The different European Youth National Teams are in their preparation phase for the European Youth championships that will be played this summer. Here are some of the notes on the different teams as they have done so far.

• The Greek U20 team will get the support from Florida Gator Nick Calathes this summer in the U20 competition as he has reported in a FIBA Europe interview these days. the are also rumors that Kosta Koufos could join the team after the NBA Summer Leagues.
• One of the strongest U20 preparation tournaments will be played from the 16th to the 20th July in Luxembourg. The participating nations are France, Russia, Lithuania, Turkey, Spain and a U23 selection from Luxembourg. Spain has announced their preliminary roster for this tournament which includes also Victor Claver from Pamesa Valencia.
• An interesting U18 tournament will be played this weekend in Syros/Greece with Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria and Greece. The Turkish team will be nearly the same that played already last weekend in Douai.
• The Romanian U20 national team won a preparation tournament in Targu Mures, the location of the B-Division championship in the beginning of August. The team build around Titus Nicoara and Vlad Moldoveanu won its three games against Ireland, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Titus Nicoara earned the MVP trophy in this three days of action.
• Another interesting U20 preparation tournament will be played in the Italian city of Domegge with the participation of Greece, Slovenia, Italy and Georgia. The dates for this event are from the 18th July to the 20th July.
• The German U20 team around Robin Benzing and Elias Harris won its three games in a tournament in Poland this weekend. They beat the hosts twice and Croatia as well. The team of coach Emir Mutapcic will travel to Italy next weekend to play there against Russia, Israel and Italy.
• Finally, I wanted to mention a story that is a bit sad. 1987 born German PG Nicolai Simon could see his basketball career end at the tender age of 21 already. After having cracked the rotation of ALBA Berlin in the 2006/07 season, the former Urspring Academy member injures his back in November 2007 and suffers now from never ending back problems and did not see the court anymore since then.  Even if he does not think about a career end yet, Nicolai is doing everything to avoid this to happen. We wish him good luck as he was one of the most talented players of the German 1987 generation.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

First of all I would like to say that to get to an NCAA tournament is a great accomplishment in my career so far but my plans go way beyond this. I really want a national title so I think this was the first step towards one of my main goals. It is amazing how much media we have around us now, and how many interviews we are required to do.

U20 European Championship this summer. I guess you will go for some huge scoring there?

About the U20 championship, I just want to win again, so I will do what it takes to win. If that means I have to score a lot, I will do it, if that means I have to rebound and defend I will do it. I will do what it takes for Romania to be in elite of the European basketball.

In fact, what degree are you studying for?

I haven’t decided about what major I want to be in, but it will probably be sports management or communications.

Anything else you want to add right now?

I just want to add that I’m really excited that I get to play my last tournament on the U20 team at home,and I know there are some great fans in Tg. Mures just like they were at Sibiu two years ago, and we are waiting for them to pack the gym and make it be like hell for the opponents. It will be a zoo there.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

We are speaking of Vlad Moldoveanu, a 2m10 forward from Romania. Vlad was a NBA Basketball without Borders participant in 2005 and was a regular contributor for the Romanian Youth NT over the last summers. So let’s see what he has to say himself about we he has accomplished so far.

First of all I want to say that besides winning the European championship Division B in 2006 and getting the MVP were the only things that I can say I have done in basketball. I got way bigger dreams personally and also with my national team and with my college team too.

So why did you sign with George Mason after your high school career with St. Johns College HS?

I signed with George Mason because I felt that they have a great program and I think they will develop me into a great player.

What type of player are you right now? Where do you see your forces and weaknesses?

I think of myself as a Small Forward-Power Forward-Center…I like players like Marco Belinelli, Hedo Turkoglu and Dirk Nowitzki so I try to get a little bit from all of them. I like watching DVD’s where thy play and try to assimilate certain parts of their game to mine.

I think my three ball and my jump shot are my biggest force as of today and I think I can improve my back to the basket game, which will help me get more open shots on the outside.

And what are your goals for the future?

My goals are to play in an European championship,World championship and at the Olympic games with my national team. I would also like to win an NCAA title. Besides that, I want to win the Euroleague 5-6 times and create a legacy for a team…kind of like what Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics did a while ago.

That’s quite an interesting career plan. So good luck Vlad and keep up working.

I wish you and your readers a happy new year, and I hope the new year that comes will be a lot better than the one that just passed.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.