Ready for some major fun! - RICARDO GREER - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL

Hey, people! It's great to be coming back to the Euroleague in just a few weeks now. Just as much as people here in Nancy are excited, so are the players on our team. I don't know which players are more pumped up for it, those of us who have played in the Euroleague before or the guys who will be getting their first chance. We're all going to have fun, but I know one guy who might have more fun than anyone in the league: our new center Rod Benson. He's already famous for his blogs back in the States, and we're all running round here saying "Boom Tho" all the time, to get with his movement. Maybe I can't blog head-to-head with Rod, who's got an incredible imagination, but I'll do my best.

First, let me introduce my team a bit. We have a lot of new faces to go with the guys on the team like me who are trying to repeat as champions of the French League, plus other guys who are proven players in the French League. First, I've got to mention my brother Jeff, who played with me in the Euroleague for Strasbourg. I love playing with my brother. We know exactly every move the other one makes before he does it. He knows where I'm going to be before I get there, and vice-versa. It's like a brotherly intuition, and it's an incredible feeling. It's got a lot to do with how we won two championships in France together with two different teams.

But of course, Nancy is much more than just the Greer brothers, and some players you might not know about now you are going to like when you see them play. There's a great array of talent here. John Cox, who is playing point guard for us, is going to surprise some people. It's his first time as a full-time point guard, and he's been doing a great job in preseason. We have French national team guard, Steed Tchicamboud, who plays great defense. Lamayne Wilson had a great year in the ULEB Cup last season. He can switch between the three and four positions and really shoot the ball. One of the great young guys is our center, Aboubacar Zaki, a big 20-year-old who has NBA potential. And don't forget Rod Benson. He's a really active big man besides being a great guy and a great personality to have on the team. He gives us an edge and keeps us laughing. Then you've got the vets: myself, Victor Samnik, Cyril Julian, Michel Morandais. I know one thing for sure: it's going to be fun playing with these guys.

Even our coach, Jean-Luc Monschau, might be a little unknown to fans around Europe, but he's had the most consistent teams in France the last few years. He's been in the last four French League playoff finals, and it would have been five in a row if he didn't leave Gravelines a week before I got there in 2004. I've known him since I first got to France in 2002, but last season was the first year I got to play with him, and he's a coach who let's players play. He's not going to restrict anybody. I have played probably my best basketball so far in Europe for Jean-Luc. He's given me the utmost confidence. He's a great person, a great family man. I love him as a coach and a person. He comes to win, and it's a pleasure playing for a coach who always has your back and you've got his. He's been a winner, right down the line, taking Nancy to those four straight finals. It was great last year to turn that corner and win the final for us, for him and the fans here. Finally, Nancy got to be French champs and we made the Euroleague!

It's a big jump for all of us to be in the Euroleague. It's something we spent all season last year trying to do and now that we've reached it, we're not going to be happy just showing up. We want to win as many games as possible. We've got a good team, with good players and good people, so the main thing is to come out with the attitude that we can win. That starts now in the preseason. Our coach has done a great job with the guys and so far we're looking good. We plan to keep looking good, too!

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Ricardo Greer - Nancy, France