Tiago Splitter (right) and Tau Ceramica have reached the Euroleague Final Four. Rafa Rivas/AFP/Getty Images Ian Thomsen will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

3 Things worth knowing about the Euroleague

The Euroleague Final Four is the best event in basketball, a single-game knockout competition played at a much higher level than the NCAAs with even more passionate fans. The semifinalists were established this week for the Final Four in Madrid on May 2-4. Montepaschi Siena of Italy will meet Maccabi Elite of Israel, and Tau Ceramica of Spain will play CSKA Moscow.

3. The mission of Tiago Splitter. The Tau center had been featured in NBA mock drafts for several years before he was chosen last year by the Spurs with the No. 28 pick. Splitter had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Tau to a 85-68 victory over the Serb club Partizan Igokea in its Game 3 quarterfinal Wednesday, but he is not seen as a future star for the Spurs.

"He is an up-and-down player,'' an NBA scout said of Splitter. "As good as he was in Game 3, he was disappointing in Game 2. He has had a good season without being flashy or spectacular. He hasn't put together amazing numbers, but he does the job as a solid contributor.''

Splitter has averaged 13.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 22.3 minutes in the Euroleague this season.

2. The tragedy of Ettore Messina. The CSKA coach learned two months ago that his younger brother Attilio had been diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. For the last month, CSKA has been shuttling Messina back and forth between Moscow and Bologna, Italy, where his brother was undergoing treatment. Messina has been coaching the games, while his assistants have handled most of the practices in his absence. CSKA has a veteran team that was able to overcome an opening 76-74 loss to Olympiakos of Athens -- the winner on a buzzer-beater by former Bucks guard Lynn Greer -- and salvaged its best-of-three quarterfinal to advance to the Final Four for a record sixth consecutive time.

Attilio Messina died Thursday. He was 42. The month ahead will be very difficult for Coach Messina and his team.

1. The favorites. CSKA and Siena are expected to meet in the winner-take-all final May 4. Siena has dominated the weakened Italian league for the past two years with a balanced team that lacks a major star. CSKA has the higher profile with American guards Trajan Langdon and J.R. Holden, Greek guard Theo Papaloukas (recently named among the top 35 players in Euroleague history), and shooting big man David Andersen, who is expected to enter the NBA next season (the Hawks own his rights). But this event is as hard to predict as March Madness, and any of the semifinalists could emerge.

2 Brief arguments for the No. 1 pick in the draft

2. Derrick Rose, Memphis. "It has to be Rose,'' a league GM said. "Everyone was talking about Beasley as the No. 1 pick because he had a good year. But before that they were talking about his baggage, and that baggage hasn't gone away. Rose is so fast with the ball, and you saw in the [NCAA] final how he made big shots, he was athletic and strong and he could finish at the basket. He has a world of upside, and he's a tough kid who looks like he enjoys the spotlight. Can you imagine getting a point guard of that magnitude and knowing you'll have him for the next 12 years?''

1. Michael Beasley, Kansas State. "It still has to be Beasley,'' another team executive argued. "It's going to be hard to pass on him, no matter how well Rose did in the tournament. People are going to look at how Atlanta should have gone with a point guard like [Chris] Paul or [Deron] Williams in the [2005] draft instead of taking [forward] Marvin Williams -- that case is going to come up a lot in this argument. And a lot is going to depend, obviously, on which team winds up with the top pick. But I still think it's a lot harder to find a big guy who can do all of the things that Beasley can do than it is to find a point guard.''

1 Vote for All-Defensive team

1. Not that anybody asks -- the coaches decide this honor -- but here is how I would vote.

C -- Marcus Camby, Nuggets
PF -- Kevin Garnett, Celtics
SF -- Shane Battier, Rockets
SG -- Bruce Bowen, Spurs
PG -- Jason Kidd, Mavericks

Bowen is a small forward offensively, but he often shuts down the top scorer in the backcourt, and it would be wrong to put forth a team like this without including Garnett, Battier and Bowen. The hardest position to choose each year is point guard, so I sought the advice of an NBA coach, a team executive with NBA personnel duties and an advance scout. The first two voted for Kidd, while the scout rated Deron Williams slightly ahead of Kidd. The executive noted that Kidd often is assigned to defend the superior backcourt scorer, including shooting guards. The coach said Kidd is able to adapt to quicker point guards by giving them space and playing the angles. Kidd's talent for rebounding is another asset defensively.