Newsgroup: it.sport.basket
Titolo: BARGNANI

Seven-foot Andrea Bargnani, a.k.a. the Next Dirk, is the best player ever to 
come out of Italy -- and the best player in this year's NBA draft
Even the blind can pick up a major difference between European basketball 
games and the NBA: Our background noise is pumped out of speakers while 
theirs is entirely natural. On a Wednesday night in late May, in an ancient 
town near Venice, the fanatics of the Italian club Benetton Treviso shook 
the Palaverde arena with drumbeats, shrill whistles and trumpet blasts -- a 
cacophony not unlike a Roman traffic jam at rush hour. They were quiet only 
in the presence of their naturally endowed cheerleaders, dressed in white 
two-piece leotards, who performed routines that more closely resembled 
ballet than the silicone-shaking bump-and-grind acts of NBA dance teams. As 
they ran off the court, they brushed single-file past the Benetton general 
manager, Maurizio Gherardini, acknowledged on both sides of the Atlantic as 
the top executive in European basketball. "You can see that Maurizio is very 
smart," said Enrico Castorino, the club's press officer. "He stands where 
the cheerleaders have to go by him as they leave the court." Gherardini has 
a different explanation for his courtside position, claiming that he is too 
fidgety to sit through his team's games. And with good reason: On this 
night, he watched Benetton squander most of a 27-point lead over Lottomatica 
Roma in Game 1 of their Italian Serie A semifinals, a best-of-five showdown. 
With less than three minutes remaining, a Roma guard broke free for an 
apparent layup that would've cut the lead to six. From the blindside, 
however, came Andrea Bargnani, the most promising discovery of Gherardini's 
32-year career, to block the shot and start a fast break, which -- after 
clambering back to his feet and sprinting upcourt -- he capped off by 
draining a three-pointer. That key sequence in Benetton's 85-77 win 
displayed the myriad natural gifts that have made Bargnani basketball's 
equivalent of a five-tool player, the most intriguing prospect in this 
year's NBA draft.
Bargnani and his portly boss, who brings to mind a younger Tommy Lasorda, 
are the leaders of an Italian hoops renaissance from which the NBA will soon 
benefit. Once upon a time Italy was the capital of European roundball, a 
hoops haven for such players as Bill Bradley, who as a Rhodes scholar in the 
mid-1960s would fly down from Oxford on his off days to play for powerhouse 
Milan. But the country has produced few of its own international stars as 
other European countries -- Germany (Dirk Nowitzki), Spain (Pau Gasol) and 
France (Tony Parker) -- began exporting All-Stars to the U.S. That will 
change this month, as Italians celebrate not only the ascent of the 7-foot 
Bargnani, but also of Gherardini, who is about to become the first European 
executive to help manage an NBA team. In a delicious irony the Raptors, who 
have the first pick in next week's draft, will name Gherardini as their 
assistant G.M. before the draft. And a popular belief is that the Raptors 
will use that pick on Bargnani.
The 20-year-old Bargnani (bar-NYAH-nee) has been most often compared with 
Nowitzki for his length and long-range marksmanship. (He shot 38.1% from 
beyond the arc this season.) "He has that same slow, smooth release as 
Dirk," says a highly-regarded Eastern Conference executive who rates 
Bargnani as the top player in the draft. "And his lateral movement and 
overall athleticism is better than Dirk's."
Despite the imminent hiring of Gherardini, new Raptors president and G.M. 
Bryan Colangelo has been coy about his interest in Bargnani. In fact, 
according to several league executives, Colangelo has been entertaining 
offers for the pick in his quest to fill the team's biggest need: an 
experienced, up-tempo point guard. Few, though, are available. "If that 
doesn't happen, I think they'll use the pick on Tyrus Thomas," says a 
Western Conference exec. "Bargnani is the best player in the draft, but I 
think Bryan is looking to re-create what he had in Phoenix -- and if he 
takes Thomas, then he'll have the closest thing to Shawn Marion playing 
small forward with a revved-up motor alongside [Chris] Bosh and [Charlie] 
Villanueva."
At the beginning of this season Bargnani was playing only 10 to 15 minutes 
off the bench, but he became a starter midway through the year and is 
averaging 11.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and an Italian-league-leading 1.3 blocks 
per game in just 22 minutes per game. He is, scouts say, well-prepared for 
the rigors of the long NBA schedule. In addition to adding 23 pounds to his 
seven-foot, 248-pound frame, Bargnani has played in close to 80 preseason, 
regular-season and tournament games this year. Being a marked man has 
further steeled him. At the end of a crucial game in March against 
powerhouse Climamio Bologna, ex-Chicago Bulls center Dalibor Bagaric 
clotheslined Bargnani on a drive to the basket. As his teammates surrounded 
Bagaric and threatened retaliation, Bargnani got to his feet, rubbed his 
sore jaw and made two clinching free throws. Opposing fans have also played 
rough with him. During a return trip home to Rome for Game 2 of the Italian 
semis, Bargnani was greeted by 10,000 fans singing:
Pezzo de merda
Bargnani pezzo de merda
Pezzo de merda....
Which translates, roughly, to: "Bargnani is a piece of s---." The crowd also 
had some unkind things to say about his mother, Luisella Balducci, a high 
school English teacher sitting courtside. Luisella just laughed at the 
attention being paid to her son, who lives alone in a two-bedroom apartment 
in downtown Treviso and drives a sponsor-provided Volvo station wagon. This 
year he has grown a peach-fuzz beard in an ill-fated attempt to look older; 
more striking are his thick eyebrows and occasionally startled expression 
that give him more than a small resemblance to Charlie Chaplin.
Gherardini discovered Bargnani as a skinny 16-year-old playing for Stella 
Azzurra, a small club in Rome. Surprised to find a 6'9" teenager with the 
ball handling skills of a shooting guard, Gherardini spent six months 
winning over the player, his divorced parents and his Italian agent, Antonio 
Ricciotti, who will work in concert with Bargnani's U.S.-based agent, Leon 
Rose, the rep for LeBron James.
Because there is no draft for players in Italy, Gherardini must court 
players like an NCAA recruiter, the main difference being that he hands out 
the cash over the table rather than under it. (Bargnani is in the third year 
of a five-year contract that is estimated to be worth more than $2.5 
million.) He has been hustling for clients since he was a teenager. His 
first job in basketball was with a pro team in the Italian town of Forli, 
which needed an English speaker -- as a 16-year-old, Gherardini had lived as 
an exchange student in St. Louis -- to handle negotiations with Tony 
Gennari, a U.S. player. After landing Gennari before the start of the 
1973-74 season, Forli kept the 19-year-old Gherardini on as the player's 
translator. Later that season he was promoted to assistant coach, and within 
a few years he was running the team -- at a salary of around $20 per month.
It wasn't until the early '90s, when he was named G.M. of Benetton, that 
Gherardini began to make a much bigger name for himself. The international 
interest in Gherardini's talent-rich summer camps -- including the annual 
Reebok Euro Camp, which was attended by representatives of every NBA team 
two weeks ago in Treviso -- combined with a training staff that includes a 
strength coach, physiotherapist, dietician, chiropractor, bone specialist, 
masseur and two team physicians won over Bargnani, who passed up more 
lucrative offers from the Italian clubs Siena and Roma.
While many European clubs shun the NBA, Gherardini has opened his doors to 
the Americans. By allowing Bargnani to depart with an estimated $1 million 
buyout, he is encouraging Italian players to dream of the NBA. "My old team 
president in Forli used to tell me, 'At the end of the day, the big fish 
always eats up the small fish. But as a small fish you may be able to be 
eaten the right way,'" says Gherardini. "Instead of fighting the NBA, we 
could benefit by sharing." The Raptors, who hope to rely on international 
talent to compensate for the unpopularity of Canada among U.S. players, will 
lean heavily on Gherardini's connections that make him, according to Mavs 
president Donnie Nelson, the planet's most connected scout. "He's one of 
maybe five guys outside the U.S. who could step in and not skip a beat," 
says Nelson. "He's going to have no problem being a force in our league."
Will this cultural exchange program help Gherardini's young protégé become 
the only European to ever go No. 1? Gherardini will be among the first to 
know.
____________________
i tifosi di roma perchè ce l'avevano con lui?  ^__^
-- 
Ciao
Marcello
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Scuola di musica moderna "New Armony" organizza corsi di chitarra,
pianoforte, batteria e sassofono. Corsi speciali per femmine, bambini
e cafoni arricchiti. Imparati a suonare che stiamo per entrare in
Europa.
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 Marcello
Ciao 

 E poi è della Lazio.
Direi un punto a suo favore...
Ciao.
England. 

 England.
Ciao 

> Perchè non ha mai speso una parola buona per la città,
con quel traffico lì, con i parcheggi che "taluni" romani fanno (*)... ha 
ragione da vendere ^___^
(*) zona foro italico, il sabato delle semifinali del torneo di tennis 
maschile, 1 h per fare 500 metri di viale con una rotonda per colpa di una 
fiat 500 e di una renault megane parcheggate in mezzo alla rotonda.... non 
scherzo   ^___^


 million.)
uhm....
#728

 Marcello
Ciao 

 England.
quindi da Serie B ... laziale cambia canale
c'è sola la ROMA
Max
-- 
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ab...@newsland.it

 England.
quindi da Serie B ... laziale cambia canale
c'è solo la ROMA


> Se me lo dicevi, ti avrei fatto parcheggiare dentro.
anno prossimo, sabato delle semifinali.
Se vengo in auto mi considero parcheggiato!!


 Marcello
Ciao 

>Bargnani (bar-NYAH-nee) 
LOL!
Qual'è la fonte di questo articolo, se non sono indiscreto?
Saluti, Skuer

> Qual'è la fonte di questo articolo, se non sono indiscreto?
scegli fra:
-LE ORE MESE
-Sports Illustrated
-AGO E FILO
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 -AGO E FILO
Sei abbonato a tutte e 3, vero? ;-)
Se si, mi dai qualche dritta sul punto croce? ;-)
Ciao, H. :-)


 -AGO E FILO
Senza dubbio il primo.
Ciao.
England. 

 scherzo   ^___^
Ti avevo detto di andarci in treno, cazzone! ;-)
-- 
Togliere la tripla X per rispondermi - Remove triple X to reply

> Ti avevo detto di andarci in treno, cazzone! ;-)
a sto giro siamo andati in treno.
Quello bloccato nel traffico era l'autobus, il numero 32 mi sembra.
traffico assurdo creato da totale mancanza di parcheggi e grande "inventiva" 
degli aventi bisogno (di parcheggi).


 ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:bDvmg.11809$_J1.1...@twister2.libero.it...


 Quello bloccato nel traffico era l'autobus, il numero 32 mi sembra.
AH! Credevo ci fosse una fermata di metro lě vicino, ma evidentemente mi 
sbagliavo. Sai com'č, il mio tragitto tipico č Termini -> EUR Palasport 
e ritorno...
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