Yesterday Georgian Win 117-73
Viktor Get Double-Double 15 PTS 15 REB
http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid...3.teamID_.html
Sanikdize has played 4 official games with Georgia this summer (they will play 2 more games).
In these 4 games he averages 15.8 pts and an unreal 14.3 rbds in 33.3 mpg.
I'm quite curious to see what he will do in Italy next year. Keep in mind that he is still a quite young player. For example, he is one year younger than McClinton.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blbGqez1_84
8G 32.8 M : 18,6 pts , 11,1 REB , 2,9 AS
Looks a lot stronger than he used to. Guess he's finally growing into his body. The question is has he got enough time to mature his BB in his new league. He really hasn't played all that much because of injuries, has he?
Maybe someone ouught to move this thread to the regular forum. It doesn't get much play over here
http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid...rID_45506.html
Georgia won promotion from division B to division A. Sanikidze was the best player of the whole tournament.
He has taken his game up about three whole levels in this tournament. There is much hope for him yet.
I'm glad he's moving up in compe ions in pro and FIBA ball. It will be much easier to gauge his worth.
Thanks for the videos.
An article about him (in Italian):
http://www.virtus.it/SPNewsDettaglio.asp?ID=6606
What is interesting is that he sees Virtus as a step to go in the NBA.
Sanikdize is having a good preseason with Virtus.
A full and solid season with them could do wonders for his development.
fwiw, he had a game saving block that was the #1 play in the top ten highlights for the week about 10 days ago.
http://www.legabaskettv.it/watch/c92...la-4a-giornata
He looks like Brent Barry with a beard.
12 points and 15 boards a couple of days ago in a win. Also had two dunks make the highlight reel of the game at legabasket.tv
He is No.13 on the black team.
2 dunks at the end of this clip
Nice athleticism!
those 2 dunks made the weekly top 10 plays at #s 2 and 4.
His last game was bad, severely limited play time due to foul trouble.
An Update on Viktor Sanikidze
by Timothy Varner
48MoH reader and Italian league season ticket holder Nicola Mezzadri submits this report on former Spurs draft pick Viktor Sanikidze, a player I once described as the Keyser Soze of international hoops.
Viktor Sanikidze is the prototypical eastern European combo forward–lanky, fairly athletic and high-energy. He was also a teenager a lot of European and NBA scouts were high on, and with good reason, given his steady fundamentals, speed running the floor and hustle. But this was in his previous life, the one he used to live before multiple knee injuries sabotaged his career and forced him to lose the entire 2007-08 season..
- Read More -
Good to see Viktor making some progress. Hopefully he makes it over for the SL next year so we can get a better feel for him.
Viktor is spoken about briefly during a Blazer fansite's interview with former Blazers 1st rounder Petteri Kopponen :
12-22-09 post date8. It's also interesting to see Georgian forward Viktor Sanikidze (6-9, 1986) to play in Virtus Bologna with you. You guys have similar backgrounds - you both are the best players of your age group in small country and both of you have been drafted to the NBA (Sanikidze is a 2006 San Antonio Spurs 2nd round draft pick). Do you guys talk about your possible NBA future a lot?
Yeah, I played against Viktor in U18 and U20 European Championship games a few years ago and we talked a bit there as well. In 2006, Viktor had a monster game when Georgia beat Finland in U20 Division B semi-finals and he just keeps talking about that game (laughter). It's easier for me now to have another young European in the team with me. Domestic players hang out with their familiers and local friends a lot and American players spend their free time with each other, so it's great to have a guy like Victor around. Viktor brings at ude and strenght off the bench and helps us with interior defense and rebound a lot. Of course we talk about the NBA but right now we just concentrate on playing in Virtus Bologna.
Sanikidze's team has a new sponsor. Now if you're trying to find results for him, Virtus Bologna is now Canadian Solar Bologna.
An Interview with Viktor Sanikidze
by Timothy Varner
Nicola Mezzadri recently met with Viktor Sanikidze on behalf of 48MoH. Nicola met Viktor in Cremona on the evening before the game against the local Vanoli team.
As 48MoH reported in early December, Sanikidze is playing for Italian powerhouse Virtus Bologna in the Italian league and has become a fan’s favorite there with his high energy game off the bench.
Outside the court, however, Sanikidze presents himself as a nice, silent and polite guy, willing to spend some 30 minutes with us and share the occasional good laugh.
Keep reading →
Imagine that (I'm sure RJ's aware of this)...NM (Interviewer): And apart from stats, you impacted the game with little things, deflections, hard D, good help D. Your help D in particular, you played great help D in a couple of possessions. Is that something that comes natural to you?
VS: (Viktor Sanikidze) I think you have to start from something you have in you in order to improve, but I am putting a lot of effort in order to improve these facets of my game. As you said I am not always shooting a lot, so I am trying to be more involved in the game with help D and these things, you know, just try to fill the spots, so even when you don’t shoot, do something else, you just try to be useful for the team.
NM: And that’s a big thing about your game, you don’t need the ball in your hands all the time to be effective.
VS: Exactly, you can’t have it all the time, so you have to do something.
He really is an intriguing prospect and someone that could really be a useful member of a supporting cast if he panned out.NM: What’s about your future?
VS: I have a 2+1 years contract, with an NBA escape clause at the end of the second year. I feel really good here in Bologna… [HESITATES]
NM: Let’s forget he [Virtus’ Team Manager] is here…
VS: [LAUGHS] He’s my friend first and then he works for Virtus, so… Seriously, I really like this place and this organization, a club with such history, it was my dream to come here, so as of now I see my future here, I would not leave even for top Euroleague teams such as Barcelona or Real Madrid, I don’t feel there is a huge difference with Virtus. I would only leave for the NBA.
NM: Do you think about the NBA?
VS: Of course I think about NBA. That’s my dream.
NM: Do you have contacts with the Spurs organization?
VS: Yes I have contacts with them.
NM: Is there a possibility to see you in next year’s Summer League?
VS: I think so, they already invited me a couple of years, so maybe I’ll be there.
Hopefully he makes it over for the SL and he gets a real opportunity,
As far as build goes, he and Casspi are not much different...and Casspi seems to be adjusting well to the NBA. His ball handling will probably make him or break him at the NBA level. I really hope we can get a look at him this summer.
Well, he is 23 years and average 7/5 in Italian league (not the best one in Europe). Calling him intriguing is quite a reach.
How do you figure?
Would you prefer a different word?
Someone that presents the attributes he has and that can affect the game in so many ways, is something I view as intriguing (as it pertains to how they could be utilized with the Spurs).
Of course, this is contingent on him actually panning out (unlikely) but it's intriguing to think what it could mean for him and the Spurs if he should happen to.
I would use the marginal word for him.
There are dozens of more intriguing players in Europe than him.
My interest is in the position, size and potential to help a team as a glueguy. He's not intriguing to me in that he's a potential star or pretty high-level player, just that he has attributes that could help a team like the Spurs; I'm not saying he's going to pan out, or, if he does, he'd be some kind of real diamond in the rough.
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