Brian Beshara, a smooth transition to coaching - Apr 12, 2012
POSTED BY:
EUROBASKET NEWS
follow us on
Brian Beshara-Feghali (204-F-77, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: LSU), a name that hasn't been on the Lebanese basketball table for quite some time since he was pushed out of Sagesse in very strange conditions in 2010 while playing for free. Since then the former National Team Player (34 years), who scored 26 points in the 2004 Final win of Sagesse in the Asian Clubs Championships, has started a major shift in his career, preparing in the NCAA for a coaching future, while keeping in the possibilities a return to play in the Lebanese League in the right conditions.
Q- Hello Brian, its been well over a year and a half since you left Lebanon. What have you been doing?
A- Well I was offered an assistant coaching position at the University of New Orleans last year and I have always been interested in coaching so I decided to get my coaching career started. Our Head Coach moved to the University of Arizona, which is one of the very best colleges in the NCAA and I got a chance to move up a level also and go to Tulane University as their director of Player Development and Video. We just finished our first season last month and are busy as the host school for the Final Four which is going on this weekend in New Orleans as Im sure you know...so all in all it's been a fun great experience the last couple of seasons.
Q- What did you benefit from the College coaching experience?
A- The experience has been unbelievable...from reconnecting with all of my friend and contact in the NCAA and NBA basketball over here to the actual day to day experience of learning from some of the very best in the business. My head coach last year worked under Bob Knight at Indiana who is a Hall of Fame coach and coaching legend here in America and this year was another great experience watching and learning from our coach who had been an assistant at North Carolina St and Tennessee previously. It's really allowed me to evolve from the player I always was to start becoming the coach I think I am meant to be. Technically speaking, I have been consumed with the strategic side of the game and spent 1000's of hours watching and dissecting other teams and players so I just have an even deeper comfort level with the game to compliment my experiences and feel for the game I had as a player.
Q- Have you been practicing or playing any kind of basketball?
A- I have played in friendly leagues and pickup games just for fun and to stay in shape but coaching has been my priority and coaching here really dominates your time if you want to do it well. I still beat our players in shooting games and short games of 1 on 1 though from time to time just to not let them get too satisfied with themselves haha...
Q- Are you still following the Lebanese basketball news and teams?
A- I am actually...my experience playing in Lebanon was a real blessing and I will always follow how things go over there. It looks like things have not changed too much at the top of the league with Riyadi and Champville still apart from the rest but it's nice to see the some new teams show some ambition and positive results this year...it would be great to see Sagesse and Moutahed get back to where they have been in the past and where I was fortunate to be a part of some very good teams.
Q- How do you think can Lebanese basketball improve in the short term
A- In the short term I would just say to focus on the best interests of the game and only the game. No individual or group or team is more important than the game and I think some short sightedness and maybe greed has caused basketball to fall from where it was during the late 90's and early 2000's. We need to have an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity or zero-sum mentality...there is enough success to go around for everyone and the better and more marketable basketball becomes in general the better it will be for everyone.
I think it's a shame to be honest to see what happened with the national team for instance. As everyone knows, we almost beat China in my last time playing for Lebanon and I had not injured my knee severely in the beginning of the tournament we would have had a great great chance to win the whole tournament. We really had some high level talent playing together and the entire core of the team Jackson, Matt, Jean, Fadi, Ali, myself and others were all still capable of playing at a high level along with some nice young developing talent to draw from. We were on the verge of becoming dominant in Asian basketball if we had stayed the course and put the game of basketball before any other issue. Now nobody is afraid of Lebanese Basketball unfortunately
On the bright side I do see some positive things happening with the local league so I hope this can continue while we suffer through a difficult time on the National Team side. Basketball in Lebanon has an incredible potential and I hope it realizes this potential locally and on the world level.
Q- Any chances of seeing you again as a Player in Lebanon?
A- I would never say never...ive only just turned 34 and my body has been able to stay fresh from not playing 60-80 games a year for the past few years. But that said, my last year there was difficult after passing up a big contract to try and help Sagesse through the issues they were and still seem to be going through so it would just have to feel like a really good situation with a management that had the resources, ambition, and professional mentality to be champions. I dont feel like I have anything left to prove as a player but the challenge of helping to build a champion is definitely the next focus of my career wherever I am...as a player or a coach.
Q- What are you future plans for this coming season?
A- Right now, I really enjoy my situation at Tulane but this is the time of year a lot of movement happens in college basketball...pretty much every coach in the country is in New Orleans for the final four so I am looking forward to touching base with all of my friends in the business and seeing what everyone is up to and if any other interesting opportunities open up here at Tulane or maybe somewhere else.
Q- Any wish list you might have for yourself basketball wise?
A- Well I am looking forward to being a head coach one day as soon as possible...the last two years have given me confidence that I am ready to take this challenge. Im also definitely looking forward to coming back to Lebanon soon for vacation or professionally...either one is fine with me as long as I get to visit soon!
Champville secure WABA Cup for first time in clubs history - May 18, 2013
POSTED BY:
EUROBASKET NEWS
follow us on
BEIRUT: Reigning Lebanese champions Champville secured their first WABA Cup title Friday after finishing first in standings with a 5-1 record.
Champville were level with both Iranian sides Petrochimi and Foolad Mahan at 5-1, but the head-to-head advantage saw the Lebanese side clinch the gold for the first time in history.
Foolad came in second, while Petrochimi completed the podium with the bronze medal [read more]
BEIRUT: Reigning Lebanese champions Champville secured their first WABA Cup title Friday after finishing first in standings with a 5-1 record.
Champville were level with both Iranian sides Petrochimi and Foolad Mahan at 5-1, but the head-to-head advantage saw the Lebanese side clinch the gold for the first time in history.
Foolad came in second, while Petrochimi completed the podium with the bronze medal. But it is Foolad who will represent Iran in the Asian clubs championship next September in Jordan next to Champville and Duhok, as only one team from each country is allowed in the championship.
The win is a major boost for Champville ahead of their final four clash with archrivals Riyadi Beirut in the domestic league as the best-of-five series starts early next week.
Champville used the tournament as a warm-up for the leagues semifinals, particularly because they were able to improve their chemistry with newcomer Jeremiah Massey (202-F-82, college: Kansas St.), who showed brilliant form during the tournament and great abilities in scoring and rebounding.
Ghassan Sarkis side also earned the chance to play for the first time in the Asian championship, as the 58-year-old manager will look to retain Asian glory after guiding Sagesse to victory in 1999 and 2000 in Beirut.
His side grabbed their second title this season after they beat Anibal Zahle to the Super Cup in October. By Danny Abboud Courtesy of: http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Al Moutahed Tripoli will look to end their series 3-1 with Byblos, when they meet this friday 17:30 at Jbeil in the fourth game of the best-of-five first-round playoffs series of the Lebanese League.
Moutahed was able to get the win in the game 1 after an overtime (87-80) where Eric Chatfield (191-G-79, agency: Fusion Sports, college: N [read more]
Al Moutahed Tripoli will look to end their series 3-1 with Byblos, when they meet this friday 17:30 at Jbeil in the fourth game of the best-of-five first-round playoffs series of the Lebanese League. Moutahed was able to get the win in the game 1 after an overtime (87-80) where Eric Chatfield (191-G-79, agency: Fusion Sports, college: N.Mexico) finished with 21pts,5reb,5ass leading his team in crucial moments, Rony Fahed (184-PG-81) added 15pts, and Marc Saylers (205-F-79, college: Samford) had a double double 14points and 10 rebounds. Byblos clinched game 2 by five points (81-76), all the credits go for Byblos defense who allowed Moutahed to score only 29points in the first two quarters, offensively Byblos imports Jasmon Youngblood (195-G-84, college: Kent St.) lead his team with 24pts,4reb,4ass and their canadian center Michael Fraser (203-C/F-84, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Oklah.Baptist) had 19pts,9reb,3ass. In game 3, Saylers scored 27points and Chatfield added 23pts,6ass while Youngblood scored 26points and Fraiser had 27points,16reb and Mouttahed queited Byblos in a 96-81 victory.
In their 2nd game in the tournament Champville played another Iranian Team Petrochimi , the first game saw Champville loosing against Foolad Mahad on the score of 83-84. This time Champville had other thoughts , and they were very focused to score their first win in the tournament . the first quarter saw the home team leading on the score of 23-22. Both teams continued to score and the neither teams managed to impose their rhythm , the score at the half was 38-38 [read more]
In their 2nd game in the tournament Champville played another Iranian Team Petrochimi , the first game saw Champville loosing against Foolad Mahad on the score of 83-84. This time Champville had other thoughts , and they were very focused to score their first win in the tournament . the first quarter saw the home team leading on the score of 23-22. Both teams continued to score and the neither teams managed to impose their rhythm , the score at the half was 38-38.
The 3rd quarter Petrochimi through Hamed Afagh imposed their game and finished the quarter on the score of 60-53. The last quarter Champville with Fadi Khatib and Jeremiah Massy sound the alarm and led their team to a big comeback which gave the lead and the win at the end of the game on the score of 84-78.
Massy led Champville with 29 points, Fadi Khatib 16pints
Copyright (c) 1998-2013 Eurobasket Inc. Disclaimer
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site !
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the site, nor will you attempt to do so.
