OK, maybe I am stretching it a bit, and yes I do have a tendency to see much through a "Tricolore" prism.
Emmanual "Manu" Ginobli, is in his first year with the San Antonio Spurs, who of Italian Ancestry, grew up in Argentina, starred on Argentina's National Team (that missed being World Champs, by 4 points in overtime, with their star "Manu" injured), and played in Italy in '98, '99, '00, and was Italy MVP in 2001 & 2002.
The following articles, comment on his play during the first two Spurs vs Laker games, a Spur vs Dallas game a month ago, a Comment on the World Championships, and the Roster of the Argentina National Team.
Kobe Byant's father played
Basketball in Italy, where Kobe lived as a teenager, and Kobe speaks perfect
Italian.
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Game #2 LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs
Road Test Doesn't Bother
Them
Los Angeles Times
By Elliott Teaford
May 8, 2003
SAN ANTONIO —
...Manu Ginobili surprised courtside observers when he swept past Laker Mark Madsen for a reverse dunk early in the fourth quarter of Game 1.
R.C. Buford, San Antonio's general manager, wasn't one of them.
Ginobili, who is generously listed in the team's media information as 6 feet 6, has had better dunks, according to Buford.
"Once, when he was playing in Italy, the ball bounces off the back of the rim and goes above the square [on the backboard], and he goes up and tip dunks it," Buford said. "It was as good as a dunk as you'll ever see in the NBA."
Ginobili, 25, began playing professional basketball in his native Argentina in 1995 before moving to Italy to play in 1998 and earning Italian League MVP honors in 2001 and 2002. The Spurs drafted him in 1999 and signed him before the 2002-03 season.
"He's not really impressed by all this," Popovich said, referring to the hype and glory of the NBA playoffs. "He's not really a rookie. He's played in all the big games in Europe. You're talking about people with guns circling the court. You're talking about smoke-filled gyms with all that nationalistic fervor."
Ginobili likes where the NBA three-point line is, three feet beyond the international line.
"The players are so much
farther from the basket, and it makes more room for penetrating," he said.
"It's really tough. It's incredible. There are only a few players who shoot
it [well]. Kobe [Bryant] was amazing the other night."
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Game #1 LA Lakers vs San
Antonio Spurs
The NBA: Spurs Have Too Much
in Reserve With Ginobili
Los Angeles Times
May 6, 2003
SAN ANTONIO — Can you, Manu?
... a San Antonio reserve named Emmanuel (Manu) Ginobili took over the game.
Ginobili, a 6-foot-4 guard with an uncanny nose for the ball, made three three-point shots in the second half when he scored 14 of his 15 points, to go along with his six rebounds and four steals as the Spur reserves outscored the Laker bench, 28-4, making the difference and more in an 87-82 victory.
"I can't figure him out, to be honest with you," Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said of Ginobili. "I don't know what to expect — I'm being totally honest — what he's going to do out there.
"As
everyone knows, he was a big-time player in Europe, he won European championships,
he always had the ball in his hands. Here he doesn't always
have
the ball.
"But he made shots. Timmy [Duncan] was doing a great job, deciding when he was going to try to score and when he was going to trust his teammates, and Manu came through and knocked down some shots. You've got to do it to win."
Of course, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant. The Spurs who have to knock them down are all young and barely established, Tony Parker, 20, Stephen Jackson, 25, and Ginobili, 25.
"That's
true," Ginobili said, "but Kobe's younger than I am."....
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Portland
vs. San Antonio
USA
Today
April
10, 2003
SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- The San Antonio Spurs drafted Manu Ginobili for his offense, not his offensive rebounding.Ginobili scored 17 points and came up with two key offensive rebounds in the final 90 seconds that allowed the Spurs to hold on for an 84-79 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers that gave them the best record in the NBA.
The Spurs (58-20) have won 10 straight games to move one game ahead of slumping Dallas in the Midwest Division. They are an astounding 38-7 since the All-Star break.
But they would not have won this one without the hustle of Ginobili, a rookie guard from Argentina whose ability to make plays off the dribble have taken some of the offensive pressure off superstar Tim Duncan.After two free throws by Bonzi Wells pulled Portland within 81-79 with 1:28 to play, Tony Parker missed a jumper that was run down by Ginobili, buying the Spurs some extra time before Dale Davis stole the ball from Duncan.
At the other end, former Spur Derek Anderson missed a running banker with 35 seconds to go. Parker again missed a jumper, but Ginobili barely beat a Trail Blazer to the loose ball and tapped it to Stephen Jackson, who was fouled with 10.6 seconds left and made both free throws."I was on the weak side and I knew I just had to go after theball," Ginobili said.
"He
plays really hard," Anderson said. "The two offensive rebounds that
he had, he just outworked me for them. He just has great instincts
for the ball and just is a worker."On a night where the Trail Blazers limited
Duncan to a season-low 11 points, Ginobili picked up the slack, making
7-of-11 shots, including two 3-pointers."He's a great player and did a
great job for them getting key offensive rebounds," Portland coach Maurice
Cheeks said. "We needed to do a better job on the offensive end,
but
his heart and determination made him a big factor in their win." ...
http://www.usatoday.com/advertising/orbitz/orbitz-window.htm
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The
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
In
September of 2002, Yugoslavia 84, beats Argentina 77 in Overtime, as Ginobili
must
sit out with sprained ankle. Germany took third edging out New Zealand,
with USA, as the host team who lost three times, to finish out of contention.
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The
ARGENTINIA NATIONAL TEAM ( Six out of eight have Italian Surnames)
The Starting Five
Shooting
guard: Emmanuel Ginobili
Known
as "Manu" by his many fans, Ginobili is already drawing raves for his crafty
drives to the basket. He's averaging 18 ppg, 5.3 apg and 2.3 spg while
shooting a scorching 59 percent from the field. Ginobili currently ranks
number one in assists here at the World Championships.
Point
guard: Pepe Sanchez
Sanchez
is the glue that holds this team together. He has big-time experience on
both the pro and international level. He played point guard for the Philadelphia
76ers when they played the Lakers in the NBA Finals in 2001. And last
year he led Panathinaikos to the Euroleague Championship. He runs a complicated
offense and has been referred to as the Jason
Kidd of Europe because of his ability to make a major impact on the
game without scoring a lot of points.
Small
forward: Hugo Sconochini
Sconochini
is another legend in Europe who never decided to make the leap to the NBA.
He's Argentina's second leading scorer averaging 14.3 ppg and 2.8 apg in
just 17.8 mpg. Considered to be one of the savviest players here, Sconochini
provides the team with veteran leadership when things get tough.
Power
forward: Fabrico Oberto
Two
years ago Oberto was considered one of the best scorers in Europe. He even
got an invitation to the Knicks camp one year, but an injury limited his
ability to play. Over the past few years, Oberto has subtly changed his
game. Now he is one of the best defenders and offensive rebounders on the
team.
Center:
Ruben Wolkowyski
Wolkowyski
is the muscle in the middle. He spent a year with the Seattle Sonics during
the 2000-01 season and is known for his tough rebounding and physical defense.
The Bench
Forward:
Andres Noccioni
Noccioni
is a warrior. He's he most physical player on the Argentinian squad. He
can play multiple positions on the floor and often is assigned the opposing
teams top offensive player. He's also dynamite taking the ball to the basket.
Forward:
Luis Scola
A
young bruiser down low, Scola has struggled with foul trouble throughout
the tournament but he's still considered a bright prospect. Like the other
Argentinean big men, he crashes the boards, loves to bang down low and
has an emerging low-post game.
Guard:
Alejandro Montecchia
Montecchia
is the veteran back-up point guard. He's more of an offensive threat than
Sanchez, but doesn't have quite the same playmaking skills.