As of Monday, I found out Tel Aviv University has received all of my materials, which means that according to the school, I'll find out my decision in three weeks. I'm guessing that means I'll get a decision the last week before school starts. It's pretty amazing that the application part is finally over and I'll soon be making actual decisions about what I'll be doing at TAU.
The other piece of news from Monday is that point guard Carlos Arroyo officially signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He's someone who definitely had to be targeted but I'm surprised that Arroyo didn't decide to play in Spain or latch on to another NBA team. It was pretty obvious Arroyo wasn't going back to the Magic but this signing is huge for Maccabi. He will certainly be the most established point guard since Sarunas Jasikevicius.
There were reports that Maccabi made a run for Jason Williams, but he would have a much harder time adjusting to international play and would not be a great fit even though he is a better NBA player.
I'm still not convinced that Esteban Batista is the answer at center for Maccabi. He might be the best affordable option, but if Maccabi has another 2.5-3 million dollars, they should go after Indiana Pacers' free agent center David Harrison. The seven-footer will not play for Indiana as it currently has a log-jam at center with Rasho Nesterovic, Greg Foster and Roy Hibbert already on the team.
There aren't any reports suggesting interest for Harrison from other NBA teams, although someone will have to offer the minimum at some point.
If Maccabi can offer a contract that will give Harrison more money than he would in the NBA, he has to jump on the opportunity to start for a very good team in Euroleague. He's a strong defensive presence inside and could certainly clog up the middle for the Israeli team. He would also give Tel Aviv some much needed size inside. The only question is if Maccabi is willing to fork over another 2 to 3 million per year to woo him overseas.
Harrison is an unrestricted free agent so he has several options and someone will want to sign a servicable backup center for their team, but Maccabi should be doing all they can to shore up the middle.
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