|
| |
| |
| European Roundup: Motiejunas Adjusting |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| November 15, 2009 |
Donatas Motiejunas adjusting to life in the Italian first division with Benetton...Jeremy Tyler shooting himself in the foot...Gecevicius the top youngster in the Euroleague...Aradori emerging as a prospect...Milutinovic on fire early.
Motiejunas Adjusting
After transferring this summer from a tiny team competing in a small league in his local first division to Italian based Benetton Treviso, we’re witnessing the first steps taken by top Lithuanian prospect Donatas Motiejunas.
So far, the transition hasn’t been easy, which is to be expected considering the immense jump in the level of competition he's facing, but he has been making progress from week to week, something we’ll have to continue to track as the season moves on.
Motiejunas is coming off the bench for Benetton, playing most of the frontcourt minutes (16.4 on average at the moment) left over by power forward Judson Wallace and center Sandro Nicevic. In contrast to last season, he’s not a focal point for his team offensively in the least bit, mostly living off scraps in the form of pick and roll finishes, weak-side cuts, spot-up jumpers, easy finishes recieving the ball in transition, and the occasional post-up play. Considering his rookie status and the stage of development he’s currently at, this is not a surprise in the least bit. This season has been a learning experience for Motiejunas thus far, one that will very likely be very beneficial as he makes the transition to first round draft pick and eventually, NBA player.
The main thing holding Motiejunas back at the moment is his lack of strength, which has been incredibly evident in all the film we’ve seen thus far, on both ends of the court. Motiejunas lacks the bulk to operate as effectively in the paint as his terrific skill-set and athleticism indicates he should be able to, struggling to establish position inside and having a very difficult time finishing his moves in traffic when taking contact around the rim.
Defensively, Motiejunas is getting posted up quite a bit, leading him to foul at a very high rate, and having a difficult time with his off the ball defense, looking somewhat lost on rotations. He’s agile enough to step out nicely on the perimeter and hedge screens defending the pick and roll, but will require experience at this level to learn how to put his athletic gifts to proper use.
Perhaps the place where Motiejunas is struggling the most right now is on the glass, having grabbed just four defensive rebounds in 82 minutes of action through five Italian league games. It’s not hard to come away with the feeling at times that Motiejunas lacks quite a bit of toughness watching him being boxed out with ease while casually going after loose balls with one hand, and this will be a significant concern for NBA decision makers moving forward if he can’t find a way to pick up his play here. He looks very indifferent setting screens and stepping in to take charges, avoiding contact and not really being in a huge rush to sacrifice his body for the sake of the team.
On the positive side, Motiejunas’ terrific talent-level is constantly on display, sometimes in small flashes and sometimes in very large ones. His excellent hands, extremely nimble footwork and terrific mobility are all huge assets that have clearly translated to this level of competition, and have already allowed Motiejunas to establish himself as a scoring presence even with limited possessions.
The terrific touch he displays around the rim is especially impressive. He’s an incredibly natural scorer in the paint, converting on beautiful hook shots, hitting spot-up jumpers, putting the ball on the floor nicely, and converting other unorthodox shots confidently and instinctively. The fact that Benetton really has no true point guard on their roster probably isn’t helping him that much, but the Lithuanian big man is talented enough to go out and get his own offense, which not many 19-year olds playing at this level of competition can say.
Benetton unfortunately was not able to get past French minions Orleans in the Euroleague qualifying stage, meaning we’ll have to settle for watching Motiejunas play on Tuesdays in the EuroCup instead. He’ll compete against the likes of Kevin Seraphin at Cholet and Nemanja Bjelica at Red Star Belgrade, which will at least make NBA scouts a little less unhappy.
Right now Motiejunas looks a little bit lost, clearly lacking some confidence and needing time to settle into his new role against the much stronger opponents he’s facing compared with last season. It’s way too early at this juncture to draw any long-term conclusions based on Motiejunas’ play, so we’ll just have to continue to watch closely and see how he progresses.
Quick Hitters
-If you haven’t done so already, check out Pete Thamel’s must-read article in the New York Times about the struggles of high school senior Jeremy Tyler in his first season of professional basketball. Those who have followed our coverage of Tyler on this site since we first saw him play two years ago won’t be very surprised to read how things are turning out, but it’s still a bit disappointing to see things actually play out.
-One of the few draft-eligible prospects actually contributing in a major way in the Euroleague this season is 21-year old Lithuanian shooting guard Martynas Gecevicius, competing for 3-1 Lietuvos Rytas in a very tough group. Gecevicius is averaging nearly 16 points per game in a whopping 34 minutes. On the season, he’s shooting 36/71 (51%) from beyond the arc in 13 games in the three competitions (Euroleague, Lithuanian league, Baltic league) he plays in. He sports a lightning quick release and is near-automatic with his feet set.
Gecevicius is interestingly operating as his team’s primary backup point guard this season and is finding some success there thanks to his excellent feel for the game. He lacks great physical attributes, though, being somewhat one-dimensional as he relies very heavily on his 3-point stroke. Skinny, and not particularly big or athletic, he likely lacks the physical attributes (especially on the defensive end) to be considered a very interesting NBA prospect in this, his draft-eligible year. Regardless, he looks poised to develop into a terrific player for high-level Europe.
-On a similar note, we should point out the terrific early season performance of Italian shooting guard Pietro Aradori. We’ll focus in on him in a lot more depth once we make our annual trek to the lovely town of Biella, but for now it’s worth mentioning that the 20-year old currently ranks in the top 10 in scoring in the Italian league, with 16 points per game. Aradori is putting up those numbers in an efficient manner as well, hitting 57% of his 3-pointers, getting to the free throw line at a very high rate, rebounding the ball extremely well, and getting in the passing lanes nearly 2 times per game. All this combined has him currently ranked 7th in the Italian league in PER, no small feat for a player this young.
Aradori is doing it for a good team too, as Biella currently sits in 3rd place with a 4-1 record, fresh off a terrific road win over Rome this past weekend. Let’s see if Aradori, together with the rest of coach Luca Bechi’s troops at Biella can keep it up, particularly as they begin to play twice a week when the EuroCup kicks off at the end of this month.
-One of the best NBA draft oriented storylines developing in the always-interesting Adriatic league revolves around 19-year old Serbian wing player Andreja Milutinovic. Despite coming off a lackluster spring and summer at the junior level, when he played very uninspired basketball, Milutinovic has bounced back in a major way, emerging as the go-to guy of his very young FMP Zeleznik squad, and leading them in scoring thus far with nearly 14 points per game.
Milutinovic seems to have found a new bounce in his step, as he’s attacking the rim with great purpose on a regular basis, often finishing extremely well once there. Beyond that, he’s been absolutely lights out from beyond the arc, converting on over half of his four 3-point attempts (52%), while shooting a blistering 64% from 2-point range. For a prospect often criticized for being passive and not playing up to his full potential, Milutinovic has been about as aggressive as you could hope for in the early going of the season, both in the half-court and in transition situations.
Only five games into the season, it’s still a bit too early to get overly excited about Milutinovic’s performance. Still, considering his very nice physical attributes for a European prospect, and extremely young age, it’s something worth noting and following as the year moves on. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Adidas Nations Tournament: Rest of the World |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| August 26, 2009 |
Evan Fournier, 6-6, SG/SF, France, 1992
 | | FIBAEurope.com |
Despite being one of the youngest players at this camp at just 16 years old, French swingman Evan Fournier regardless managed to emerge as one of the top scorers here, all while leading his team to a competitive fourth place finish.
Fournier doesn’t look like much on first glance, as he’s a skinny young guy who initially does not appear to have great athleticism. The more you watch him, the more he grows on you, though, as he’s an extremely smooth all-around player who is a lot more explosive than you would first think.
Extremely versatile for his age, Fournier does many different things well, which leaves a lot of room for optimism regarding his future development. He is a shifty player in the open court who can create his own shot elegantly going left or right, and is extremely smooth finishing around the basket with either hand. He also has a nice mid-range game, coming up with a couple of very smooth pull-up jumpers off the dribble.
He typically takes what the defense gives him, and plays the game at a very nice pace, which is not a quality you typically associate with a player who is only 16 years old. Fournier has a very nice feel for the game, something that shows up in his passing ability, as well as the way he executes plays in the half-court and gets everyone around him involved.
On the downside, Fournier needs to get much tougher and stronger once he takes his game to the next level of competition, as may be a bit on the soft side. Defensively he struggled quite a bit from what we saw, not always putting the greatest effort in, and also being pushed around somewhat by the older players he went up against. His 3-point shot is also not as consistent as you might hope, although that doesn’t appear to be a major issue, as he has nice form and already shows the ability to make shots from that range.
While still extremely young, Fournier has to be considered an intriguing prospect thanks to the excellent size and scoring instincts he brings to the table, as well as the ability to create both for himself and others. Obviously he still has a long ways to go, but there is a lot to work with already.
Cory Joseph, 6-3, PG/SG, Findlay College Prep, 2010, Team Canada
The clear-cut MVP of the Adidas Nations tournament, Cory Joseph (#25 Scout, #7 Rivals, #30 ESPN) led his team to within a single possession of winning the championship game, while leading the entire camp in scoring. The more you watch Joseph, the more you feel like he’s destined to become a fantastic player at the college level, even if there remain some question marks about his long-term potential.
Joseph’s physical attributes aren’t great, as his body is just OK and his athleticism not much more than average. He makes up for that though with his ability to play at different speeds, an excellent basketball IQ, and a fearless attitude. Joseph has a great demeanor on the floor and a real winner’s mentality. He’s a calm, steady, competitive guy who tends to dominate the ball, but can absolutely score with the best of them.
Offensively, Joseph’s best attribute is clearly his jump-shot. He is terrific with his feet set and almost just as dangerous pulling up off the dribble, which he likes to do quite a bit after creating space for himself in the mid-range area. He lacks the explosiveness to get into the paint and finish at a high level, but is very crafty using his body around the rim and has a very nice floater he likes to utilize.
Defensively, Joseph is limited by his average lateral quickness, but he does put a good effort in, showing nice intensity and a good feel for staying in front of his man.
As a point guard, Joseph is mostly a mixed bag at this stage, as he clearly needs to dominate the ball to be most effective, but is far more comfortable looking for his own shot than he is running a team. His shot-selection leaves something to be desired at times, but it’s possible that with better teammates around him, he could show more in this area than we were able to see. He doesn’t appear to be a selfish player, and seems to have a very good demeanor on the floor.
Joseph has skyrocketed up the recruiting rankings since we last saw him in November of last year, even moving up into the top-10 on some people’s boards (Rivals.com for instance). While he may not share the upside of some of his counterparts in that part of the rankings, he has been incredibly productive in every setting he’s been in as of late, most notably the FIBA U-19 World Championships. He has a chance to emerge as a Stephen Curry type scorer at the college level if he continues to improve his all-around game.
Dwight Powell, 6-10, PF/C, IMG Academy, 2010
Slowly moving his way up the recruiting rankings, Dwight Powell (#67 Scout, #23 Rivals, #37 ESPN) had another solid showing here at the Adidas Nations camp, competing with the Canadian team, to wrap up a pretty successful summer.
Powell has good size for either frontcourt position, at 6-10 with a good frame that should put on weight in time, but is very underdeveloped at the moment. He runs the floor well and overall is a pretty mobile big man, fluid, although not terribly explosive, and probably a little fatigued by the end of this event.
Powell’s main asset is likely his excellent basketball IQ, which shows up in almost everything he does. He understands how to operate in the half-court, and is a very unselfish passer who has no problem facing up from the high post, where he can also make mid-range jumpers with decent accuracy, or put the ball on the floor in a straight line. His footwork is fairly raw inside, and he doesn’t have the strength to really do much down in the paint, but he is capable of finishing with either hand and shows nice touch around the basket. Powell isn’t the toughest guy you’ll find, and this shows up primarily on the defensive end, where he can get pushed around.
Powell recently trimmed his list down to Georgia Tech, Stanford and Harvard, which should tell you quite a bit about where his priorities lie (it appears that Stanford are in the lead right now). He’s a guy that will need to spend a few years in college adding strength and improving his all-around game, but is clearly someone to keep an eye on down the road.
Cristian Cortes, 6-1, Point Guard, Argentina, 1990
Very much deserving of a mention for his excellent play is Argentinean point guard Cristian Cortes, the clear-cut leader of the South American team at this Adidas Nations camp. Cortes has been overshadowed somewhat at the national team level by another 1990-born Argentinean point guard, Temple’s Juan Fernandez, but he stood out in a major way here in Dallas.
Cortes is as pure a point guard as you’ll find, playing the game at an outstanding pace. He sees the entire floor at all times and shows great court vision and creativity getting his teammates involved, often in the form of nifty lobs and bounce passes. His physical attributes are not ideal, as he has average size and underwhelming athleticism, possessing a poor first step and very little explosiveness.
He makes up for it though with great toughness and an extremely high basketball IQ. Cortes is your prototypical feisty Argentinean, a real fighter who is has no problem whatsoever being a little bit dirty if it means helping out his team. He takes charges, grabs at his opponent’s jersey when the referee isn’t looking, and will flop immediately upon contact if he has a chance to take a charge. He managed to annoy the opposition to no avail with the intensity he brought to the table, particularly Marquis Teague, who was completely rattled by him.
As a scorer, Cortes is somewhat limited. He has some ability to change speeds and get to the basket, but his average first step makes things difficult on him, and he struggles to finish around the rim. Cortes knocked down some shots from time to time here, but he appears to be a fairly streaky shooter, although his nice mechanics leave room for optimism in this regard. Defensively, Cortes doesn’t have much lateral quickness, but he is an absolute pest on the ball, showing a very high intensity level, and good timing trying to stay in front of his man.
Cortes currently plays for Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires, where he has been a pro for a number of years now. He’s probably a name we’ll hear more of in the coming years, particularly on the international level. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Reebok Eurocamp Summary, Part Two |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 12, 2009 |
All measurements are the official ones taken at the Reebok Eurocamp. Listed heights are in shoes.
Slava Kravtsov, 6-11, 7-2 ½ wingspan, 235 pounds
BC Kyiv, Ukraine, 1987
Likely the most interesting player at this camp as far as the big men are concerned, Slava Kravtsov did an excellent job putting his intriguing physical tools on display, showing very nice potential for the future. Kravtsov’s main appeal lies in his good frame, above average athleticism and strong 7-2 ½ wingspan and 9-3 standing reach. In some of the games here he was able to make his presence felt in a major way, while in others it seemed like he was sleep-walking, which has been a major issue for him throughout his career. When on, Kravtsov was a force on the offensive glass, coming up with a number of emphatic put-back dunks. He was also an active presence rotating from the weakside, blocking shots and altering others, even trailing his man and coming up with a terrific rejection in transition at one point.
Offensively he looked very limited, not always looking ready or interested in catching passes, and showing very little in the ways of footwork or perimeter shooting ability. It’s unlikely that any team would be all that interested in him for what he offers on this end of the floor. Regardless, Kravtsov is a good candidate for a team picking in the second round to draft and stash overseas for a few years to see how he continues to develop. Despite already being 22 years old, he still has plenty of upside left to grow into, and if he can find a way to improve his feel for the game and consistently be more aggressive in his approach on the floor, he could develop into an interesting player.
Joe Ingles, 6-8 ¼, 6-10 ¼, 215 pounds
South Dragons, Australia, 1987
Coming off some strong NBA workouts in the States, and primed for a breakout performance, things didn’t work out all that well for Australian Joe Ingles, who really had a tough week. Ingles’ perimeter shot wasn’t falling for him right from the get-go—partially due to poor shot-selection, but also because of the fact that he seemed to lose his confidence after he had a few open looks rim out. It wasn’t hard to see the talent—Ingles is an above average athlete with great size for the small forward spot, is capable of creating his own shot and seems to have good court vision, but he wasn’t able to put that together here in Treviso. He seemed to fall in love with his pull-up fade-away jumper, not attacking the rim very frequently and avoiding contact when he did. At some point he started getting frustrated and seemed to force the issue. Defensively Ingles seemed limited guarding the perimeter, and there are plenty of question marks regarding his ability to defend his position at the NBA level. Ingles is likely a better player than he was able to show here in Treviso, but considering how little he’s been seen by NBA teams in his native country of Australia, it’s not quite clear what this does to his draft stock.
Nemanja Gordic, 6-3 ¾, 6-5, 194 pounds
Buducnost, Montenegro, 1988
After a very impressive season in the Adriatic league and Eurocup, Nemanja Gordic didn’t really play up to expectations here in Treviso, struggling somewhat to make his presence felt on both ends of the floor. Gordic was fairly turnover prone and didn’t make shots at a very good rate, showing average decision making skills while appearing to play too fast and out of control. While Gordic clearly has better potential than most guards here thanks to his good size for either guard spot and above average athleticism, he needs to continue to gain experience and become a more polished all-around player. He is supposedly on the market, but was rumored to have turned down a 4-year, 2 million dollar offer from Tau Vitoria that would have included a 600,000 buyout to his Buducnost team.
Daniel Hackett, 6-5 ½, 6-4 ¼ wingspan, 210 pounds
USC, Italy/USA, Draft-Eligible
Hackett was somewhat up and down throughout the week, showing his nice potential as a defender and big combo guard, but also struggling with his shot-selection and decision making at times. Hackett was an aggressive driver as usual, showing nice footwork and a powerful first step on the pick and roll, but he didn’t always seem to be on the same page with his teammates, turning the ball over a little more than you’d hope. It’ll take him some time to learn the European game most likely, and this camp probably didn’t do a great deal for his draft stock considering how well known his strengths and weaknesses as a college player already were. He has a multi-year deal in place with Benetton Treviso, but has an NBA opt out in his contract he can exercise should he get drafted and offered a deal.
Semen Shashkov, 6-8 ¾, 6-10 ¼, 212 pounds
CSKA Moscow, Russia, 1989
Shashkov had a fairly average showing at this Eurocamp, again looking too passive and raw offensively to really make his presence felt on a consistent basis, and again waiting until the very last day to show the small glimpses of potential that keeps people interested in his progress. A 6-9 perimeter player with a great frame and nice athleticism, Shashkov is impressive from a physical standpoint. He can attack the basket with big, long strides, but lacks the ball-handling skills or aggressiveness to really take advantage of this part of his game, looking mostly to play off the ball, shooting 3-pointers or finishing at the rim, with very little coming in between. His feel for the game remains average, and it doesn’t seem like he’s made all that much progress from last year to this. Shashkov has the tools to be a very good defender, even if his effort and motor seems inconsistent at times. Still a young player at just 19 years old, Shashkov would probably be well served going to a team where he can see consistent playing time this upcoming season.
Fernando Raposo, 6-9 ½, 6-10 ¼ wingspan, 225 pounds
Pau Orthez, Portugal/Germany, 1989
Despite coming off a pretty strong season in the French league with Pau Orthez, Fernando Raposo had an up and down performance at this year’s Eurocamp. While his physical tools are clearly excellent for European basketball—he shows strong athleticism to go along with good size and a nice frame—Raposo looks like a fairly raw prospect at this juncture, which isn’t a shock considering that he’s just 19 years old. Raposo makes most of his impact around the paint, where his quickness and leaping ability allow him to make plays on occasion, particularly on the offensive glass. His skill-level is very underdeveloped offensively, though, as he has little to no footwork and is a poor shooter once he steps outside the paint. Defensively he has good potential but seems to rely too much on his instincts, not looking like someone who possesses a great deal of experience at this juncture, which is exactly the case. Raposo is probably a long-term prospect who teams may need to look at in two years when he becomes draft-eligible, depending on how he progresses, particularly in terms of developing his frail frame.
Luigi Datome, 6-8 ¾, 6-10 ¼, 203
Lottomatica Roma, Italy, 1987
Fresh off a breakout season in the Italian league, where he was a major contributor on a strong Lottomatica Roma team, Luigi Datome didn’t have quite as good a performance in this Eurocamp as he may have hoped considering his experience-level. Datome was aggressive offensively, sometimes overly so, settling for some very difficult off-balance shots from mid-range and beyond the arc. His ball-handling skills looked limited, particularly with his left hand, which didn’t stop him from driving straight into traffic at times. He also struggled quite a bit trying to defend his man on the perimeter, exposing his average lateral quickness in the process. It’s not hard to see that Datome has talent, he can get up and finish around the basket, make difficult shots inside and outside the arc, and has fairly advanced scoring instincts, but he’s still trying to put it all together at this point. He still has a chance to be a leading player in the Italian league, but his NBA potential looks limited.
Ludovic Vaty, 6-9 ½, 7-1 wingspan, 239 pounds
Pau Orthez, France, 1988
Vaty came into this camp billed as one of the more productive big men in attendance, but ended up being mostly a complementary player for his team. Vaty’s main appeal lies in his physical attributes, as he has decent size for the power forward position to go along with an excellent frame and wingspan, not to mention strong athletic ability. Most of his game revolves around his strength and athleticism, as he lacks great polish offensively, particularly in the low post, where his footwork appears limited. Vaty nonetheless plays hard and can emerge as a strong rebounder and capable defender, he runs the floor hard and finishes well around the basket. His feel for the game appears to be average, though. Vaty probably didn’t do a great deal for his draft stock with his showing in Treviso, but he’s still a guy to keep an eye next year on if he decides to withdraw his name from the draft.
Artem Zabelin, 7-1, 7-0 ¼ wingspan, 239 pounds
CSKA Moscow, Russia, 1988
Zabelin is coming off a tough season, being less than a year removed from tearing his ACL in last summer’s U-20 European Championship. He looked very rusty to start off, struggling badly trying to finish around the basket, step out and guard the perimeter, alter shots around the rim or go after rebounds—which is all to be expected considering his physical condition. Still, he managed to show some of the things that make him such an intriguing prospect, particularly his terrific touch from the perimeter, his ability to put the ball on the deck with his long strides, and his solid instincts offensively. Zabelin’s body looked a bit better than it did last season, but his athleticism has taken a major hit. It will be very important for him to get playing time next season, as he’s already 21 years old.
Terrence Oglesby, 6-2 ¼, 6-1 wingspan, 188 pounds
Clemson, Norway/USA, Automatically Eligible Next Year
A surprise entry on the roster after deciding to forgo his final two years at Clemson in favor of playing professionally next season, Oglesby had somewhat of a rude first acquaintance with European basketball, struggling badly to make a strong impression throughout the camp. Oglesby’s decision making skills and shot-selection was very poor, which neutralized basically the only thing that makes him interesting at this point—his perimeter shooting ability. He settled badly for tough, contested fade-aways and really wasn’t able to convert on the spot-up jumpers he took as well, which is not indicative of just how good of a shooter he really is.
Oglesby will need time and patience from the team that signs him in terms of learning how to play the European game. He’s never going to be the type of player that stands out in a setting like this, as he’s far better when his team is creating shots for him rather than trying to get things done on his own. With that said, he also needs to improve his body language and become more of a willing teammate if he’s to reach his full potential. Defensively, Oglesby struggled throughout the week as he typically does—his poor wingspan coupled with his average athleticism makes it difficult for him to guard his position even at the European level, which is something he’ll have to work on. Nevertheless, Oglesby is a lights out scorer who can absolutely bury an opponent with his deep range and terrific stroke. In the right situation, he could be quite an offensive weapon.
Tornike Shengelia, 6-8 ¾, 6-9 ¾ wingspan, 217 pounds
Pamesa Valencia, Republic of Georgia, 1991
The second-youngest player in attendance at the tender age of 17, not a great deal was expected from Pamesa Valencia’s Tornike Shengelia. He didn’t do much over the course of the week to change that notion, having a somewhat difficult time making his presence felt on the floor at times. Still, you could see that there are some raw tools there to work with, and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the next few years. Shengelia is intriguing as a big small forward with a nice frame and solid athletic ability. He can put the ball on the floor with a solid first step and decent ball-handling skills, even if he mostly looked content moving the ball around the floor within his team’s offense, not trying to assert himself on the game. Shengelia can stand to become a better perimeter shooter, but he showed solid potential defensively coming up with some strong possessions. His feel for the game looks solid, making a couple of nice passes throughout the week.
|
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Reebok Eurocamp Summary, Part One |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 11, 2009 |
With the 2009 Reebok Eurocamp in the books, we look back and empty our scouting notebooks from a great weekend in Treviso, Italy. The Eurocamp continues to progress from year to year and has become a must-see event for NBA and European teams alike.
In this report we’ll focus only on the players who did not receive extensive write-ups in our first two articles covering the camp. Scouting reports on Patrick Mills, Vladimir Dasic, Tomas Satoransky, Sergey Gladyr, Alexey Shved, Patrick Beverley, Rodrigue Beaubois and Nando De Colo can be found in those previous reports posted below.
All measurements are the official ones taken at the Reebok Eurocamp.
Stefan Markovic, 6-5 ½, 199 pounds, 6-5 ½ wingspan
KK Hemofarm, Serbia, 1988
Markovic had a pretty strong week here, which makes sense considering that he was a major contributor on a very good Hemofarm that made a deep run in this year’s EuroCup competition. He showed nice versatility as a big point guard, doing a good job creating shots for himself and others, particularly on the pick and roll, where he excels. He has good court vision and is not afraid to make the extra pass, looking like a pretty unselfish player with a nice feel for the game. On the negative side, he’s an average athlete by NBA standards, struggling to get by his defender from time to time, and seems to be a bit streaky as a perimeter shooter, particularly when forced to pull up off the dribble. While he puts a solid effort in on the defensive end, his lack of length, strength and lateral quickness limits him to a certain extent. His decision making skills could also use some work, as he tends to get out of control at times and is a little more turnover than you’d hope. Markovic looks like a solid prospect for European basketball, and will probably move up the ladder quickly over the next few years. His NBA potential looks limited, though.
Jaka Klobucar, 6-5 ½, 6-3 ¾ wingspan, 188 pounds
Olimpia Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1987
For the second straight year, Jaka Klobucar shrugged off an average season in Olimpia Ljubljana to post an extremely impressive Eurocamp performance. Klobucar was one of the camp’s top performers from a statistical standpoint, making a big impact in nearly every game he played in, while shooting the ball far better than he had over the course of the year.
Klobucar is a solid athlete by European standards, putting the ball on the floor down nicely to create shots both for himself and others throughout the week. He made shots an excellent rate, knocking down catch and shoot 3-pointers at will, even pulling up smoothly off the dribble after a sharp crossover on one occasion. His court vision looks solid as he dished out a number of impressive lefty passes, and he also did a nice job moving off the ball looking for open spaces. Klobucar played intense defense from time to time, but is severely limited by his extremely poor wingspan. He has been criticized at times in his home country for a certain lack of mental and physical toughness, but he seems to be improving in these areas. Although his body of work is pretty small if you look at his international career and the fact that he’s already draft-eligible, he may have caught someone’s eye enough in Treviso to warrant being selected somewhere late in the second round, which was certainly not the case going in.
Henk Norel, 7-0, 7-1 wingspan, 236 pounds
DKV Joventut, Netherlands, 1987
After an extremely impressive showing at last year’s Reebok Eurocamp, Henk Norel took somewhat of a step backwards in this his draft-eligible year, struggling to get back in the same rhythm after an injury plagued season. Norel looked a lot more tentative than we remembered him, not running the floor quite as well or doing as good a job crashing the glass. Hit perimeter jumper wasn’t falling, and he didn’t finish particularly well around the basket. Considering his status as a hustling role-player, he’s obviously not as interesting for teams if he isn’t doing all those things. Nevertheless, Norel still showed sparks of being the same player we saw and really liked early this season and in last year’s Eurocamp, and it’s not out of the question that he regains that same form once he shakes off the rust he accumulated over the past few months. He’s still a tall and very mobile big man with good length and great energy, and he could definitely develop into a solid rotation player over the next few years.
Jonas Jerebko, 6-9 (no measurements)
Angelico Biella, Sweden, 1987
Coming off an impressive showing in the Italian league semi-finals, Jerebko played only one game here on the camp’s final day. Regardless, he was able to make his presence felt immediately, looking impressive in both the morning drills and the actual game--giving the NBA people a very good feel for what he brings to the table. Jerebko shot the ball well throughout the day, only missing one of his seven shots in the game, while picking up 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 28 minutes. He also showed something of a back to the basket game, using his superior size to get off a pretty and very old-school sky-hook shot in the lane. He played very physical man to man defense on the perimeter, while always looking to make the proper rotation on team defense. He also showed plenty of hustle, going the length of the floor with reckless abandon at one point to come up with a loose ball, and using his length to alter plenty of shots around the paint as well, not giving his matchup anything easy. Considering the small sample size, there wasn’t a whole lot more Jerebko could have done. After seeing him a number of times in person over the past year and a half, it’s safe to say that there aren’t many players like him in this draft.
Nemanja Aleksandrov, 6-11 ½, 6-10 ¾ wingspan, 223 pounds
No Team, Serbia
After sitting out the entire season with yet another knee injury, it wasn’t a big surprise to see Nemanja Aleksandrov do virtually nothing over the course of the camp. There may not have ever been a more dramatic fall from grace than the one Aleksandrov has been though over the past five years, going from being considered a potential #1 overall pick to likely going undrafted this June. The combination of injuries and passivity has placed serious question marks about his professional future, and at this point Aleksandrov should be more concerned about getting back to the basketball court than impressing NBA scouts. He did show a nice skill-level in the drills, but once the games started seemed to be a step slow on most of the action and really struggled to make his presence felt on the perimeter.
David Huertas, 6-5, 6-9 wingpsan, 201 pounds
Ole Miss, Puerto Rico, Draft-Eligible
Despite being a somewhat unlikely candidate to participate in this setting, NCAA redshirt junior turned pro David Huertas did a great job taking advantage of the opportunity presented to him, likely helping his professional stock tremendously in the process. Huertas was absolutely automatic with his feet set throughout the week, showing a picture perfect stroke that he used to knock down a barrage of 3-pointers. He was extremely aggressive offensively, showing very advanced instincts as a shot-maker and looking very hungry trying to put the ball in the net, which really benefited him over the course of the week. Huertas will need to round out his game significantly over the next few years, as he’s not a particularly efficient scorer, being an average ball-handler with inconsistent decision making skills and showing shot-selection and defensive ability that could certainly use some work. He certainly made himself plenty of money over the course of the week with his scoring, though, and there were even some teams that quietly began to bring his name up in second round conversations by the time this camp was over.
Pablo Aguilar, 6-8, 7-1 wingspan, 212 pounds
Granada, Spain, 1989
Likely the top Spanish player in the 1989 age group, Pablo Aguilar surely doesn’t have the hype of his counterparts in the 1988 (Victor Claver) or 1990 (Ricky Rubio) classes in Spain, but is regardless a very solid basketball player.
Standing just 6-8 with an underdeveloped body, Aguilar is undoubtedly a bit undersized for the power forward position. He does make up for that with a great wingspan and very big hands, though, to go along with solid athleticism. Aguilar did all kinds of little things for his team here in Treviso, be it getting in the passing lanes, coming up with blocks, crashing the offensive glass, or contributing to his team’s ball-movement with heady passes. It’s clear that he was one of the most experienced players at this camp after playing nearly 20 minutes per game this year in the extremely tough ACB league, despite being just 20 years old. He has a good feel for the game and appears to be a very competitive and coachable player, which certainly bodes well for his professional future.
Offensively, Aguilar appears to be somewhat limited at the moment, not being strong enough to be much of a presence in the paint, and lacking the ball-handling skills to create his own shot consistently from the perimeter. He is a very good shooter from beyond the arc, though, even if he does sport a somewhat flat looking shot.
Aguilar doesn’t appear to be a great NBA prospect on first glance, as he doesn’t share the same size or upside of some other European power forwards, but he will at the very least develop into a great pro in his native country of Spain, if not more than that. If he continues to develop over the next two years the way he did this past season, he’s going to be a player that NBA teams will have to look at.
Aboubakar Zaki, 6-11, 7-5 wingspan, 214 pounds
Nancy, France, 1988
Despite showing good height and an absolute freakish wingspan, Aboubakar Zaki had a tough time making his impact felt at this camp. Zaki came out of the gates looking like a player who has absolutely no clue what his limitations are—settling for terrible jumper after terrible jumper from the perimeter, some of which did not even hit the rim. Offensively he’s extremely limited, and defensively he wasn’t anywhere near enough of a presence to compensate for that. He rarely boxes out for rebounds, showing poor hands when one does fall his way, and seems to wildly chase blocks, even if he can be somewhat of an intimidator if his lack of strength isn’t a factor. Zaki is 21 years old and sports a frame that may not be able to carry much more weight, and thus looks like more of a prospect for Europe than he does for the NBA. He needs to get playing time and significantly improve his basketball IQ if he’s to reach his full potential. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Reebok Eurocamp, Day Two |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 8, 2009 |
Day two of the Reebok Eurocamp saw Benetton Treviso’s La Ghirada practice facility packed absolutely to the brim with European agents, scouts and general managers, while all 30 NBA teams sat courtside taking all the action in. An hour and fifteen minutes of drills was followed by four competitive five-on-five games, allowing some of the prospects to really separate themselves from each other in the eyes of the talent evaluators on hand.
The gym was buzzing all day long with talk of the remaining playoff series’ still yet to be resolved—primarily the NBA, Spanish and Italian leagues, while those executives who aren’t fortunate enough to be still playing made the rounds of the basketball industry trying to figure out what they can do this summer to change their team’s fate. NBA draft talk, the coaching carousels in the various countries and the very active free agent markets dominated the discussions, while the Eurocamp games served as the day’s backdrop.
Some of the more interesting topics included:
-Talk of the Sacramento Kings making Los Angeles Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis the primary target in their head coaching hunt, with the only remaining obstacle being a contract figure that satisfies both parties.
-Ron Artest as a willing and interested free agent target for both Greek powerhouses this summer, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, granted he does not find a superior NBA offer on the free agent market.
-Next week’s early-entry deadline, which will likely see players such as Jodie Meeks and Tyler Smith return to school, while others remain on the fence. One NBA team mentioned being told quite confidently by Damion James that he is most certainly staying in the draft, and most assume that Gonzaga’s Austin Daye is a lock to stay in. Another executive discussed Jeff Teague telling them that he will not pull his name out if he receives any type of guarantee that he will be drafted in the first round, which is probably not what Wake Forest fans want to hear.
-Jordan Hill potentially slipping into the bottom of the top-10 or even possibly slightly beyond. The talk is that the Washington Wizards’ 5th pick could very well end up being claimed by Stephen Curry (whether for them or another team trading up), and that since Minnesota, Golden State, New York and maybe even Toronto appear to be looking at other positional needs, Hill could be on the short end of the stick come draft night.
-Plenty of chatter about the Ricky Rubio situation, with the most interesting commentary coming from the many members of the Spanish basketball industry, which are out here in full force. The news this morning about a lawsuit being planned by Rubio’s camp is apparently very true, and there was plenty of spirited discussion regarding whether his exorbitant buyout relative to his proportional contract will hold up in a Spanish court.
Some cited the fact that similar cases in soccer (for example in England) had sided in favor of the players in the past, while others mentioned that Rubio’s willing acceptance of a large pay raise a few months back had nullified his ability to dispute the validity of the deal. The main questions here are—how long will such a case take to play out? How much does Joventut need the money for this upcoming season? And how much will the negative publicity from such a bombastic story hurt them down the road in terms of signing young players? Can all this be resolved in satisfactory fashion in time for the draft? This move likely ends any chance Rubio has of pulling his name out of the draft, as the damage caused by such a lawsuit would likely be too great of a rift to heal this upcoming summer.
-High school junior Jeremy Tyler—who reportedly has offers from two teams in Greece (Marrousi and Panellinios) and Italy’s Armani Jeans Milano, but may opt to sign with a relatively unknown franchise in Israel—Maccabi Heat Haifa—backed by quite an ambitious American owner by the name of Jeff Rosen. Tyler is now being represented by well-known basketball agency Wasserman Media Group, who had a very positive experience sending then-USC freshman Davon Jefferson to Haifa, where he had a breakthrough season. The offer is reportedly somewhere in the 200k range.
-Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks apparently taking a strong liking to senior Jack McClinton, to the point that they could try to buy a pick in the late first round to ensure they land his services.
Day Two Evaluations
-Rodrigue Beaubois sat out today’s action after injuring his wrist, a situation eerily similar to two years ago, where he also teased the NBA teams in attendance with an intriguing first game, and then subsequently shut it down for the rest of the camp. Beaubois has somewhat of a reputation for both being fairly injury prone and not the toughest guy around, and this probably doesn’t help on that front.
-Jonas Jerebko will play the last day of the Eurocamp.
-Tomas Satoransky may have been the biggest revelation of day two, coming up with some dazzling moves that demonstrated the fact that this 17-year old has absolutely no fear of going up against players four or five years older than him. After looking quite bashful in the first day, Satoransky started off the day in impressive fashion in the morning’s drills, showing impressive ball-handling skills and court vision in transition, and then continuing his strong play in the actual game as well.
Satoransky mixed in a strong first step with excellent footwork and some crafty spin-moves, showing great fluidity and coordination to go along with his terrific size. Although he didn’t always have the strength to finish his moves inside, it was interesting to see how much shake he has to his game already despite his young age. He plays with a real winning spirit, looking highly unselfish, yet still being very active, even if his perimeter shooting needs to improve. If he continues to develop at the same rate, he clearly has a great future ahead of him. At the very least he’s shown that he isn’t ranked as our #1 prospect in the 1991 international class all year long for nothing.
-Another young player with some serious game is Ukrainian guard Sergei Gladyr, one of the more unknown international early-entrant draft prospects going into this camp. Gladyr averaged 15 points per game in the Ukrainian first division this year for a reason, as he’s clearly an extremely skilled shooting guard regardless of his age. Gladyr is one of the best shooters at this entire camp, looking absolutely terrific coming off screens and elevating off the ground sharply with picture perfect mechanics. Beyond that, he’s also one of the best athletes you’ll find here, being extremely quick, with a great first step and excellent leaping ability. While his ball-handling skills are improvable, and he’s prone to making bad decisions from time to time, he seems to have a good demeanor on the floor (always a concern with players from his country) and clearly has major potential to continue to develop. He had a team high 18 points in the evening’s all-star game.
-After looking virtually asleep for much of the first day, Montenegrin Vladimir Dasic clearly came to life in day two, stringing together a pair of strong performances in the morning game and then in the evening’s all-star event. Dasic is extremely athletic for this setting, and he’s been very difficult for opponents to stop in transition and attacking the basket off a quick dribble or two from the high post. His body looks excellent as a 6-9 and very fluid small forward, and he was able to make shots both spotting up from 18-20 feet and pulling up off the dribble from mid-range, even if he wasn’t credited with any 3-pointers on the day.
He also had a number of very impressive possessions defensively, smothering his opponent on the perimeter with his terrific length and lateral quickness. He needs to work on maintaining his focus and not trying to do too much with the ball, as at times he tends to get a bit crazy going behind the back with his dribble and settling for wild shots. His ball-handling skills need some work, but it’s pretty clear that he is one of the more naturally talented players in attendance, even if he doesn’t always play up to his full potential.
Dasic may still pull out of the draft at the deadline we’re told, depending on what he’s hearing from NBA teams. While he’s probably not in the first round at this point, he’s the type of player that could get there next year with a good season in a strong European league. Since his buyout issues have apparently been resolved, he probably isn’t in as much of a rush to get to the NBA as he once was.
Australian Patrick Mills was absolutely the star of the evening’s all-star game, posting an impressive 30 point performance on 8/18 shooting from the field and 12/13 from the line. Mills handled the ball on a string all game long, showing terrific quickness keeping his man off balance, and making an absolute living in the mid-range area with his deadly pull-up jumper. His ability to utilize strong hesitation moves makes him extremely difficult to stay in front of, and he did a good job not settling for tough shots from beyond the arc today, getting to the line repeatedly. He clearly thrives in up-tempo settings such as the one seen in today’s all-star game, which came in stark contrast to his morning performance, where he seemed to over-dribble somewhat while trying to create in the half-court.
NBA teams we spoke to still expressed some doubt regarding his point guard skills, which is something he could still stand to work on. He posted 3 assists compared with 4 turnovers in the evening game, seeming to be hunting shots quite a bit, and didn’t look all that comfortable getting others involved. Scouts generally were impressed by the quickness and shot-creating ability he showed, and he also did a better job defensively today as well. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| 2009 Reebok Eurocamp: Day One |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| June 7, 2009 |
We’re back at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso for the fifth straight year, once again checking out most of the top talents in international basketball, all conveniently assembled at Benetton Treviso’s terrific La Ghirada for our talent evaluation pleasure.
Day one mostly revolved around catching up with the various members of the basketball industry, all of which seem to be out in full force. As Angelico Biella’s General Manager Daniele Baiesi told us in our Eurocamp preview on NBA.com, this is a perfect setting to mix watching players in with business, and indeed we’re hearing plenty of chatter coming from the direction of the bleachers with agents peddling their players, teams looking for prospects to sign, and old friends catching up on their experiences from the past season.
Some of the names that jump off the page of the NBA credential list include Danny Ainge (Boston Celtics), Calvin Booth (NBA player), Mike D’Antoni (New York Knicks), Maurizio Gherardini (Toronto Raptors), Dave Griffin (Phoenix Suns), Fred Hoiberg (Minnesota Timberwolves), Steve Kerr (Phoenix Suns), Ronnie Lester (LA Lakers), Dennis Lindsey (San Antonio Spurs), Daryl Morey (Houston Rockets), David Morway (Indiana Pacers), Donnie Nelson (Dallas Mavericks), Milton Newton (Washington Wizards), Kevin O’Connor (Utah Jazz), Kevin Pritchard (Portland Trailblazers), Pat Riley (Miami Heat), Tommy Sheppard (Washington Wizards), Jim Stack (Minnesota Timberwolves), Rick Sund (Atlanta Hawks), Jay Triano (Toronto Raptors), Masai Ujiri (Toronto Raptors), Donnie Walsh (New York Knicks), and many many others that we probably missed. Pretty much every major basketball agency and all of the top European teams are represented here as well.
Looking through the rosters and figuring out who actually showed up, we find a good deal of talent both in terms of players who will get drafted this year and prospects for the future. Rodrigue Beaubois and Patrick Mills appear to be the headliners at the point guard position, and we’ll get to see those two go head to head tomorrow morning. Patrick Beverley is another guard that teams will want to get a look at, and the same can be said for France’s Nando De Colo, USC’s Daniel Hackett, and Russia’s Alexey Shved. In terms of the wings and big men, Henk Norel, Jonas Jerebko (more on him below), Joe Ingles, Slava Kravtsov and Vladimir Dasic appear to be the main prospects for this year’s draft.
You can sense a slight hint of disappointment in the absence of Brandon Jennings and a host of Serbian prospects who were denied the exposure this camp can provide by their own national team’s federation—including Milan Macvan, Nemanja Bjelica, Marko Keselj, Dragan Labovic, Milenko Tepic and Miroslav Raduljica. Jan Veseley was also barred from leaving for Treviso by his Serbian team Partizan Belgrade.
Still, there is a strong sentiment from the NBA people in attendance that this is indeed the strongest roster put together from top to bottom since this camp’s inception.
Day One
Trying not to be too quick to jump to conclusions off our initial impressions from day one, it was still hard to ignore the immediate impact that Russian combo guard Alexey Shved was able to have on the floor in the camp’s very first game. 16 points, 2 assists and 5 steals on 6/9 shooting was his final stat-line, but the influence he had extended well beyond what we’re able to see in the box-score.
Clearly the most naturally talented player we saw, Shved’s combination of fluidity, confidence and skill-level was unmatched by any of the other players on the roster. He had a number of extremely impressive sequences, for example coming up with an impressive block while trailing the 6-10 Elmedin Kikanovic . He also showed some athleticism finishing acrobatically around the basket plus the foul in transition, and a high skill-level pulling up off the dribble in gorgeous fashion from 18-20 feet on numerous occasions.
Shved’s feel for the game was always evident with the excellent court vision he showed, but he clearly has work to do with his shot-selection and overall decision making, which still aren’t quite up to par. Regardless, it’s extremely difficult to see how he could spend another year rotting on CSKA’s Moscow’s bench, which is exactly why it will be important for him to find a situation where he can finally see real playing time this upcoming season.
Ironically enough, Shved is one of the few interesting players here at the Eurocamp who elected not to make himself eligible for the draft. Next year he will be automatically eligible, though, and based off what we saw here, could strongly be in the mix to get picked in the first round.
Playing on the same winning Red team, Patrick Beverley’s stat-line was pretty impressive in his first game, finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists and 6 fouls drawn. He looked somewhat out of sorts at times running the point, but this is to be expected considering that these teams have just been put together and the players have not yet had time to establish any chemistry with each other. He was very persistent looking to create his own shot and get to the basket, showing an aggressive first step and good quickness getting by his man, sometimes to finish with a pretty floater in the lane. He also did a good job getting in the passing lanes, sometimes gambling excessively, but still coming up with good results, allowing him to show off his athleticism in transition situations, including one emphatic dunk to cap off the game.
One player we want to take a closer look at in the next few days is Georgian Tornike Shengelia. The 18-year old only saw 17 minutes in his first game, but still managed to show some impressive shot-creating ability considering that he stands a legit 6-9.
On the losing side, Slovenian wing Jaka Klobucar started this camp right where he left off last year, looking extremely aggressive on both ends of the floor, showing a solid first step putting the ball on the floor, making perimeter shots in impressive fashion (4/5 3P) and also showing solid vision passing the ball with either hand. He may not have had much of a season with Olimpija Ljubljana, but he definitely didn’t let that get in his way today.
Jonas Jerebko wasn’t here for day one, he’s still resting after just being eliminated from the playoff Italian league semifinals just two days ago, and has not yet decided whether he’ll participate in the camp. The NBA people here will surely be disappointed if he elects not to play, but it appears that we’ll get a chance to see him on Monday.
In the second game, Rodrigue Beaubois showed off the incredible strengths he brings to the table as an NBA prospect—particularly his incredible physical tools, which came in really handy in transition. His first performance was somewhat uneven—on one hand he’s clearly the most athletic player at this camp, but he’s still figuring out how to fully utilize his natural tools, especially in terms of making good decisions and getting others involved. No other draft-eligible player in this camp shares his potential, though. He hurt his wrist and is in question for day two.
Ole Miss’ David Huertas put on a phenomenal shooting display, with 15 points, all on jumpers, but little else. Spanish forward Pablo Aguilar looked as polished and experienced as you would expect considering his status as a legit ACB player. We’ll talk about him more deeply tomorrow, since he’s been very impressive. Boban Marjanovic was able to dominate the paint in some stretches, but there are serious question marks about his lack of mobility and poor motor as far as the NBA is concerned.
In the third game of the day, Patty Mills’ very talented team was blown out almost right from the get-go by Nando De Colo’s very French influenced team. Mills made plenty of shots but really struggled to control the pace of the game from the point guard position, not finishing particularly well around the basket and appearing to settle excessively for outside jumpers. His teammate Joe Ingles had somewhat of a nightmare performance, with just 1 point and 3 turnovers in 30 minutes.
De Colo on the other hand was absolutely sensational, showing incredible creativity and court vision with a series of highlight reel caliber passes. In one very telling sequence, he came up with a deflection and then in one single motion jumped in the air and flicked the ball backwards 40 feet down the court to a wide open teammate running in stride for an easy layup. What’s scary is that that might not even have been his most impressive assist. He also made a number of pull-up jumpers from all over the floor, while showing his ability to change speeds and utilize terrific hesitation moves creating his own shot and getting to the rim. What this game didn’t tell us was how well he would fare against the bigger and longer athletes the NBA is known for, or whether he’s capable of defending his position at the next level. Still, it was hard not to come away impressed by just how skilled and talented he is, and there is no question that he helped his draft stock today.
FMP’s junior team got smoked by the Reebok all-stars in the last game of the day, with Dejan Musli the only one that showed up to play for the overmatched Serbians, most of then four or even five years younger than their competition. Teenage sensation Nenad Miljenovic is here in attendance but did not play due to a minor injury.
Check back with us tomorrow as we further evaluate this camp. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| 2009 Reebok Eurocamp Preview / Roster |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| May 10, 2009 |
The Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso is still a month away, but the excitement is already brewing with what appears to be the deepest roster the event has seen yet. With each year that passes the camp continues to engrain itself as a must-see scouting event, and again we find a nice mix of draft-eligible prospects combined with players that are sure to make up future NBA drafts.
Official website
The Director of the Reebok Eurocamp, Pete Philo, was kind enough to share the tentative roster and answer a few of our questions as well.
One of the most appealing aspects of the Reebok Eurocamp as far as NBA teams are concerned is the fact that it acts as a “one-stop shop” for International prospect scouting, saving an incredible amount of time and money for executives that otherwise would have to trek around Europe for months to see each of the players individually. Instead, they are neatly assembled here in a very convenient setting, allowing us the chance to evaluate their skill-sets in numerous drills on a daily basis, as well as in five on five scrimmages—which is a valuable thing considering that the competitive aspect of the NBA Pre-Draft Camp has recently been eliminated.
We asked Pete Philo how many NBA GMs he expects to attend:
“Until now we have over 10 GMs confirmed with all 30 NBA teams attending in some fashion (coaches, scouts, personnel, etc). I am sure there are others that I am unaware of or others that have not confirmed as of now. I cannot see a GM not attending, however the ones that do are sure to come away with a better understanding as the draft nears. This being said, each team has their own reasons for covering the event or not. We shortened the event by one day this year to accommodate everyone including NBA and all European teams. The camp is played on the weekend when many teams do not workout players, thus another reason to attend.“
Roster
2009 NBA Draft Early-Entry List Players
Brandon Jennings
Omri Casspi (not confirmed ) Possible
Rodrigue Beaubois
Vladimir Dasic
Milan Macvan
Artem Zabelin
Aboubakar Zaki
Ludovic Vaty
Nemanja Bjelica
Sergey Gladyr
Miroslav Raduljica
Adam Hanga
Boban Marjanovic
Giorgos Bogris
Nikos Pappas
Carl Ono Embo
Vagelis Sakelleriou
Aleksandros Sigkounas
Fernando Raposo
Rudy Jomby
Anton Ponomarev
Baris Hersek
Draft Eligible or 87 born:
Jonas Jerebko
Henk Norel
Milenko Tepic
Patrick Beverley
Slava Kravtsov
Daniel Hackett
Joe Ingles
Nemanja Aleksandrov
Rudy Mbemba
Ivan Paunic
Jaka Klobucar
Povilas Butkevicius
Andrey Vorontsevich
Johannes Lischka
Anatoly Kashirov
Adam Lapeta
Dragan Labovic
Next Generation:
Thierno Niang
Bozhidar Avramov
Alexey Shved
Oleksandr Kolchenko
Harry Ezenibe
Edwin Jackson
Andreja Milutinovic
Semen Shashkov
Tornike Shengelia
Marko Keselj
Tomas Satoransky
Jan Vesely
Elmedin Kikanovic
Pablo Aguilar
Tibor Pleiss
Michel Diouf
Obviously the headliner of this camp is Rome’s Brandon Jennings, the first American player to forgo college in favor of Europe, and clearly the top “international” prospect in this draft with the exception of Ricky Rubio. Playing in the Eurocamp is an excellent idea for Jennings and could end up being extremely important for his draft stock. Because of the limited minutes he’s seen (particularly recently, logging a DNP-CD just last night for example), and the fact that NBA teams were not allowed to evaluate him in high-school, it’s not a stretch to say that most decision makers don’t have anywhere near as good a feel for his standing in this draft as they do with his NCAA counterparts.
For Jennings, this represents an outstanding opportunity to show teams what they missed out on as well as a chance to showcase the new tricks he’s learned in the year he spent over here. With the ball in his hands and the freedom to do as he pleases as the unquestioned go-to-guy of whatever team he plays on (you can bet the organizers will make sure he has every chance to succeed), Jennings will be able to solidify his stock in the draft and still have plenty of time to work out for the dozen or so teams he needs to visit in the States.
The only question is whether the Italian league playoffs will interfere with that plan…
In a similar situation to Jennings, but in even more need of the exposure this camp will provide, is another American guard who decided to play in Europe—Patrick Beverley. Unlike Jennings, who played in the Euroleague and Italian Serie A, Beverley was forced to toil in the Ukrainian second division, where he was seen by very few NBA decision makers. Beverley was a very productive college player at Arkansas who did a nice job representing Team USA in the U-19 World Championships in Serbia two summers ago. A strong showing here in Treviso could easily convince some team to take a flyer on him in the second round.
Another curious twist to this year’s camp is the attendance of USC point guard Daniel Hackett. With no pre-draft camp to hang his hat on this year, Hackett is extremely wise to take advantage of Treviso as a place to be seen by teams and show that he’s worthy of a second round selection. Michigan State senior Goran Suton was also reportedly invited to attend, but curiously appears to have declined, as he’s likely trying to still cling to the handful of good games he managed to string together in March and not hurt whatever “stock” he might have.
We asked Pete Philo about the thought process behind inviting players like Brandon Jennings, Patrick Beverley, Daniel Hackett and even Australian forward Joe Ingles.
“First, the camp is the ‘Eurocamp,’ however we have always brought players from other continents, such as Africa and South America. International are our borders. The thought process of Hackett was that he holds an Italian passport, which makes him eligible for the event automatically. Ingles is Australian-internationally eligible. Jennings and Beverly are a unique exercise. Both have chosen to play professional basketball in Europe prior to their draft year which enables us to put them under the international umbrella prior to the draft. We are excited to see this dimension added. It can only enhance the event.”
As far as the “real” European prospects are concerned, there are a number of prospects that should get NBA teams very excited. To name just a few:
Dutch big man Henk Norel struggled through a difficult season due to injuries, but should be 100% for this camp. Teams may not have seen as much of him this year as they would have liked, and this is a great opportunity for him to boost his stock back to where it was before he got injured—when he was playing extremely well. He comes with one very successful Eurocamp showing underneath his belt already, and should be ready to roll straight out of the gates.
Israeli small forward Omri Casspi is still not 100% confirmed at this point, but would have a chance to boost his stock into the first round with a strong showing, as his Euroleague performance this season was a bit underwhelming. Obviously not a “drills guy” as you could tell by the lackluster response to his NBA private workout trek last year, Casspi is the type of scrappy competitor who can really help himself in the five on five games played here, as he’s got the athleticism, aggressiveness and high-level experience to really be a force.
French combo guard Rodrigue Beaubois was very up and down this season for Cholet, and really has no choice but to play here in Treviso, as he’s in the draft for good after entering his name in for the third time. With the ball in his hands and about as much speed as any player in this camp not named Brandon Jennings, Beaubois really has a chance to shine.
Swedish small forward Jonas Jerebko used a strong Eurocamp showing last year to jump-start his draft stock, and he hasn’t looked back since. With another full year of experience underneath his belt as a starter on an Italian league playoff team, Jerebko could emerge as one of the camp’s standouts.
Serbian power forward Milan Macvan showed he can excel in settings like these with an outstanding performance at the Nike Hoop Summit, and considering how far ahead he will be of most other campers in terms of experience and skill-level, we can expect another dominating performance out of him in Treviso as well.
Montenegrin small forward Vladimir Dasic was up and down in a featured role on a team that had a good season in the EuroCup, but everything is in place for him to have another strong showing after his excellent Eurocamp performance last year. He recently signed a buyout agreement with his team to get out of his contract and now will have extra motivation to play well not only in front of the NBA teams, but also the dozens of elite European clubs that attend each year.
The most interesting name (for us at least) on the always intriguing “next generation” list is that of Czech guard Tomas Satoransky. Still only 17 years old, Satoransky may be in over his head at times against players far older and more physically mature than him, but this is likely to be a real learning experience for him from a developmental standpoint. Part of the appeal in the Eurocamp is coming back year after year and seeing how players are progressing, and Satoransky is a very intriguing talent to follow.
That’s not to say we aren’t excited about seeing first-round plus talents like Alexey Shved and Jan Vesely, or checking the development of the highly intriguing Semen Shashkov. There are a lot of names on the list that we are not all that familiar with also (such as Tibor Pleiss, who we’ve heard good things about), and that is definitely the best part of this event…
We asked Pete Philo how the Eurocamp managed to evolve into a must-visit showcase for European prospects, and here is his response:
“Very simply stated- trust. The European club GMs, coaches and agents trust that the experience will not only be a learning experience, but it will also be a camp that they will remember for the rest of their lives, as they get a chance to compete against the best players in their age group as well as gain new friendships along the way. Players also get a chance to be seen by the "global" basketball community, be coached by NBA and top European coaches, DraftExpress is always in attendance, NBA GMs, European teams, etc.
On the other side- the NBA teams trust that we will put out a quality camp with the best prospects in the world. Once the trust was established, the rest was history.
Now we all gather in beautiful Treviso Italy for 3 days of great basketball in early June.”
From what we can gather, there may be a few names added or removed from the list as other top draft prospects are pursued and possibly convinced to attend. Some of the names we’re “missing” from the list include Victor Claver, Nando de Colo, Kevin Seraphin (playing in French junior league finals that week), Emir Prelzdic (unfortunately plays for Fenerbahce, who are notoriously bad year after year with allowing their young players to gain international exposure), Sergio Llull (likely playoffs), Milos Teodosic (likely playoffs), Christian Eyenga (an interesting subject we’ll touch on in the next few weeks), Vitor Faverani and Nemanja Gordic.
Regardless of those who don’t attend, this year’s group looks incredibly strong as of right now and its always possible that Reebok manages to grab a surprising name or two at the last minute, as they always tend to do.
To sum things up, we asked Pete Philo what the best part of the Reebok Eurocamp is for him. Here is his response:
“Great question, as the camp is very special to me.
1) Knowing that I am part of an event that could change a kid’s life forever, as well as knowing that this is an event that they will always remember and be proud to have been a part of.
2) Working with an unbelievable staff that has uncanny chemistry and seeing the basketball world come together at our event is a very special feeling for me.
3) The competition. The games. The all star games vs. U20 National teams. The closing ceremony, where we give the awards to many smiling young men.
4) The "Reebok" dinner where I have a chance to thank everyone for all of the trust, hard work and dedication that makes this event what it is.
5) And last but not least - the Pizza!” |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Euroleague Final Four: Nike International Junior Tournament |
|
|
|
| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| May 8, 2009 |
A recap of the top prospects seen at the Nike International Junior Tournament played parallel to the Euroleague Final Four in Berlin last week. FMP Zeleznik, led by Dejan Musli and Nenad Miljenovic continue to crush any competition they face at the junior level in Europe, winning the tournament for the third consecutive year. Lietuvos Rytas' Jonas Valanciunas and Gran Canaria’s Bakary Konate were also standouts.
[i]For a recap of Nenad Miljenovic's play, see Luis Fernandez's article here.
Jonas Valanciunas, 6-11, Center, Lietuvos Rytas, 1992
Likely the prospect with the most overall upside as far as the NBA is concerned, the Lithuanian national team frontcourt appears to be in excellent hands for the future with the emergence of Jonas Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejunas—two big men that appear to complement each other extremely well.
Only born in 1992, Valanciunas is still a somewhat raw player, mostly due to his lack of strength, but he possesses a frame that should fill out and an incredible wingspan that allows him to make a huge impact in the paint at this level on both ends of the floor. He’s a fairly mobile big man who runs the court well and can get off the floor with ease, particularly for impressive dunks around the basket. His hands are both soft and extremely big, making him a very reliable presence as a pick and roll finisher, and the extension he gets around the rim allows him to finish everything.
Although he’s clearly an inside oriented player, Valanciunas can face up from 8-10 feet and put the ball on the floor for a dribble or two, possibly mixing in a shot-fake and then a crafty pivot move. His lack of strength makes it difficult for him to finish every play that’s created for him, and he may lack just a degree of toughness and feistiness that hopefully he’ll develop further down the road. Valanciunas is an unselfish player who operates fairly impressively on the court, although he clearly lacks experience and a great feel for the game, which is not a shock considering that he’s still only 16 years old. He seemed to disappear for stretches, and clearly needs to work on his conditioning level.
While possessing nice touch from the free throw line, Valanciunas didn’t show anything resembling a mid-range jumper, something he’ll probably be working on in the future considering the gene pool he comes from.
Defensively, Valanciunas can be a presence as a shot-blocker coming from the weak-side, as he possesses solid timing and terrific length as mentioned, but he tends to struggle in man to man defense in the half-court due to his lack of strength. He got moved around in the post quite a bit and was outmuscled trying to crash the defensive glass, although he was quite a force as an offensive rebounder.
While it’s probably too early to make any definitive statements, Valanciunas is clearly one of the most talented players in his age group, and will generate quite a bit of interest from NBA scouts over the next few years depending on what route he decides to take.
Dejan Musli, 7-0, Center, 1991, FMP Zeleznik
Although he absolutely dominated this tournament from a statistical standpoint—being nearly unstoppable in the paint when he truly put his mind to it, Dejan Musli generated very little excitement from what we can gather from the NBA scouts we spoke to, as he appears to have changed very little from last year.
Still a mountain of a teenager at just 18 years old, and likely upwards of 260 pounds, Musli’s body looks slightly better than it did last time we saw him, and he’s also running the floor a little quicker as well. He still tends to play below the rim, though, and relies almost exclusively on the incredible strength advantage he possesses against the extremely underdeveloped kids he faces at this level of competition.
Most of his points therefore come just off brute force, as he bullys his way around the basket. It helps that virtually his team’s entire offense revolves around getting him the ball directly underneath the rim. The fact that he has excellent hands and knows how to use his body to his advantage should not be discounted, but it’s still a bit difficult to see this style of play translating to a higher level of competition, which is why Musli will need to diversify his game in the future. He has very nice touch from the free throw line and can step out and hit a mid-range jumper every now and then, although it’s clear that he is at his best operating inside the paint.
Beyond that, we miss a little bit of passion or character from Musli at times, as he gives off a very cold impression, as if he doesn’t really enjoy playing basketball. His passing skills are average, and he struggles to defend out on the perimeter if forced to step out and hedge the pick and roll. He is an incredibly prolific rebounder, though, as no one can really stand in his way when he decides to go get a ball coming off the rim, particularly on the offensive glass.
Musli isn’t likely to convince his NBA detractors that he’s capable of translating his production at the junior stage to a higher level of competition until he actually does it, so it will be important for him to start seeing minutes and producing in the Adriatic League with FMP next season.
Bakary Konate, 6-9, PF/C, Gran Canaria, 1993
One of the younger players seen at this tournament, 16-year old big man and Mali native Bakary Konate did a very nice job acquainting himself with the European and American scouts in attendance.
Konate is very undeveloped physically as you can imagine considering his age—he possesses a poor lower body (with very skinny legs) that may limit his ability to develop moving forward, but does have a nice upper body. He’s a fairly mobile player who plays extremely hard and possesses a very nice feel for the game—three things that leave significant room for optimism regarding his long-term future. He is a very good rebounder and appears to have decent touch around the basket and when facing up, even showing some limited ball-handling skills in transition. His hands do not appear to be that great, but there is still time to work on this part of the game. Defensively he got pushed around quite a bit by the more physically mature players he went up against, and also showed his lack of experience on this end of the floor. Considering how young he is (he really does look it too), Konate is definitely a guy to keep an eye on for the future. The fact that he also plays for one of the best teams in all of Europe in terms of developing young talent is a big plus as well.
-Brazilian Augusto Lima was somewhat up and down over the course of this tournament, but he was potentially one of the more intriguing prospects around due to his excellent physical profile. Lima has good size at 6-9, to go along with an excellent wingspan and nice athleticism, which evolved first and foremost on the offensive glass, where he was a force at times. Offensively, he’s not terribly skilled or smart, but he does run the floor well and looks comfortable facing up and attacking the rim from 8-12 feet. His perimeter shot looked inconsistent and he was fairly hit or miss on the defensive end, appearing to lack some awareness on this end of the floor. He’s a fairly limited guy at the moment, but considering that he’s only 17 years old, he still has plenty of time to develop.
-Lithuanian wing player Dovydas Redikas had some nice moments over the course of the week, showing a fairly advanced ability to create offense off the dribble thanks to his strong ball-handling skills and solid athleticism. He’s got a strong frame and seems to have nice scoring instincts, showing decent perimeter shooting ability, even if his jumper wasn’t always falling for him. He’s only 6-4, but was almost two years younger than most players here, as he won’t turn 17 until December.
-Fellow Lithuanian guard Augustas Peciukevicius made the tournament’s all-first team, more-so thanks to his competitiveness and team spirit than an incredibly high skill-level. Peciukevicius is a real fighter, looking extremely aggressive in every moment he was on the floor. He’s a streaky shooter and a bit wild at times with his ball-handling skills, but plays outstanding defense and is an excellent passer, making you wonder whether he can develop into a point guard down the road. At 6-3, he’ll probably need to.
-Serbian Nikola Vukasovic of FMP was his team’s starting point guard until the much younger Nenad Miljenovic stole his thunder somewhat later on in the tournament, but he did show some intriguing characteristics himself. He has a good frame, long arms and appears to be a solid athlete, although his lack of strength does limited him somewhat. He’s a good ball-handler, looking very solid creating with either hand, playing pick and roll and finding the open man on the drive and dish, and is an especially solid post entry passer. He looks fairly limited as a scorer, though, being mostly relegated to shooting the ball with his feet set, and possessing fairly ugly mechanics on his jumper. He doesn’t seem to be all that interested in scoring from what we could tell, being very deferential at times and probably lacking some confidence. Still, he’s an interesting player that could develop into an interesting prospect in time.
-Also playing for FMP was Aleksandar Ponjavic, who didn’t see a ton of playing time, but does seem to have the potential to develop into an intriguing player down the road. Ponjavic is a wing player with excellent size at 6-6 to go along with solid athleticism. He seems like a fairly talented player, able to create his own shot off the bounce and pull-up off the dribble from mid-range while also looking fairly scrappy defensively taking charges. He isn’t much of a long-range shooter at all, which is probably the thing he needs to work on the most.
-Despite being the most experienced player at this tournament, with some heavy Euroleague minutes underneath at age 17, Mirza Sarajlija really looked quite average here, which probably had something to do with the fact that he was just returning from a knee injury. He basically shot the ball every time he touched it, showing a quick release and impressive mechanics, but wasn’t all that accurate when his team needed him most. Out of the 35 field goals he attempted in the three games here, only 5 of them came from inside the arc, which tells you quite a bit about his shot-selection. He showed very little in the ways of point guard skills, and turned the ball frequently as well. Sarajlija probably doesn’t share the upside of some of his counterparts seen here, but he’s likely a much better player than he was able to show in Berlin.
Spanish point guard Oscar Alvarado was the engine of Gran Canaria’s offense here in Berlin, looking like an excellent prospect for European basketball for the coming years. He’s a true point guard who can distribute the ball with either hand and does an excellent job running the pick and roll, where to likes to find teammates off the dribble. His quickness and aggressiveness allow him to get to the basket at will at this level and make a living at the free throw line, although his wild style of play sometimes makes him very turnover prone. His shooting mechanics need work, even if he is capable of making jumpers. Defensively, his lack of size, strength and length limits his potential on this end somewhat. He does seem to have excellent leadership skills and a real flair for running a team confidently already at his young age. His upside is not off the charts, but he looks like a pretty safe bet to develop into a solid professional player. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Nenad Miljenovic, the Serbian Smile |
|
|
|
| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| May 7, 2009 |
In a superb weekend, we could witness one of the best Euroleague Final Fours ever in a top-notch city like Berlin, but it was a Serbian kid stealing our hearts at the Nike International Junior Tournament. The 16-year old cadet Nenad Miljenovic came with a strong reputation, but his performance and the impression he left exceeded any expectation.
 | | Euroleague.net |
Let’s say from the start that we’re dealing with an incredibly talented and creative playmaker, one of those extremely rare kids with an unbelievable feel for the game and outstanding skill set. Basketball is easy, natural and enjoyable for him. It was scary to think how comfortable, how effortlessly he delivered his stuff against much more physical kids who mostly were two years older than him (in a stage where two years means a whole lot: think about a high school sophomore facing seniors).
Miljenovic enjoys a fantastic offensive package, starting with terrific handles and footwork to break down defenses and get by opponents with great ease. He shows versatility taking the steps in penetration, emerging very creative in order to unbalance his rivals, attract defensive rotations or create separation from his opponents. He’s automatic finding his teammates anywhere on the court, exhibiting outstanding court vision and ability to identify passing angles. Whether feeding cutters, kicking-out to shooters, dishing after penetration, if there’s a pass, chances are he will find it and execute it with the proper tempo. It’s very instinctive stuff: he doesn’t speculate, he barely needs to think. He acts. The ball is hardly ever frozen in his hands, and you could never label him as a ball hog (according to what we saw in Berlin); he just looks for something to happen for his team.
However, as good passer and selfless as he is, Miljenovic doesn’t pass up on a scoring opportunity and shows remarkable ability to get the ball going through the net. His shot looked pretty good all tournament long, showing nice mechanics in the release, although he stuck for spot-up jumpers from mid-to-long ranges. Despite lacking strength and top explosiveness for the moment, while not being an off-the-charts athlete, Nenad was able to finish near the rim with a variety of layups and short shots, showing excellent ability reading defenses and finding windows for releasing the ball.
All in all, his decision making is extremely hard to question. He certainly takes more risks than other point guards, but it’s nothing out of proportion. He looks in really good shape if we talk about basketball IQ and understanding of the game.
Defense emerges as his biggest weakness. He showed a nose for picking pockets and getting into passing lines, but we’re not going to sweeten the reality: at this point he wouldn’t be able to guard his own shadow. He needs to properly learn the nuances of defense and put a few extra degrees of effort in order to stay in front of his match-ups, while his physical development will greatly help him. Keep in mind he’s a very skinny kid. It’s not only a matter of being 16 years old, but he really looked like a boy among young men. His frame is promising, though. At 6-4 he’s pretty big for a point-guard and there’s nothing wrong with his wingspan or athleticism. Actually, he grabbed a surprisingly good amount of rebounds. That speaks of his nice length, but also about activity and positioning. Again, instincts doing their work.
If his skill set and eventual flashy plays dazzled the audience, his real influence on the games, although perhaps going under the radar for some, was nothing short of impressive.
With his much more experienced teammate Nikola Vukasovic almost monopolizing the leading playmaking duties, Miljenovic looked doomed for a marginal role, indeed not stepping on the court until very late into the third quarter against a surprisingly combative Alba Berlin. However, his impact on the court was automatic. He didn’t deliver any outstanding individual performance in that opener, but he changed the face of the team and the rhythm of the game.
With more playing time, a bigger role on the court and increasingly impressive play, that was the tune during the whole tournament. Vukasovic, as talented as he is, lacks offensive aggressiveness, which usually results in a slower game tempo and a mechanical and predictable style for the team. With Miljenovic on the floor it seems like the whole FMP arsenal is unleashed, even when he shared minutes with Vukasovic, he emerged pretty effective playing off the ball as well. As soon as he hits the court, the ball starts flowing, the pace gets faster, the players become more active and the team runs the floor. I had never seen Dejan Musli running as much as he did these days in Berlin. And it’s hard to imagine any different scenario than FMP’s starring center completely worshiping his point guard fellow, given how ridiculously easily he got production out of Nenad’s hands.
It’s not a matter of taking anything out of Musli’s great performance in Berlin, he was really dominant, completely owned Jonas Valanciunas in the final and showed nice improvements in his game. But unlike the NIJT jury, I could have only named Miljenovic as the tournament MVP (he was granted a place in the all-tournament team, though). His influence exceeded any other player’s, and on first glance, his plus/minus stats likely topped the tourney’s by a landslide. Let’s put it this way: with Musli on the floor and Nenad on the bench, FMP was trailing against Alba Berlin; put Miljenovic on the floor and take Dejan out, and the show was still going on.
Going beyond his effectiveness, Miljenovic is a breath of fresh air on the basketball scene. His creativity, even his flashy moves, go along an apparently extremely likeable character. The kid just has fun out there, and regularly offers a smile on his face. I can’t remember anything similar during the past years in the Serbian basketball, even the Balkan area as a whole.
On top of it, he looks like a superb teammate, and acted as you would have never expected from a cadet playing with juniors. He was often the first one receiving his teammates on the bench, he was regularly high-fiving and cheering for everybody, and he went as far as chest-bumping his own coach after he linked a few spectacular plays. We’ve seen FMP for a few years now with this very same coach, usually while they dominated, and never ever witness anything similar. Considering it comes from a cadet, it’s almost inconceivable.
Truth to be told, the kid seems to have a special relationship with everybody on FMP. He was the only player we saw during a game talking with the team president Nebojsa Covic, who was always placed behind the bench and constantly communicating with the coaches (actually, FMP had a bit of a schizophrenic direction, with two guys acting like head coaches and constantly exchanging looks and words with their president).
In a hilarious sequence, Miljenovic delivered a behind-the-back pass on a fastbreak, and looked towards the bench, as if to excuse himself for his flashiness –of course, with a smile on his face-. The head coach turned looking for his president and couldn’t avoid smiling himself. It’s the kind of stuff you rarely see in the Serbian basketball school. Actually, it makes you think how much the FMP staff might be holding back on Miljenovic’s creativity on the court.
Our long-time friend and eventual collaborator Juan Antonio Hinojo brilliantly pointed out how much Nenad reminded him of Sergio Rodriguez. Not only in terms of skills, but also with his body language or easy-going character. It would be interesting to check how much further that resemblance would go if Miljenovic enjoyed the same freedom Sergio had back in his junior days in Spain. Regardless, we can already say that Sergio is the most dominant junior we’ve seen playing on the perimeter, and Nenad is the most impressive cadet we’ve ever witnessed sharing the floor with juniors--with the only possible competition coming from Ricky Rubio himself back in the 2006 L’Hospitalet Tournament.
The future looks bright for him, although uncertainty is a big part of the equation when talking about kids who are so young. Still, nobody will take away the impression he left in Berlin. Every time Miljenovic smiles on a basketball court, basketball itself smiles with this kid running the show. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
luisfernandez@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Nike Hoop Summit, International Prospects |
|
|
|
| by: Mike Schmidt - D-League, NCAA Scout |
| April 15, 2009 |
A in-depth look at all of the 10 international prospects that participated in the Nike Hoop Summit, and their outlook as NBA draft prospects.
Milan Macvan, 23 points, 14 rebounds (9 offensive), 6 assists, 1 block
 | | FIBAEurope.com |
The most consistently impressive play from the international squad came from Serbian power forward Milan Macvan, who we wrote about in detail during the week. At first glance, the big man doesn't look like he has the physical tools to play in the NBA, standing somewhere around 6'9" with a big body sporting plenty of baby fat, and unimpressive athleticism. On the court, he makes up for this with his solid wingspan, an incredible basketball IQ, and the fact that he's just stronger and thicker than anybody else on the court. From early in the game, Macvan displayed his impressive instincts on the offensive glass, and the ability to take up a great deal of space and time the rebound perfectly.
Offensively, he showed his impressive ability to set huge screens early in the game. The big screens from Macvan created a great deal of space for his guards to penetrate, and he was open rolling to the basket as a result nearly every time. Though not the best athlete, the big man can finish inside due to good timing and the intelligent use of his dribbles to keep the defense on their heels. In addition, he showed the ability to play in the high post, passing the ball very effectively from the perimeter a number of times. His 6 assists were the second most in the entire game behind John Wall, and his crafty passing included a nice assist from the post when he was doubled, and even a long range tip/outlet pass immediately after a defensive rebound.
In the low post, Macvan relies on his nice touch and ability to back down any player that he goes against. He shoots a very nice turnaround jumper spinning to either shoulder, and also has a running hook he can use coming across the lane. In the NBA, he won't be able to use his post game too often, as he plays so far below the rim, and his shot was blocked twice from the post in the game. The ability to play outside and shoot the ball will allow his post game to be effective, however. His ball-skills were quite impressive for a man his size. The Serbian big attacked the basket twice off the dribble, and even aided the guards in getting the ball up the court.
Defensively, the big man plays very tough low-post defense, showing no reservations about getting physical with the opposing players. His lateral quickness will probably hurt him when it comes to guarding most power-forwards, but he does show a good fundamental understanding of defensive rotations. It also helps knowing that if there's a missed shot by the opposing team, Macvan is going to be right there to fight for the rebound.
Milan Macvan is the type of player who will be debated by front office personnel for some time. Based on his performance in this setting, and his success at the international level at a young age, it appears that he has the necessary tools to play in the NBA, despite his lack of size and explosiveness. Macvan's strength, feel for the game, and ability to play inside and out are rare for a prospect of his age, and will allow him to have some type of role with an NBA team in the future. With three years left on his contract with Hemofarm, Macvan says he has a buyout after next year, and would like one more year of European experience before declaring for the draft.
Donatas Motiejunas, 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 5/15 FG, 10/14 FTs
 | | Alfredas Pliadis, 15min.lt |
The most intriguing international prospect in attendance, Donatas Motiejunas managed to string together quite an impressive performance, despite playing out of position. With Aisciai Kaunas in Lithuania, the talented lefty plays exclusively at the 4/5 spots. With the lack of a true three on the roster, the World Select Team had to take advantage of his ball-skills and perimeter shooting ability, placing him out of position for most of the game. You could tell this frustrated Motiejunas early in the game, as his teammates weren't getting him the ball in the proper position. Starting late in the first quarter, the Lithuanian started to gain more comfort, overcoming his frustration to contribute nicely in the victory.
Though not the toughest player, the Lithuanian did show some nice fight in the Hoop Summit, first gathering an offensive rebound and finishing the play with a no-look pass to Tomislav Zubcic down low. The next time down, the big man took his defender to the basket off the dribble, and kicked to the wide open shooter on the weak-side. Motiejunas finished the game with 5 offensive rebounds, taking advantage of his length and agility while at the same time outworking the front line of Team USA.
Motiejunas can be described as a complete player offensively, showing the ability to play inside and out. When he received the ball in the post, he showed a very nice set of moves and fakes, and his touch can be described as quite impressive as well. His go-to move appears to be a lefty hook off a quick spin, but he can also finish with his right hand inside with great touch. Early in the game when he struggled to score, Motiejunas still managed to make a couple of very nice passes on the drive, and show very polished ball-handling skills for a 7-footer as well. The range on his jumper extends to the NBA 3-point line, and he possesses solid body control and athleticism on the dribble-drive.
Defensively, Motiejunas still needs to become a tougher player, particularly if he wants to guard post players at the NBA level. He has a solid frame, but he must continue to get stronger and focus on learning the proper leverage to keep stronger players from backing him down so easily. A greater effort from him coming on weak-side rotations would go a long way as well. The big man seems to understand how to get to the spot, but doesn't show the greatest effort in contesting shots.
Free throw shooting is another area where he could seemingly improve. He made 10 of his 14 attempts in this game, but seemed to struggle in the practices at times from the free throw line as well. On the drive, he really favors his left hand, despite his ability to score with his right hand from the post.
After his solid showing here, Donatas Motiejunas will return to Lithuania to finish out his season and decide if he wants to test the waters in this year's NBA draft. A very skilled offensive player who is already productive in his home country, he could find himself benefiting from the lack of bigs and international prospects in the 2009 NBA draft. On the other hand, another year in Europe against stronger competition could really help his long-term development, especially once he manages to improve his body. Regardless, Motiejunas seems to be a very talented prospect with a bright NBA future. A free agent after this season, he has the flexibility to find a higher level club or come right to the NBA if he wishes to do so.
Tomislav Zubcic, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 8/9 FTs
Throughout the week in practice, Tomislav Zubcic displayed extremely impressive tools for a player his size, but at the same time, seemed to struggle with both his role on the team and a lack of mental toughness. To our surprise, he overcame both issues Saturday night on his way to a very impressive showing in the game. The Croatian forward's strong performance certainly helped his draft stock, as he was a big key to the World Team's victory, particularly in the fourth quarter.
With the skills of a small forward, Zubcic has the size and athleticism to become a match-up nightmare at the power forward position. He remains somewhat skinny at this point, but has really improved his upper-body strength over the past year. He looked to be a soft player in the practices, but had no trouble fighting for an offensive rebound on his first possession in the game, and taking a hard hit to get to the free throw line. Zubcic followed this up by create a nice look for Kevin Seraphin after handling the ball on a pick and roll, and came down the court a few possessions later showing off his smooth stroke from the three point line. Later in the game, the forward showed very nice agility and ball-handling skills attacking the basket off the dribble, especially late in the game where he finished a drive while taking a hard hit on the head from Renardo Sidney.
On the glass, Zubcic lacks great fundamentals and must become better at using his body to create position. His defense must improve as well, though he does show good anticipation off the ball, and had a couple of impressive blocks during the game. If he continues to get stronger in his lower body, the Croatian big has a chance to become an asset on the defensive end of the floor.
Surprisingly, a number of scouts we talked to indicated that Zubcic has somewhat of a selfish reputation overseas, and might not play as effectively if he doesn't get an adequate number of touches on offense. We definitely saw signs of this during the practices, and Coach Beveridge got on his case about it early in the week. It worked out for the best, however, because it allowed Zubcic to find his role on the team, and he became a key cog for the first international victory since 1998.
Tomislav Zubcic possesses an incredible package of offensive tools and an impressive feel for the game for a player his size. Combined with his impressive athletic profile, he certainly helped his stock with a strong performance here. To make things more interesting, Zubcic does not have either a contract or an agent at this point in time. After the game, a group of agents were virtually tripping over each other on their way to introduce themselves. He says he plans on hiring an agent soon, and at this point would like to play one more season in Europe before declaring for the draft.
Kevin Seraphin, 8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 5/9 FG
A very interesting prospect considering his size and physical tools, Kevin Seraphin really had a chance to help his stock as a prospect in this game. Playing for Cholet in France, he has only had a few solid games since being promoted from their junior team, and it was a nice chance to showcase himself in front of the 65+ scouts in attendance. Though still a raw player, Seraphin managed to impress with his clutch play late in the game.
Physically, it's easy to notice Seraphin's strong, powerful body. Though a raw basketball talent, he has a great natural frame which he has managed to add a great deal of strength to in his couple of years playing basketball. The French prospect shows an explosive vertical leap and the ability to run the court like a guard. Combined with his 7'3" wingspan, he has nearly every tool you look for in a developing big.
Throughout the game, Seraphin displayed an excellent motor, fighting for every loose ball, making an effort to block every shot in his territory, and setting big, bruising screens on the offensive end of the floor. The big man has very impressive instincts when it comes to rebounding, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. His hustle was apparent late in the game, when he provided the World Select team with their first lead of the game on a dunk off a basket cut, and a jaw-dropping block on a John Wall lay-up on the other end of the floor. Coming back down on offense, he helped seal the victory with another dunk in transition, and a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw.
Offensively, Seraphin constantly fights hard for position, and always looks for the ball early in the post. On one possession, he ran the court and sealed off his man impressively, gaining the perfect position for a rare early post lay-up (something which NBA coaches love to see). He lacks the skill-level needed to finish around the basket unless it's an easy lay-up or dunk, however, and the form on his jumper can be described as quite awkward.
As a big man prospect with all the physical tools but developing skills, Kevin Seraphin appears to be the type of big that an NBA team would draft to stash overseas and monitor his development for a couple seasons. His agent Bouna N'Diaye seemed to indicate they would explore entering his name in the draft this season, and he seemed to like the idea of Seraphin taking a similar route to one of his other clients, Ian Mahinmi. With the economy's current effect on the NBA and many teams in cost-cutting mode, it would certainly make sense to see a team go that route with him. Seraphin helped his stock with his performance here, first and foremost just by being seen and getting his name out, and it will be interesting to see if he decides to stay in the 2009 draft.
Matias Nocedal, 3 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds
Though he didn't play many minutes, Matias Nocedal displayed impressive tools as a point guard during his 13 minutes of play. Physically, the guard displayed impressive quickness and solid all-around athleticism, as well as a tight handle. The Argentinean has a nice feel for the game as well, displaying the ability to create for others on the pick and roll, as well as the vision to find the open shooting with the draw and kick.
As a scorer, Nocedal has somewhat unorthodox mechanics on his jumper, but shoots it with a very quick release and impressive accuracy. With the ball in his hands, he plays with a certain Argentinean flare, especially with the very flashy passes he shows the capability of making. Despite his quickness and physical tools, we really didn't see him finishing anything at the rim at all this week, and it would be nice to see him develop some type of mid-range game as well.
It will be quite interesting to watch Nocedal progress as a player with Tau Ceramica in Spain. It's tough to say how much of a prospect he is for the NBA at this point, as it seems way too early to draw any type of definitive conclusions. If he really continues to develop as a scorer and mature with his ability to run a team, he could turn into a very nice prospect down the road.
Nikos Pappas, 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers, 4/6 FG
Already a fixture on Greece's junior national team, Pappas entered this week with a great deal of international experience under his belt. A point guard with good size at 6'4", Pappas had an impressive showing in Portland, particularly with his ability to handle the pressure of the Team USA guards, despite his less than ideal physical tools.
In the half-court, Pappas appears to be a crafty scorer, with the ability to shoot the three pointer, or create a floater from mid-range. The most impressive shot Pappas hit in the game was a clutch floater off his opposite foot with the shot-clock running down. The Greek guard can create quite effectively for others, too. At times it appeared he would pick up his dribble too early or dribble into a bad spot, but he would always find the open man after a fake or a spin to get the defense back on their heels.
Despite his size, solid scoring ability, and the ability to create as a floor general, Pappas doesn't appear to have the prototypical physical tools of an NBA guard. He shows average quickness off the dribble, and doesn't appear to have any type of explosiveness in the paint. The guard also lacks the lateral quickness to be an effective defensive player, though he seems to be very solid fundamentally in most areas. He appears to be the type of guard that could get drafted and stashed overseas, but his value to the European market will probably always exceed the value he can bring to an NBA team.
Edwin Jackson, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, 2/7 FG
A combo-guard with good physical attributes, Jackson was unlucky enough to be matched up on both ends with the incredible athleticism of John Wall. As a result, Jackson struggled despite some solid flashes, and probably looked like a more limited player than he actually is.
Jackson has the physical attributes to play in the NBA, with a strong body and a good first step. The French guard also displayed better point guard abilities than expected as well, finding the shooter after drawing the defense on the pick and roll a couple times, and also dropping the ball to the open big in the dunkers spot after penetrating into the paint. His handle was solid, but not quite good enough against the quick hands of John Wall at times, and a couple errant passes resulted from over-penetration into bad spots as well.
As a scorer, Jackson usually shoots the ball effectively, but missed both of his three point looks in this game. The guard's shot selection needs work, as he put up some contested mid-range shots that were enough to drive any coach crazy. He did show a very nice floater near the basket, and showed no fear attacking the basket against any player from the US Team.
Jackson's athleticism and upside makes him a somewhat intriguing long-term prospect, and he'll face very few guards as good defensively as John Wall. Returning to France for the next two seasons at least could do a great deal of good for him, especially if he can secure some major minutes playing point guard. If his game continues to mature, Edwin Jackson has the tools to develop into an NBA player.
Mamadou Samb, 0 points, 4 rebounds
An athletic power-forward with a great wing-span, we really didn't get to see much of anything from Mamadou Samb this week, who was forced to play small forward out of necessity. This was the first time Samb had ever been placed in this spot, and he struggled as a result.
During the practices, Samb struggled showing a high skill-level during the drills, but always made an impact once the team starting going up and down in the scrimmages. An athletic player who can run the floor, he showed very good rebounding instincts, a solid jumper, and good defensive ability. His rebounding and defense were both solid in the game, but he didn't receive the ball once in a spot where he was comfortable taking a shot.
Samb has developed quite nicely in Spain this season from everything we've heard, and his rights belong to FC Barcelona. The roster worked against his favor for him to show anything too impressive this week, and he will probably remain in Spain a couple more years before thinking of declaring for the draft. Maybe we'll see an appearance from him at EuroCamp, which could be a much better situation for him to showcase himself against NBA scouts.
Mateo Gaynor, 4 points, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2/2 FG
Gaynor played limited minutes with his World Select squad, but made a number of solid plays to help his team in his 9 minutes of playing time. The guard has good size at 6'6" but seems pretty average athletically, with a lanky frame and above average lateral quickness. The Argentinean guard played a key role for his Junior National Team at the U18 Tournament of the Americas, where his native squad took down the team from the United States in the finals.
Gaynor made a couple of crafty drives to the basket, where he finished using smart angles, which was necessary considering his below the rim style of play. He displayed solid three point shooting ability in the practices as well, but didn't get a single look from long range in the game. The guard also passes the ball quite well, and really stood out on the defensive end, where his long arms and quickness really come in handy.
Mateo Gaynor doesn't look like a great NBA prospect, but has some very interesting tools. His rights belong to Benetton Treviso in Italy, and he could potentially develop as a shooting specialist in the future. If he becomes stronger and continues to improve, he may be someone teams will want to look at a few years down the line.
Zhang Dayu, 6 points, 0 rebounds, 4 fouls, 3/6 FG
Zhang Dayu struggled early in the week, but became better in the practices each day as the week progressed. His best performance of the week came in the game, where he finished with 6 points in 10 minutes of action. Four of his points came off of mid-range pick and pop jumpers, where he showed the knowledge to separate from the screen quickly and make himself a target for the ball. The Chinese big also rolled to the basket very nicely on one side screen and roll, and he was found for an easy finish inside.
Physically, Dayu runs the court quite well, but has a very short wingspan (6-9) for his size, and doesn't possess great explosiveness. During the practices, he showed very nice footwork at times on a couple of post moves and solid touch around the basket as well. He will benefit from the good amount of playing time with his team in the Chinese Basketball Association, but doesn't really appear to be much of an NBA prospect at this point. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
mike.schmidt@draftexpress.com |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
