Preview: Stretch run for Maroussi

Maroussi wins Saporta Cup (now Eurocup) 2001

So, Maroussi has three more opportunities to get another victory before being relegated to a lower division next season. Since its historic win over Peristeri two weeks ago, Maroussi lost to Panathinaikos and Colossus, but they basically amounted to preparation for the final three games (against sub-.500 clubs).

And may I suggest Maroussi (1-20), which hosts Aris (9-12) tomorrow evening, learned quite a bit in the losses. First, young Dimitrios Agravanis is emerging as a legitimate offensive threat. The 6-foot-10 teenager — he turned 17 in December — averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. Second, poor 3-point shooting is killing them.

Maroussi went 8 of 46 from 3-point range the past two games. That’s 17 percent. Prodromos Nikolaidis is their go-to guy from downtown but he’s just 3 of 17 in the two losses. The problem is, with Nestoras Kommatos and three other starters gone, teams key on Nikolaidis. Still, he led Maroussi with 22 points (7 of 11 inside the arc) against Colossus on Wednesday.

Aris would make the playoffs if the season ended today and is riding a three-game winning streak. Christos Tapoutos is the team’s leading scorer (14.8 ppg, 6 rpg). Ronald Davis, an alum of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, averages 10 points per game.

Aris has young scorers, as well. Sergio Kerusch (Western Kentucky) averages 7.5 ppg and 4 rpg, while Sam Muldrow (South Carolina) is at 6.5 ppg and 5 rpg. Princeton’s Dan Mavraides has been getting more minutes lately, too. Kerusch scored 24 points in a 79-71 victory over Maroussi on Jan. 4.

Preview: Maroussi goes island hopping

Marcus Hatten (www.esake.gr photo)

Maroussi plays Colossus tomorrow on the island of Rhodes. Strictly business. Coach Nikos Linardos ignored my team-bonding idea of shell collecting at the beach. There’s “no time” for that, apparently. The team is scheduled to board a morning flight tomorrow, play at 4 p.m. local time, then return to Athens later in the evening. Normally, a team would arrive the night before and sleep at a hotel. But cash-strapped Maroussi can’t afford it.

Awaiting young Maroussi (1-19) is Colossus (14-6), which has lost three of its last four games but wants to maintain its third-place spot going into the playoffs. With four games remaining, it’s not going catch Olympiakos (20-1) or Panathinaikos (18-2) but Rethymno and Panionios, both 13-7, are close behind. If the season ended now, Colossus would open the playoffs against Kavala (11-10).

The top four finishers in the playoffs qualify for European championships; the top two teams play in the elite Euroleague while the other two go to the qualifying round of the next-best tournament, the Eurocup.

Marcus “Mo” Hatten and fellow guard Angelos Tsamis are the top scorers, averaging 12.4 ppg. Hatten played briefly with the Denver Nuggets in the 2004-05 season. The Baltimore native was undrafted in 2003 out of St. John’s, where he was coached by Mike Jarvis (of the great city of Cambridge, Massachusetts).

Scotty Hopson averages 9 points and 3 rebounds per game. The 22-year-old left Tennessee one year ago, after his junior year. Hopson, a gifted shooting guard with highlight-reel finishing ability, was not drafted. This is his first stint overseas. Another USA American, Ruben Boykin, is averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Last week, Maroussi took a beating, as expected, from Panathinaikos. But the takeaway? Backup center Dimitrios Agravanis finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Agravanis and fellow 17-year-old center Lampros Tsontzos have been gaining valuable experience since four of five Maroussi starters left the financially troubled team earlier this year.

To stay competitive, however, Maroussi’s shooting needs to improve. It’s been deplorable recently. They hit 5 of 25 three-point attempts last week, and went 11 of 39 inside the arc.

Preview: Panathinaikos pays a visit

Vagel Sakellariou

Maroussi didn’t have much time to celebrate its first victory of the season. It hosts Panathinaikos (17-2) tomorrow evening. Normally, it’s an NFL-style schedule, one game each week. But there are no league games this Saturday because of the Greek Cup final — between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos.

Panathinaikos is one of the best teams in Europe, not just Greece. It is the defending Euroleague champion. Basically, tomorrow’s game is a more or less a practice session for the big game Saturday.

So, what does that mean for Maroussi? If they can hang with Panathinaikos for a half, maybe even three quarters, that would be a huge accomplishment. Maroussi, of course, has a depleted roster, which includes several teenagers. Starting center Lampros Tsontzos is 17 years old.

Panathinaikos, historically one of the wealthiest clubs in Europe, has a ridiculously deep bench. Mike Batiste, Ian Vougioukas, and Stratos Perperoglou are unlikely to play because of injuries.

But it’s hardly a break for Maroussi. That means Aleks Maric will get more time in the middle. He’s 6-foot-11 and 275 pounds, and Maroussi doesn’t have the size nor experience to handle big men. Maric is an Australian-Serb and alum of the University of Nebraska.

It will be a homecoming for Kostas Kaimakoglou, who played for Maroussi during the good old days (2004-10). He scored 18 points Saturday in a 85-65 victory over PAOK.

We’ll see how much time the Panathinaikos regulars get, considering the Greek Cup final on Saturday.

Their roster is sprinkled with former NBA draft picks, some of whom have played in the NBA. Sarunas Jasikevicius, 36, played for the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors. Steven Smith of La Salle played briefly for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Nick Calathes, 23, left the University of Florida after the 2008-09 season and signed a three-year deal with Panathinaikos. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected him in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft. Romain Sato was taken in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, who released the Xavier alum in 2005.

Preview: This one ‘winnable’ (sort of)

Maroussi players celebrating in 2001

In 2007, when the Boston Celtics lost 18 consecutive games, they saw Milwaukee on the schedule, followed by a tough road trip. The Celtics beat the Bucks 117-97 and Paul Pierce said: “We definitely eyed this game.”

Peristeri is Maroussi’s Milwaukee. Peristeri is on a four-game losing streak and is 6-12 overall after starting the season 5-2. Like Maroussi, Peristeri is having financial problems. Three of its top players left the squad. Sound familiar?

Maroussi (0-18) visits its crosstown rival tomorrow night, hosts Panathinaikos (16-2) next week, followed by a trip to Rhodes to face Kolossus (13-5). Maroussi then finishes its season against three clubs in playoff contention.

Maroussi is winless but this is really only Game 2 for the reconfigured squad, playing without four veteran starters who left for greener pastures (i.e. steady paychecks). Their 17-year-old center, Lampros Tsontzos, played 32 minutes last week.

Meanwhile, the flu made its way through the lineup early this week, limiting coach Nikos Linardos‘ ability to prepare the black-and-yellow.

Still, this one is winnable. First, Peristeri doesn’t have a wide-body center the likes of Zisis Sarikopoulos, the muscular 7-footer for Panionios who scored 17 points (8 of 10) in 14 minutes against Maroussi two weeks ago. Peristeri’s Sotirios Manolopoulos, despite his size (6-foot-10), prefers launching 3-pointers (8 of 28 past four games) to grinding in the paint.

Peristeri has been out-rebounded in all four games of its current losing streak. Maroussi, despite losing last week, pulled down 30 rebounds to Rethymno’s 28.

Peristeri’s top scorer Charalampos Giannopoulos (12 ppg) can do a little of everything. The 22-year-old had a career game five weeks ago in an 81-69 victory. He scored 32 points (6 of 7 from 3-point range). He’s slowed down during the current skid. In the past two weeks, he’s 0 for 7 from downtown.

Connecticut alum Gavin Edwards (9.5 ppg, 5 rpg) is connecting on 64 percent of his shots. Giannopoulos and Edwards, 24, are capable of getting the the foul line if their jumpers aren’t falling.

Realistically, though, Maroussi will need continued stellar play from its back court of Lefteris Akepsimaidis (18 points, 7 assists last week) and Giannis Demertzis (16 points, 6 assists). And they’ll need help from newcomer Andreas Kanonidis, (15 points, 5 rebounds last week) and Vagel Sakellariou (15 points).

Can Maroussi stop Christmas?

Let’s see. Looks like engineers and lawyers are on strike (http://livingingreece.gr/strikes/), but not pilots and air traffic controllers. So, Maroussi’s opponent tomorrow — Rethymno — should arrive as planned in Athens sometime today from the island of Crete.

Maroussi players celebrating back in '01

That’s bad news for winless Maroussi, of course, because now they’ll have to face Dionte Christmas and Company tomorrow afternoon. Temple alum Christmas enters the game as the Greek league’s leading scorer (19.4 ppg). Maroussi’s Nestoras Kommatos (20.4 ppg) held that title until yesterday, when he signed with a team in Italy. Christmas, who played briefly in 2009 for the Philadelphia 76ers, scored a season high 41 points against league-leading Olympiakos.

The departure of Kommatos (see ‘Arrivederci’ post) means we won’t get to see what all of Athens — ok, me — has been buzzing about: a Larry Bird–Dominique Wilkins ’88 Game 7 style shootout between the league’s top scorers. (I just went to youtube and watched a 10-minute clip of that game. Good times, good times — and RIP Reggie Lewis and DJ).

Ok, so what will we see? Probably some insane dunks from Brent Petway of Michigan and Harlem Globetrotters fame. Christmas will hit some threes (he’s shooting 38 percent from out there), and point guard Zack Wright will do a little bit of everything. Wright’s efficient play has earned him five player of the week honors this season. The 6-2 Wright is the team’s leading rebounder (5.3 rpg) and he can throw down dunks, as well.

In a win last week, Christmas and Wright combined for 12 steals. Maroussi’s ball handlers, Lefteris Akepsimaidis and Giannis Demertzis, will need to be extra careful.

Since Kommatos left the building, cash-strapped Maroussi has just four professional players remaining on its roster.

The team had used teenagers from its junior squad to fill in gaps earlier this season, but now the kids are being asked to play significant minutes. Most of them are just 17 years old.

On the bright side, their two young centers Lampros Tsontzos and Dimitrios Agravanis are both 6-10. Realistically, Rethymno (10-7) should have the game wrapped up by halftime. What I would do, though, is start both Tsontzos and Agravanis, feed them the ball and encourage them to shoot literally every time they touch the ball. They’ve been playing pass-first with Kommatos on the floor.

If the two big kids can draw some attention, maybe 3-point specialist Prodromos Nikolaidis will find some room. Under pressure last week, Nikolaidis went 0-for-3.

Oh, and they should empty the bench to use up all of their fouls. Rethymno isn’t great from the foul line: Christmas and Petway, both 70 percent average, and Wright’s average is 59.4 percent.

Just thinking out loud.

Maroussi a long shot to stop Diebler, Panionios?

I bet Jon Diebler is excited about playing Maroussi tomorrow night. They called him “3bler” at Ohio State. He holds the Big 10 record for most 3s. Diebler now plays for Panionios and is the best 3-point shooter in the Greek league.

'We gotta stop all these 3s!'

You know who doesn’t defend 3-pointers very well? Yup, the black-and-yellow (you know what it is). Maroussi’s last six opponents, on average, have connected on 53 percent of their 3-point attempts, compared to just 34 percent in the first 10 games of the season. In any case, Maroussi lost all 16 games.

The Portland Trail Blazers selected Diebler, 23, in the second round (51st overall) of last year’s draft. During the NBA lockout, he signed a one-year contract with Panionios, which also brought in power forward Alex Stepheson (6-9, 250 lbs), who went undrafted out of USC.

Diebler is shooting 53 percent from 3-point range. Only Konstantinos Sloukas of Olympiakos has a higher success rate (53.6 percent) but on far fewer attempts. Diebler’s scoring average is 9.4 points for the season, but nearly 12 points in the past eight games, as he’s become a more regular starter.

Maroussi is coming off an emotional loss (I can’t find the F key for that phrase, but it would be useful), 86-82, at PAOK on Saturday. Nestoras Kommatos scored 40 points and played nearly the entire game. We’ll see how the 34-year-old responds with just a few days rest. Unlike the NBA, it’s usually just one game per week here.

Kommatos is the league’s leading scorer, at close to 21 points per game. But it hasn’t been enough to get Maroussi in the win column. The club is nearly bankrupt and recently told its players that it probably won’t be able to pay them for the rest of the season. Two reliable starters, Frank Elegar and Dimitris Haritopoulos, left the team.

With a full squad earlier this season, Maroussi played Panionios tough in a 69-67 loss. Yannis Gagaloudis, who is still with the team although looking for other offers, led Maroussi with 18 points.

Stepheson (11.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) hasn’t played since January 28 because of a knee injury. He’s missed four of the last six games. He’s doubtful for tomorrow night. Panionios is 7-1 at home — the one loss coming against Olympiakos (15-1).

Any given Saturday?

When you consider the factors surrounding Maroussi’s game against PAOK today, it’s hard to be optimistic about the black-and-yellow ending its losing streak. Players awoke early this morning to catch an 8:35 am flight to Thessaloniki. It’s an hour-long flight but the team had been concerned about fog.

Yes, fog, as if the 0-15 squad needed another headache. Seems fog has been a longtime problem at the coastal airport in Thessalonki, Greece’s second-largest city. Who knew? Use that nugget at your next dinner party.

Alas, they landed as planned. As for the game (5 pm local time), Maroussi’s 17-year-old centers — Lampros Tsontzos and Dimitrios Agravanis — will have to deal with American big man Aaron Pettway. He’s not as skilled as Nana Harding, who went for 24 points and 14 rebounds last week against Maroussi, but he’s definitely bigger: 6-11, 250 pounds.

The 32-year-old Pettway, who took up basketball while in the U.S. Air Force after high school, told the Greek league’s official website, esake.gr, that “we need a win” after two consecutive losses. PAOK coach Soulis Markopoulos credited Maroussi’s toughness and said he’s not underestimating them, despite their financial and personnel issues.

Maroussi’s starting point guard Yannis Gagaloudis did not make the trip (see previous post). He’s averaging 15 points per game, so that leaves Nestoras Kommatos as Maroussi’s lone serious scoring threat. He is just off the league lead in scoring, at 20 ppg, but PAOK might want to consider double — hell, triple-teaming him — all day. Kind of like the New England Patriots shutting down Hakeem Hicks and Victor Cruz, and making Mario Manningham beat them in the Super Bowl. That plan worked, right?

Former Boston Celtics player J.R. Giddens is questionable for PAOK with a wrist injury.

Maroussi staggers into next game; ex-Celtic Giddens questionable

Possibly the best news for winless Maroussi heading into its next game is players will be spared the indignity of two six-hour bus rides. Maroussi travels to Thessaloniki, where it faces PAOK (6-10) on Saturday. The cash-strapped club considered renting a bus to save a few bucks. Instead, it will fly, although departure from Athens is the morning of the game — hotels aren’t free, after all — rather than the night before.

Buzzkill alert: starting point guard Yannis Gagaloudis is not expected to make the trip, club officials said. Gagaloudis played two seasons for PAOK and claims the club still owes him 50,000 euro. That well-publicized dispute seems to be at the center of Gagaloudis’ preference to remain home. Because of Maroussi’s financial position — underpaying players all season — it has no leverage to force him to play. So Maroussi will send just five professionals — and a handful of amateurs from the junior team. Gagaloudis, a savvy but hot-tempered (see video ‘The Reaction’ below) veteran, has expressed his desire to leave Maroussi this season if he gets a good offer to play abroad.

That means more work for Lefteris Akepsimaidis, who played very well (12 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) with increased minutes last Saturday in an 89-81 loss to Ilysiakos.

PAOK topped Maroussi 71-69 back in November, led by Rashad Wright, who scored 17 points and sank clutch free throws late in the game. But he’s now playing in France.

J.R. Giddens, drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2008, scored 15 points for PAOK in that game, including a key dunk late in the fourth quarter. Giddens is averaging just over 8 points and nearly 6 rebounds per game.

Giddens missed one game in late January, reportedly sitting out because he hadn’t been paid — a common problem with many Greek clubs, including Maroussi. The dispute seems to have been resolved. Giddens played last weekend. However, a lingering wrist injury may limit his minutes against Maroussi.

PAOK’s top scorer is big man Dimos Dikoudis, who averages 15 points per game. Like Maroussi’s go-to guy Nestoras Kommatos (20 ppg), Dikoudis is 34 years old. He’ll be a handful for Maroussi’s teenaged centers, who have been forced to play significant roles because of recent departures (Frank Elegar, Dimitris Haritopoulos).

PAOK doesn’t like shooting 3-pointers, averaging just 11 attempts per game in its past five matches. Maroussi launched 21 attempts last Saturday.