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| Roundup: Pekovic Reigns in the Adriatic League |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| April 30, 2008 |
Player of the Week: Nikola Pekovic
In a controversial decision, the Euroleague chose Danilo Gallinari over Nikola Pekovic as the winner of the Rising Star award that honors the best young player in the competition. Still, the Serbian center won’t likely be sulking about it for too long after leading his team Partizan to win the Adriatic League, earning in the process MVP honors and our Player of the Week nomination.
Partizan validated its dominance of this year's Adriatic League by beating Union Olimpija and Hemofarm in this past week's Final Four. Pekovic had 31 points and 5 rebounds in the semis, while settling for 22 point and 7 rebounds in the final, combining for 19/25 from the field.
 | | Photo: ABA League |
As usual, he did all his damage around the basket, showcasing his ability to establish great position inside and emerging as almost unstoppable once he received the ball. Pekovic is not a go-to guy in the sense that he’s a creative force that facilitates his team’s offensive flow, but he's such a big threat that his sole presence makes his team's offense run smoothly due his own ability to finish around the rim and the spaces he generates for his teammates with the defensive help he regular draws.
Partizan should find no opposition on its way to the Serbian championship as well; it will be way more difficult to retain all its young gems, starting with Pekovic. As we stated a few months ago, he has pretty much all but boarded the plane for Panathinaikos, as everything regarding his transfer there has already been agreed upon. Even though he would normally garner a considerable amount of interest in the first round with the incredible season he’s had, the inevitably of him staying in Europe for a considerable amount of time, along with the verbal discouragement he’s given teams from drafting him (saying that he just does not like the NBA) will almost certainly drop him to the 2nd round.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Danilo Gallinari celebrated his Euroleague Rising Star award that honors him as this season’s best youngster with another very productive outing in the Italian League. He had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, in front of a large number of NBA scouts and executives, although his team couldn’t beat Upim Bologna. Danilo’s streak of double-digit games in the scoring department continues, and he’s yet to fail reaching the 10-point mark this season in the Italian League, which sounds like unbelievable consistency for a 19-year-old player. With the regular season now in the books, Gallinari’s team will face 4th seeded Montegrenaro in the playoffs, with his team Milano being the 5th seed.[/p]
Alexis Ajinca came off the bench for Hyeres-Toulon to offer a significant performance in his team's victory over Gravelines, providing 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in just 19 minutes of playing time, showing again that he usually produces when he's given playing time.
Dejan Ivanov has dramatically improved his production in the Croatian championship once the Adriatic League is over. Last week he contributed with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals to Split’s victory over Dubrava, and he averages 21.4 points in the last five games.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
Vladimir Dasic has delivered a completely forgettable season for Buducnost in the Adriatic League, actually having regressed from the previous campaign. Usually playing as a perimeter-oriented face-up power forward, he has looked extremely inconsistent with his offensive game. Netting only 18.7% of his three-point attempts, he has been more prolific with his perimeter shots rather than the two-point attempts, which has resulted in very ineffective production (a horrible 35.7% from the field). Dasic hasn’t been able to smooth out his mechanics, and he’s settling for pull-up jumpers way too often.
Meanwhile, he hasn’t been able to build a solid slashing game. He’s a very decent ball-handler and pretty quick for a power forward, but he doesn’t look particularly skilled when it comes to going inside and finding a way to score, force a foul or dish the ball, lacking some better use of his body, more refined ability to finish around the rim against opposition and savvy reading defenses. Also, his off-the-ball game is far from outstanding. Indeed his basketball IQ looks average at this point. Underwhelming in the rebounding department (3.7 captures per game), he’s not showing great desire and positioning. Defensively he looks a bit better, showing nice lateral quickness and some intensity, but sometimes suffers as a tweener going against bigger inside guys.
All in all, this is pretty disappointing coming from a guy who looked really promising a few years ago.
Rounding Up… Draft Talk
NOREL, INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE
Henk Norel is entering his name in the draft, as his agent Peter de Bos has confirmed us. The young Dutch will test the waters, and his camp won’t likely make a decision about staying or withdrawing until the deadline.
A very interesting long-term prospect, Norel would almost certainly find some love in the second round of the draft should he decide to keep his name in. At the same time, his potential to climb higher and reach the first round next year looks seriously limited, as he will likely need more time to establish himself as a consistent and productive guy in the ACB League, where he will play next season for Joventut.
According to his agent, Norel is taking his career step by step, working hard on his game and taking things one step at a time. He’s currently playing on loan in Alicante, in the LEB League (Spanish second division), and even if he’s dreaming of the NBA just like any other kid, he really wants to play in the ACB League.
Joventut is a perfect place for a young player like Norel. He will enjoy an excellent coaching staff there and a youth-friendly culture that will likely provide him with regular playing time, while he can challenge the best competition in the continent playing the ACB and, next season as well, the Euroleague. Besides, he might also be able to play more extended minutes as a face-up power forward, perhaps the most natural position for this multi-talented player, rather than being stuck exclusively in the paint, where he still gets out-muscled despite the visible progress he’s made in the physical development.
Indeed, following in the footsteps of Rudy Fernandez and Ricky Rubio, it seems like Joventut is greatly en vogue these days, and even Serge Ibaka’s agents are openly saying to anybody willing to listen that they want the young African there.
Back to Norel, he has two more years left on his contract with the Spanish team, so he would be free by 2010 (nice timing considering his development process and the great situation he’s in right now), and even if some deal is worked out with Joventut to extend his contract, they would seek a reasonable buyout, according de Bos. For the moment, he is invited to Treviso in June to play in the Reebok Eurocamp, although Joventut would have the last word on it (Norel is expected to join the first team practices once the LEB season is over).
All in all, he’s another international big to fuel a nicely intriguing crop that also includes the likes of Ajinca, Ibaka, Asik, Pekovic, Jawai or Erden.
INTERNATIONAL MYSTERY MEN OR INTERNATIONAL WORTHLESS MEN?
Every draft process brings an endless list of international guys declaring (not so endless since the limits on declaring for the draft [twice] was established), including some pretty much unknown guys. Testing the waters or not, some of them are legit NBA prospects, while others look more like intruders to a party to which they have not been invited.
Herb Rudoy has informed DraftExpress that, besides Omri Casspi, his agency Interperformances will have three Ukrainian players declaring for the draft.
One of them, Sergei Ilin, is a complete unknown to us. Actually, his name is nowhere to be found in the net, which takes the “mystery man” label to a whole new level. In fact, even our friend Vitaly Lebedintsev, a General Manager and coach of a Ukrainian league team, and former junior and senior national team head coach, has seemed to never have heard of him. The mythical Ilin is 7-6 by the way.
The other two guys regularly play for Dnepro in the Ukrainian Superleague, and we actually had a chance to take a quick look at them.
Maksim Vilkhovetskyi is a 6-4 (could be slightly shorter) combo guard born in 1988, physically pretty mature, pretty quick, decently athletic, rather strong, a surprisingly good defender but average offensive player. He doesn’t look particularly creative nor a noteworthy distributor, he’s way too in love with his extremely inconsistent perimeter jumper and, from the small sample we could watch, he didn’t look aggressive enough attacking the basket, pretty disappointing for a relatively strong guy who also happens to enjoy solid ball-handling skills.
Maxim Korniyenko is a 6-10 forward born in 1987, but rawer than his teammate, nothing more than a decent athlete, not very explosive, skinny, but who enjoys long arms and a decent frame, and shows signs of budding but so-far ineffective versatility. We could see him missing a mid-range jumper with decent mechanics, putting the ball on the floor with his off hand for an underwhelming slashing move, being completely out-muscled in the low post, or trying a nice pass by the baseline that ended up out of bounds.
Really nothing to write home about for any of them. The strategy would likely be to make their names better known, but unless they develop dramatically in the future, they don’t really look like draft material.
Surprise Last-Minute Entries
On the other hand, we got word today that the Early-Entry list will feature two better known players that will likely draw some attention to themselves. One is Nando De Colo, who we’ve written about extensively on this blog over the past few months, and the other is Jonas Jerebko, a Swedish forward who was named MVP of the U-18 European Championships Division B last summer. Both seem to be putting their name in with an eye on next year, as a means of drawing some buzz before they become automatically eligible in advance of the 2009 draft. De Colo is the better prospect of the two, already a star in the French first division, while Jerebko plays in a stronger level of competition with Biella, but is just a rotation player at this point. We’ll surely see Jerebko in Treviso, while De Colo’s situation is more up in the air due to the French national team. |
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| Roundup: Spectacular De Colo |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| April 23, 2008 |
Player of the Week: Nando De Colo
As much as we’ve become accustomed to what Nando De Colo produces game in and game out, it still doesn’t get any less impressive. This past weekend he delivered another astounding performance, leading Cholet to a road victory over Pau-Orthez with 25 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, earning our Player of the Week nomination in the process. He has emerged as an extremely reliable scorer, and averages over 20 points in the last 9 games with surprising ease, not forcing shots or situations.
In this particular game, De Colo often looked spectacular, with flashy plays such as a slashing move sneaking the ball behind his back in order to avoid an opponent and finishing with a perfect left-handed layup, or a superb behind-the-head pass off the dribble. Its remarkable how easy the game comes to him, how poised and naturally talented he looks. Either knocking down shots (he was money in the bank from the perimeter in this game), driving in heavy traffic (showcasing his excellent handles and footwork) or finding quick passing solutions in complicated situations (he enjoys a terrific feel for the game and easily sees the court), basketball seems effortless for him, and almost every single time he touched the ball resulted in something positive for his team.
As usual, the downside of his game came on the defensive end. Matched up with an athletic wing, he suffered containing his match-up’s cuts, often reacting late, being out of position or even ending up outmuscled. His average lateral quickness was eventually exposed again, although the fact that he’s playing as a combo guard and is not forced to guard the opposing playmaker relieves him from the task of having to challenge the quickest rivals (something that won’t happen in the NBA if he eventually ends up there). Indeed, and given his excellent display on the other end of the court, if De Colo showed a significantly better defensive level, we should be talking about a first-round caliber guy.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Jose Angel Antelo is flirting for the third consecutive week with the 20-point, 10-rebound mark for L’Hospitalet in the LEB Oro League, leading this weekend’s effort against Union Baloncesto La Palma (19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks), although his team couldn’t take home the victory and is in danger of being relegated to the 3rd division. The Spanish forward is back to the second division after failing to establish himself in the ACB the last season. He’s still 20 years old and will have plenty of opportunities to achieve it in the future; meanwhile, the LEB Oro seems like the perfect place for him. Averaging 10.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game, he’s a productive cog on his squad, showing basically the same stuff that once made him one of the most statistically efficient juniors in Europe. He’s still a face-up power forward who lives off his shooting stroke and driving ability, combined with a superb knack for the offensive rebound (averages 3.2 per game, second in the league). However, he’s making strides with his perimeter accuracy, and even if he shows the same old unbalanced release on his jumper, he’s netting 41% of his behind-the-arc attempts. His shot selection looks improved, and he now doesn’t rely as much on his perimeter firepower, sometimes opting for the mid-range or just going all the way to the basket. He shows a very solid first step here and we can even see him eventually going left and using his left hand to finish around the rim, which used to be an extremely rare feature. Anyway, his rebounding ability stands above the rest of his game, showcasing his superb hands, wingspan, positioning and nose for the rebound. On the downside, he’s still not much of a defender, lacking activity and consistency, particularly on team defense, and he’s not particularly creative for his teammates in the offensive end.
Luigi Datome seems to finally be finding regularity in his performances, just as the Italian league regular season is about to come to a close this weekend. Once an impact player as a newcomer in the Italian League playing for Montepaschi, injuries and lack of playing time had undermined his confidence and game level. Now in Legea Scafati he’s slowly growing back into a solid contributor. He opened this past week with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in the loss against Armani Jeans Milano, following with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in the victory against La Fortezza Bologna. Both scoring efforts are his top marks of the season, and he has reached double digits in the last four games, his longest streak this campaign.
Elmedin Kikanovic keeps coming up with strong offensive outbursts from time to time. This past week, he buried 27 points (13/14 from the field), along 7 rebounds, on Borac Cacak, followed by a 16-point, 3-rebound performance against Partizan.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
Vaidas Cepukaitis has regressed this season in terms of production in the Lithuanian NKL (second division), going from averages of 10.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in 22 minutes, to seeing his playing time decreasing to only 16 minutes, with 9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. But it goes beyond the numbers, as he’s barely showing any glimpse of expanding his offensive game (unlike what he had displayed this past summer). No drives and no low-post moves (at least in the few games we’ve seen of him this season), a few short jumpers, regular pick-and-roll situations finishing near the basket, and second-chance points off offensive rebounds. We were certainly expecting something more at this point.
Rounding Up… The Dreadful 1989 Generation
1989 is steadily growing into the worst international generation in recent memory when it comes to NBA potential. Going past Serge Ibaka, I wouldn’t dare to put my money on any single player to be drafted down the road. Someone will emerge sooner or later, that’s for sure, but it’s not usual to see such a weak crop when it has already left the junior stage.
Summarizing quickly… Mamadou Samb’s development is going extremely slow and he’s not even such a great athlete (his vertical leap is pretty underwhelming). It takes just a look at Milan Macvan playing with veterans to realize –in case it wasn’t clear enough- how limited his NBA potential is, as talented as he is. Antoine Diot hasn’t managed to improve that much since the days when he impressed at the U-16 stage. Zygimantas Janavicius still plays too out of control, and his perimeter stroke is nowhere to be found. His teammate Cepukaitis is our Who’s Not feature this week. Semen Shashkov, perhaps the most gifted player of the group in terms of physical tools, looks like your typical extremely inconsistent Russian that will greatly struggle to eventually overcome that inconsistency. Another Russian, Dimitriy Khovstov, transmits a laid-back attitude that will hardly help his development….
We could keep going, but we would hardly find any optimistic outlook anyway. The guy who has probably left the best impression this season is Dusan Katnic. The Serbian point guard, already one of the top backcourt players in the past U-18 European Championships, paid a visit to the Vilagarcia Basket Cup with his team Mega Aqua Monta some weeks ago, and exhibited his high-quality finesse game. We’re talking about a pretty skilled playmaker, poised and elegant. He’s not greatly explosive or athletic, but he gets things done relying on fundamentals, on his footwork, driving ability, court vision or knowledge of the game. He can shoot with range, he can sneak between rivals, he easily finds his teammates either from the perimeter or off the dribble, he shows a very solid off hand, he looks effortless playing the game (sometimes a bit too much indeed). You can easily feel the talent there, although his defense left to be desired, and anyway his potential is not off the charts.
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| Roundup: All-Around Velickovic |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| April 10, 2008 |
Player of the Week: Novica Velickovic
Already a very important member of Partizan’s core, Novica Velickovic is doing nothing but improving his game level in the Euroleague quarterfinals. The Serbian forward is one of the key foundations in his team’s game, actually a pretty significant reason why the team from Belgrade is faring so impressively well this season (it’s not only about getting that far in the Euroleague, but they are dominating the Balkans as nobody has done for several years). After his 10-point, 8-rebound performance in Vitoria’s loss, Partizan tied the series following Velickovic’s 17 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, earning in the process our Player of the Week nomination.
Velickovic is embracing to perfection the role of his team’s glue guy, doing some dirty work, being fully involved in the game flow thanks to his superb positioning, off-the-ball movement and heady passing game, while taking advantage of his opportunities to add points. Perhaps not particularly brilliant, never flashy, he’s smart and tough regardless, knowing where he needs to be on the floor in order to help his team. He can be the high post player to disrupt 2-3 zone defenses, a perimeter shooter to spread the defense, a low-post menace to open looks in the perimeter-- he won’t come up with genius plays, but everything flows better with him in the process.
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Currently not enjoying any definitive go-to weapon to emerge as a high-octane scorer, he shows a variety of options to add points for his team, such as a decent spot-up jumper with range out to the three-point line, some low post moves and the ability to finish with both hands near the basket, or some dribbling ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket (or take the ball up-court in transition). Meanwhile, he’s also a very solid defender, both in individual or in the team setting, and a really active rebounder. A very complete guy indeed.
Anyway, it’s not highly likely that Velickovic will hear his name called in the upcoming draft. Automatically eligible, he’s a below average athlete by NBA standards, and neither particularly big for a power forward, the position for which he’s better suited and where he plays in Europe. He might be able to end up playing small forward a la Jorge Garbajosa, given his versatility and pretty decent mobility, but still NBA teams tend to look for other profiles in the draft.
A Look at… Semih Erden
Still one of the most intriguing young big men on the Old Continent, Semih Erden is turning 22 years old this summer and, even if he’s slowly making some strides, has still yet to blossom into a real force on the court. He just finished his Euroleague season averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds, in about 20 minutes per game, which is a decent improvement from last season, although barely significant on a per-minute basis.
Just an inch short of seven feet, enjoying a long wingspan, nicely athletic, well-built, Erden shows a very promising physical profile. Meanwhile, in the skill department, he shows a bit of everything, but is far from mastering any particular move, while he hasn’t erased the doubts about his character and ability to stay focused on the game.
The best thing we can say about Erden’s offensive arsenal is that he’s pretty aggressive finishing around the rim, trying to secure his points with dunks, which makes sense since his touch around the basket is a bit inconsistent. He moves around the basket waiting for a defensive rotation that leaves him open on the paint, perhaps combining it with a cut at the right time, he also emerges active setting picks to roll inside, and can nicely run the floor, showing pretty solid hands to work with and always looking to hammer the rim.
Erden also frequently asks for the ball in the low post, but the rawness of his skills here becomes quite visible. He might eventually come up with a great move, but generally speaking he shows improvable footwork and limited ability to net his jump-hooks with either hand (he uses both, although he clearly feels more confident with his right). Still, he shows a willingness to mix it up inside, and doesn’t back away from contact.
Still potentially able to develop into a power forward (although he looks like much more of a center), Erden showcases his perimeter skills very rarely. His spot-up jumper is extremely inconsistent, as he can easily net a mid-range jumper and then air-ball the next attempt. He can also put the ball on the floor and attack his match-up, which had eventually ended up in a few phenomenal highlights (he’s a pretty coordinated guy), but he never showed any continuity and it seems like it’s even a rarer feature lately.
Defensively, he’s not an outstanding player, but neither looks a big liability. He’s quite a mobile big who can defend out of the paint and challenge his match-up’s driving attempts with mild success (providing they are not very quick). Still he looks more comfortable guarding the low post, where he can rely on his length and his body. He can take contact and he doesn’t often buy into fakes, keeping his position nicely. On the other hand, he’s a rather poor team defender, as his defensive rotations are timid and not aggressive enough. He’s neither a great intimidator despite his length, although he eventually can collect a block (he’s averaged almost one per game). Besides, you can sometimes see him looking disinterested in the game, like if it’s a great deal of work for him to react to what’s happening on the court. It also happens in the offensive end, where he sometimes hangs around with apparently no defined purpose.
Anyway, given the potential Erden brings to the table, he’s virtually a lock to be drafted, but his inconsistency will likely prevent him from hitting the first round.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Omri Casspi enjoyed his best week of the season, delivering both in the Euroleague and the Israeli championship. Make strides in the rotation, he’s enjoying regular minutes in the most important games of the season. After a decent 5-point, 5-rebound performance in the first game of the Euroleague quarterfinals against F.C.Barcelona, he improved to 18 points and 10 rebounds in the second match, a loss that tied the series. Back to the domestic competition, he led Maccabi with 21 points and 7 rebounds, although he couldn’t avoid Bnei Hasharon upsetting the Israeli powerhouse at home.
Nicolas Batum boosted for a career-high 9 assists to go with 19 points as he led Le Mans to the victory over Chalon/Saone, solidifying his team’s status as the LNB leader.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
Romain Duport still hasn’t been able to find some consistency and continuity in his performances. He only played 7 minutes this past weekend, his scoring average has decreased from the past season, and he’s clinched double digits just twice in the whole campaign. We have been able to precisely watch those two outings, very interesting in terms of knowing what Duport can offer in his best version, but also illustrative of his biggest weaknesses.
Potentially speaking, he’s an intriguing guy, extremely long, decently athletic for his size, and nicely skilled as well. However, his lack of aggressiveness, which goes beyond his physical underdevelopment –he’s still a pretty skinny guy- limits his ability to take advantage of his size. He should be tearing up his rivals from the low post, where he shows an improved footwork and nice soft touch with his right hand –he looks a bit predictable there, though-, but instead he hangs up on the perimeter too often, settling for spot-up three pointers, which he converts with solid accuracy -37.5%-, or even eventually puts the ball on the floor with his right hand to look for a layup, but he doesn’t emerge as disruptive for opponent defenses as he can result with his low-post game. That softness is also showcased by the fact that he almost never attacks the basket dunking the ball, which should be a piece of cake for him and increase his accuracy around the rim.
The other big area of concern comes on the defensive end. Duport shows very poor lateral mobility that he’s not being able to mask with adequate positioning, becoming a liability whenever he steps out of the paint, especially guarding the pick and roll, but also resulting pretty ineffective in defensive rotations. He’s also struggling to secure the defensive rebound, as he’s often outmuscled, doesn’t show the best positioning around and could definitely improve his effort boxing-out.
Automatically eligible this year, even if his potential might draw some interest, it seems unlikely that he gets selected in the upcoming draft. |
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| Roundup: Introducing Nemanja Gordic |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| April 3, 2008 |
Player of the Week: Nemanja Gordic
We’ve been following Nemanja Gordic since early in the season, intrigued by some of his abilities. His excellent last week, right in the most important setting for Buducnost (the Adriatic League playoffs), is a perfect opportunity to introduce him here in DraftExpress. In the three games of the quarterfinal round, of which the team from Montenegro ended up losing 2-1 against Hemofarm, Gordic averaged 19.7 points and 2.3 rebounds while leading his team’s efforts.
A combo guard at this point, Gordic shows a emphasis on his scoring tools over his limited distributing skills, relying on his very nice athleticism to emerge as a very serious slashing threat. Standing 6-4, his body still shows room for development, but he certainly enjoys nice physical tools to play the point.
Gordic is really quick off the dribble, a very difficult player for any opponent to contest. He clearly prefers to drive with his right hand (he needs to improve his left), but if his match-up tries too blatantly to deny him the right side, he won’t hesitate to put the ball on the floor with his left and explode towards the basket. His first step is excellent and his footwork decent. However he sometimes loses control of the situation and finds himself in a dead end. When he attacks his opponents, his first and main objective is the basket, where he can use his athleticism to finish high with both hands, and not very often comes up with a kick-out pass. He also loves to run the floor in transition, catching his opponents off guard.
His athletic exuberance is also showcased in his shooting mechanics. Gordic creates very nice separation from his defender, releasing the ball from a pretty high vantage point both in his spot-up and pull-up jumpers. Already pretty effective with his long-range stroke, he should only improve working on his balance in the air and his shot selection, as he sometimes takes off-the-dribble attempts that are just too wild.
 | | Photo: ABA League |
On defense, Nemanja doesn’t look nearly as effective. He doesn’t know how to translate his quickness into lateral mobility, and suffers staying in front of his opponents (indeed he often ends up running behind them). He needs to start bending his knees and not use his hands so much, as he sometimes ends up in foul trouble.
However, the biggest concern about Gordic revolves about his ability to become a real playmaker. He’s not a distributor by any means, and even his assist average of 1.5 per in the Adriatic League looks ridiculously low for a guy who spends a pretty nice amount of minutes playing the point. It’s probably a combination of his game philosophy and perhaps poor court vision. One characteristic he does clearly show is that he usually needs to dribble before making any pass, which limits his ability to read situations and react quickly. He also fails to control the game, to really dominate the tempo.
Still, it’s not that serious when you consider that playing the point involves a long learning curve. At least, he has some excellent gifts to work with, so the potential is there. As a 1988 born, he has the potential and plenty of time to develop and sneak into some future draft. We’ll be watching closely.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Uros Tripkovic hasn’t slowed down much this week, and delivered another excellent scoring effort, netting 26 points on Cibona to seal Partizan’s ticket to the Adriatic League Final Four. As usual, he relied on his perimeter stroke, on a superb 6/9 clip. This is the third time in two weeks that Uros scores over 20 points in a game.
Nikola Pekovic was anyway the most solid presence for Partizan in that quarterfinal round. In the first game against Cibona he had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, and improved in the decisive road outing for 22 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Carlos Suárez is coming back to life for MMT Estudiantes in this final part of the regular season, after a pretty forgettable campaign. The team is fighting to escape from the relegation zone of the ACB League, and Suárez is contributing with regular production. This past week he had 24 points and 3 rebounds in the loss against DKV Joventut, while delivered 13 points and 6 rebounds in the victory against Cajasol. Suárez is nicely combining his perimeter stroke, where he shows quick mechanics and the ability to come from a cutter and automatically get up for the shot, with his low-post game. As a 6-8 long-armed small forward with experience as an inside player, he feels quite comfortable taking his perimeter match-ups to the low post, showing nice footwork and a decent baby hook. He’s also a very good off-the-ball player, and knows when to cut in order to get open looks or to gain a position near the basket. On the downside, we’re yet to see him developing a more consistent off-the-dribble game, and he rarely uses his ball-handling skills to beat his opponents. Besides, he’s a poor defender, suffering from limited lateral quickness resulting in opposing perimeter players beating him too easily, while he even suffers to properly contest shots or make defensive rotations due his poor athleticism. Suárez won’t hear his name called in the draft, but he should become a solid act in Europe.
Nicolas Batum came up big against Le Mans’ biggest rival in the French LNB. The league leader paid a visit to Lyon-Villeurbanne, the second placed team in the standings, and got an important victory to solidify first place following the effort of Batum, who ended up with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Sam Van Rossom is a Belgium point guard who has emerged this season as an extremely solid presence for the domestic powerhouse Telindus Oostende. This past weekend he scored 21 points in the Belgium league leading Oostende over Dexia Mons-Hainaut, and leads his team in scoring on the season with 11.9 points per game. Standing 6-1, he’s a pretty strong, albeit not particularly athletic playmaker. He stands out with his maturity and basketball IQ. The guy plays beyond his years, he knows the game, shows very nice positioning, and he’s not afraid of making plays. A solid perimeter shooter, he shows range out to the three point line. He can also attack his opponent, preferably using his right, showing nice ball-handling skills and the ability to net floaters. A solid passer, he’s not greatly creative, but can recognize opportunities on the floor. He struggles a bit on defense, where his athletic shortcomings get more exposed (and he doesn’t even try that hard to make up for them). Born in 1986 and therefore automatically eligible, he’s not draft material, but rather a nice player for the international scene.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
Jure Lalic continues struggling in Zadar, and his tendency is even to receive less playing time lately. In the quarterfinal series of the Adriatic League against FMP, he averaged 2 points and 0.7 rebounds in less than 6 minutes per game. Lalic hasn’t shown much development in the past seasons. He’s still a defensive liability, not particularly solid in the low post and pretty much lost outside of the paint. His lack of quickness and general athleticism seriously hurts his defensive mobility, suffering against big men who like to step outside or in pick and roll situations, while he doesn’t look like the smartest guy around to make up for it with anticipation and ability to read the floor. Offensively he’s more useful, primarily a low-post guy with decent moves down low, but a bit predictable since he almost always looks for the right-handed hook. He can also shoot the spot-up jumper with range out to the three-point line, and average accuracy. Still we miss some passing game, especially from the low post. Anyway, his poor season and limited potential basically put him out of the draft picture. |
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| Roundup: Tripkovic Strikes Back |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| March 26, 2008 |
Player of the Week: Uros Tripkovic
We didn’t see this coming. After going scoreless in the Euroleague, Uros Tripkovic unexpectedly exploded this weekend for consecutive 20+ point performances in the Adriatic League. He hit first in a delayed game against the archrival Cibona, knocking down 22 points, and then improved to 28 versus Split, both easy victories for Partizan. He’s starting to feel comfortable in the domestic competition, where he averages 16.6 points over the last seven games. Not by coincidence, his perimeter stroke seems to be back, as he’s hit 46% of his three-point attempts in that very same span (9/20 in this weekend’s games combined).
 | | Photo: ABA League |
After all, Uros looks every day more and more like a pure sniper, and his game heavily depends on his shooting accuracy. From standstill positions, coming off cuts, off the dribble, Tripkovic tries in almost every possible fashion, sometimes even overdoing himself with difficult attempts. On the other hand, he’s lacking some aggressiveness attacking the basket and struggles getting anything done going off the dribble against his match-ups. Besides, the presence of point guard Milt Palacio and the emergence of Milenko Tepic as a creative force, are pushing his game towards off-the-ball duties.
In the end, his season averages are still below past seasons, and neither is he particularly standing out with great defense. Too often he just goes unnoticed, and seems to lack a certain bit of fire in his game. At this point, we shouldn’t expect to hear his name called on draft day. That is unless he really heats up for the remainder of the season.
A Look at…Nando De Colo
De Colo is becoming the steadiest and most creative force on his team Cholet, which speaks volumes about his maturity and value as a player. At this point, he’s a guy oozing with confidence, but on top of that, he already a valuable guard, really talented, highly skilled and also rather gifted from a physical point of view. He has a nice set of tools and the feel for the game to make everything work.
Not highly explosive, instead De Colo brings to the table very good size for his position, a nice physical build –he’s already relatively strong and has no problem dealing with veterans-- and solid quickness. He’s athletic for European standards, but likely falls in the average category, at best, if we’re talking about the NBA.
Never a one-dimensional player, however De Colo shows preference for his jumper. He’s a solid gunner who can drop three-point shots on a regular basis, although mostly from standstill positions or just in easy and fluid off-the-dribble approaches. Once he gets inside the arc and closer to the basket, he shows more versatility on his release, off-the-dribble mechanics in wilder attempts, and even some slight fade-away moves if necessary. Eventually, he might rush his perimeter shots a bit too much, instead of looking for other options.
The French kid usually plays as a combo guard, sharing the playmaking duties with his teammates. However, you can see how naturally it comes for him to play the point. A very solid ball-handler, although improvable with his left, he shows nice court awareness and is willing to dish the ball as soon as he identifies a good option. He can play the drive-and-dish card, to exploit pick-and-roll options or just to move the ball from the perimeter, looking for three-point opportunities or entry passes; anyway, his solid court vision and understanding of the game allows him to find his teammates on a regular basis.
As aforementioned, he’s not a highly explosive guy, so it’s not like he can light up a rival at will. He can take his chances in the one-on-one game using his ball-handling and quickness, but often relies on screens, while he likes to attack with his right hand. He shows nice footwork and some solid ability to finish with lay-ups, also with his left hand. He proves to be a tough guy whenever he goes inside, taking contact, using his body, and not feeling intimidated. However, he could probably produce at a bigger rate here, considering his size and skills.
Defense is a matter of concern for De Colo. He shows limitations in his lateral quickness that jeopardizes his ability to successfully match up against quicker point guards (your everyday meal in the NBA). His activity is decent, but not great. However, he’s a smart guy who should be able to make up for his defensive shortcomings –up to a certain extent- with an extra degree of intensity, while taking advantage of his superior size.
Draft-wise, De Colo seems like a very probable bet to appear in the second round. The first round seems like a bit of a long shot at this point. He probably needs to erase the concerns about his defense in order to move his way in there.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Danilo Gallinari keeps on rocking, with big game after big game. This past weekend he buried 28 points, with 3 rebounds and 3 assists, on Snaidero Udine for another victory for Armani Jeans Milano. Indeed they are getting closer to securing a berth in the playoffs after a horrible season start (when Danilo suffered an injury, by the way). Gallinari has scored in double digits in every single game of the Italian league he has played since November, and only once missed the 15-point mark since mid-December. Constantly climbing in the scoring rankings, he has reached the sixth position with 17.9 points per game, and will probably enter the top-3 if he continues at this pace.
Rafael Hettsheimeir had a monster game this past week, scoring 31 points and grabbing 11 rebounds as he led Plus Pujol Lleida to a demolishing win over Villa de los Barrios in the Spanish LEB.
Elmedin Kikanovic stepped up big for Red Star in the ULEB Cup’s Eight Finals, becoming the premier scorer on the team during the two-legged series. In those two games, he averaged 17.5 points (combining for a terrific 15/20 from the field) and 5.5 rebounds in barely 24 minutes, although his team ended up losing against a rather strong Besiktas. A few days later, he recorded a career-high 19 points, with 4 rebounds, to lead Red Star over Zadar. Back to the ULEB Cup, Kikanovic again showed his superb ability to finish around the rim. Still very skinny, he got easily outmuscled in the low post, in rebounding situations or whenever there was contact –he had to battle with the likes of Predrag Drobnjak or Kaya Peker, but he still managed to produce thanks to his very solid off-the-ball game, his good hands and excellent touch. He seems to be making solid strides with his mid-range jumper, while he showcased again his soft touch around the rim with his right-handed jumphook, his good footwork on the lane and his nice ability to finish with dunks as he takes advantage of his great length. His poor frame is likely slowing down his physical development, but he might be quite an interesting guy down the road, at least for European basketball.
Kaloyan Ivanov managed to pull down a ridiculous 20 rebounds in just 26 minutes of playing time this past weekend in the ACB League. It looks even more unreal when you consider that he was averaging only 2.6 prior to this game. His effort on the glass, complimented with 9 points and 2 assists, allowed ViveMenorca to collect a one-point victory over Iurbentia Bilbao. Ivanov, who stands 6-9, is playing mainly at the small forward position. He’s not greatly athletic, but he can shoot spot-up perimeter jumpers, he can put the ball on the floor taking advantage of unbalanced defenses or relatively slow match-ups (his average quickness and ball-handling skills doesn’t allow him to beat opponents at will), and he constantly cuts towards the lane and attacks the offensive rebound in order to cash off his superior size at his position. A very active guy, he can eventually suffer from his lateral mobility on defense, while he’s not a great low-post defender. He’s automatically eligible this year, although given his lack of elite athleticism and refined skill set, it would be surprising to hear his name called in the draft. Anyway, he’s becoming an increasingly productive player in the demanding ACB League, having reached the 20-minute mark in each of the past five games.
Dragan Labovic dropped 24 points for the second consecutive week in the Adriatic League. This time it was against Olimpija Ljubljana, and he only needed 21 minutes to achieve it (plus 4 rebounds and 3 steals) while helping FMP to get a two-point victory.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
Caio Torres is delivering a rather disappointing season so far for MMT Estudiantes. With the team struggling to not be relegated out of the ACB League, he has not only failed to step up, but his averages have dropped from last season to 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds. Torres is struggling to put the ball in the net with the accuracy you expect from an inside big guy. His lack of athleticism is hurting him when it comes to finish near the rim –some extra work on his conditioning wouldn’t hurt him- and he still hasn’t developed a reliable hook shot. He could also show more intensity, particularly on defense, where he lacks some aggressiveness to fully take advantage of his big body.
Rounding Up… Vilagarcia Basket Cup
The Vilagarcia Basket Cup was held this past week, a youth basketball tournament played in the northwest part of Spain that is establishing itself as a very prestigious date on the European calendar. Indeed, according to the organization, up to eight NBA teams were expected to scout the event.
Featuring a mixture of Spanish squads -such as Real Madrid, F.C.Barcelona or Unicaja Malaga-- and foreign teams--Zalgiris as usual, Khimki and Mega Aqua Monta-, while apparently following an U-22 age limit (there was a wide array of ages, with players born from 1986 to 1992), the talent pool was pretty interesting. Several players had previously shined in L’Hospitalet, for example Nikola Mirotic, Nihad Djedovic, Papa Abdulaye, Michel Diouff or Augusto Lima. We had seen others in summer competitions, like Donatas Motiejunas, Zygimantas Janavicius, Vaidas Cepukaitis, Sarunas Vasiliauskas, Siim-Sander Vene, Dusan Katnic, Stefan Stojacic and Pablo Aguilar; or just in other settings, such as Vilmantas Dilys, Bojan Bogdanovic or Mamadou Samb, to name a few.
We had the chance to take a look at the final, which pitted Unicaja Malaga against Khimki. The player making the most noise on the Russian team was a pretty much unknown seven footer who answers by the name of Timofey Mozgov. Born in 1986, he barely has any experience in first-division basketball and, as far as we know, has never played on any of the Russian National Teams in a FIBA competition. Anyway, the guy looks impressive at first sight, exhibiting a superbly built 7-1 body. He’s really strong, actually too strong for his less developed rivals, but he also showcased nice athleticism. Indeed he showed flashes of dominance during the tournament, although we can never forget that he went regularly against significantly younger players.
Mozgov’s offensive production was all about power in the lane. Although his effectiveness in the final was limited by the fact that Unicaja smartly played zone defenses, he still actively looked for low post position to deliver his stuff. Showing only decent footwork, he works his way to the basket looking constantly for body contact, in order to deliver a short-range baby hook, or even layups that he can also perform with his left hand. That was pretty much it. Besides some open looks he might get near the basket that he would finish with powerful dunks easily getting off the ground, we didn’t see much more out of him when it came to putting the ball on the net. He did try to shoot the ball, but looked rather inconsistent with his mid-range stroke. However, he emerged as being pretty accurate from the free-throw line, and even netted a three-pointer during the tournament. Also, we didn’t see him putting the ball on the floor if it wasn’t in the low post.
 | | Photo: Santi Rodríguez Olivella (Solobasket.com) |
The big Russian delivered some defensive highlights, mostly in the form of spectacular blocks coming from the weak side. He certainly shows nice leaping ability for a guy his size. But even if his big body caused some troubles for his opponents, Mozgov’s effectiveness seems to be diluted by his poor understanding of the game. He struggles with positioning and timing, with the measure of his efforts, affecting his defense and rebounding. In the end, he’s rarely in the mix for a play, and it doesn’t particularly seem to be a problem of intensity.
In the end, Mozgov is a mixture of superb physical tools with a very raw package of skills and fundamentals, and he’s not a kid anymore. Although having been called up twice for the first team, he usually plays for Khimki’s second squad in the Superleague B (Russian second division), where he averages 15.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. It’s highly questionable if he will draw interest in the draft –he’s automatically eligible this year-, but it would be really nice to see him in a setting like the Treviso Eurocamp, facing stronger opponents.
Anyway, the tournament was finally won by Unicaja Malaga, and its point guard Rai Lopez was selected MVP. He’s a six-foot tall, pretty quick and nicely creative guy born in 1989 who had usually suffered from great inconsistency in his game, but who might be settling down a bit as a playmaker.
By the way, there was a three-point shootout with Nikola Mirotic –yes, the 1991 big man from Real Madrid- emerging as the winner. You gotta love this kid.
Nike Hoop Summit Rosters Released
USA Basketball was kind enough to send us the official roster of the Nike Hoop Summit International team. According to the press release:
“The '08 World roster features four guards in 6'0" Diego Gerbaudo (Real Madrid / Argentina), 6'3" Devoe Joseph (Pickering H.S., Ontario / Canada), 6'4" Zygimantas Janavicius (Zalgiris Kaunas / Lithuania) and 6'6" Aleksandr Kolchenko (BC Khimik / Ukraine).
The World Team also features five forwards, including 6'6" Emmanuel Negedu (Brewster Academy, N.H. / Nigeria), 6'8" Samardo Samuels (St Benedict's Prep, N.J. / Jamaica), 6'10" Serge Ibaka (CB Hospitalet (Spain) / Congo), 6'10" Angel Garcia (East Chicago Central H.S. / Puerto Rico) and 6'11" Tim Ohlbrecht (Bamberg / Germany).
The World roster is rounded off with a pair of centers, 7'1" Alexis Ajinca (Heyers-Toulon / France), who returns from the 2007 roster, and 7'4" Boban Marjanovic (Hemofarm / Serbia).”
Besides the American based high school player Samardo Samuels, considered arguably the top player in his class and discussed many times in depth here on DraftExpress, the top draft prospects are likely Serge Ibaka and Alexis Ajinca, both potential first round picks. Tim Ohlbrecht is an experienced player for this game’s standards, just coming off being a solid rotation player on a Euroleague squad with Bamberg. Aleksandr Kolchenko is someone who could heat up in the scoring column if the stars align correctly for him, but you never know quite what to expect from him.
There is a lot of size on this team, and a lot of athleticism as well, although the team’s backcourt leaves something to be desired. The Internationals will rely heavily on the ball-handling and playmaking skills of Zygimantas Janavicius, a talented Lithuanian guard discussed repeatedly here on DraftExpress, who has been in a bit of a slump dating all the way back to this past summer. If Janavicius or one of the other players doesn’t settle the game down early, things could get ugly (similar to last year) if they aren’t careful.
This will be a great opportunity for NBA scouts to take a long hard look at Serge Ibaka in particular, not just in the game but also in the practices held in the days leading up to the event. It’s widely rumored that he will enter this year’s draft if he has a strong showing. Alexis Ajinca and him could form quite a shot-blocking tandem inside, not to mention Boban Marjanovic (who might struggle with the pace of this game) and Samuels, who is no slouch himself.
DraftExpress will be represented by staff writer Mike Schmidt for the third consecutive year.
Check out the official website here. |
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| Roundup: Scoring Machine Dragicevic |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| March 20, 2008 |
One of this season’s best performers, Tadija Dragicevic, is taking his game to even a higher level, as he’s producing with a ridiculous consistency. This past week he reached the 20-point mark twice again, peaking in the Adriatic League with a 39-point performance, which has granted him our Player of the Week award. Meanwhile, somehow hidden in the Spanish second division, Henk Norel is emerging as an important player as well as an intriguing long-term prospect, which is a good enough reason to dig deeper into his game.
Player of the Week: Tadija Dragicevic
Dragicevic’s productivity has become dazzling lately. To his superb season performance already, he is piling on an even more impressive run as of late. He’s clinched the 20-point mark in the last seven games he has played, and has surpassed the 30-point barrier in his last couple of Adriatic League showings. This past week he opened fire by pouring 22 points on Besiktas in the ULEB Cup, adding 5 rebounds and 2 rebounds to help his team tie the first game of the two-legged top-16 round. Back to the Balkan competition, he erupted for 39 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists as Red Star beat Helios.
 | | Photo: ABA League |
To round up what we’ve already reported about Dragicevic this season, it’s interesting to note how he looks everyday more of a complete offensive player. He evolves all over the court: from the perimeter to the lane, feeling completely comfortable also in the mid-range distances. He’s starting to showcase some off-the-dribble skills with his long-range shot, although he still needs to gain significant consistency here; anyway, shooting open from standstill positions he’s almost money in the bank. He also seems more under control while attacking the basket, always trying to take advantage of unbalanced defenses (he seems to be controlling a little bit his turnovers, although he committed five this past weekend), while showing some soft touch to finish against opposition, an ability that he’s also using from the low post. Besides, he moves pretty well off the ball, trying to take advantage of the pick-and-roll play (which often ends up being a pick and pop). Generally speaking, he’s showing increasing poise on the court.
As always, he leaves us skeptical about his NBA potential. The guy is becoming so productive, that it would be really surprising if a wealthy European team doesn’t take him right this upcoming summer. Then he will have a nice chance to prove if he’s able to deliver some dirty work to compliment his offensive skills, such as more defensive aggressiveness, better defensive rotations, or more rebounding. It would probably be the most effective way for him to convince someone that he’s worth a chance in the NBA, given that his offensive repertoire would struggle in a translation to the American league due his physical and athletic shortcomings. So, even if we shouldn’t completely rule out a call in the second round, it doesn't look all that likely at this point.
A Look at…Henk Norel
Henk Norel’s continuous development process is showing increasingly better results lately. The Dutch big man, whose rights are owned by DKV Joventut and plays on loan at Alicante Costa Blanca in LEB Oro (the Spanish second division), delivered an excellent performance this past weekend. Only able to stay on the floor for 21 minutes due foul trouble, he managed to amass 22 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals, staying almost perfect from the floor, while leading Alicante past Tenerife Rural. He has scored in double digits in five out of the past six games, and averages 16.5 points in the last four.
Norel enjoys an excellent combination of length and skills, while also delivering nice athleticism. His biggest knock has always been his physical build, as he’s an extremely skinny player with only a decent frame, and that’s why it’s taken him so long to blossom. In LEB Oro he’s facing pretty strong competition (it’s likely a top-10 league all across Europe), and indeed he’s often being outmuscled, but still, Norel is finding ways to contribute by relying on his abilities and size.
A rather promising post player, this is an area where his physical fragility is still slowing him down. Norel enjoys nice footwork and can finish with both hands near the basket, but he’s not comfortable operating down low against physical defenders. I don’t think he’s soft, indeed he’s willing to take contact, but it’s really difficult to properly execute while being seriously outmuscled. So whenever he could use his low post game as a go-to ability in his repertoire, right now it’s only another weapon he tests from time to time. Indeed, if he receives near the basket, he often prefers to pass the ball taking good use of his nice court vision and decision making, which he also is able to find teammates from the high post.
When it comes to scoring points, Norel’s most effective weapon right now is probably his jumper. He’s a very nice spot-up shooter, showing very solid mechanics and nice quickness in the release. His range extends out to the international three-point line, but he’s your classic mid-range gunner. He also puts the ball on the floor with both hands, showcasing his very nice ball-handling skills for a player his size, in order to look for the basket or kick the ball out to the perimeter.
One of the most encouraging characteristics of Norel is his willingness and ability to play above the rim. He’s a nicely reactive player who easily dunks the ball (in one-handed fashion if needed), which helps him to cash in his off-the-ball movement whenever he receives near the basket.
Defensively, Norel suffers again in the low post on a physical level, being sometimes banged by stronger post players. However, he shows nice positioning, good lateral quickness and interesting activity. Still, he’s not much of an intimidator, and almost never goes for the block.
Norel looks like a rather smart player with high basketball IQ. He shows a nice feel for the game, his decision making is pretty solid, and he knows how to fill spaces or where to pass the ball. He’s a pretty talented player.
Draft wise, Norel looks like a second-round pick in the making. His NBA potential will clearly rest in his ability to gain strength –he’s pretty far from there- which would probably turn him into a first-round-caliber guy, but his thin frame leaves a dark shadow of uncertainty in that regard. He’s proving to be fairly effective in the top LEB level, so we should see him next season earning his pay in the ACB league, which happens to be the campaign when he becomes automatically eligible. We shouldn’t expect a sudden impact there, while it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be able to take a huge leap forward in his physical development, but his length, skills and potential in general will likely draw a lot of interest in the second round.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Ricky Rubio impressed with his outing in the first game of the two-legged eight-finals in the ULEB Cup. His team DKV Joventut travelled to Russia to face Khimki, one of the very best squads in the competition, in what could’ve been considered as an anticipated final. However, the Spanish team demolished its rival following the impressive performance of Rubio, who collected 18 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. He particularly shined in the scoring department, enjoying some awesome stretches when he connected on perimeter shots and layups with ease, while his defense provided easy points for Joventut as usual.
Nando de Colo seems to be perennially living above the 20-point mark these days. This past weekend he went for 23, adding also 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. However this time his team Cholet couldn’t prevail on the road against Orleans.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
We had the chance to watch Slava Kravtsov last week in the ULEB Cup and he looked unable to significantly contribute for his team BC Kyiv. He’s a relatively inexperienced kid, but had shown flashes of promise earlier this season. However, he seems to be going through difficult times lately. He’s suffered some back problems recently that have significantly slowed him down, and did not play yesterday while Kyiv finally was booted out of the ULEB Cup at the hands of Turow. Even before that, though, he seemed unable to continue the excellent momentum he had accumulated earlier on in the year, as he’s not the most active and energetic player you’ll find and thus doesn’t always emerge as a great contributor considering that his skill level or feel for the game are not particularly high. Big, very well built, athletic, he doesn’t always take advantage enough of his gifts on the court. Positioning and timing in the offensive end emerge as matters of concern, as he could barely get anything done on the floor, but anyway he’s still a very raw guy who is just beginning to have a taste at high-level basketball. From what we’re told by his American agent, Herb Rudoy of Interperformances, Kravtsov will likely be entering his name in this year’s draft to test the waters and get some better exposure in front of NBA scouts. He could be an ideal player to invite to a place like the RBK EuroCamp in Treviso, and could even make a nice splash there, as he has all the tools to make an impact in a setting like that. Expect the interest level to raise significantly next season, as very few NBA teams have made the trek to the Ukraine like we did this past winter to take a look at Kravtsov in person.
News and Notes
-While we wait for the International rosters of the Nike Hoop Summit to be released, we’ve already learned that two very intriguing likely first round picks in Serge Ibaka and Alexis Ajinca will be participating. Nicolas Batum unfortunately did not get clearance from his club to join them in Portland.
-Herb Rudoy of Interperformances also informed us via email that Israeli small forward Omri Casspi, who is playing some of the best basketball of his career lately with European powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, will “definitely be putting his name into this draft.” Last week against Hapoel Holon (a very strong team in Israel), Casspi had an outstanding outing with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks in just 22 minutes. The San Antonio Spurs just sent two representatives (George Felton and Rob Hennigan) to scout him this past weekend. |
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| Roundup: Tomic, Finesse on the Court |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| March 13, 2008 |
Ante Tomic went for consecutive 20 plus point games this past week, showcasing once again the superb talent he enjoys. Still, he won’t be that happy, as his team lost both games. Despite suffering heavy competition coming from other prospects (De Colo, Tsintsadze or Dragicevic, to name a few), he came away with our Player of the Week award. We also pay special attention to Mérida, a small team playing in the Spanish fourth division, that currently features a couple of young South-Americans: Douglas Nunes and Matias Nocedal.
Player of the Week: Ante Tomic
It was a bittersweet week for Ante Tomic. His team Zagreb was eliminated from the FIBA Eurocup, and couldn’t beat Buducnost either at home in the Adriatic League. However, he stayed very strong in adversity, delivering consecutive 20 plus point performances. Against Barons, he had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Back in the Balkan competition, he added 24 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
What we are seeing this season from Tomic is both very intriguing, but also highly concerning. It’s intriguing in the sense that Tomic emerges as the ultimate finesse big man, but also concerning because his physical development is taking him way too long, seriously jeopardizing his ability to succeed at a top basketball level. Although you can notice some slight bulk added to his body, he still looks very skinny, both in his legs and upper body, while his frame doesn’t promise great strides in the future.
Skill-wise, he’s showcasing some truly impressive stuff from the low post. He can deliver really refined moves that include fakes, spins, and reverse-moves, as he exhibits excellent footwork and the versatility to use both hands to finish around the basket. As you can guess, he’s not a banging type of post guy, but he neither avoids contact; in the end, his great size and abilities makes it work on a regular basis. He nicely complements his low-post game with a pretty solid spot-up mid-range jumper, although perhaps released a bit slowly. He also can easily put the ball on the floor with both hands and work his way to the layup, particularly against centers, showing excellent coordination in the process.
We often miss a degree of aggressiveness in Tomic’s offensive game. For example, it’s extremely rare to see him dunking the ball, which is pretty uncommon for a 7-2 and relatively athletic guy. Even when it seems like the logical and easy choice, he usually goes for the layup. It would probably help his pick-and-roll productivity, which is not particularly high at this moment.
That aggressiveness is also missed on defense. To start with, Tomic looks rather underwhelming when it comes to using his great length to intimidate. As fluid as he can look displaying an offensive move, he often seems a bit stiff on defense. His lateral quickness is poor, as he often doesn’t bend his knees enough and sometimes struggles recovering his position after a rotation. On top of that, he’s not physical with his opponents, with his physical weakness being part of the problem. However, he does seem to care about rebounding and makes an effort to box out his match-up.
Anyway, he’s a talented guy with a high basketball IQ, well reflected in his passing game, as he can find his teammates either from the low post or facing the basket.
It’s hard to recognize the best scenario for Tomic. By all accounts, he’s not ready for the very physical NBA, but at the same time, it’s not clear that waiting another year will help his draft stock. To move to a better European team might not be easy as well depending on his contract situation. We’ll see what happens, but it would be a pity to waste such a special player.
A Look at…
DOUGLAS NUNES
In other circumstances we might not be writing at all about this player, but since he received some hype early this season, we wanted to share our two cents now that we have managed to acquire some footage on him.
The thing is, on paper he looks like an intriguing guy: he’s 6-10, athletic and he can reportedly play the small forward position. That’s a pretty appealing combination. However, when you actually watch him on the floor, the intrigue soon disappears.
Douglas Nunes is playing in Merida, a Spanish team in LEB Bronze, which is fourth division (a level probably on the range of the weak-to-average second divisions across Europe), and he almost always officiates as a power forward (we’ve seen him in three different games, and always has filled that position). It makes sense since at 6-10 playing at that level, he’s always one of the tallest players on court, if not the tallest. Anyway, it’s not easy to picture him playing on the perimeter, since his athleticism doesn’t translate well to his lateral quickness (he’s more of a solid leaper than a very quick guy), while his off-the-dribble game looks really limited.
Still, the biggest issue about Nunes is the fact that he’s a soft player that often refuses to use his athletic gifts. He’s actually very soft. In some areas of the game, it looks painful, and his skinny body doesn’t particularly help him either (his frame is also average). His defense is highly underwhelming. He’s not particularly strong in his lower body, so he’s not solid guarding the low post. As mentioned, his lateral quickness is average at best, and he struggles staying with smaller guys whenever he switches defensively. The worst part comes in defensive rotations, as he lacks any kind of aggressiveness, and wouldn’t take a charge to save his life. Instead, he will stay passive, use his hands or look for a block, although his timing is not the best around.
It doesn’t get much better in the rebounding department. Nunes often forgets to box out his opponents, fuelling his team’s struggles with the defensive rebound, lacking any aggressiveness attacking the ball, and often just refusing to use his leaping ability. At some point, you have the impression that he’s afraid of stepping on somebody and hurting his ankle, which did happened in one of the games we saw (by the way, it was odd to see not a single teammate or coaching staff member dropping by to aid him, not even to ask him about his condition, having to limp his way to the bench completely alone).
Offensively, Nunes seems to stick to a big-men repertoire. He shows quite a nice spot-up jumper with range out to the three-point line, and nice form on his release. Indeed, he also looks very reliable from the free-throw line, although he’s not that frequent a visitor to the charity stripe (logical given his lack of aggressiveness). He also asks for the ball in the low post in order to release turnaround jumpers or jump-hooks trying to cash in off his superior size. We did see him netting a nice left-handed bank-hook, but his footwork seems limited, and his lack of strength and physical game doesn’t help him to produce here with any consistency. A significant source of production for him comes from continuations from the high post or receiving the ball near the basket taking advantage of some defensive rotation. If the zone is clear enough, he can get pretty high to finish with a nice dunk. Finally, you can eventually see him putting the ball on the floor to attack his match-up, showing ability to drive both ways, a decent first step, and long strides on his way to the basket.
In terms of passing game, Douglas never shows anything special. Besides, his hands are a bit suspect, perhaps lacking some strength there.
All in all, he exhibits a general lack of aggressiveness, and it’s hard to come out impressed with any of the stuff he delivers on the floor. He’s averaging 11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 26 minutes per game. He could do worse statistically speaking, but it’s nothing to write home about. In the end, providing his intensity doesn´t suffer a major boost, and his game doesn’t improve significantly, I would be pretty much shocked if he ends up being selected in the draft.
MATIAS NOCEDAL
Currently sharing the floor with Nunes, Matias Nocedal arrived to Merida a few weeks ago. We had the chance to watch his debut in LEB Bronze, perhaps not the best situation to evaluate a player, but we won’t likely have any other for the remainder of the season.
Logically, Nocedal often looked a bit out of place, still in the process of merging with his teammates. He played both guard positions, but apparently will primarily fill the point guard spot. Beyond his normal struggles given the fact that he’s new to the team, Nocedal again exposed his current limitations as a playmaker. He’s not a consistent distributor and game director. He didn’t create much offense for his team, and didn’t always take good decisions. He’s a rather explosive player who can easily take his opponents off the dribble, but he would often find himself unsure about how to follow his slashing move, not finding his teammates fluidly, and sometimes running into dead-ends.
However, he did also left plenty of intrigue. Besides his ability to easily beat his match-ups relying on his athleticism and ball-handling, Nocedal looked good shooting from behind the arc, and showcased his remarkable off-the-dribble ability with his jumper, connecting on a wild mid-range attempt. He also showed his athleticism finishing a cut with a layup high off the glass and especially with an aggressive put-back dunk as he attacked the offensive glass storming in from the perimeter. He also looked good in transition, dishing a few excellent passes. Defensively, he had some troubles against the very quick American point guard he had to defend for some stretches, so he might need to work a bit on his lateral quickness.
There’s nothing much more to say. Only that he can really benefit from this stint in Merida, earning valuable experience that should allow him to mature as a point guard and settle his game down.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
George Tsintsadze led Tartu Rock past Ural Great to clinch a place in the FIBA Eurocup Final Four. He stepped up in the third game of the series with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists to punctuate his team’s historical accomplishment with this achievement. He was also named as a starter in the FIBA EuroCup all-star game later this month, also to be held in Cyprus.
Tadija Dragicevic keeps rolling with massive scoring efforts, and actually this time he went for a career-high 34 points while leading Red Star over the weak Slovan. Dragicevic added 10 points and 4 assists, and now leads the Adriatic League both in efficiency and scoring (20.4 points per game).
Nando De Colo, of course, with another ridiculous performance this past weekend in the LNB. 29 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists to lead his team Cholet over the league leader Le Mans. He’s probably a top-5 international prospect in terms of performance level (let’s throw him in with the likes of Rubio, Gallinari, Pekovic and Dragicevic, for example).
Serge Ibaka delivered his sixth double-double of the season (he’s barely fallen short a few other times as well) with 10 points, 12 rebounds and a monstrous 7 blocks. His input was instrumental for L’Hospitalet to beat Ciudad de la Laguna Canarias. He leads the LEB Oro in rejections, with 3.1 per game.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Not
Miroslav Raduljica’s first season with FMP’s first team is going pretty unnoticed. Working under the shadow of the rather effective Peja Samardziski, he has only been able to crack the court for 8 minutes a game, averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds (which, on the other hand, is not bad production for that highly limited playing time). Since mid January he hasn’t been able to stay on the court for double digit minutes, and his scoring high dates back to October. It’s not precisely the situation we would have envisioned for a guy who cracked the all-tournament team back in the 2006 European Junior Championship. |
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| Roundup: The Rubio Show Marches On |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| March 6, 2008 |
We had quite a few excellent performances this week, and even if many could have gotten the nod here (especially Nicolas Batum), we ended up picking Ricky Rubio as our Player of the Week for his outstanding exhibition in the last round of the ACB League. It was the first time this season that Lagun Aro Bilbao lost at home, and it was DKV Joventut, led by Rubio, the team getting it done. The Rubio Show marches on while he ranks fourth in efficiency in the ACB League. We also take a look at Omri Casspi, who is lately gaining importance for Maccabi in the Euroleague.
Player of the Week: Ricky Rubio
Rubio has netted yet another Player of the Week award with his amazing game against Lagun Aro Bilbao. The best point guard in the ACB League (you’ve read right, he’s already the best and it’s not even close) just delivered another lesson about how to play this game. He’s everyday a better playmaker, more creative for his team, as well as for himself-- more able to invigorate the offensive flow, by taking controlled risks to disrupt the opponent’s defense in order to facilitate the scoring production for his team.
Rubio produced 18 points and 9 assists that nicely reflect his offensive efforts, rounded out with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. His efficiency production (a stat similar to the NBA’s EFF) is off the charts, ranking fourth in the ACB League overall, falling only behind the 1985-born standouts Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernández and Tiago Splitter (again, props for the teams selecting these three guys in the past draft).
Incisive as always, the personal foul is the only resource his opponents enjoy in order to prevent him from stepping into the lane, and he’s not even trying that hard on a regular basis. His potential in this regard is monstrous, and if Rudy leaves the team this upcoming summer, expect Rubio to emerge more aggressive and completely fearless to take over the offensive initiative. His jumper continues to remain steady, and even if he lacks elevation (something in which he should definitely work on), he shows some off-the-dribble shooting ability as well.
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Against Bilbao, Ricky particularly shined dishing the ball. He put on a passing clinic that included transition passes in traffic, drive and dish plays (a typical pass for him is to drive all the way under the rim and them hand the ball back to a teammate from behind his defender), deliveries from the perimeter finding his teammates under the rim, while cutting or open to release a jumper. He enjoys that perfect timing to known when it’s the right moment to send the ball.
Super smart, part of Rubio’s game relies on anticipation. He has that knack to foresee what’s going to happen on the court. That’s why his decision making looks so great, that’s why he finds his teammates so easily, and it particularly explains his ridiculous ability to steal the ball. It’s interesting to describe the two steals he collected in this game. The first one is a classic move he delivers, unexpectedly attacking the passing lane from the weak side (that is, going between the opponent and the sideline to intercept the ball the instant before it reaches its destination). It usually comes when his match-up is cutting towards the perimeter, or in defensive rotations working off the visual angle of his opponent. The second steal came to him in the form of a loose ball that his superb hands just lodged free against two opponents. The slightest touch with the ball for him means establishing control and deciding where to send it.
His defense itself often works on anticipation, as his lateral quickness, even if very solid, still might lack that last degree of explosiveness that he will likely gain as he keeps maturing physically (although he already shows a pretty good frame).
I have to be honest: I never liked the idea of having Ricky Rubio in the first spot of the 2009 mock draft. Indeed I still firmly think that he won’t go there once everything is said and done (he’s a point guard after all, and not that incredibly athletic). But everyday that looks like less of an impossible outcome, and I hardly doubt that anybody else can claim that predicted spot as much as him at this point (regardless of the fact that his contract will likely prevent him for declaring for that particular draft).
A Look at… Omri Casspi
It’s been a troubled season both for Maccabi Tel Aviv (coach Kattash fired and way too many losses in the domestic front, the last one right this past weekend at home to Bnei Ha’Sharon) and also for Omri Casspi. The brightest Israeli promise has struggled to get playing time in Tel Aviv, which seems pretty logical if we consider that Maccabi is a true European powerhouse. However, he’s just coming off his longest court-tenure in the Euroleague this season, precisely in a crucial victory against Real Madrid in the Top-16 stage that allowed Maccabi to clinch the first position in its group. Casspi stayed in the game for 24 minutes, and finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
A legit 6-9 combo forward, coach Sherf used him mostly as a small forward, but Omri often officiates as a power forward as well, as he proved in his previous outing against Hapoel Gilboa/Afula (scoring 20 points off the bench, by the way). He’s long, he’s well built and he’s also quick for his size. Actually, the biggest concerns about his ability to play small forward come from the defensive end, but he’s showing a bit better lateral quickness and aggressiveness, staying closer to the ball (he used to rely more on his length to defend perimeter guys, conceding them too much space in order to prevent them from slashing past him). This is one of the main areas that coach Sherf has been helping him out the most actually, and he wouldn’t be able to get minutes for the old-school conservative coach if he wasn’t producing for him on this end.
Offensively we’re seeing mostly a face-up player, very incisive with the ball in his hands, but also active playing off the ball. Casspi enjoys nice ball-handling skills, a solid first step, and excellent footwork. He can attack both ways, and uses his body really well to work his way towards the basket. He’s an aggressive player with great body control, who doesn’t fear contact at all. Against Real Madrid, he beat one of the best perimeter defenders in the Old Continent, Charles Smith, off the dribble, attacking him in a pure one-on-one situation with his left hand. Without the ball, Casspi actively cuts, often in back-door fashion, delivering mostly moves towards the basket. Following this trend (of activity without the ball and getting near the rim), he also emerges willing to clean the offensive boards looking for second-chance points, always trying to cash in off his superior size.
His shot isn’t emerging as his best weapon at this point. He’s not looking very prolific or particularly effective. Casspi basically settles for spot-up three-pointers that he’s not connecting on consistently. Confidence is an issue, but his the necessity to remain as efficient as possible in his overall game in order to receive playing time probably gets the upper hand here. For the moment, Casspi is sticking to his strengths, which means no wild off-the-dribble shots that we used to see him delivering in youth categories. Anyway, he is better off starting the build the house from the foundations up first, and work hard on his jumper to gain accuracy in those open treys that will allow him to keep defenses honest in the future.
As for the rest of his game, we should mention his devotion for the transition game (he loves to run the court, and eventually even while dribbling the ball) and the nice passing game he’s showing, feeding the low post or recognizing cutters to pass to; nothing really outstanding, but nice stuff to round out his game.
In case anybody is still wondering, Casspi is still a very legit NBA prospect: the guy very talented, really competitive, and enjoys an intriguing physical profile. He needs to keep working on his game, on his defense and shooting stroke, continue being serious on the floor, and stay patient with both his playing time in Maccabi and a hypothetical desire of rushing an American adventure.
State of the Prospect: Who’s Hot
Nicolas Batum came back extremely strong right the same week we had featured him in the “Who’s Not” section. With 21 points, a career-high 12 rebounds (seven of them offensive!), 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks, he delivered a monster game while leading Le Mans to a one-point thrilling road victory over Le Havre.
Nando De Colo is the definition of hot at this moment: he averages 20.2 points in the last eight games, including the French Cup and the FIBA EuroCup, having established almost a perennial presence in this section. This last weekend he hit again with 21, while adding 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals to lead Cholet on the road over Hyeres-Toulon.
Tadija Dragicevic added two more 20 point plus performances this past week, already totaling 18 times so far this season when it comes to reach that scoring mark, while failing to reach double digits only three times, which speak volumes about his scoring consistency. His first outing came in the ULEB Cup as his team sealed its pass to the Top-16 round with their seco | | |
