David Pick
“This is the best national team Israel has ever had,” forward Lior Eliyahu told me after a team practice. If you ask me? I agree. Israel’s team includes 3 European, one NBA sensation and many leading Israeli players. With number like these it seems to appear that no one will be able to stop this team.
It’s a new roster which just started playing together and isn’t fully completed. Small forward, Omri Casspi and Center Yaniv Green, are set to assist the team in next week’s practice tournament against, Belgium, Holland and the UK, which will take place in Tel Aviv.
Coach Arik Shibek said it best: “This team is combined by generations, we have the older one (Green, Blu, and Burstein) middle (Halperin, Eliyahu, and Limonad) and young generation (Casspi, Naimy, Mekel, Rothbart, and Kadir).” This team is filled with potential and hopes. But with hope comes expectations. Israel will be playing in the strongest qualifying group which includes: Italy, Latvia, Finland and Montenegro. The national team will begin its journey August 2nd against the strong team from Italy which includes NBA players, Marco Belinelli, Andrea Bargniani, and many elite European players following and meeting October 8th with Latvia and there Golden State Warrior – Adres Biedrins.
Israel is ranked 12th in Europe and 25th in world basketball as of 2008 standings after the Olympics in Beijing.
Israel has played in as many as 24 out of 26 European tournaments threw out history. Coach Shibek, assisted by two young rising coaches, Oded Katash and Dan Shamir form a brilliant leading squad for Israel’s talent. But these games will be very tough and for that reason aside of assistant from Casspi, the national team acquired, former USC, Jewish forward, sharp shooter, David Bluthenthal of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Aside of bluthenthals impressive basketball resume, winning 2 championships, 1 Euroleague title and 3 state cups with Maccabi, Blu (6 ft 7, 30) brings a lot of experience to the team. He is known for his lights out shooting ability as well as improving his penetrating and defensive game. In the Israeli state cup challenge games, Blu averaged 14.1ppg (53.3%-3, 88%-1) and 3.3 boards in just 30 minutes of play.
Having One NBA star (Casspi), One Spanish league champion (Eliyahu) and 11 Israeli champions on the roster, coach Shibek should be very worried if his team doesn’t qualify to the European championship next year in Poland.
