Hooped Up

Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard just confirmed internet reports that 2007 first-round draft pick Petteri Koponen has signed a four-year contract to play with Virtus Bologna of Italy. Koponen, a 6-foot-5 point guard who played on the Blazers’ NBA Summer League team the past two years, had hoped to join the NBA this season after earning MVP honors in the Finnish League during the 2007-08 season. But, with a surplus of NBA-ready guards, Pritchard and the Blazers felt that time in a competitive European league would more quickly accelerate the 20 year-olds development. 

Oregonian