http://www.gbf.ge/news.php?m=news&lang=eng#
2007-10-03
Sanikidze to play in Koeln 99ers
A member of Georgian National Team, forward Viktor Sanikidze will play in German side Koeln 99ers. Viktor wants to join a team, where he would have a solid time on the floor. The last season for Viktor, was in Spanish side Estudiantes.
Sanikidze's new team was formed in 1999 and since 2001 is a member of German Bundesliga. Team became a champion in 2006, while also is a triple holder of German Cup (2004, 2005, 2007). Last season Koeln 99ers played in Euroleague and won 2 games out of 14.
Koln 99ers players :
http://www.basketball-bundesliga.de/...ive&teamid=431
Sanikdze will play the German league called BBL :
http://www.basketball-bundesliga.de/index.php
He will too play the ULEB cup :
http://www.ulebcup.com/ulebcup/compe...m?clubcode=COL
Hes playing in Cologne? Cool, I have some friends that live there. I HAD been thinking about visiting anyways...maybe it would be fun to catch a game?
Interesting.
well lets hope he plays and stays healthy
So, is this a good thing for Sanikidze and (more importantly) the Spurs?
Most likely. Sanikidze wasn't getting much playing time on Estudiantes' roster. Hes a young guy that needs time on the court to realize some of that laden potential. While German leagues are typically inferior to most European equivalents it still means more time with the ball in his hands. So yes, I'd say it's a good thing.
Shame on me, I have mistyped Sanikidze name in the le of this thread.
If Sanikidze can get some playtime with Köln, its a good move. He will too play the ULEB cup against quite good teams.
It will be too interesting to know the length of his contract.
Cologne is a great city.
That's a pretty good level of play for him. Should get some minutes.
Thanks for the VK update.
Hey Bruno. Is this really legit? The season has started over here and his name isn't even on the roster. I also could not find anything in the News section. I wonder if the signing was official. If he will join the team I am probably gonna see him live on November 24th.
The source (Georgian BB federation official website) seems kinda solid but I haven't too seen something on Köln 99ers website. I don't think it's official for the moment.
IMO, Sanikidze was in Georgia and told his federation that he will go in Germany to sign with Köln. Köln will make the signing official when he will be in Germany, has passed his physical and has bought out/canceled his contract with Estudiantes Madrid. It's too possible that something has failed.
Curtis Sumpter, who was Köln starting SF, has done a Spanoulis few days ago and has gone back in USA because of "Heimweh". I don't know how if it's really related with Sanikidze signing because they could sign Sanikidze to be a backup.
Okay. I'll let you know if I hear something official. I was really looking forward to see him next month just to get an idea what he looks like on the court. I was just confused because I could not find anything about him on the website. Cologne has a hart time this year. They are winnless. So it would be interesing if he could help them win some games.
I think, after Sumpter left the team, Cologne did talk to different players, including Sanikidze.
but I'm not sure, that cologne will be looking for exactly the type of player he is.
the team is already very young and this summer they have added forward Marko Keselj, a 19 years old talent, who (like Sanikidze) spend last season in Spain, where he didn't play much.
Keselj looked good in the first games, the question will be, if Cologne doesn't look for a more expirienced SF than Sanikidze.
however, Cologne does have a very interesting young coach, Sasa Obradovic (don't confuse names with Zeljko Obradovich, the great Panathinaikos coach). Obradovic was for many years a member of the very successful Yugoslavian team and started his coaching career two years ago, winning the German championship with Cologne his his first year and the German Cup last season. a good coach is never a bad thing for a young player, if Sanikidze in fact signed with Cologne.
I think this has been discussed but if Sanikiddze is not playing for a team can the Spurs draft him in the D league draft and he play for the Toros without signing him?
That's the $64,000 question. I can't think of a precedent of a draft pick's being drafted by a team's D-League affiliate -- I don't even know of any unsigned draft picks actually making themselves available for the D-League draft. Ricky Sanchez played for the Idaho D-League team while his rights were held by the Nuggets, but his minor-league rights were grandfathered in from the CBA.
I've said this before, but I like watching myself post -- there is a small chance the Spurs can get Viktor allocated to the Toros. They've done their part by signing a full roster, so they have an argument if the players' union objects, and the very experimental approach Stern has taken to the D-League makes me think the Spurs could get him to try this out for at least one season before the NBA and the NBPA codify the rules.
A guy like Viktor really needs a training camp and the US minor leagues are among the few that haven't yet started.
Last edited by ChumpDumper; 10-15-2007 at 01:19 PM.
Thanks for the info.
Hey Bruno... in what division is ... i think its Kicks Munich??? My coach this season got a one-year-deal with them
They are currently in the third division but they were in the fourth division few years ago.
Just give me the name of your coach or the year when he was training them and I will try to give you a more accurate answer.
Last edited by Bruno; 10-16-2007 at 05:31 AM.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/spor...games_now.html
I guess it means that Sanikidze won't play with Cologne this year.Indications were that the just-waived Derrick Byars could land with a team in Cologne, Germany, where Stefan Beck, a long-ago Sixers free-agent guard candidate, is the general manager. Former Villanova star Curtis Sumpter was listed on the Cologne roster earlier, but has since left the team.
Why? The team can play both Byars and Sanikidze, right?
I actually kind of like that arrangement. I think Byars could be a great NBA player and if hes on the same team as Viktor then maybe the Spurs will notice his potential. It's the old Scola/Splitter situation.
They can but I'm not sure that they want to sign both. You have to consider playtime and money.
Who else do they have at the 2/3? Surely they can play both. Besides, doesn't Sanikidze mostly play the 4 over in Europe? Surely we're not concerned that Byars will be logging big minutes in the post.
Sanikidze play PF with the georgian NT. He played SF with Dijon in 04-05. With Estudiantes, he didn't play but if I remember well he was playing SF.
For the rest, I don't know well enough Cologne team and its player to tell you if they could give PT to Sanikidze and Byars. However Cologne local newspaper was saying last week that the name of the new player will be known before Wednesday (today). We are on Wednesday and we learn that Byars should sign with them soon. It doesn't look good for Sanikidze given that the info that he will sign with Cologne is still 13 days old.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
