Deron Washington will play in Israel

by Matt W on Sep 8, 2008 1:50 PM CDT Comment 4 comments

Keith Langlois' latest post at True Blue Pistons should please DBB's Israeli readers:

One player who used the summer to enhance his prospects of occupying a roster spot with the Pistons someday – not this season – was Deron Washington. The third of the three second-round picks the Pistons exercised last June, Washington impressed Dumars and Michael Curry in Las Vegas with his athleticism and tenacity, then opened more eyes in August when he was working out with the other young Pistons at the practice facility.

Washington recently signed a contract to play with Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Premier League. Pistons VP Scott Perry told me that Washington will be playing at small forward and developing his perimeter offensive skills. The Pistons think he’s already an NBA-quality defender who showed them a little more offense than they thought he had over the summer. Two of Washington’s teammates might be familiar to fans of American college basketball – 6-foot-8 Curtis Withers from Charlotte and guard Luis Flores of Manhattan.

I got a chance to see Washington play in Las Vegas, and while he needs polish, his ability to play above the rim is a sight to behold. (For a taste, check out his college highlight reel.) And for what it's worth, I completely agree that his defense is already NBA ready. Here's to hoping the rest of his game catches up, because he's an extremely fun player to watch.

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Ah.

by Charles X on Sep 9, 2008 2:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Fadel/Ohad, I’ll expect progress reports.

by Quick Darshan on Sep 9, 2008 2:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Holon won the Israel premier league championship last year beating Bynum’s Maccabi team in the championship game.
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Last update – 03:32 30/05/2008
Perpetual basketball champion Maccabi T.A. dethroned by Hapoel Holon
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Hapoel Holon

Hapoel Holon on Thursday stunned perennial champion Maccabi Tel Aviv to lift the Premier League title and end the Yellow’s 14-year domination of the domestic basketball league.

The 73-72 victory – one of the most dramatic in recent history – prevented Maccabi from winning its 48th title and made Holon just the sixth team to win the coveted prize.

Box score link – Bynum had 4 points and 3 assists in 13 minutes

http://www.safsal.co.il/eboxscore.aspx?id=10342
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Hapoel Holon is an Israeli basketball club based in Holon, playing in the Israeli and European basketball competitions. The club won their first championship in 2008, beating perennial champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the play-off final.

History

The club was was founded in 1947 and reached the top division in 1954, finishing second in their first season.

Holon returned to the top flight at the end of the 2006-07 season, and finished top in the 2007-08 regular season. They reached the play-off final, where they defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 73-72 to claim their first championship, with Malik Dixon scoring the winning two points four seconds from the end of the game. PJ Tucker won the MVP title. It was the first time Maccabi Tel Aviv had failed to win the trophy in 14 years.1

The club has reached the final of the State Cup final five times, but lost on every occasion.

Notable players

Over the years the club has signed several former-NBA players, including PJ Tucker, Kenny Benister and Richie Dumas. Their best homegrown player was Ofer Eshed who played for the club between 1957 and 1972 and he is the all-time points leader in the team, with 7,495 points.

Arena

The club plays at the Holon City Arena, which has a capacity of 2,850. It was the first basketball arena in Israel, built in 1953. It is known as the “Cans Court”, as the roof and the sides of the court are made of cans.
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http://www.powerset.com/explore/semhtml/Hapoel_Holon?query=Hapoel+Holon+won+championship

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988498.html

by Mike on Sep 9, 2008 4:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs