Back on January 12th it was widely reported that Allen Iverson was ready quit the Besiktas Black Eagles and ride off into retirement.

Reportedly “The Answer” was set to have a news conference that day to announce his retirement from basketball.  As we all know, that press conference never happened.

Later that day, Iverson’s personal manager Gary Moore told the Associated Press that Iverson “totally disputes” any report of his retirement.  Moore said Iverson needs to have a painful lesion removed from his right calf.  He said the injury was the most painful that Iverson has had in his career. 

Now ESPN’s Rich Bucher has an update on this story which tells us Iverson has visited with uber-surgeon James Andrews and has now elected NOT to go under the knife.

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Even though he is coming off the best 3-game stretch of his short career in the Turkish Basketball League, it appeared earlier today that Allen Iverson was ready quit the Besiktas Black Eagles and ride off into retirement.

Reportedly “The Answer” was set to have a news conference today to announce his retirement from basketball.  That press conference never happened.

He recently missed two games because of an undisclosed injury, but returned from that absence to play solidly in three straight games for Besiktas, so we found it odd that he was suddenly going to retire. 

We read online that an ankle injury which would require him to return to United States for surgery was the official reason behind Iverson’s sudden retirement. 

“Leaving the basketball world makes me sad but, sometimes, we have to accept things like they are. I can say goodbye to basketball,” Iverson allegedly told the Turkish newspaper Ajansspor. 

Well, apparently not all of that is true…

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As a Sixers fan I’m torn.  Yes the wins are exciting, but does anyone else feel like we’re running in place?  Recent word out of the organization is that the front office feels so good about the improving play of the squad that they’re planning on postponing the shopping of Andre Igoudala until the summer, which makes me want to grab a loud speaker, climb to the top of City Hall, and scream,

WHYYYYYY ?????

Do they really think that it is worth postponing the future of the franchise for a potential first round flame out to the likes of Miami or Boston?  Quality wins such as the other night over Chicago show what the squad is capable of, but if anyone in the front office thinks this team is championship-caliber or more realistically capable of winning a first-round playoff series, than they are kidding themselves. 

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When we last checked in on Allen, he had returned with a vengeance from missing two consecutive games by dropping 26 points in 34 minutes during the Black Eagles  94-72 road loss to TBL opponent Tofas.  Allen was 7-11 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and was 6-9 from the charity stripe.  He also dished out five assists. 

In his next game, Iverson again hauled over 30 minutes (36), but did not have as effective of a night scoring the ball.  Allen was 2-6 from the field and 1-4 from deep, finishing with 11 points.  Iverson did grab 5 boards and hand out 4 dimes, but it wasn’t enough as Besiktas lost again — 73-71 to TBL foe Galatasaray. 

Well we are happy to report that Iverson played his third solid game in a row for Besiktas and hopefully has found his groove over in Turkey.

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It looks like we can put to bed those rumors circulating around the Internet that Allen Iverson could be close to bolting from Besiktas and returning to United States. 

At least for now.

If you recall, “The Answer’s” name was mysteriously absent from two Besiktas box scores prior to Christmas and his absence from the lineup fueled speculation that Iverson was close to returning home.

We attempted to contact the Besiktas Cola Turka club several times for a comment on this matter, but received no return emails or phone calls.  Later it was quietly revealed by Besiktas that Iverson had missed those games because of undisclosed injury.

Well, we’re happy to report that Iverson has already made his 2011 debut for the Black Eagles. 
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It’s all good in Turkey. 

Well as good as it can be considering the rumors that Allen Iverson is not at all happy with the way he is being used by Besiktas and that he has alienated teammates. 

Despite all the rumors stateside (especially here in Philly) that things are not going smoothly in Turkey, Iverson had another decent outing today and Besiktas posted their first EuroCup win this season with an 80-74 victory over French club Asvel. 

Besiktas is now 1-2 in Eurocup play and 5-3 in Turkish League action.

As has become the norm since his arrival in Instanbul, Iverson started for the Black Eagles, but only hauled 24 minutes this time out.  His limited tick was a little surprising given that he played a season high 37 minutes this past weekend when Besiktas defeated TBL opponent Olin Edirne, 88-75.

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Allen Iverson recovered nicely from his last game for Besiktas in which he struggled mightily (2 for 5 from the field for 4 points) and was seemingly benched for the entire 4th quarter.  Iverson was again in the starting five for the Black Eagles and hauled 37 minutes on the night.  The result was a 88-75 victory for Besiktas over Olin Edirne in Turkish League play. 

Besiktas is now 5-3 on the TBL season.  They are 3-1 in league play and 0-2 in Euroleague action since Iverson’s arrival. 

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All is not well in Turkey…

In our last Iverson update we reported that “The Answer’s” next game for Besiktas would be on December 3^rd .   We got that information from the club’s own website.  What we have learned since is that Besiktas web site only lists Turkish League games and does not list Eurocup games on the schedule they post online.  

So on Monday night, Besiktas traveled to France to play French basketball club Asvel Basket in Euroleague action.  The Asvel Basket faithful were racked and stacked at the L’Astroballe in anticipation of Iverson’s French debut.  Allen was once again in the first-five for Besiktas and that’s about all the only good thing we can report for Iverson’s latest adventure on the other side of the pond.    

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This edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews upcoming 76ers opponents — features tonight’s opponent down at the Wells Fargo Center, our favorite former point man Andre Miller and his Portland TrailBlazers. 

Believe it or not, we expect the 76ers to win this game tonight.  Yes we know Vegas has installed the Sixers as a 3.5 point “home dog”.  And yes we know that Portland is a very talented team that is playoff tested and lives in the brutally tough Western Conference.  And yes we can see where many would say that on paper Portland is a better squad then Philadunkia’s home team.  But this isn’t the Blazers of 2009-10 that battled hard every night despite major injury problems.  Nope, this Blazers team appears burnt out, is sitting at 8-8 while riding a 3-game losing streak and is on the brink of an internal meltdown. 

The Sixers should be able to capitalize on all of those issues and get a W tonight.

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We are happy to report that over the weekend (11/27/10),  Allen Iverson had far and away his best game in Turkey.  After starting, but seeing limited minutes and scoring only two points last game, Iverson certainly needed a break out effort.  On Saturday, Iverson was again in the starting lineup for the Besiktas Cola Turka Black Eagles and played over 20 minutes on the night.  In true Iverson fashion he responded with a great game. 

Included in Iverson’s 14 point, 8 dime outing was  a late second half explosion that kept his Beşiktaş team in the game and helped produce a much need win for the Black Eagles who are now 2-1 overall and 1-1 in league play since Iverson’s arrival.

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