Greece knocks off host Argentina

[dewey33]

After losing to Australia, Greece bounces back against host Argentina, who was favored to win its pool.

http://www.u-21.com.ar/final/main.asp?wVarIdioma=2

Team pic of Greek team on site....Ian looks like he has been lifting over the summer....

look at images gallery and then pick Australia-Greece game for the photo,

[cheeseman]

How could you tell who was Ian? - I could not find him in the 5 photos shown.

[Billikenbooster]

Look in the Greece Australia game, in the team photo, he is #15.

I agree he has filled out in the upper body. We'll have to see if he really has gotten any stronger.

Can't find any game stats on this site.

mhg

[kwyjibo]

In addition to Ian's productive 13 minutes against Argentina (6 pts, 4 boards, 1 assist), he also had 14 minutes in the loss to Australia (2 pts, 1 board, 1 block, 3 fouls and a turnover). After two games he is 2-7 from the line.

This is the photo the others are talking about:

http://www.fiba.com/images/web/fan_zone/wa...al/gre_1024.jpg

[billiken_roy]

it appears to me that every guard in the front row has larger and more defined arms than ian. sigh.

[billikenmetz]

# 14 might have won the World Championship Uni-brow competition. Awesome. Gold medal!

[billikenmetz]

It looks more like a prison photo.

[billikenmetz]

It looks like their coach was a former KGB employee back when Russia was infiltrating Athens. I bet his name is Yuri GRihfiefhjd.

[tseugnekillib]

.

[Billikenbooster]

tseug-

Have we ever before seen anyone respond to his own post....twice?

mhg

[tseugnekillib]

obviously, somebody pizzed away a lot of good tuition money on the metzmeister!

[billikenmetz]

good one, guys.

[slubbfan]

Look again, Ian has obviously developed physically. He looks good and I am impressed.

slubbfan

[billiken_roy]

if you are insinuating he looks like bonner his junior or senior season, i think you are hallucinating. if you are suggesting he is more developed than last year, well i have a neice that is 3 that walks better than last year as well.

my guess is he isnt on a first name basis with the regs in the weight room yet.

i stand with what i wrote above. all the guards in the picture have more developed arms than ian.

[Billikenbooster]

One of my favorite sayings is "It's not what you've got that counts, but what you do with what you've got". Let's see. I'd rather see him use his size to his advantage and win, than have him look good in pictures and foul out of games with less than five points for the game.

We've all seen impressive looking guys not block out or fight for position.

mhg

[moytoy12]

What is #4's infatuation with #8?

[Billikan]

Roy, what is it with you and Ian? This guy is the key to our team for the next two seasons. If he plays well we will be very competitive. If he contributes like Tom did last year then we will have fun watching our new young men run around but we have no chance against the big time teams with big guys up front.

Also, if you look at Ian he has his arms pulled down and behind his back which elongates the muscles. Only the beefiest weightlifters would look good in that pose. The guys up front of the picture are not in the same pose. Furthermore there are plenty of big guys who are strong and have played great basketball without weight room huge arm definition. I can remember McHale, Larry Bird and Vlade Divac as perfect examples.

But really, none of that matters! What we need to do is support ALL of the members of the team not just those who happened to grow up on the east side of the river. I know that in your mind Kevin and TOmmie can do no wrong and I am incredibly excited to see them in a Billiken uniform.

Yet, our center who has been playing in very tough international competition can do no right in your view. I again would ask you to give Ian a break. I want him to feel like the fans really care about him here in this place far from home.

[kshoe]

I remember talking to Chris during his sophomore year and talking about weight lifting and what he could lift upperbody wise. It was not impressive at all, if not pathetic. That being said, there is probably no Billiken center in the past 10 years that opposing players wanted to play less. He clogged lanes, threw elbows and got physical when necessary. The Cinci 300+ benchers with pipes like Arnold hated playing against him. Its not the size of ones arms that makes one a physical presence.

Ian started to show some of those abilities last year. All you needed to do was see how easily opponents penetrated when he was in or out of the game. It was night and day. He altered many more shots then he blocked. As Ian has played slightly over 1 year now of American ball I think it is fair to say he is just now realizing how physical he needs to be. Whether Roy is impressed with his arm size or not, Ian will be a physical force for our Billikens...and he won't dissapoint.

[kshoe]

you said it better than I ever could.

I bet if Ian had super bulked up Roy would be complaining that he lost his "versatility."

[slu72]

Broy, Ian ain't ever going to be Curtis Withers. That Aussie kid from GT wasn't going to win any Charles Atlas contests either. Give him some slack. If he gets pushed around well you can say I told you so. He's playing against world class talent for the summer and doing pretty good. Besides, if he was Bill Walton's clone...he'd be at Duke or UNC. He's what we got and he contributed more than expected last year. Let's give him a chance before we label him a Greek Tragedy.

[billiken_roy]

i am not saying ian will not be effective. my b!tch with ian for two years now is what appears to be a conditioning and strength training missing link. i just want ian to be all he can possibly be. if he could add physicality (is that a word?) to his resume, what could he be. instead we will likely be content to say he is the best billiken center in the last whatever years. then if we think about what that compares to........

[billiken_roy]

billikan, are we really helping the players by "giving them a break" if there is more they could have done to get better?

yes it is commendable he is playing games over the summer. but to be honest, i would rather he worked out at hammerbodies for 2-3 hours each day and played in the always tough bonner league and slu pickup games.

i am not arguing he will be a starter and an adequate player. but i hate seeing potential go unfullfilled. and when conditioning and body strengthing are the two weakest points in one's game and it appears that he hasnt really addressed that to the fullest, it amazes me that no one else joins in my concerns.

[Major Majerus]

I think Bonner and pick-up games are very guard oriented. I think his level of play is correct for the summer. Yes, it'd be nice to see him in the weight room, but what makes you think he's not? He's still under 21 and has some baby fat. Thankfully he's not on steroids. He has a genuine low post body - no skin and bones there. Plus, he stands his ground - a true warrior. He fouls out because he's so physical. This kid's a winner. I'm very happy to have him. I will expect more each year he's here. You don't always get that, but we certainly got it last year. Expect improvement; if he doesn't, then we can ***** next March.

[kshoe]

where Ian could be banging against Bryce Husak but I think he'll become a much better play playing against International competition. If Ian were a U.S. Citizen would you tell him not to play in the tournaments?

[billiken_roy]

it isnt the game competition i dont like. it is the apparent lack of progress physically he again hasnt made. all i am saying is one summer of total devotion to the weight room and aerobic room might have been a long run better course than another summer of greek tourney's of 18 minutes per game for 10 or so games.

i am sure he has made some progress, but that is likely more a matter of natural physical maturity than dedication in the weight room. i just hate to see this fabulous potential not maximized.