Scores from the 3rd round of the Qatari D1
Al Jaysh Army SC 77 (39 - 24) Al Ahli Sports Club 58
As Sadd Sports Club 73 (34-28) Al Gharrafah 55
Al Rayyan 92 (40-36) Al Arabi Club 77
Qatar Club 74 (30-33) Al Wakrah 64
Week 3 Leaders
Scoring
Curtis Haywood - 39 (198-G-75, college: Oklahoma City) (As Sadd)
Aaron Haynes - 32 (202-F-81, college: Boise St.) (Al Arabi)
Adel - 28 (Qatar Sports Club)
Boney Watson - 27 (183-G, college: Sam Houston St.
Qatar Club basketball team management agreed terms with the American Guard Maurice Hargrow (195-G-83, college: Minnesota) to play for them this season 2008/2009.
An outstanding athlete who has great quickness and can explode to the goal • also a good on-the-ball defender.
Awards/Achievements:
NIT Semifinals -03
Big 10 Conf.
Qatar Club basketball team management agreed terms with the American Guard Maurice Hargrow (195-G-83, college: Minnesota) to play for them this season 2008/2009.
An outstanding athlete who has great quickness and can explode to the goal • also a good on-the-ball defender.
Awards/Achievements: NIT Semifinals -03 Big 10 Conf. Honorable Mention -03 Austrian A Bundesliga All-Star Game -07 (Slam Dunk Contest Winner) Austrian Bundesliga A Semifinals -07 Qatar Emir Cup Finalist -08 Luxembourg League Semifinals -08
Scores from the 1st round of the Qatar Clubi D1
Al Jaysh Army SC 71 (29 - 32) Al Wakrah 57
Al Rayyan 69 (34-26) Al Gharrafah 42
Al Arabi Club 58 (36-37) Al Ahli Sports Club 47
Qatar Club 74 (25-27) As Sadd Sports Club 65
Week 1 Leaders
Scoring
Curtis Haywood - 34 (198-G-75, college: Oklahoma City) (As Sadd)
Maurice Hargrow - 30 (195-G-83, college: Minnesota) (Qatar Club)
Aaron Haynes - 26 (202-F-81, college: Boise St.
Al Arabi Club have signed forward Aaron Haynes (202-F-81, college: Boise St.) for the 2008-09 season. Haynes has previously played in Finland, Sweden, the UAE and Lebanon, and has been dominant everywhere he has played. Last year in Lebanon, he had an outstanding season with Sporting Feytroun where he finished 2nd in scoring (24), 1st in rebounding (17.8), 5th in assists (5.8), 1st in blocked shots (2.2), and 1st in free-throw % (82.
Al Arabi Club have signed forward Aaron Haynes (202-F-81, college: Boise St.) for the 2008-09 season. Haynes has previously played in Finland, Sweden, the UAE and Lebanon, and has been dominant everywhere he has played. Last year in Lebanon, he had an outstanding season with Sporting Feytroun where he finished 2nd in scoring (24), 1st in rebounding (17.8), 5th in assists (5.8), 1st in blocked shots (2.2), and 1st in free-throw % (82.8). Basically, he can do it all on the court and at a very high level. It will be very exciting to watch him play this year, and I am sure that he will add something very special to the Qatari League.
We definitely want to win at a high level: Davison
KUWAIT (FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup): Talking to Kent Davison is an experience by itself.
The affable American with an impressive coaching career spanning more than 35 years at various levels of the sport took over as the Head Coach of the Qatari National Team, an assignment he describes as challenge and fun going hand in hand.
KUWAIT (FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup): Talking to Kent Davison is an experience by itself.
The affable American with an impressive coaching career spanning more than 35 years at various levels of the sport took over as the Head Coach of the Qatari National Team, an assignment he describes as challenge and fun going hand in hand.
The Gulf powerhouse won back to back bronze medals at the FIBA Asia Championship in 2003 and 2005 and bagged a creditable silver at home behind China in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
But much to the disappointment of the fans, Qatar finished a mere seventh at last years FIBA Asia Championship at Tokushima.
The disappointment Davison hopes to erase.
We are going through a transition period in Qatar basketball, the 57-year-old former USBL Coach of the Year told S Mageshwaran of FIBA Asia, on the eve of the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, which starts in Kuwait on Thursday.
I think anytime you have a change in coaches and a change in philosophies you are going to go through a period that will be hard, he added.
We are fortunate that we have some players that are very dedicated to making this program the best that it can be. I am not sure how we will do as we prepare for official tournaments but I know it will not be for the lack of hard work on the players part, he said in an elaborate interview.
Excerpts
Q: How has been your experience with a Gulf team, especially in the background of your rich experience in D-League and with Fort Wayne?
A: I spent 7 years in the D-League and was very fortunate to have players like Mikki Moore (of Sacramento Kings), Matt Carroll (of Charlotte Bobcats) and Will Bynum (of Detroit Pistons) to name a few, but the players we have in Qatar are just as hard working and fun to be around as the ones we had in the D-League. The entire basketball federation and the Qatar Olympic Committee have made our stay to this point very nice. I enjoy going to the gym for practice everyday and I am excited to come to Kuwait to see how much carry-over we will have from the practices to the games.
Q: What are your thoughts on a tournament like FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup?
A: I really feel that a tournament like this is very important for us in Qatar this year. As a new coach in FIBA Asia, it gives me a chance to see some of the teams that we will be facing next year in the qualifying tournament. I wish that more teams were participating in the tournament.
Q: Do you think this tournament is the first step towards a good performance in next year's FIBA Asia Championship (three teams from there will qualify for the 2010 World Championship)?
A: We hope it is a step in the right direction. We are looking more to see what we will be able to do in the way of offense and defense. What things will work for us against some of the teams that will be in the tournament next summer. We also want to see what things we will have to stress to the team as we continue to prepare for the Asian Championships. Do we want to play at a high level, for sure and do we want to win, most definitely.
Q: Do you think the competition at Kuwait this year will be good enough?
A: Yes, I feel that any time you get teams together that are representing their country, the competition will be very competitive. I know some of the quality teams wont be there, but the teams that decided to come will play extremely hard.
Q: What is the team you have brought?
A: I think our team will be a mixture of youth and experience. We have an 18 year old point guard in Mansour Elhadary, who will be experiencing his first official tournament. I am really excited to see how he handles it. We also have some players who have played for a number of years, but not with me as their head coach. That will be good to see how they respond to me in an official tournament.
Q: Please assess your prospects at the tournament?
A: Im not sure how we will handle playing in an official tournament. I like how we have practiced and played in the last few weeks, but it will be a lot different playing these types of teams. We look forward to the challenge.
Q: What has been your preparatory program for the tournament?
A: We played in the Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei, the King Abdulla in Jordan and played three Philippines teams at home this summer. I think we got a good idea of our team.
Q: Can you elaborate on the strengths of your team at this point?
A: I like how we run the floor, I like our intensity, and I like how we share the ball and try to defend in the way in which we have been teaching them.
Q: What are the specific areas you have been concentrating in your preparatory program?
A: I think two areas concern us as we prepare: 1) turnovers, we are very careless with the ball. 2) Our bench, we are very thin in some positions.
Q: Who do you think is the major competition to your campaign in the tournament?
A: I have seen Jordan play three times this summer and I really like how they play as a team.
Q: Are you missing any key player/s due to injuries etc?
A: We are missing a few players that will be with us next summer. All three have had surgery in the past few weeks. They will be fine and will help us a lot next summer. This is what I like about coming to play; we will have to have some other players contribute if we are going to be successful.
As Sadd Sports Club basketball team management agreed terms with the American Guard Curtis Haywood (198-G-75, college: Oklahoma City) to play for them this season 2008/2009.
Curtis can really run and push the ball. Great Vision in the open court. to the open man He is very long and handles very well for his size.
Curtis can really run and push the ball. Great Vision in the open court. to the open man He is very long and handles very well for his size. He can really shoot the pro 3
Awards/Achievements: Honorable mention NAIA All-American -98 First team NAIA All-American -99 MVP of the Sooner Athletic Conference -99 Eurobasket.com All-Cyprus League Imports Team -03, 04 Eurobasket.com All-Cyprus League 1st Team -04 Syrian League Regular Season Runner-Up -06 Syrian League Champion -06 ABA All-Star Game -07 Arab Club Championships -07 (Finalist) Asia-Basket.com All-Arab Club Championships Top Scorer -07 Asia-Basket.com All-Arab Club Championships 1st Team -07 Venezuelan LPB Semifinals -07 CBA Champion -08 CBA National Conference Runner-Up -08
One of the best americans who played in Qatar in the last few years Boney Watson (183-G, college: Sam Houston St.) will be the new addition of Al Rayyan Club roster under the command of the australian coach Brian Lester who will stay with the team for an additional year....
Watson played for Al Gharafa before 2 seasons and then Al Arabi and led both to some trophies which added alot to his bright career which also contains countries such as Mexico and Turkey.
One of the best americans who played in Qatar in the last few years Boney Watson (183-G, college: Sam Houston St.) will be the new addition of Al Rayyan Club roster under the command of the australian coach Brian Lester who will stay with the team for an additional year....
Watson played for Al Gharafa before 2 seasons and then Al Arabi and led both to some trophies which added alot to his bright career which also contains countries such as Mexico and Turkey.
