Throwback Photos.

[OldSchool]

Ah, a great back and forth between Whitey and Marx there. Not sure why it got a little hostile at the end though.

Not sure why they thought they should continue back and forth in throwback photos thread!?!?

[Sig]

Ah, a great back and forth between Whitey and Marx there. Not sure why it got a little hostile at the end though.

[Sig]

You're wrong about Peja though. If you see interviews of him, he definitely considers himself at least as Greek as he is Serbian. He was never able to play for the Greek team because of FIBA rules. It was not citizenship he acquired simply for convenience.

Also I find your last paragraph pretty questionable. Serbia does produce many good basketball players. So does Greece. The Serbian program is no way definitively better than the Greek. To say if they weren't good enough to play for Serbia, then maybe they'd play for Greece, is pretty messed up.

No Eastern European in the right mind would ever consider themselves something other than what their blood makes them. There is nothing linked to Stojakovic that makes him ethnically Greek.

[isaacthompson]

It was a stupid idea anyways. Who came up with it?

I did, you couldn't check the first post?

LOL. Harsh. It was a fun idea.

[LBF]

I did, you couldn't check the first post?

I was only joking.

[JordanMariam14]

It was a stupid idea anyways. Who came up with it?

I did, you couldn't check the first post?

[LBF]

i think we're all out of throwbacks..

It was a stupid idea anyways. Who came up with it?

[lilmamba_]

i think we're all out of throwbacks..

[Fuchan]

[Vykis]

Anyone remember this guy?

Aussie Shaq. It's funny when a dude is black, chubby/fat and strong they call him "insert nationality" Shaq, like people called Schortsianitis Greek Shaq

[Rapzilla]

Anyone remember this guy?

[Karl Marx.]

The argument would be about that, if you wanted to change it to one you could win.

This is what started the argument....To say that Greece is to Serbia as Macedonia is to USA. Even in Yugoslavia's best years, Greece was not some horrible team compared to them. The argument had nothing to do with which country had more influence on the NBA.

I was in no way comparing Greece to Macedonia. Unproven players love the idea of playing for national teams and, if they can not play for their own national team, they would gladly accept another national team. With obvious connections to Greece, it is only normal for both Stojakovic and Jaric to be interested into playing for Greece if they were not playing for someone else. It had nothing to do with Greece or Serbia but only with the way players decide to play for other national teams.

[lilmamba_]

DeMar.....

[white men can't jump]

1. Argument was the influence of Serbia and Greece to the NBA not success of their national team.

2. Starting comparison right AFTER Serbia wan couple of gold medals and their best players have retired is like judging the Bulls on what they have accomplished after Jordan retired.

3. To say that Krstic is an average player is ridiculous. He was top 4 player of New Jersey team that made it to the 2nd round few times. The only reason he is not in the NBA is that Russians are throwing money at him.

4. I am still not sold on Bjelica and Nedovic. But you did not mention the best Serbian player who just rejected Memphis contract offer to play for big money in Turkey.

I admit that Greece has better program. Just stop torturing me. Please.

The argument would be about that, if you wanted to change it to one you could win.

If Jaric and Stojakovic are Greek, how come they played for Serbian national team?
As some of you might know, the number of foreign players on European teams in limited which is the reason players often take dual citizenship in order to be able to play as domestic players. After spending their youth careers in the same club Red Star Belgrade (in Serbia) both Jaric and Stojakovic have taken dual citizenship in order to be able to play as domestic players. It was the same way with Rambis who even had to change his name to Kyriakos Rambidis for a year in order to play as domestic player.

If Stojakovic and Jaric were not good enough to play for Serbian national team, they probably would play for Greek or some other national team as so many American players do. Bo McCalebb from New Orleans has taken Macedonian dual citizenship in order to show his skill on the big stage.

This is what started the argument....To say that Greece is to Serbia as Macedonia is to USA. Even in Yugoslavia's best years, Greece was not some horrible team compared to them. The argument had nothing to do with which country had more influence on the NBA.

[Karl Marx.]

But you only care about players, but not results. The result is what shows the strength of a system. The ability to produce a team that competes at the highest level. Not the ability to produce players who leave for better contracts in other countries. Serbia also produces many players that leave Serbia for better contracts in Russia, Spain, Greece, Italy, etc....

So here I go back to results to prove my point, since 2002.

---------------Greece--------Serbia
Eurobasket
2003----------5th------------6th
2005----------1st-------------9th
2007----------4th------------13th
2009----------3rd-------------2nd
2011----------6th-------------8th

FIBA WC
2006----------2nd------------11th
2010---------11th-------------4th

Olympics
2004----------5th------------11th
2008----------5th------------dnq
2012---------dnq-------------dnq

I don't need to show you Greece sending players that go to the NBA, because the results speak for themselves.

But because you are obsessed with teh NBA, of the guys currently on the Greek national team, the following have at least been drafted:
Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Kostas Papanikolau, Vassilis Spanoulis, Georgios Printezis
*Ioannis Bourousis Never drafted, but turned down a 3 year/12 million dollar contract with the Spurs to stay in Greece
**Antetokounmpo is a pretty safe bet to join the senior program.
That's 4 guys drafted, one guy drafted who's still on the younger squad, and one guy who turned down a lucrative contract with a top NBA team to stay in Greece.

Current Serbian team:
Nemanja Nedovic, Nemanja Bjelica, Nenad Krstic
2 guys who have done nothing, and one guy who had a strong start to his career before leveling out as a pretty average player, and who doesn't even stand out in Europe.

1. Argument was the influence of Serbia and Greece to the NBA not success of their national team.

2. Starting comparison right AFTER Serbia wan couple of gold medals and their best players have retired is like judging the Bulls on what they have accomplished after Jordan retired.

3. To say that Krstic is an average player is ridiculous. He was top 4 player of New Jersey team that made it to the 2nd round few times. The only reason he is not in the NBA is that Russians are throwing money at him.

4. I am still not sold on Bjelica and Nedovic. But you did not mention the best Serbian player who just rejected Memphis contract offer to play for big money in Turkey.

I admit that Greece has better program. Just stop torturing me. Please.