Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 41
March 1st, 2009
– Olden Polynice has retired, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he’s nearly 45 years old, but it took him longer to do than you might think. After retiring, Polynice became a coach for an ABA team, but the job security of a position like that is about six weeks maximum. He has not, as far as I am aware, joined the police force.
– Mark Pope has also retired, and as promised has enrolled in medical school.
– Vitaly Potapenko has also also retired. After falling out of the NBA in 2007 (and looking quite bad during his last year), Vitaly sat around on the side-lines for a while before signing with Estudiantes in Spain in December 2007. He played six games, looked off the pace, was quickly waived, and retired after that. End of an era.
– Roger Powell hasn’t retired, so that means I’m going to have to actually put some effort into this entry. Powell didn’t make the Bulls roster out of preseason, despite a pretty decent showing, and signed in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem. In five EuroChallenge games, Powell averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, improving slightly to 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in the Israeli league. Powell is a combined 10-39 from three-point range in the two competitions, including one 4-4 outing, so his weakness is still his weakness.
– Kasib Powell started the year in China, where he averaged 25.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 59% shooting. He left the team at the beginning of the year and is now back in his natural territory – the D-League. For the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Powell is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
– Carlos Powell is playing for the pricelessly-named Inchon ET Land Black Slamer in South Korea. He averages 25.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, numbers not too dissimilar from what he averaged in the D-League last year (22.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.8 apg). Powell was arrested back in May on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, but I can’t find what ultimately became of this. If you know, please let me know.
– Pablo Prigioni is with Tau Vitoria, averaging 6.0 points and 4.4 assists in EuroLeague play, alongside 8.4 points and 4.8 assists in Spanish league play. Those numbers are good, even if they might not look it.
– Gorgeous Georgios Printezis is with Olympiacos, averaging 9.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18 minutes per game in the Greek league, alongside 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 17 mpg in the EuroLeague. Gotta rebound better than that, George, regardless of how brilliant your hairline is. That only gets you so far.
– Laron Profit has spent the last year and a half maintaining an on-and-off relationship with an Argentinian team called Libertad Sunchales. It’s currently off.
– Ivan Radenovic is playing for Panellinios in Greece, where I watched him this very week. The European game suits Radenovic rather well; he’s tall, and a skilled finisher inside, but he’s also slower than Rain Man and can only jump over a matchbox if you crushed it flat first and then pumped him full of helium. Nevertheless, Radenovic is averaging 11.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in the Greek league, alongside 14.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in the EuroCup. Those 14.4 points per game form a total of 201 points on only 111 shots, for a scintillating 1.81 points per shot average. If points per shot is a metric that gets you going, like it does to me, then you may want to take a moment to consider those numbers.
– Finally, Igor Rakocevic is not currently in the NBA, but that may well change, as it’s been reported that he has a standing offer from an NBA team, speculatively credited to being Houston. Rakocevic’s previous NBA stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t go particularly well, as his undersized stature saw him miscast as a point guard, but in the last few years in Europe as a two-guard, Rakocevic has emerged as one of the best players in the continent. Starting alongside Prigioni in the Tau backcourt, Rakocevic averages 19.7 points per game in the EuroLeague, and 20.6 points per game in the Spanish league, numbers that rank first in both the second- and third-highest standards of basketball competition in the world. Can’t argue with that.
