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Drago Pasalic NBA Draft Scouting Report

Drago Pasalic NBA Draft Scouting Report
Sep 01, 2004, 05:35 pm
Strengths
The jumper is the most noticeable attribute of this big man. He can shoot it from three point land, although his mid-range shot is more reliable. He delivers it quite fast, receiving the ball and shooting right away, and his mechanics are surprisingly good for a player of his size. But this is not the only pleasant surprise; Pasalic is very well proportioned and coordinated for a player of his height. He is quite an athletic big guy, showing mobility, running the court pretty well and displaying a decent vertical leap. He also has a good body frame that will allow him to put some weight.

He's a decent rebounder, shining particularly on the offensive end, where he shows skill especially on put-backs. He also has a soft touch around the basket. Considering his skills and the way he uses them, Pasalic is an intelligent player; He knows how to play without the ball, and he seems to have a good understanding of the game.

Weaknesses
The worst characteristic of Pasalic's game is that although he has the prototypical body of a paint player, he likes to face the basket too much. He's no Nowitzki, because he's far from excelling in wing player skills such as quickness, handles, a good enough first step to penetrate and shooting off the dribble. The post game he shows is really limited. A semi-hook is his most typical shot. He feels more comfortable facing the basket to shoot the ball. Pasalic needs to fix that, as his combination of height, athleticism and soft touch around the basket are perfect for him to develop a reliable post game. This would without a doubt make him a much more versatile and valuable big man out of him. Besides, he lacks some serious aggressiveness and he tends to shy away from contact. His post offense, defense, rebounding and blocking production suffer because of that.

Competition
Pasalic joined his teammate Roko-Leni Ukic to win the European Junior Championships of 2002. Since then, he's been playing significant minutes for KK Split, a team full of youngsters on an average competition level in Europe. In 2003 he rejoined the Croatian Junior National Team to play the World Championships, and completed some of his best games as a basketball player, including a 20 point 22 rebound effort against Lithuania and a 30 point 22 rebound showing versus Slovenia.

Outlook
He will probably not declare this year as his game needs to be polished. Just adding some versatility would dramatically improve his stock. In spite of that, his shooting touch, height and athleticism alone might place him in the first round.

Comments
A player to watch closely in the future. He can become a very nice piece for the League or he could very well end in Europe as a one-dimensional player. It really depends on him.

Facts
A member of the Croatian junior National Team.

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