LKL

Greek League is about to start in one week (16th of October) and things don’t look good here. After a League that never ended (because of the terrible things that happened in the 4th Final between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos), the one about to begin doesn’t leave much room for hope.

At least we know the teams that will be participating. If you started laughing thinking I’m exaggerating… don’t. Maroussi was the 14th team to get clearance to play in the league and that happened on Thursday morning. Thursday the 7th of October that is! Just 10 days before the start of the season.

Two other teams (AEK and Iraklis) got their certificate to play on 4th of October! As you see the league has many issues and problems. Recently, George Vasilakopoulos, former president of FIBA Europe and current president of Greek Basketball Federation, stated this: “I don’t believe that all 14 teams will be able to finish this season. Even if all 14 of them start it, some of them won’t be able to finish it because of financial problems”. Vasilakopoulos also blasted the Commission of Professional Sports, that waited so long for Maroussi to hand them a certificate to play in this year’s league, and didn’t reject their application a lot earlier (regularly the certificates are given in August!).

Budgets are very low this year for most of the teams. Most of them wait for the money from TV deal and the deal with OPAP (the betting service in Greece) to keep them “alive”. Even teams that have money, made cutbacks compared to last season.

Let’s see what all 14 teams want this year in A1, their targets:

Panathinaikos: Last year’s champions, even if that was done without the last game of the finals ever finishing. They want the triple-crown. Probably better than last year, their only problem is a potential weakness at the guard positions, where they lost Spanoulis and Jasikevicius. For me, the favorite for the Greek title and one of the 3 favorites for the Euroleague title. Budget as high as it was last season, with the signings of Sato, Maric and two Greeks of the national team (Kaimakoglou, Vougioukas). They still have an empty spot for another foreign player open.

Olympiacos: They changed coach (Ivkovic in place of Giannakis), they also changed perspective in the building of the team. Childress and Kleiza are gone, Spanoulis is in. Better in guard positions, theoretically worse in the forward positions. They lost Schortsanitis, but got Nesterovic and Nielsen. Second favorite for the Greek title (very close to Panathinaikos), one of the top 5-6 teams in Euroleague. First and foremost they want the Greek title, Euroleague title will be considered a bonus for both the team and the fans. Their budget is lower than last season, since they got rid of Childress’s contract (4.8 million euros per year).

Maroussi: A big question mark. Budget almost inexistent, will be running on fumes for most part of the season. They lost their place in Euroleague, a big shame for the club and for Greek sports. If they finish the season without being relegated and they still exist as a team, it will be a success for them. Their previous owner came to the rescue at the last minute so as to play at A1 this year. If he continues to do so, they might have a chance to stay alive and honor the colors of their team.

Panellinios: In a bad place as well. Their budget is very low. They lost their coach (Zouros, best coach of last year’s Eurocup). They will try to be competitive both in Greece and in Eurocup, but they seem worse than last year. They lost key players (Vougioukas, Charalambidis, Smith), they hope their new foreign players (Andre Brown, Derrick Byars and Lamont McIntosh) will be able to raise the level of the team. Papamakarios, Ostojic and Sklavos are very experienced, while Karathanasis (loan from Olympiacos) and Tsakarelis are hot prospects. Their new coach is good (Skourtopoulos), though he has not European experience. A place in the playoffs (first 8 teams) is their target in Greece. It’s very difficult to be in the top four again.

PAOK: Not so good financially, finds a way to survive. Huge fan base and nice arena. Their star player, of course, is Lazaros Papadopoulos, they have well known foreign players (Rawle Marshall, Donnie McGrath, Todor Gecevski), they have a great coach (Markopoulos), but they lack depth. Initial target is a place in the playoffs, they can be in the top four if they take advantage of the low level this year and their arena.

Kolossos Rhodes: They are better every year. A great coach (Sfairopoulos) leaves his mark on an island team, something rare in Greek league history. Better roster than last year, with important additions from the domestic market (Pat Calathes, brother of Nick among them), plus they kept Nikos Pappas. Sfairopoulos seems to have “an eye” for foreign players, so we are waiting for his new signings. Maybe it’s time for them to go to the top four, since they are very stable and solvent. Financially healthy, a team that is a “jewel” for the Greek league. Their initial target will be a place in the playoffs.

Aris: After a terrible season, Aris hopes to make a comeback. They lost key players (Betts, Dikoudis, Clarke), but also signed very good players, like Tapoutos or Chalarambidis. They also got hot prospects Verginis and Sloukas from Panathinaikos and Olympiacos (Verginis got injured a couple of weeks ago) and have Chrysikopoulos, who is considered to be the biggest talent in Greece now. Anthony Tucker, one of the new signings, seems to be a great player. Their target is the top four in Greece and I think that they have every right to aim that high. For me, the favorite for the 3rd place this year.

Panionios: After a good year and the 8th place, they stayed more or less the same. They got Batis and Sarikopoulos (from Ohio State), lost a couple of key players but have a very young team. Keith McLeod will be the star, with Jankovic following. They will fight for the playoffs, but their spot isn’t assured at all. I think it will be hard to get to the top 8 again.

Peristeri: Different coach (but a very good one) better team in theory. They got D. Papanikolaou, and a couple of other good Greek role players, plus they signed Mike King and Sensley. They aim for the playoffs and they might get there. Hard fight ahead though.

AEK: Lost a couple, got a couple. They signed veteran Terrel Castle and had a huge addition in Anthony Grundy (twice first scorer in total point in Greek League). They kept defensive powerhouse and swingman Kallinikidis, three point killer Nikolaidis and Dorkofikis. If they have no financial problems during the season they want to reach the playoffs. As long as the team stays together, they are the favorites to claim the 8th spot (or even higher if Maroussi and Panellinios can’t live up to the expectations).

Kavala: They kept veteran Milt Palacio, got a couple good Greek role players like Karapostolou. They also added Milan Jorovic. Many familiar faces from last season and the team that helped them stay in the division. They want to stay clear of relegation, but it will be a hard fight. A fight they can win though.

Ilisiakos: They got Papantoniou from AEK, kept Chatzis and hot prospect Kaselakis and added Anthony Myles, TJ Thompson and Jimmy Baxter as foreign players. They want to stay in the first division and they showed last year that they can do it. But it will be too tough to do it again.

Iraklis: They feature Arvydas Eitutavicius, the only Lithuanian player this year in Greece (so far at least). They also have Kevin Tolbert and a fistful of good role players. They say they “came to stay” after some bad years, but the season will be a war for them in order to succeed. A tough war.

Ikaros Kallitheas: The other team that came from the second division. They feature some very experienced players like Agadakos, Falekas and had a huge signing in Kalambokis that will help them a lot. They got young and promising US players as foreigners. Even though it’s their first season ever in the First Division, they might make it. They have the roster to avoid relegation.

That was a brief introduction to Greek teams ahead of the 2010-11 season in Greece. Most important thing that you have to keep in mind is that many of the above might change if financial problems start to kick in. And there are at least 6 teams that might not be able to stay financially healthy this season.

Nikos Kousoulis