Sweet 16 Rewind

Great games in the so-called Eighth Finals (what we usually call the Sweet Sixteen). Oddly enough, we saw four of the pre-tourny favorites playing against each other, with Spain knocking out Greece, and Argentina knocking out Brazil. Outside of Team USA, it is an all-White final eight, as France, Angola, China all lose. Even the slightly mixed squads of Greece and Brazil lost to the all-White Spain and Argentina.

Luis Scola is the Larry Bird of this generation. He is absolutely amazing. If you haven't seen highlights of his performance tonight, do so, now. He was THAT good.

White stars of the Knockout round:

Luis Scola, PF (ARG) -- 37p, 9r
Huertas, PG (BRA) -- 32p
Linus Kleiza, SF (LTH) -- 30p, 9r, 2a
JC Navarro, SG (ESP) -- 22p (10 shots)
Kirk Penney, SG (NZL) -- 21p (13 shots), 3r, 2a
Marko Popovic, PG (CRO) -- 21p (12 shots), 5r, 5a, 2s, 1b
Hedo Turkoglu, PF (TRK) -- 20p (10 shots), 4r, 3a
Andrey Vorontsevich, F (RUS) -- 18p (8 shots), 11r, 2s, 2b
J Lakovic, F (SLO) -- 19p (12 shots)
Sinan Guler, SG (TRK) -- 17p (10 shots), 3a
Timofey Mosgov, C (RUS) -- 16p (9 shots), 7r
Nenad Krstic, C (SRB) -- 16p (10 shots), 3r
N Zisis, PF (GRE) -- 16p, 4r
D Diamantidis, G (GRE) -- 16p (8 shots), 4r, 2s, 2b, 2a
A Rasic, G (SRB) 15p (6 shots), 3a, 2s
Rudy Fernandez, SF (ESP) -- 14p (7 shots)

World Championship Day 6 - Scola dominates again

Great day for White basketball fans as the uber-athletic New Zealanders take care of the Afro-French squad, driving their skill home with a last second shot sending the French down to the 4th seed. It was also nice to see Australia take care of Angola. Nothing like the World Championships to do a lot of damage to the myths of Black athletic superiority!

Luis Scola wraps up tournament MVP award with another incredible performance. No one else is even near his level. He is an artist with the basketball.



Luis Scola, PF (ARG) -- 32p, 7r
Kirk Penney, SG (NZL) -- 25p (15 shots), 3a'
Tim Pleiss, C (GER) -- 23p (12 shots), 9r
O Daghles, G (JOR) -- 22p, 6a
Oguz Savas, (TRK) -- 20p (12 shots), 4r, 2a
JJ Barea, PG (PR) -- 19p, 7a
Rudy Fernadez, SG (ESP) -- 19p, 5r
Dusko Savanovic, PF (SRB) -- 19p, 5r, 2s
Fran Vasquez, PF (ESP) -- 19p (9 shots), 5r, 4b -- in 16 minutes!!!
Goran Dragic, SG (SLO) -- 18p (10 shots), 6r, 2a
Semih Erden, C (TRK) -- 18p (11 shots), 12r, 3b, 3a
Nenad Krstic, C (SRB) -- 18p (10 shots), 8r, 3a
Timofey Mosgov, C (RUS) -- 18p, 4r
M Machado, SF(BRA) -- 18p (5 shots!!!), 3r
Omer Asik, C (TRK) -- 17p, 13r, 2a, 2b
Renaldas Seibutis, SG (LTH) -- 17p (9 shots), 3a, 2s
M Gecevicius, SG (LTH) -- 16p, 4r, 2a
M Teodosic, SG (SRB) -- 16p, 4a, 4r, 3s
Carlos Delfino, SG (ARG) -- 13p, 7r, 4s, 1b
P Prigioni, PG (ARG) -- 13p, 9a, 5s, 3r

World Championship friendly updates

Greece is looking great. Last weekend they beat Croatia by 9, Germany by 28, and Russia by 38. Nice addition they found in former Florida Gator Nick Calathes, who led them in scoring.

--In a surprise to me, Serbia ended up beating Turkey fairly easily 83-70, led by Nenad Krstic.

--Angola, the African champions, got crushed over the weekend by Brazil 59-89. So much for African basketball superiority!

--Germany is not looking strong. They always have a great defense, but they are not getting any scoring punch, and appear to be stuck at the lower levels of the comp: losing by one to Croatia, winning by 3 over Russia (also, Russia beat Croatia by 1).

--Puerto Rico, lost the best of three with Argentina over the last week, although they played without Carlos Arroyo and Renaldo Balkman (and the last game without their big man Ramos). They lost the first game in overtime by five, then won by 7, but lost the final in the series by 13.

--Argentina played their three games against P.R. without Oberto and Nocioni, and the first two without Prigioni, who will all be with them for the Worlds. Luis Scola continues to play like a monster, scoring 33 in their final victory over P.R. Scola may be the best player in the tournament at the Worlds.

--Spain has beaten three quality opponents fairly easily in the past week, still looking like the tourny favorites: beating Ivory Coast by 15, Lithuania by 21, and Slovenia by 20. JC Navarro, Rudy Fernandez, and Marc Gasol look to be the keys to their success.

--Lithuania beat Slovenia by 3, considered a slight upset the way they have respectively been playing lately, led by Kleiza and Javtokas. Dragic continues to pour in points for Slovenia.

--New Zealand squeeked out a victory over Iran 69-68, led by Kirk Penney's 28. In their 71-76 loss to Serbia, Penney poured in 34.

--Iran now has Hadaddi in action, and are a very tough squad with him on the floor.

White of the Night: David Lee

Fantastic shooting nights for Dirk (30 on 16), Udrih (24 on 11), Scola (19 on 10), and Novak (14 on 7), but how can we not give the White of the Night to David Lee, for a monster 25p-16r game, leading Dantoni's squad in a vindication win over the sinking Suns!

David is having a banner year, and is currently second in the league for double-doubles. He is a sure lock on attaining All-Star status, and congratulations for him for bringing it strong every night, turning the Knicks around.





Nowitzki: 30p (16 shots) - 5 reb -- 36 min
Lee: 25p - 16 reb -- 35 min
Udrih: 24p (11 shots) - 3 reb - 3a -- 39 min
Stojakovic: 20p - 10 reb -- 39 min
Scola: 19p (10 shots) - 9 reb -- 34 min
Bargnani: 16p - 6 reb - 3a -- 40 min
Novak: 14p (7 shots) -- 24 min
Varejao: 12p - 8 reb -- 38 min
Walton: 11p - 2 stl - 2 blk -- 20 min
M Gasol: 11p - team high 6 reb - 3a -- 25 min
Collison: 11p - 7 reb -- 26 min
P Gasol: 10p - 6 reb - 3a -- 31 min
Gallinari: 10p (6 shots) -- 18 min
Alexander: 9p - 3 reb -- 11 min
Nash: 9p - 6 reb - 19a -- 38 min
Barry: 9p (4 shots) -- 23 min
Krstic: 9p - 5 reb -- 21 min
Fernandez: 9p -- 23 min
Szczerbiak: 8p - team high 10 reb -- 23 min
Przybilla: 6p - game high 15 reb -- 21 min
Anderson: 4p - team high 10 reb -- 16 min

White of the Night: Brad Miller

Overall, great night to be a White basketball fan! Seven of our guys scored 20 or more just tonight, topped off by Bargnani, who continues to impress in his starting role. But how can we not give the White of the Night to Brad Miller, for a monster 30p-22r game, leading his team to victory in triple overtime! Good work, Brad.

Newsflash: The Pacers start three White Americans! That is sweet enough, but then they go on to beat the Detroit Piston black-sketball team in a thriller! How sweet it is.

--Utah is fighting them for White Basketball standard-bearer right now, playing Whites for a full 63% of the minutes tonight.

--Ryan Anderson starting for the Nets, with Yi's injury. Man, this is his big chance, play like you belong big man!

--Breakout game for Joe Alexander too! Very nice. Play the man, coach!

Bargnani: 31p (14 shots) - team high 10 reb -- 39 min
B Miller: 30p (20 shots) - 22 reb - 2 stl -- 51 min
Lee: 30p (21 shots) - team high 10 reb - 6a - 2 stl -- 41 min
Ginobili: 27p (15 shots) - 3 reb - 2a - 3 stl -- 30 min
Ridnour: 25p - 9 reb - 4a -- 42 min
P Gasol: 21p (14 shots) - 5 reb -- 31 min
Nowitzki: 20p - 13 reb -- 38 min
Murphy: 18p (9 shots) - 13 reb -- 45 min
Udrih: 17p - 6 reb - 7a -- 56 min
Nocioni: 16p - 4 reb - 3a -- 30 min
Stojakovic: 16p -- 35 min
Korver: 14p - 4 reb - 2 blk -- 33 min
Koufos: 14p (9 shots) - 5 reb -- 27 min
Krstic: 14p (8 shots) - 11 reb - 2 blk -- 31 min
Collison: 13p (7 shots) - 11 reb -- 40 min
Alexander: 13p (8 shots) - 5 reb - 5a -- 17 min
B Lopez: 13p - team high 8 reb - 5 blk -- 31 min
Anderson: 13p (8 shots) - 4 reb - 2 stl -- 26 min
Hinrich: 12p (6 shots) - 5 reb - 6a -- 32 min
Biedrins: 12p (8 shots) - 14 reb - 4a - 5 blk
Dunleavy: 12p - 6 reb -- 33 min
Kirilenko: 12p - 4a -- 39 min
Bogut: 12p - 11 reb (6 off) - 2 blk -- 37 min
Foster: 11p (5 shots) - 7 reb - 4a -- 7 min
Harpring: 10p - 2 reb -- 17 min
Bonner: 10p - 5 reb - 4a -- 33 min
Okur: 9p - team high 9 reb - 4a -- 33 min
Scalabrine: 9p - 4 reb -- 27 min
Nesterovic: 8p - 5 reb -- 20 min

White of the Night: Mehmet Okur

What can we say about the White of the Night - Mehmet Okur! WOW An historic game, scoring 43 on only 19 shots.

Great display of White basketball in the game between the Jazz and the Pacers, with White athletes accounting for 48% of the minutes and 51% of the points for the Pacers, and 45% of the minutes and 63% of the points for the Jazz. It hardly gets any better than that!

Breakout game by Brook Lopez! He would have been the WotN on just about any other night. Beautiful.

Stop the presses: Scalabrine starts for Boston... Whoa

It is nice to see Ukic continue to trend upwards with his minutes and production. Hopefully he can keep it up even after Calderon returns.

And oh, yes, welcome back, Kirk Hinrich.

Okur: 43p (19 shots) - 9 reb - 3a -- 28 min
B Lopez: 31p (17 shots) - 13 reb - 2 blk -- 40 min
Lee: 24p (16 shots) - 9 reb - 3a -- 33 min
Bargnani: 23p - 8 reb - 3a -- 38 min
Kirilenko: 23p - 12 reb - 3a - 3 stl - 3 blk -- 41 min
Dunleavy: 20p (14 shots) - 7 reb - 2a -- 23 min
Bogut: 18p (12 shots) - 10 reb - 3a - 2 stl -- 38 min
Ukic: 16p (12 shots) - 3 reb - 3a - 2 stl -- 23 min
Blake: 16p - 10a - 3 stl -- 39 min
Ridnour: 14p - 3 reb - 10a -- 36 min
Krstic: 12p (8 shots) - 4 reb -- 23 min
Murphy: 12p - 10 reb - 3a - 2 blk -- 31 min
Nesterovic: 12p - 4a - 2 blk -- ? min
Scalabrine: 11p - 2 reb - 2a -- 28 min
Foster: 11p (7 shots) - 8 reb - 4a - 2 stl -- 34 min
Humphries: 9p (5 shots) - 4 reb -- 20 min

White of the Night: Nick Collison

Great game on Saturday night from Nick Collison, starting at C for OKC, winning the White of the Night recognition. Great to see Nick back in the lineup, with his thumb fully bandaged, but obviously still able to get the job done.



Top White game reports:
Okur: 22p (9 shots) - 6 reb -- 21 min
Collison: 21p (12 shots) - 9 reb (6 off) - 4a - 2 stl -- 35 min
Scola: 18p - 11 reb -- 27 min
Blake: 15p - 4 reb - 4a - 3 stl -- 38 min
Bogut: 14p (8 shots) - 7 reb - 2 blk -- 27 min
Lee: 14p - 11 reb -- 34 min
Ridnour: 12p - 9 reb - 6a -- 35 min
Fernandez: 12p (7 shots) - 6a -- 25 min
Morrison: 11p (6 shots) - 2 reb - 3a - 2 stl -- 22 min
Nocioni: 11p - 2 reb -- 33 min
Kirilenko: 11p - 7 reb - 7a - 2 stl - 2 blk -- 31 min
Harpring: 11p - 2 reb -- 17 min
Biedrins: 10p (5 shots) - 6 reb - 3a - 2 blk -- 33 min
Krstic: 8p - 2 reb - 2 blk -- 13 min
Love: 5p - game high 12 reb -- 22 min

Whites of the Night: Dunleavy & Murphy

White American basketball returns to Indiana! Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy combine for 46 points, very sweet, earning them both the White of the Night honors.

It is nice to see Novak earning more minutes for the Clips. Let's hope that trend continues, freeing up one of the best shooters in the league.

Alert, alert: Redick sighting in Orlando (sweet 15 on 7)!


Murphy: 24p (14 shots) - 6 reb - 3a -- 32 min
Dunleavy: 22p (14 shots) - 4 reb - 5a -- 23 min
P Gasol: 21p (13 shots) - 11 reb - 4a -- 41 min
Turkoglu: 21p (9 shots) - 6 reb - 4a -- 24 min
Bargnani: 21p (14 shots) - 8 reb - 2 blk -- 35 min
Hawes: 19p (11 shots) - 5 reb -- 28 min
Nowitzki: 19p (12 shots) - 7 reb -- 33 min
Redick: 15p (7 shots) - 4 reb -- 20 min
Novak: 14p -- 26 min
Scola: 14p (7 shots) - 6 reb -- 23 min
Varejao: 14p (10 shots) - 9 reb -- 35 min
Ginobili: 13p (9 shots) - 4 reb - 5a - 4 stl -- 25 min
Lee: 13p (8 shots) - 15 reb (7 reb) -- 37 min
Stojakovic: 12p - 4 reb -- 30 min
Bonner: 11p (6 shots) - 3 reb - 2 blk -- 22 min
Kapono: 11p - 2 reb - 6a -- 24 min
Nowitzki: 10p - 7 reb - 7a -- 38 min
Krstic: 10p - 3 reb - 2 blk -- 23 min
Ridnour: 10p - 3 reb - 5a -- 25 min
B Miller: 9p - 15 reb - 4a -- 40 min
Carroll: 9p (5 shots) -- 14 min
Nash: 9p - 12a - 2 stl -- 29 min
Collison: 8p - team high 10 reb -- 36 min
Amundson: 8p (3 shots) - 7 reb - 2 blk -- 29 min

Nenad Krstic joins OKC

Nenad Krstic’s basketball journey didn’t begin with the luxuries that accompany AAU basketball.


Unlike most American-born players, he missed out on the exotic travel and the free apparel. Such treats didn’t exist during Krstic’s childhood days in Serbia.

Krstic’s unlikely NBA story started with pick-up games on cement-cracked playgrounds and inside underground gyms as a lanky teenager in Kraljevo, then a part of Yugoslovia. Basketball served as a much-needed diversion that helped take his mind off the battle that ripped apart his war-torn country in the early 1990s.

"It was always something in sports, especially in tough times during the war,” Krstic said. "So it was always being in sports rather than being in the streets.”

But Krstic, the Thunder’s newest 7-foot center, has come a long way since having to lace up a pair of worn-out Converse because his cash-strapped family couldn’t afford to purchase him a quality set of shoes.

The Thunder signed Krstic to a three-year, $15.6 million deal that launches a new chapter in his NBA career. Krstic will not be in uniform tonight against Golden State and cannot suit up until the final paperwork is completed on his work visa.

But he is eager to embark on his second NBA stint. After four seasons in New Jersey, he started this one in Russia. Krstic was one of a handful of players to flee to Europe when overseas clubs outbid NBA teams for talent.

"I know it’s just going to take some time,” said Krstic, who scored 13 points with 12 rebounds in his final game with the Nets on April 16. "Two weeks ago I played a game in Russia, and all of a sudden I’m in the NBA again in the middle of the season... I’m feeling great and I can’t wait to start playing again.”

Thunder general manager Sam Presti had his eye on Krstic as a potential free agent target next summer but finalized the deal 32 games into the season to bolster an injury-plagued and underachieving frontcourt.

While Presti was a front office executive in San Antonio, the Spurs were so high on the 19-year-old Krstic during the 2002 draft that they reportedly guaranteed they’d select him with the 26th pick. The Nets plucked him at 24.

"I think he’s going to bring a number of different things to our team,” Presti said. "First and foremost an ability to stretch the floor, and he adds another player to our roster with a high basketball IQ that understands how to play the game and play at a high level. Clearly we’re thrilled to have him.”

Four years ago, Nets coach Lawrence Frank said he would have been happy just to get anything out of his newest rookie. Then teammate Vince Carter said he didn’t even know who Krstic was before being traded from Toronto to the Nets.

But Krstic quickly turned heads.

He averaged 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 34 minutes a game in the final month of his rookie season. Krstic then averaged 18.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 56.3 percent shooting in four games against Shaquille O’Neal and the eventual champion Miami Heat in the first round of the 2005 playoffs.

Krstic seemingly was headed for All-Star status in 2006-07 before a knee injury limited him to 26 games. He was averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 32.6 minutes before tearing his ACL in December 2006.

"You would hope that he’s going to be able to come in and help our team get over the hump in some of these games,” said Desmond Mason. "But you don’t want to put too much pressure on the guy like he’s supposed to come in and save the whole entire season.”