tinysands
2006-10-01, 10:46 AM
Blazing a Euro trail: Eight-day travelogue details nuances of Spurs' scouting
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100106.05N.BKNspurs.travelogue.11750bd.html
Web Posted: 09/30/2006 07:27 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
Editor's note: Staff writer Johnny Ludden accompanied Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) general manager R.C. Buford on a European scouting trip from Dec. 8-15, 2004. It was the first time Buford had seen French forward Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), who would later become the team's 2005 draft pick.
The following is a daily recount of their travels:
DAY 1: DEC. 8, 2004
Miles traveled: 4,037
Cities visited:
Paris, Pau (France)
Prospects seen:
Johan Petro, France, 7-0, C Uros Slokar, Slovenia, 6-10, F
This wasn't on the itinerary. Nowhere on the travel schedule does it say, "Wednesday, 10-10:30 a.m.: HARROWING CAB RIDE THROUGH STREETS OF PARIS."
Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) general manager R.C. Buford has arrived in the City of Lights for the start of an eight-day scouting trip that will take him to nine cities in three European countries, across more than 13,000 miles. He will watch seven games and attend two practices, one of which will help convince him to make an unheralded 18-year-old French forward the team's 2005 first-round draft pick.
Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), however, can wait. Buford has more immediate concerns, not the least of which has him wedged into the backseat of a Parisian taxi careening through traffic.
With his flight from New York arriving late into Charles de Gaulle Airport, Buford missed his connection to Pau, a small town in southwest France. He is supposed to watch Johan Petro, another French teenager, play this evening against Benetton Treviso. The current odds don't favor him making the game. The next flight leaves in less than two hours. From Paris' other airport, 30 miles across town.
Rush hour isn't helping.
The cab driver, for better or worse, abandons the snarling highway for the city's streets. Darting in and out of commuters, he slows only twice. The first time to point out the bridge where Princess Diana died (coincidentally, in a high-speed car accident). The second to dump (quite literally) his passengers at the designated terminal.
Buford makes the flight with time to spare. After arriving in Pau, he checks into the Mercure Villa Navarre, rubs off some of his jetlag with a two-hour nap, then arranges to meet Maurizio Gherardini, Benetton's general manager.
Gherardini has built Benetton into an Italian League power — as well as one of the Euroleague's top organizations — by studying how some of the NBA's best franchises are run. He implemented a strength and nutrition program, held camps for Europe's top young players and introduced coaching clinics. On more than a few occasions, Gherardini has visited the Spurs.
Tonight, however, Gherardini has bad news: Benetton's most intriguing prospect, Andrea Bargnani, a 19-year-old, 6-foot-10 forward, is injured and didn't make the trip. Two months earlier, Bargnani caught the NBA's attention by totaling 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks in an exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors.
A handful of scouts, including representatives from the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers, still come to the game to watch Petro. He doesn't disappoint. Though Petro's numbers are modest (10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes), he is aggressive and helps Pau upset Benetton.
At 18 years old, Petro packs more muscle on his wiry 7-foot frame than most U.S. high school prospects. Pau's owner is pleased with the performance, but thumps his chest as if to say he still has questions about Petro's heart.
By the end of the season, scouts will look back at the game against Benetton as one of Petro's best. Once a possible lottery selection, he drops to Seattle at No. 25.
Benetton's coach, Ettore Messina, meanwhile, is simmering over the loss outside the locker room. He smiles when Buford approaches.
Messina coached Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili) at Kinder Bologna, and the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) credit him for helping mold Ginobili into the tough-minded player he is today. If any European head coach is ever going to make the jump to the NBA, many observers predict it will be Messina.
Most European teams eat together after games, on the road and at home, and Messina and Gherardini invite Buford to join them. The meal is somber. The players chew on their chicken in silence while the coaches and Buford talk quietly at another table.
While Buford is the one on a scouting trip, Messina and Gherardini also quiz him about players who might fit well with Benetton.
"In this business," Gherardini says, "relationships are key."
That becomes even more evident 18 months later when the Toronto Raptors hire Gherardini as assistant general manager. The Raptors then use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft to take Bargnani, Benetton's young star, and sign forwards Uros Slokar and Jorge Garbajosa, two other former Benetton players.
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DAY 2: DEC. 9, 2004
Miles traveled: 1,301
City visited:
Belgrade (Serbia)
Prospects seen:
Uros Tripkovic, Serbia, 6-5, G
Kosta Perovic, Serbia, 7-2, C
Pedrag Samardziski, Macedonia, 7-1, C
Damir Omerhodzic, Croatia, 6-1, F
The atmosphere at Belgrade's Pionir Arena for tonight's meeting between Partizan and Cibona could pass for that of a late-season Spurs-Mavericks game.
Except that the smoke filling the arena is thicker than an early morning fog.
And guards with riot shields and attack dogs stand near each corner of the court.
And someone just threw an M-80 firecracker that exploded near Cibona's bench.
In the Euroleague, there are rivalries and there are blood feuds, and Partizan-Cibona certainly seems to be the latter.
Partizan, whose roster once included Vlade Divac and former Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) guard Zarko Paspalj, is Serbia's top professional team. Cibona, which produced Drazen Petrovic, perhaps the greatest European player ever, is Croatia's most storied club.
That the two countries were at war with each other a decade ago is not lost on the capacity crowd filling the 7,000-seat facility. Partizan's fans make Raider Nation look like Saturday afternoon soccer moms. Some are carrying "Vandal Boys" and "Black Death" signs. All are on their feet chanting, pausing only to take another drag on their cigarettes.
If there's a single Cibona supporter in the building, he has yet to show himself. With good reason. As the chant grows louder, Buford leans over and asks Milan Opacic, general manager of the Serbia and Montenegro Association of Basketball Coaches, to translate.
Opacic grins. "Kill all Croatians," he says.
* * *
The day began with a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call in Pau, followed by a flight to Paris and another to Belgrade.
The drive to the city center offered reminders of the region's war-torn past. Some of the buildings are still scarred from the 1999 NATO air strikes. At the Hyatt Regency Belgrade, guards frisk everyone who enters.
The security presence at Pionir Arena is even more noticeable. Its effectiveness, though, is up for debate.
Pocket change, evidently, makes a good projectile to hurl at players. Some fans have even been known to first heat their coins with a lighter. When the officials stop the game to have the public-address announcer ask the crowd to stop throwing things, another firecracker goes off near Cibona's bench.
Almost every NBA player who has spent time in Europe has a story about hostile crowds. Tony Parker (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tony_parker) said he once played in a game where the fans threw cell phones. Teams in Greece have sometimes been ordered to play in an empty arena because of past fan violence.
Buford, however, has come here not to watch the crowd. Partizan reserve guard Uros Tripkovic seems to be the best of the prospects playing, but he isn't expected to stay in the draft until 2007. The team's starting center, Predrag Samardziski, picks up three fouls the first three times he plays defense. His 7-2 backup tonight, Kosta Perovic, is more talented and will go on to be a future second-round pick of Golden State.
Cibona forward Damir Omerhodzic has attracted some interest from scouts. But others worry his hands are too small and arms too short. A year and a half later, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) draft Omerhodzic, who, by then, has changed his last name to Markota, and immediately trade him to Milwaukee for a future second-round pick.
Former Gonzaga guard Blake Stepp gives Partizan the lead in the final minute with his fifth 3-pointer and Perovic follows by putting in an offensive rebound. After Cibona ties the game with a 3-pointer, Perovic loses the ball.
With the score tied and only 18.7 seconds remaining, Partizan intentionally fouls Cibona guard Branimir Longin. It's a curious strategy, but a common one among European coaches who would rather control their own fate with one last offensive possession rather than let their defense dictate the game's outcome.
The plan backfires when Longin makes one of his free throws and Partizan misses a 3-pointer. As the buzzer sounds, Cibona's players immediately sprint off the court under a hailstorm of coins, batteries and at least one egg.
Stepp finishes with a game-high 20 points. A little more than a month earlier, the Minnesota Timberwolves cut him in training camp. He decided to begin his professional career in Europe because the money is substantially better than playing in the U.S. minor leagues.
"I knew it was going to be crazy," Stepp says, "But I didn't know someone could have their ear blown off.
"But that's how it goes. These countries don't seem to like each other very much."
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(Johnny Ludden/Express-News)
Fans at Belgrade's Pionir Arena show their rabid support for Partizan by displaying banners at a 2004 game against Cibona.
DAY 3: DEC. 10, 2004
Miles traveled: 9
City visited:
Belgrade (Serbia)
Prospects seen:
Nemanja Aleksandrov, Serbia, 6-10, F
Mile Ilic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 7-1, C
Sleep, at last. No planes or trains. Just one early evening date to watch a local Adriatic League team practice.
Reflex's gym is about 15 kilometers outside Belgrade. It would pass for the standard U.S. high school facility except there's little more than a foot of room between the baseline and the wall. If a player can pass in these cramped conditions, he can pass anywhere.
Reflex's star player is stretching under one of the baskets. Unlike some of his younger teammates, Reggie Freeman doesn't spend much time dreaming of the NBA these days.
After averaging 15.9 points in four seasons at the University of Texas, Freeman wasn't drafted. He played in the CBA for two years then bounced from Turkey to the ABA to Venezuela to Croatia to Italy to France before finally ending up here. Have basketball, will travel.
Freeman likes Belgrade, and Belgrade likes him. During the 2003-04 season, he played through a stress fracture to lead Reflex to the Adriatic League title. The team thanked him by retiring his No. 5 jersey — even though he wasn't retiring.
"The NBA was definitely one of my aspirations, but I've had a good career over here," Freeman says. "You gain a certain respect about the players here: They can all shoot and they all know the game."
One example is Reflex's 17-year-old Next Big Thing, Nemanja Aleksandrov. A 6-10 forward, Aleksandrov has been breathlessly described in some Internet reports as a combination of Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett. Some scouts think he has already received a seven-figure shoe contract.
This much is certain: Aleksandrov made a name for himself in the summer of 2003 at a big man camp in Treviso, Italy. He was less impressive the following year in the Reebok Eurocamp and the Under 18 Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, but still has the NBA's attention.
Aleksandrov is quick for a big man, can shoot the 3-pointer and handles the ball well. His critics, however, don't think he plays hard enough. Any team thinking it's getting the next Nowitzki could end up with Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
Mile Ilic, a 7-1, 20-year-old reserve center for Reflex who is working on his jumper at one of the baskets, also has drawn interest. He has played limited minutes on the senior level, but has NBA size.
Despite early speculation he could be the top pick in 2005, Aleksandrov isn't sure he'll stay in the draft. He watched one of his countrymen, Darko Milicic, get picked second in 2003, then spend his first season sitting on the end of the Detroit Pistons' bench. That didn't look like much fun.
"There's a lot of pressure, but I'm trying not to think much about (the draft)," Aleksandrov says. "I have to work on my weight and improve my defense. It might be better for me to stay here."
As it turned out, Aleksandrov did just that. He pulled out of the draft. After an ACL injury continued to keep him sidelined for the entire 2005-06 season, he again entered his name in the draft then removed it.
And Aleksandrov's less-heralded teammate? Ilic stayed in the 2005 draft and was taken by New Jersey in the second round. He will be on the Nets' roster this season.
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DAY 4: DEC. 11, 2004
Miles traveled: 1,488
City visited:
Malaga (Spain)
Prospects seen:
Rudy Fernandez, Spain, 6-6, G
Jorge Garbajosa, Spain, 6-9, F
Walter Hermann, Argentina, 6-9, F
Fran Vasquez, Spain, 6-1, F
For future reference, the currency exchange desk at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport isn't open at 5 a.m. Not that it matters. A note on the window says they aren't accepting Serbian dinars.
It's a telling sign about the local economy when a country won't even take its own money. Apparently, it's rare to find a scout who doesn't have $200 worth of dinars stashed in a dresser drawer back home.
The next stop is Malaga, Spain, a beautiful southern coastal city known for being the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. Getting there requires a two-hour flight to Milan, Italy, a two-hour layover and another 2 1/2-hour flight, leaving just enough time for a late lunch and a quick nap.
The local team, Unicaja, enjoys one of the strongest fan bases in European basketball with its new 10,000-seat arena, Palacio de Deportes, routinely filled to capacity. Joining the long line of lively fans filing into the building for tonight's Spanish League (ACB) game against DKV Joventut are scouts from Golden State, Atlanta, Indiana, Washington and Houston.
Two of Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili)'s teammates from Argentina's national team, Pepe Sanchez and Walter Herrmann, play for Unicaja. So does Jorge Garbajosa, one of Europe's top power forwards. But while Garbajosa (Toronto) and Herrmann (Charlotte) will both go on to sign free-agent NBA contracts, the scouts are eyeing one of their younger teammates: 6-10 forward Fran Vazquez. Joventut's 19-year-old shooting guard, Rudy Fernandez, also has started appearing on draft boards.
J.R. Bremer, a productive reserve guard for the Boston Celtics during the 2002-03 season, leads Unicaja to an 82-72 victory with 26 points, but it's Garbajosa and Vazquez who make the big plays down the stretch. With Queen's "We Will Rock You" blaring through the arena's speakers and the fans buzzing Joventut's bench with paper airplanes, Garbajosa sticks a clutch 3-pointer to secure the game.
Vazquez started and played well in the first quarter, but didn't reappear until the second half. This isn't uncommon. One coach apparently has a reputation for paying too much attention to stats. If you're a 50 percent shooter and go 4 for 4 in the first half, there's a chance you'll spend the rest of the game on the bench because he thinks you're due to miss your next four shots.
Fernandez scores a team-high 19 points and keeps Joventut in the game with a late 3-pointer. He follows, however, with a foul on Bremer. The scouts take note when he hangs his head and walks back to the huddle.
Fernandez has NBA 3-point range and is athletic enough to finish strong at the rim. No one doubts his potential, but he's going to have to pack more than 170 pounds on his lanky 6-6 frame to survive in the NBA.
Fernandez will declare for the 2005 and '06 drafts, but remove his name each time. Now 21, he'll again be one of the top international prospects for '07.
Vazquez, meanwhile, impressed many of the scouts with his performance against Joventut. His stock will continue to rise, enough so that, six months later, Orlando makes him the 11th pick.
Vazquez will fly to Florida and announce he's excited to play for the Magic. Then he'll return to Spain and sign a four-year, $8.3 million contract with Akasvayu Girona, stunning Orlando officials who planned to immediately play him next to Dwight Howard.
Vazquez could still end up in a Magic uniform someday. But his here-today-gone-tomorrow act is another reminder that finding a good player is only the first step to getting a good player.
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(Johnny Ludden/Express-News)
Girona plays host to Pamesa Valencia, featuring future Spur Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto), in an early afternoon Spanish league game in 2004.
DAY 5: DEC. 12, 2004
Miles traveled: 604
Cities visited:
Barcelona, Girona (Spain)
Prospects seen:
Dejan Bodiroga, Serbia, 6-8, G
Pat Burke, Ireland, 6-11, C/F
Mickael Gelabale, France, 6-7, G/F
Juan Carlos Navarro, Spain, 6-3, G
Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto), Argentina, 6-10, F
Igor Rakocevic, Serbia, 6-3, G
The wakeup call comes at 5:30 a.m., late by this trip's standards. The travel, however, is easy enough: A 90-minute flight to Barcelona.
After dropping his bags off at the hotel, Buford is met by Gerard Darnés, a promising young Spanish agent with U1st Sports. Darnés played a couple of seasons at McLennan Community College in Waco before returning to Spain to play professionally.
Darnés volunteers to drive Buford an hour north to Girona, which is playing host to an early afternoon game against Pamesa Valencia.
Valencia has one of the highest payrolls in Europe, having signed Igor Rakocevic, a sharp-shooting Serbian guard who played 42 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2002-03 season, and Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto), an Argentine forward/center who is good friends with Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili). The money seems to be well spent: Not long after the game starts, Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) throws a backward bounce pass between his legs to Rakocevic, who drills a 3-pointer as he's fouled.
Girona's point guard, Lucas Victoriano, was nearly drafted by the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) in 1999. The team had a tough time deciding whether to use a late second-round pick on him or another Argentine: Ginobili. Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) coach Gregg Popovich seemed hesitant about playing a foreign point guard, so Ginobili became the choice.
Victoriano's career flat-lined. Ginobili would go on to help the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) win two championships.
Despite a spirited performance by former Indiana/Iowa standout Luke Recker, who tries to keep Girona close with six 3-pointers, Valencia pulls away in the second half. Rakocevic finishes with 34 points. Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) adds 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Afterward, Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) says he will probably take one last crack at joining the NBA at the end of the season. A previous tryout with New York didn't go well. Ginobili's recent success, however, should help.
"He open big doors for Argentina players," Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) says. "(NBA) teams trust Argentina players now."
Seven months later, to his surprise, Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) will get a call from Buford offering him a three-year, $7.5 million contract.
* * *
After a stop for lunch, Darnés drives Buford back to see FC Barcelona play rival Real Madrid. A few hours earlier and 620 kilometers to the west, Real's fútbol stadium had to be evacuated because of a bomb threat, never a good omen when one is about to enter a crowded arena.
Barcelona's Palau Blaugrana is filled with a sea of red and blue. After Barca, as the team is known, makes its first basket, confetti falls to the floor. Most of the fans continue to stand and sing for the remainder of the game.
Barca's star is Dejan Bodiroga, a 31-year-old Serbian guard widely considered one of the best players to never play in the NBA. Ginobili admits to patterning his signature crossover move from that of Bodiroga, who likes to go right then bring the ball back with his left hand. Unlike a normal crossover dribble, Bodiroga doesn't change his own direction, but rather that of his defender.
Juan Carlos Navarro, Barca's other talented guard, was drafted by Washington in 2002, but has remained in Europe. Marc Gasol, the 19-year-old, 7-foot younger brother of Memphis forward Pau Gasol, is a reserve center for the team.
Many of the scouts in attendance have come to see Mickael Gelabale, Real's athletic 6-7 French swingman. Gelabale has quick feet and hands and is an active defender, evident when he pokes the ball away for a steal and drives for a layup. Buford likes what he sees. Apparently so did Seattle, which drafts Gelabale in the second round.
Pat Burke, Real's Irish center who will go on to play for the Phoenix Suns, hits a 10-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer to win the game. As the Real players rush off the floor in celebration, a small pocket of their fans dance in the stands.
Someone starts lighting road flares and throwing them toward the court. ThunderStix, it seems, are too passé.
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DAY 6: DEC. 13, 2004
Miles traveled: 679
City visited:
Le Havre (France)
Prospect seen:
Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), France, 6-10, F
Getting to Le Havre requires taking a 48-seat jet to Lyon then hopping on an even smaller prop plane. While Le Havre plays in France's top professional league, it's not a routine stop for NBA scouts.
Le Havre, known as "La Porte Océane," is in northern France on the mouth of the Seine. The town, whose population hovers just under 200,000, was largely destroyed in the Battle of Normandy before being rebuilt.
Buford has come here not to study history, however, but to look for a piece of the Spurs' future.
Five months earlier, Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) assistant general manager Sam Presti had returned from the Under-18 European Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, raving about a young, athletic forward who had played well next to his more-heralded teammate, Johan Petro. The kid's name was Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), and Presti continued to follow him after Le Havre's season started. Now, Buford wanted to see for himself.
Le Havre wasn't playing until the end of the week, but that didn't bother Buford. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) wasn't getting large minutes anyway. Sometimes it's better to watch a player in a practice setting with his teammates.
"You see how coachable he is, you see how hard he played in practice," Buford says. "You see how his teammates react to him when there's not everything going on around him."
Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s size and athleticism immediately stood out. He obviously wasn't strong enough to play in the NBA yet, but he was long (at least 6-10) and quick.
The coaches put Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) and his teammates through some one-on-one drills on the perimeter, which gave Buford a chance to see his skills away from the basket. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s jump shot needed work, but that was a given: He had played basketball for only four years. A coach in Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s hometown of Rouen plucked him out of the schoolyard after seeing him tower above his classmates.
"I'm not flashy player," Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) says. "I'm from France and nobody know me."
That wasn't entirely true. Gonzaga had recruited Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) after seeing it was about to lose his friend, Ronny Turiaf, to the NBA. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s performance in Zaragoza also peaked the interest of a few international scouts besides Presti.
Buford saw enough of Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s potential to ensure the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) would continue to follow him closely. The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) had been drafting at the bottom of the first round long enough to know how hard it is to find a big man with that kind of upside.
Danny Ferry, the Spurs' director of basketball operations, would make his own trip to Europe to watch Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi). Coach Gregg Popovich was convinced after seeing film of Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) spin by a defender and throw down an emphatic dunk.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) assured Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) they would use their first-round pick on him if he stayed in the draft. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) agreed, and on June 28, they took him at No. 28, the same place they drafted another French teenager four years earlier — Tony Parker (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tony_parker).
Unlike Parker, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) knew Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) wasn't ready for the NBA, so they put together a two- to three-year plan to help him develop. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) wouldn't take up salary-cap room while he stayed in Europe. Nor would the clock start on his rookie contract.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) won't know what they have in Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) until 2007, at the earliest. His recent summer-league performance in Utah was inconsistent, good one day, poor the next, but most of his observers agreed on one thing: He had a presence.
Buford noticed as much watching Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) practice in Le Havre.
"He seemed to be there for a purpose," Buford would later say. "He wasn't just a happy-go-lucky 18-year-old."
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(Johnny Ludden/Express-News)
French team Dijon, featuring Spurs' draft pick Viktor Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/), plays host to Greece's Ionikos N.F. at the town's Palais des Sports in 2004.
DAY 7: DEC. 14, 2004
Miles traveled: 318
City visited:
Dijon (France)
Prospects seen:
Boniface Ndong, Senegal, 7-0, C
Viktor Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/), Republic of Georgia, 6-8, F
After spending the previous day watching their possible future draft pick, Buford wants to check on one of the Spurs' past selections. Viktor Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/), an 18-year-old small forward taken in the second round five months earlier, is playing in Dijon.
After taking a two-hour train ride to Paris, hailing a taxi to switch stations and taking another two-hour train ride, Buford arrives in Dijon — the same Dijon of mustard fame.
Dijon is playing host to a EuroCup game against Greece's Ionikos N.F. at the town's Palais des Sports. Dijon's blue-and-white fan club is noticeably smaller than that of the European powerhouses. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in spirit: A few fans beat drums throughout the game and one man shouts encouragement through a police bullhorn.
Though Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) is noticeably younger than most of his teammates, he has a good feel for the game. When Ionikos' Saddi Washington flashes open in the corner, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) is able to make up ground quickly with his long wingspan and block the shot. A couple of minutes later, he makes a nice pass under the basket only to see it sail out of bounds when his teammate doesn't cut.
Dijon's center, Boniface Ndong, who would go on to play for the Los Angeles Clippers the following year, dominates most of the game. The real excitement, however, comes from the teams' coaches. After Ionikos' Zeygolis Giorgos argues a call with the officials, Dijon's Nicolas Faure yells at him to stop arguing. Giorgos has to be restrained from going after Faure.
The NBA should take notes. Who wouldn't pay to see a cage match between Popovich and Utah's Jerry Sloan?
Dijon holds on for a narrow victory, and the club president invites Buford to join him at the team's celebratory dinner. They both kid Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) about not eating enough. Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) is listed as weighing 200 pounds, but that might be 20 to 30 pounds too generous.
Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) both looks and acts like a teenager. Born in the Republic of Georgia, he was surprised to even be in the NBA draft, let alone get picked.
At 15, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) was playing in a junior national tournament when a representative for New York's Globe Institute of Technology invited him and a teammate to join the school's junior-college team. The two, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) says, were told they would have to pay for a plane ticket to the United States, but would be reimbursed.
After agreeing, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) and his friend took a 15-hour flight to New York then went straight from the airport to practice. "On your first day you can't say, 'Oh, I'm tired,'" he says. "The coach will think you're lazy."
The two players, who knew only a few words of English between them, were given a small dorm room to share. Unimpressed by the Spartan accommodations — Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) described the room as "trashed" — they both decided to return home as soon as they were paid back for their airfare.
"It was always, 'Next week, next week, next week,'" Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) says. "So we went to the (school) president and he said, 'We don't pay for that.'
"We finally just decided to leave. Luckily we had bought a return ticket."
Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) returned home and played for a local amateur team before signing with Dijon. As the 2004 draft approached, his agent told him a few teams were showing interest. Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) wanted to wait at least another year before declaring, but was told he didn't have a choice: By playing for a U.S. college, even briefly, then turning pro in Europe, he had automatically entered himself in the draft.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) took advantage of the loophole and, in a prearranged deal, had Atlanta choose Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) with its 42nd pick in return for a future second-round selection and cash. Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/)'s agent called him with the news.
"It was the middle of the night and I was half asleep," Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) says. "When my mom called the next morning, I told her, 'I think I was drafted by the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) No. 42 last night, but I can't remember clear. It might have been a dream.'"
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DAY 8: DEC. 15, 2004
Miles traveled: 710
City visited:
Vitorio (Spain)
Prospects seen:
Jose Calderon, Spain, 6-3, G
Luis Scola, Argentina, 6-9, F
Tiago Splitter (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tiago_splitter/), Brazil, 6-11, F
It took another train ride to Paris, a two-hour flight to Bilbao and an hour drive south, but Buford has reached his final stop. Vitoria, located in the heart of Spain's Basque Country, is home to Tau Ceramica, one of the Euroleague's best teams, but, more importantly, also home to Luis Scola, one of the best players not in the NBA.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) would like to change that. They drafted Scola in the second round in 2002 and hope to sign him after the season. A hefty buyout in Scola's Spanish contract, however, has them worried.
Buford has come here, in part, to better assess the Spurs' chances of landing their former draft pick.
A bullish 6-9 forward, Scola starred alongside Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili) in Argentina's recent gold-medal run at the Athens Olympics. Like Ginobili, he plays with a fire and passion that separates him from most players.
The Olympics, however, have taken a toll on Scola, affording him little opportunity to rest before having to begin training with Tau. His fatigue is evident in tonight's game against Turkey's Ulker Istanbul. After coming off the bench late in the first quarter, he misses a layup, throws away a pass and has the ball stripped from his hands.
Most of the scouts in attendance have come to see Tiago Splitter (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tiago_splitter/), a 19-year-old, 6-11 forward from Brazil. A strong rebounder and shot blocker who runs the floor well, Splitter (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tiago_splitter/) pulled his name out of the 2004 draft when he couldn't get a guarantee from a lottery team. He will end up doing the same in each of the next two drafts.
Guard Jose Calderon, who will go on to sign a free-agent contract with Toronto at the end of the season, helps keep Tau in the game, but it's not enough. Paced by 27 points from Serkan Erdogan, Ulker goes on to win 81-71. Scola is further slowed by foul trouble in the second half and finishes with four points, five rebounds and four turnovers.
After changing, Scola stops briefly to speak with Buford. He is frustrated with his performance, but even more so by Tau's fourth loss in five games.
A Spanish reporter recognizes Buford and quizzes him about his plans to sign Scola. Buford is used to this. Every time a Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) official steps foot in Spain, it generates "Scola to leave for NBA" headlines.
For now, though, Scola is worried only about getting Tau righted.
"The NBA is still a dream for me," he says. "I think it will be until I make it."
Buford writes off Scola's struggles as a rare bad night. Though the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) have some concerns on how Scola will fit next to Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan), considering both like to play in the post, they think he could be a productive reserve in the NBA. Their biggest worry is signing him to an affordable contract.
As he leaves the arena, Buford doesn't feel any more optimistic. Scola's contract doesn't specify a buyout for being a second-round pick, so Tau's owners claim the first-round figure applies: a staggering 12 million euros.
"It's not going to be easy," Buford says, a comment that will continue to ring true 18 months later.
Buford walks out the arena's door and into the crisp Spanish night. He will fly back to the United States the next morning. The news about Scola was disappointing, but it didn't spoil the 13,000-mile trip.
Two days earlier, in a small gym in northern France, he saw what he needed to see.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100106.05N.BKNspurs.travelogue.11750bd.html
Web Posted: 09/30/2006 07:27 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
Editor's note: Staff writer Johnny Ludden accompanied Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) general manager R.C. Buford on a European scouting trip from Dec. 8-15, 2004. It was the first time Buford had seen French forward Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), who would later become the team's 2005 draft pick.
The following is a daily recount of their travels:
DAY 1: DEC. 8, 2004
Miles traveled: 4,037
Cities visited:
Paris, Pau (France)
Prospects seen:
Johan Petro, France, 7-0, C Uros Slokar, Slovenia, 6-10, F
This wasn't on the itinerary. Nowhere on the travel schedule does it say, "Wednesday, 10-10:30 a.m.: HARROWING CAB RIDE THROUGH STREETS OF PARIS."
Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) general manager R.C. Buford has arrived in the City of Lights for the start of an eight-day scouting trip that will take him to nine cities in three European countries, across more than 13,000 miles. He will watch seven games and attend two practices, one of which will help convince him to make an unheralded 18-year-old French forward the team's 2005 first-round draft pick.
Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), however, can wait. Buford has more immediate concerns, not the least of which has him wedged into the backseat of a Parisian taxi careening through traffic.
With his flight from New York arriving late into Charles de Gaulle Airport, Buford missed his connection to Pau, a small town in southwest France. He is supposed to watch Johan Petro, another French teenager, play this evening against Benetton Treviso. The current odds don't favor him making the game. The next flight leaves in less than two hours. From Paris' other airport, 30 miles across town.
Rush hour isn't helping.
The cab driver, for better or worse, abandons the snarling highway for the city's streets. Darting in and out of commuters, he slows only twice. The first time to point out the bridge where Princess Diana died (coincidentally, in a high-speed car accident). The second to dump (quite literally) his passengers at the designated terminal.
Buford makes the flight with time to spare. After arriving in Pau, he checks into the Mercure Villa Navarre, rubs off some of his jetlag with a two-hour nap, then arranges to meet Maurizio Gherardini, Benetton's general manager.
Gherardini has built Benetton into an Italian League power — as well as one of the Euroleague's top organizations — by studying how some of the NBA's best franchises are run. He implemented a strength and nutrition program, held camps for Europe's top young players and introduced coaching clinics. On more than a few occasions, Gherardini has visited the Spurs.
Tonight, however, Gherardini has bad news: Benetton's most intriguing prospect, Andrea Bargnani, a 19-year-old, 6-foot-10 forward, is injured and didn't make the trip. Two months earlier, Bargnani caught the NBA's attention by totaling 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks in an exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors.
A handful of scouts, including representatives from the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers, still come to the game to watch Petro. He doesn't disappoint. Though Petro's numbers are modest (10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes), he is aggressive and helps Pau upset Benetton.
At 18 years old, Petro packs more muscle on his wiry 7-foot frame than most U.S. high school prospects. Pau's owner is pleased with the performance, but thumps his chest as if to say he still has questions about Petro's heart.
By the end of the season, scouts will look back at the game against Benetton as one of Petro's best. Once a possible lottery selection, he drops to Seattle at No. 25.
Benetton's coach, Ettore Messina, meanwhile, is simmering over the loss outside the locker room. He smiles when Buford approaches.
Messina coached Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili) at Kinder Bologna, and the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) credit him for helping mold Ginobili into the tough-minded player he is today. If any European head coach is ever going to make the jump to the NBA, many observers predict it will be Messina.
Most European teams eat together after games, on the road and at home, and Messina and Gherardini invite Buford to join them. The meal is somber. The players chew on their chicken in silence while the coaches and Buford talk quietly at another table.
While Buford is the one on a scouting trip, Messina and Gherardini also quiz him about players who might fit well with Benetton.
"In this business," Gherardini says, "relationships are key."
That becomes even more evident 18 months later when the Toronto Raptors hire Gherardini as assistant general manager. The Raptors then use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft to take Bargnani, Benetton's young star, and sign forwards Uros Slokar and Jorge Garbajosa, two other former Benetton players.
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DAY 2: DEC. 9, 2004
Miles traveled: 1,301
City visited:
Belgrade (Serbia)
Prospects seen:
Uros Tripkovic, Serbia, 6-5, G
Kosta Perovic, Serbia, 7-2, C
Pedrag Samardziski, Macedonia, 7-1, C
Damir Omerhodzic, Croatia, 6-1, F
The atmosphere at Belgrade's Pionir Arena for tonight's meeting between Partizan and Cibona could pass for that of a late-season Spurs-Mavericks game.
Except that the smoke filling the arena is thicker than an early morning fog.
And guards with riot shields and attack dogs stand near each corner of the court.
And someone just threw an M-80 firecracker that exploded near Cibona's bench.
In the Euroleague, there are rivalries and there are blood feuds, and Partizan-Cibona certainly seems to be the latter.
Partizan, whose roster once included Vlade Divac and former Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) guard Zarko Paspalj, is Serbia's top professional team. Cibona, which produced Drazen Petrovic, perhaps the greatest European player ever, is Croatia's most storied club.
That the two countries were at war with each other a decade ago is not lost on the capacity crowd filling the 7,000-seat facility. Partizan's fans make Raider Nation look like Saturday afternoon soccer moms. Some are carrying "Vandal Boys" and "Black Death" signs. All are on their feet chanting, pausing only to take another drag on their cigarettes.
If there's a single Cibona supporter in the building, he has yet to show himself. With good reason. As the chant grows louder, Buford leans over and asks Milan Opacic, general manager of the Serbia and Montenegro Association of Basketball Coaches, to translate.
Opacic grins. "Kill all Croatians," he says.
* * *
The day began with a 4:30 a.m. wakeup call in Pau, followed by a flight to Paris and another to Belgrade.
The drive to the city center offered reminders of the region's war-torn past. Some of the buildings are still scarred from the 1999 NATO air strikes. At the Hyatt Regency Belgrade, guards frisk everyone who enters.
The security presence at Pionir Arena is even more noticeable. Its effectiveness, though, is up for debate.
Pocket change, evidently, makes a good projectile to hurl at players. Some fans have even been known to first heat their coins with a lighter. When the officials stop the game to have the public-address announcer ask the crowd to stop throwing things, another firecracker goes off near Cibona's bench.
Almost every NBA player who has spent time in Europe has a story about hostile crowds. Tony Parker (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tony_parker) said he once played in a game where the fans threw cell phones. Teams in Greece have sometimes been ordered to play in an empty arena because of past fan violence.
Buford, however, has come here not to watch the crowd. Partizan reserve guard Uros Tripkovic seems to be the best of the prospects playing, but he isn't expected to stay in the draft until 2007. The team's starting center, Predrag Samardziski, picks up three fouls the first three times he plays defense. His 7-2 backup tonight, Kosta Perovic, is more talented and will go on to be a future second-round pick of Golden State.
Cibona forward Damir Omerhodzic has attracted some interest from scouts. But others worry his hands are too small and arms too short. A year and a half later, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) draft Omerhodzic, who, by then, has changed his last name to Markota, and immediately trade him to Milwaukee for a future second-round pick.
Former Gonzaga guard Blake Stepp gives Partizan the lead in the final minute with his fifth 3-pointer and Perovic follows by putting in an offensive rebound. After Cibona ties the game with a 3-pointer, Perovic loses the ball.
With the score tied and only 18.7 seconds remaining, Partizan intentionally fouls Cibona guard Branimir Longin. It's a curious strategy, but a common one among European coaches who would rather control their own fate with one last offensive possession rather than let their defense dictate the game's outcome.
The plan backfires when Longin makes one of his free throws and Partizan misses a 3-pointer. As the buzzer sounds, Cibona's players immediately sprint off the court under a hailstorm of coins, batteries and at least one egg.
Stepp finishes with a game-high 20 points. A little more than a month earlier, the Minnesota Timberwolves cut him in training camp. He decided to begin his professional career in Europe because the money is substantially better than playing in the U.S. minor leagues.
"I knew it was going to be crazy," Stepp says, "But I didn't know someone could have their ear blown off.
"But that's how it goes. These countries don't seem to like each other very much."
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/D_IMAGE.10dcf9c674e.93.88.fa.d0.32263e6b.jpg
(Johnny Ludden/Express-News)
Fans at Belgrade's Pionir Arena show their rabid support for Partizan by displaying banners at a 2004 game against Cibona.
DAY 3: DEC. 10, 2004
Miles traveled: 9
City visited:
Belgrade (Serbia)
Prospects seen:
Nemanja Aleksandrov, Serbia, 6-10, F
Mile Ilic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 7-1, C
Sleep, at last. No planes or trains. Just one early evening date to watch a local Adriatic League team practice.
Reflex's gym is about 15 kilometers outside Belgrade. It would pass for the standard U.S. high school facility except there's little more than a foot of room between the baseline and the wall. If a player can pass in these cramped conditions, he can pass anywhere.
Reflex's star player is stretching under one of the baskets. Unlike some of his younger teammates, Reggie Freeman doesn't spend much time dreaming of the NBA these days.
After averaging 15.9 points in four seasons at the University of Texas, Freeman wasn't drafted. He played in the CBA for two years then bounced from Turkey to the ABA to Venezuela to Croatia to Italy to France before finally ending up here. Have basketball, will travel.
Freeman likes Belgrade, and Belgrade likes him. During the 2003-04 season, he played through a stress fracture to lead Reflex to the Adriatic League title. The team thanked him by retiring his No. 5 jersey — even though he wasn't retiring.
"The NBA was definitely one of my aspirations, but I've had a good career over here," Freeman says. "You gain a certain respect about the players here: They can all shoot and they all know the game."
One example is Reflex's 17-year-old Next Big Thing, Nemanja Aleksandrov. A 6-10 forward, Aleksandrov has been breathlessly described in some Internet reports as a combination of Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett. Some scouts think he has already received a seven-figure shoe contract.
This much is certain: Aleksandrov made a name for himself in the summer of 2003 at a big man camp in Treviso, Italy. He was less impressive the following year in the Reebok Eurocamp and the Under 18 Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, but still has the NBA's attention.
Aleksandrov is quick for a big man, can shoot the 3-pointer and handles the ball well. His critics, however, don't think he plays hard enough. Any team thinking it's getting the next Nowitzki could end up with Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
Mile Ilic, a 7-1, 20-year-old reserve center for Reflex who is working on his jumper at one of the baskets, also has drawn interest. He has played limited minutes on the senior level, but has NBA size.
Despite early speculation he could be the top pick in 2005, Aleksandrov isn't sure he'll stay in the draft. He watched one of his countrymen, Darko Milicic, get picked second in 2003, then spend his first season sitting on the end of the Detroit Pistons' bench. That didn't look like much fun.
"There's a lot of pressure, but I'm trying not to think much about (the draft)," Aleksandrov says. "I have to work on my weight and improve my defense. It might be better for me to stay here."
As it turned out, Aleksandrov did just that. He pulled out of the draft. After an ACL injury continued to keep him sidelined for the entire 2005-06 season, he again entered his name in the draft then removed it.
And Aleksandrov's less-heralded teammate? Ilic stayed in the 2005 draft and was taken by New Jersey in the second round. He will be on the Nets' roster this season.
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DAY 4: DEC. 11, 2004
Miles traveled: 1,488
City visited:
Malaga (Spain)
Prospects seen:
Rudy Fernandez, Spain, 6-6, G
Jorge Garbajosa, Spain, 6-9, F
Walter Hermann, Argentina, 6-9, F
Fran Vasquez, Spain, 6-1, F
For future reference, the currency exchange desk at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport isn't open at 5 a.m. Not that it matters. A note on the window says they aren't accepting Serbian dinars.
It's a telling sign about the local economy when a country won't even take its own money. Apparently, it's rare to find a scout who doesn't have $200 worth of dinars stashed in a dresser drawer back home.
The next stop is Malaga, Spain, a beautiful southern coastal city known for being the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. Getting there requires a two-hour flight to Milan, Italy, a two-hour layover and another 2 1/2-hour flight, leaving just enough time for a late lunch and a quick nap.
The local team, Unicaja, enjoys one of the strongest fan bases in European basketball with its new 10,000-seat arena, Palacio de Deportes, routinely filled to capacity. Joining the long line of lively fans filing into the building for tonight's Spanish League (ACB) game against DKV Joventut are scouts from Golden State, Atlanta, Indiana, Washington and Houston.
Two of Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili)'s teammates from Argentina's national team, Pepe Sanchez and Walter Herrmann, play for Unicaja. So does Jorge Garbajosa, one of Europe's top power forwards. But while Garbajosa (Toronto) and Herrmann (Charlotte) will both go on to sign free-agent NBA contracts, the scouts are eyeing one of their younger teammates: 6-10 forward Fran Vazquez. Joventut's 19-year-old shooting guard, Rudy Fernandez, also has started appearing on draft boards.
J.R. Bremer, a productive reserve guard for the Boston Celtics during the 2002-03 season, leads Unicaja to an 82-72 victory with 26 points, but it's Garbajosa and Vazquez who make the big plays down the stretch. With Queen's "We Will Rock You" blaring through the arena's speakers and the fans buzzing Joventut's bench with paper airplanes, Garbajosa sticks a clutch 3-pointer to secure the game.
Vazquez started and played well in the first quarter, but didn't reappear until the second half. This isn't uncommon. One coach apparently has a reputation for paying too much attention to stats. If you're a 50 percent shooter and go 4 for 4 in the first half, there's a chance you'll spend the rest of the game on the bench because he thinks you're due to miss your next four shots.
Fernandez scores a team-high 19 points and keeps Joventut in the game with a late 3-pointer. He follows, however, with a foul on Bremer. The scouts take note when he hangs his head and walks back to the huddle.
Fernandez has NBA 3-point range and is athletic enough to finish strong at the rim. No one doubts his potential, but he's going to have to pack more than 170 pounds on his lanky 6-6 frame to survive in the NBA.
Fernandez will declare for the 2005 and '06 drafts, but remove his name each time. Now 21, he'll again be one of the top international prospects for '07.
Vazquez, meanwhile, impressed many of the scouts with his performance against Joventut. His stock will continue to rise, enough so that, six months later, Orlando makes him the 11th pick.
Vazquez will fly to Florida and announce he's excited to play for the Magic. Then he'll return to Spain and sign a four-year, $8.3 million contract with Akasvayu Girona, stunning Orlando officials who planned to immediately play him next to Dwight Howard.
Vazquez could still end up in a Magic uniform someday. But his here-today-gone-tomorrow act is another reminder that finding a good player is only the first step to getting a good player.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/D_IMAGE.10dcf9c674e.93.88.fa.d0.32298cb7.jpg
(Johnny Ludden/Express-News)
Girona plays host to Pamesa Valencia, featuring future Spur Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto), in an early afternoon Spanish league game in 2004.
DAY 5: DEC. 12, 2004
Miles traveled: 604
Cities visited:
Barcelona, Girona (Spain)
Prospects seen:
Dejan Bodiroga, Serbia, 6-8, G
Pat Burke, Ireland, 6-11, C/F
Mickael Gelabale, France, 6-7, G/F
Juan Carlos Navarro, Spain, 6-3, G
Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto), Argentina, 6-10, F
Igor Rakocevic, Serbia, 6-3, G
The wakeup call comes at 5:30 a.m., late by this trip's standards. The travel, however, is easy enough: A 90-minute flight to Barcelona.
After dropping his bags off at the hotel, Buford is met by Gerard Darnés, a promising young Spanish agent with U1st Sports. Darnés played a couple of seasons at McLennan Community College in Waco before returning to Spain to play professionally.
Darnés volunteers to drive Buford an hour north to Girona, which is playing host to an early afternoon game against Pamesa Valencia.
Valencia has one of the highest payrolls in Europe, having signed Igor Rakocevic, a sharp-shooting Serbian guard who played 42 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2002-03 season, and Fabricio Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto), an Argentine forward/center who is good friends with Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili). The money seems to be well spent: Not long after the game starts, Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) throws a backward bounce pass between his legs to Rakocevic, who drills a 3-pointer as he's fouled.
Girona's point guard, Lucas Victoriano, was nearly drafted by the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) in 1999. The team had a tough time deciding whether to use a late second-round pick on him or another Argentine: Ginobili. Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) coach Gregg Popovich seemed hesitant about playing a foreign point guard, so Ginobili became the choice.
Victoriano's career flat-lined. Ginobili would go on to help the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) win two championships.
Despite a spirited performance by former Indiana/Iowa standout Luke Recker, who tries to keep Girona close with six 3-pointers, Valencia pulls away in the second half. Rakocevic finishes with 34 points. Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) adds 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Afterward, Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) says he will probably take one last crack at joining the NBA at the end of the season. A previous tryout with New York didn't go well. Ginobili's recent success, however, should help.
"He open big doors for Argentina players," Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) says. "(NBA) teams trust Argentina players now."
Seven months later, to his surprise, Oberto (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/fabricio_oberto) will get a call from Buford offering him a three-year, $7.5 million contract.
* * *
After a stop for lunch, Darnés drives Buford back to see FC Barcelona play rival Real Madrid. A few hours earlier and 620 kilometers to the west, Real's fútbol stadium had to be evacuated because of a bomb threat, never a good omen when one is about to enter a crowded arena.
Barcelona's Palau Blaugrana is filled with a sea of red and blue. After Barca, as the team is known, makes its first basket, confetti falls to the floor. Most of the fans continue to stand and sing for the remainder of the game.
Barca's star is Dejan Bodiroga, a 31-year-old Serbian guard widely considered one of the best players to never play in the NBA. Ginobili admits to patterning his signature crossover move from that of Bodiroga, who likes to go right then bring the ball back with his left hand. Unlike a normal crossover dribble, Bodiroga doesn't change his own direction, but rather that of his defender.
Juan Carlos Navarro, Barca's other talented guard, was drafted by Washington in 2002, but has remained in Europe. Marc Gasol, the 19-year-old, 7-foot younger brother of Memphis forward Pau Gasol, is a reserve center for the team.
Many of the scouts in attendance have come to see Mickael Gelabale, Real's athletic 6-7 French swingman. Gelabale has quick feet and hands and is an active defender, evident when he pokes the ball away for a steal and drives for a layup. Buford likes what he sees. Apparently so did Seattle, which drafts Gelabale in the second round.
Pat Burke, Real's Irish center who will go on to play for the Phoenix Suns, hits a 10-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer to win the game. As the Real players rush off the floor in celebration, a small pocket of their fans dance in the stands.
Someone starts lighting road flares and throwing them toward the court. ThunderStix, it seems, are too passé.
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DAY 6: DEC. 13, 2004
Miles traveled: 679
City visited:
Le Havre (France)
Prospect seen:
Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), France, 6-10, F
Getting to Le Havre requires taking a 48-seat jet to Lyon then hopping on an even smaller prop plane. While Le Havre plays in France's top professional league, it's not a routine stop for NBA scouts.
Le Havre, known as "La Porte Océane," is in northern France on the mouth of the Seine. The town, whose population hovers just under 200,000, was largely destroyed in the Battle of Normandy before being rebuilt.
Buford has come here not to study history, however, but to look for a piece of the Spurs' future.
Five months earlier, Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) assistant general manager Sam Presti had returned from the Under-18 European Championships in Zaragoza, Spain, raving about a young, athletic forward who had played well next to his more-heralded teammate, Johan Petro. The kid's name was Ian Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi), and Presti continued to follow him after Le Havre's season started. Now, Buford wanted to see for himself.
Le Havre wasn't playing until the end of the week, but that didn't bother Buford. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) wasn't getting large minutes anyway. Sometimes it's better to watch a player in a practice setting with his teammates.
"You see how coachable he is, you see how hard he played in practice," Buford says. "You see how his teammates react to him when there's not everything going on around him."
Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s size and athleticism immediately stood out. He obviously wasn't strong enough to play in the NBA yet, but he was long (at least 6-10) and quick.
The coaches put Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) and his teammates through some one-on-one drills on the perimeter, which gave Buford a chance to see his skills away from the basket. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s jump shot needed work, but that was a given: He had played basketball for only four years. A coach in Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s hometown of Rouen plucked him out of the schoolyard after seeing him tower above his classmates.
"I'm not flashy player," Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) says. "I'm from France and nobody know me."
That wasn't entirely true. Gonzaga had recruited Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) after seeing it was about to lose his friend, Ronny Turiaf, to the NBA. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s performance in Zaragoza also peaked the interest of a few international scouts besides Presti.
Buford saw enough of Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi)'s potential to ensure the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) would continue to follow him closely. The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) had been drafting at the bottom of the first round long enough to know how hard it is to find a big man with that kind of upside.
Danny Ferry, the Spurs' director of basketball operations, would make his own trip to Europe to watch Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi). Coach Gregg Popovich was convinced after seeing film of Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) spin by a defender and throw down an emphatic dunk.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) assured Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) they would use their first-round pick on him if he stayed in the draft. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) agreed, and on June 28, they took him at No. 28, the same place they drafted another French teenager four years earlier — Tony Parker (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tony_parker).
Unlike Parker, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) knew Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) wasn't ready for the NBA, so they put together a two- to three-year plan to help him develop. Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) wouldn't take up salary-cap room while he stayed in Europe. Nor would the clock start on his rookie contract.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) won't know what they have in Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) until 2007, at the earliest. His recent summer-league performance in Utah was inconsistent, good one day, poor the next, but most of his observers agreed on one thing: He had a presence.
Buford noticed as much watching Mahinmi (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/ian_mahinmi) practice in Le Havre.
"He seemed to be there for a purpose," Buford would later say. "He wasn't just a happy-go-lucky 18-year-old."
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/D_IMAGE.10dcf9c674e.93.88.fa.d0.322e32eb.jpg
(Johnny Ludden/Express-News)
French team Dijon, featuring Spurs' draft pick Viktor Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/), plays host to Greece's Ionikos N.F. at the town's Palais des Sports in 2004.
DAY 7: DEC. 14, 2004
Miles traveled: 318
City visited:
Dijon (France)
Prospects seen:
Boniface Ndong, Senegal, 7-0, C
Viktor Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/), Republic of Georgia, 6-8, F
After spending the previous day watching their possible future draft pick, Buford wants to check on one of the Spurs' past selections. Viktor Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/), an 18-year-old small forward taken in the second round five months earlier, is playing in Dijon.
After taking a two-hour train ride to Paris, hailing a taxi to switch stations and taking another two-hour train ride, Buford arrives in Dijon — the same Dijon of mustard fame.
Dijon is playing host to a EuroCup game against Greece's Ionikos N.F. at the town's Palais des Sports. Dijon's blue-and-white fan club is noticeably smaller than that of the European powerhouses. But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in spirit: A few fans beat drums throughout the game and one man shouts encouragement through a police bullhorn.
Though Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) is noticeably younger than most of his teammates, he has a good feel for the game. When Ionikos' Saddi Washington flashes open in the corner, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) is able to make up ground quickly with his long wingspan and block the shot. A couple of minutes later, he makes a nice pass under the basket only to see it sail out of bounds when his teammate doesn't cut.
Dijon's center, Boniface Ndong, who would go on to play for the Los Angeles Clippers the following year, dominates most of the game. The real excitement, however, comes from the teams' coaches. After Ionikos' Zeygolis Giorgos argues a call with the officials, Dijon's Nicolas Faure yells at him to stop arguing. Giorgos has to be restrained from going after Faure.
The NBA should take notes. Who wouldn't pay to see a cage match between Popovich and Utah's Jerry Sloan?
Dijon holds on for a narrow victory, and the club president invites Buford to join him at the team's celebratory dinner. They both kid Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) about not eating enough. Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) is listed as weighing 200 pounds, but that might be 20 to 30 pounds too generous.
Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) both looks and acts like a teenager. Born in the Republic of Georgia, he was surprised to even be in the NBA draft, let alone get picked.
At 15, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) was playing in a junior national tournament when a representative for New York's Globe Institute of Technology invited him and a teammate to join the school's junior-college team. The two, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) says, were told they would have to pay for a plane ticket to the United States, but would be reimbursed.
After agreeing, Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) and his friend took a 15-hour flight to New York then went straight from the airport to practice. "On your first day you can't say, 'Oh, I'm tired,'" he says. "The coach will think you're lazy."
The two players, who knew only a few words of English between them, were given a small dorm room to share. Unimpressed by the Spartan accommodations — Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) described the room as "trashed" — they both decided to return home as soon as they were paid back for their airfare.
"It was always, 'Next week, next week, next week,'" Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) says. "So we went to the (school) president and he said, 'We don't pay for that.'
"We finally just decided to leave. Luckily we had bought a return ticket."
Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) returned home and played for a local amateur team before signing with Dijon. As the 2004 draft approached, his agent told him a few teams were showing interest. Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) wanted to wait at least another year before declaring, but was told he didn't have a choice: By playing for a U.S. college, even briefly, then turning pro in Europe, he had automatically entered himself in the draft.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) took advantage of the loophole and, in a prearranged deal, had Atlanta choose Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) with its 42nd pick in return for a future second-round selection and cash. Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/)'s agent called him with the news.
"It was the middle of the night and I was half asleep," Sanikidze (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/viktor_sanikidze/) says. "When my mom called the next morning, I told her, 'I think I was drafted by the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) No. 42 last night, but I can't remember clear. It might have been a dream.'"
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DAY 8: DEC. 15, 2004
Miles traveled: 710
City visited:
Vitorio (Spain)
Prospects seen:
Jose Calderon, Spain, 6-3, G
Luis Scola, Argentina, 6-9, F
Tiago Splitter (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tiago_splitter/), Brazil, 6-11, F
It took another train ride to Paris, a two-hour flight to Bilbao and an hour drive south, but Buford has reached his final stop. Vitoria, located in the heart of Spain's Basque Country, is home to Tau Ceramica, one of the Euroleague's best teams, but, more importantly, also home to Luis Scola, one of the best players not in the NBA.
The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) would like to change that. They drafted Scola in the second round in 2002 and hope to sign him after the season. A hefty buyout in Scola's Spanish contract, however, has them worried.
Buford has come here, in part, to better assess the Spurs' chances of landing their former draft pick.
A bullish 6-9 forward, Scola starred alongside Manu Ginobili (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/manu_ginobili) in Argentina's recent gold-medal run at the Athens Olympics. Like Ginobili, he plays with a fire and passion that separates him from most players.
The Olympics, however, have taken a toll on Scola, affording him little opportunity to rest before having to begin training with Tau. His fatigue is evident in tonight's game against Turkey's Ulker Istanbul. After coming off the bench late in the first quarter, he misses a layup, throws away a pass and has the ball stripped from his hands.
Most of the scouts in attendance have come to see Tiago Splitter (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tiago_splitter/), a 19-year-old, 6-11 forward from Brazil. A strong rebounder and shot blocker who runs the floor well, Splitter (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tiago_splitter/) pulled his name out of the 2004 draft when he couldn't get a guarantee from a lottery team. He will end up doing the same in each of the next two drafts.
Guard Jose Calderon, who will go on to sign a free-agent contract with Toronto at the end of the season, helps keep Tau in the game, but it's not enough. Paced by 27 points from Serkan Erdogan, Ulker goes on to win 81-71. Scola is further slowed by foul trouble in the second half and finishes with four points, five rebounds and four turnovers.
After changing, Scola stops briefly to speak with Buford. He is frustrated with his performance, but even more so by Tau's fourth loss in five games.
A Spanish reporter recognizes Buford and quizzes him about his plans to sign Scola. Buford is used to this. Every time a Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) official steps foot in Spain, it generates "Scola to leave for NBA" headlines.
For now, though, Scola is worried only about getting Tau righted.
"The NBA is still a dream for me," he says. "I think it will be until I make it."
Buford writes off Scola's struggles as a rare bad night. Though the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) have some concerns on how Scola will fit next to Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan), considering both like to play in the post, they think he could be a productive reserve in the NBA. Their biggest worry is signing him to an affordable contract.
As he leaves the arena, Buford doesn't feel any more optimistic. Scola's contract doesn't specify a buyout for being a second-round pick, so Tau's owners claim the first-round figure applies: a staggering 12 million euros.
"It's not going to be easy," Buford says, a comment that will continue to ring true 18 months later.
Buford walks out the arena's door and into the crisp Spanish night. He will fly back to the United States the next morning. The news about Scola was disappointing, but it didn't spoil the 13,000-mile trip.
Two days earlier, in a small gym in northern France, he saw what he needed to see.