Player analysis: BK Ventspils - Lukoil Academic
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BK Ventspils vs. Lukoil Academic
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Jimmy Baxter, BK Ventspils
 When steady ULEB Cup challenger Ventspils went looking for scorer over the summer, it found an ace in swingman Jimmy Baxter, whose 18.5 points ranked him 10th during the regular season. Baxter did more than score, however, pulling 4.6 rebounds and dishing a couple assists, also, to finish 18th in performance index rating. Now, Baxter intends to take his debut ULEB Cup season to a higher level when he leads Ventspils into the Last 32 against another Lukoil, another traditional team in the competition. "Ventspils has a lot of tradition winning Latvian championships, and we are fighters. We beat Zalgiris, a Euroleague team, this seeason. And we're going to keep competing hard in the ULEB Cup. You have come to play in this competition. You can't treat it like a normal game, or the other team will be ready to blow you out."  "About Lukoil, we can most definitely expect them to get their four-man, Antic, involved early. He's a helluva player. Hats off to him for what he's been doing this season. Larry O'Bannon is an athlete. They've got solid guard play with Willie Deane. It should definitely be an interesting series. We're a pretty good defensive team. Not many teams get to 90 points against us. We've got the best shot blocker in the league, Akingbala. He's an animal, a man-child. I can defend strong on the wing knowing that if I or anyone else gets beat, a 6-foot-10 guy who can jump with anyone is waiting behind us."
"Since I came to Europe, I've been wanting to play in ULEB competitions, and now that I am, I can say there are a lot of tough competitors and a lot of tough players here. I am at the club office today, a week early, trying to get some tapes so I can start studying Lukoil now. We had 14 days without games and the coach had us doing two-a-days, so now we want to beat somebody for making us have to practice so much." |
Nenad Canak, Lukoil Academic
 If Lukoil Academic was looking for experience to carry it further in 2006-07, it found some in key veteran in Nenad Canak, whose past includes a trip to the ULEB Cup final as well as several years as a double-digit scorer in the Euroleague. Canak came off the bench in six games during the regular season to play more than 25 minutes and score 9.7 points on average. Having earned a reputation for making big shots along the way, Canak will try to bring them on when Lukoil needs them most in the Last 32. “We are very satisfied so far, but I think we can do even better in the Last 32. Now we play Ventspils and I think it will be an open game and that we have good chances." 
"We don't know so much yet about Ventspils, but I am sure our coaching staff will give us the information we need. Now, it's not like the regular season. We have plenty of time to prepare for this game. We could have done better in the regular season and maybe have won another game, either against Kyiv or at home against Benetton, but now we must focus on Ventspils."
"We are a very good offensive team. We must play our game, which is to run a lot. We don't like possession offenses where it is five against five." |
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Tuesday, February 05, 2008
ULEBCup.com
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