic game in Europe. Probably the most organized teams on the continent.

Popularity
Inconsistent: Wavers city to city.

Best American Player
Tony Massenburg (Maryland)

Highest Paid American Player
Joe Arlauckas (Niagara)

Top American Scorer
Mike Smith (Brigham Young) 23.6 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Tanoka Beard (Boise State) 11.4 rbg



GREECE

Strengths
Money—more than anywhere else outside the NBA, Also a good pool of local talent.

Unique Features
Everything about basketball in Greece is unique.

Popularity
The No. 1 sport in the nation. Fans will go to the arena 12 hours before a big game.

Best American Player
Walter Berry (St. John’s)

Highest Paid American Player
Roy Tarpley (Michigan)

Top American Scorer
Mitchell Wiggins (Florida St.), 31.3 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Rod Sellers (Connecticut), 14.3 rpg



AUSTRALIA

Strengths
There are plenty of commercial and sponsorship opportunities, as every beer company in the world would like to get a share of this market.

Unique Features
Marketing. Australia has shown that a team can be a financial success. Two teams in all of the Australian League made a profit, while 12 lost money. The profit leader, the Sydney Kings, are marketing geniuses, as their team is no better than any other. The NBA should study the Sydney market plan before it enters Australia.

Popularity
The No. 2 sport, behind Australian Rules Football, which means basketball is the No. 1 sport in which players live to play another game.

Best American Player
Terry Dozier (South Carolina)

Highest Paid American Player
Lanard Copeland (Georgia State)

Top American Scorer
Richey Jones (Clemson), 30.3 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Bruce Bolden, 13.9 rpg



THE PHILIPPINES

Strengths
Tremendous fan support. Games are sold out well in advance, and it seems the whole nation watches the games on television — probably because a large percentage of its population seems to have made a wager on the outcome. However, since the NBA was upset over the possible inclusion of NBA games in the Canadian lottery, this could be a problem area here.

Unique Features
Because the Philippines are the only major competition not part of FIBA and because they are so removed from the mainstream of basketball, little has been reported from the area. First of all, there is no true league. There are annually three or four “tournaments,” which run about three months each, all with the same teams. The rules generally change from tournament to tournament, but only in regard to the import players. In the Philippines, height is the key to the selection of foreign players—the lack of height, that is. The height restriction creates the game of “Shrinkage.” On the day of the measurements, the import is awakened early so he can run, then do squats with heavy weights—all in order to compress his vertebrae, so he will measure in at a height below his true level. Just like wrestlers cutting weight, the player goes through those machinations knowing that if he does not shrink to the limit, he will not be able to compete.

Many fans arrive hours before the game and by the tip-off have worked themselves into an overexcited state. The import players are is expected not merely to rebound like Dennis Rodman and dunk like Michael Jordan, but to entertain as if the game were a circus, which in truth it is. These are reasons for the high turnover of imports in Manila Players like this obviously don’t exist. (It is not uncommon for a player to arrive after a 20-hour flight from the U.S., practice once on the day of his arrival, and be sent back home the same day.) Still,the teams keep insisting they will find them. Once in a while, such a player does arrive. Former Portland Trial Blazer Bill Ray Bates was so popular that he was called Black Superman” and had several television commercials. Television mini-series or basketball? Probably a bit of each.

Popularity
As discussed above, incredibly popular. The most famous player, Robert Jaworski, not only has his own clothing and sporting goods labels, but also stars in the country’s No. 1-rated television program, a Miami Vice-type show, and is being groomed as a future President of the Philippines. To make an analogy, we would have to have Dennis Rodman married to Roseanne and living in the White House.

Best American Player
Tony Harris (New Orleans)

Highest Paid American Player
Mitchell Wiggins

Top American Scorer
Tony Harris, 44 ppg

Top American Rebounder
No one in Manila cares about rebounds, only points



TURKEY

Strengths
Best scouting system in Europe. Many top players who went on to success in the NBA or elsewhere in Europe (Anthony Mason, Thomas Jordan, Darryl Middleton, Marty Embry) were first discovered by Turkish coaches. The teams are not influenced by big names, unlike some other nations, but have the ability to assess talent. This same ability has allowed the local coaches to develop the Turkish players into some of the best in Europe. Efes Pilsen coach Aydin Ors is an excellent instructor and tactician.

Unique Features
Goats. Not unpopular players, but real goats. At least one important team has been known to require that prior to the season a live goat be slain in front of the team and the goat’s blood smeared on the players’ foreheads to give them power and strength for the coming year.

Popularity
Hard to tell how many people are at the games through the unbelievable haze of cigarette smoke at each arena, but It sounds full.

Best American Player
Larry Richard (Texas Christian)

Highest Paid American Player
Larry Richard

Top American Scorer
Reggie Cross (Hawaii), 19.7 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Marcus Stokes (SW Louisiana), 13.1 rpg



VENEZUELA

Strengths
The great competitive nature and spirit of the local players and fans. This, unfortunately. can also be a negative. Fights, either on the court or in the stands, that require police intervention are not uncommon. The police come charging out of the arena portals, where they have been waiting for the call they knew would come, rat- fling actual gleaming sabres which have not been seen in most nations since the Invention of gunpowder. After 15-20 minutes, the floor is cleared and the game resumes. Some coaches even count on this break as a regular rest period, the Venezuelan equivalent of the TV timeout. Exciting is the key word to describe Venezuelan basketball. The game here is not really more stimulating than basketball elsewhere, it is just that the people around it seem more involved. Every basket or turnover is greeted with enthusiastic shouts of joy or anguish, and the announcers appear to speak in one long sentence the entire game. The noise level after a successful free throw is deafening. The team from Maracaibo is usually strong, but it was hurt this past season by pleasant weather conditions, You see, Maracaibo is one of the hottest places on earth and counts on visiting teams wilting in the 120-degree temperature inside the gym. This season Maracaibo was hit by pleasant Gulf breeze, which helped the tourist industry but was a great disappointment to the basketball team.

Unique Features
The top league plays In the summer, so it Is unclear as to how successful a winter league will be. The United States Football League taught us that some sports don’t switch seasons well.

Popularity
Maybe the best in any nation. The Venezuelans love spectacles, and basketball in
Venezuela is one big spectacle.

Best American Player
Bill Edwards (Wright St.)

Highest Paid American Player
Sean Green (Iona)

Top American Scorer
Tim Breaux (Wyoming), 31.2 ppg

Top American Rebounder
Stanley Brundy (DePaul), 3.7 rpg



What Type of Player Does Well Abroad? Many former well-known American players have found as much, or more, success in Europe than they did in the U.S. Some make it big, some don’t, but generally three types of players usually succeed in Europe.

1. Players who had good NBA careers, but found it was time to move on to a less demanding schedule:

Darryl Dawkins, Italy. Still playing, still talking, still funny, still rarely coming across the half-court line Averaged 18.7 points and 11 .5 rebounds and displayed a very limited shooting range. A big fan attraction in Italy.

Micheal Ray Richardson, Italy. Averaged 21.7 points and 8.1 rebounds and is still one of the best passers around.

Fennis Dembo, Italy. Fennis the Menace wound up not finishing the season with his Italian team. The one-time magaz.ne cover boy had previously been in the Philippines and France.

Mike Mitchell, Italy. Yes, Italy is the Jurassic” Park of European basketball, but Mitchell Is by far the best of the old-time crew. He averaged 25.1 points and 8.4 rebounds and has another few years left.

Danny Young, France, Averaged 19.4 points and 4.2 ebounds playing for one of the top teams in Europe, but probably will not be asked to return.

2. Players who never really found a position in the NBA:

Henry Williams, Italy. The NBA was never sure if this guy was a one-guard or a two-guard. What he is, however, is a fine player — probably the best American abroad — and some NBA team should grab him. Great shooter, steady in other parts of, game. Already a legend in Italy.

Michael Young, France. Never quite corn-fortable at the two guard in the NBA, he has found a home with Limoges and was named Best Foreign Player in France.

Corny Thompson, Spain. The ultimate example of a guy who is great for Europe but less suited for the NBA is this 6-7 power forward/center. He has played a decade in Europe for some of the top teams and his power game works here, where there is no Patrick Ewing or David Robinson to contend with.

Dallas Comegys, Italy. The NBA thought him too slim to play inside, but he is fine in Europe. where his great leaping ability and wiry strength make him one of the best.

3. Players who were once highly regarded, but flopped in the NBA:

George McCloud, Italy. The former lottery pick distinguished himself with inconsistent shooting and by getting tossed out of the league finals for fighting.

Jeff Sanders, Spain. A former No. 1 pick by the Chicago Bulls, he did not finish the season in Spain and returned to the CBA.
David Rivers, France He played well this season in France. but has never been the same after his auto-accident injury.

FINAL ANALYSIS
We can’t give away everything. Make your own judgment as to how and where the NBA should expand internationally. Wherever it goes, the NBA will bring high quality basketball to areas that are ready to receive it, and this will be good for the sport.