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| European Update: Targeting the Draft |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting |
| June 5, 2008 |
This is the part of the year when many European prospects have finished off their seasons, while some others are still in the hunt for a title. Besides, thanks to the return of the pre-Olympic tournament in Athens, a few more players will very soon be featured on their National Teams preparing for the quest of clinching the last Olympic berths.
Still, in the minds of many young players, the NBA draft emerges as a very important target at this point of the season. Let’s take a look at the most likely players to stay in this draft and be selected, and what they have been up to these past weeks.
Danilo Gallinari
It was just a week ago that Gallinari kissed the season goodbye with a quick exit in the Italian Lega semifinals against the almighty Montepaschi Siena. If he shined brightly in the quarterfinals leading Armani Jeans Milano over Premiata Montegranaro, he somehow struggled against Siena and their aggressive man-to-man defense and excellent defensive rotations, which particularly prevented Danilo from producing off the dribble on a regular basis.
Statistically, Gallinari averaged 21 points and 7 rebounds in 5 games against Montegranaro. In one of the two losses, he could only stay on the court only 26 minutes before fouling out, registering a +/- of +9 while on the floor. Those figures dropped to 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds against Siena. Truth be told, the Italian league has sadly developed into almost a second-tier competition in Europe, with just one really strong team –Montepaschi- and a huge bunch of similarly mediocre squads. Fortunately, Gallinari had already proven himself in the Euroleague.
Gallinari will be in Treviso for a day over the weekend, although he probably won't be doing much as far as competitive play is concerned.
Nicolas Batum
Batum is still in the mix for the French title, with his team Le Mans currently tied at 1-1 in the semifinals against Roanne. He’s delivering some solid, albeit unspectacular performances, averaging 13 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the playoffs. A 9-assist effort (in just 24 minutes) in the first game of the quarterfinals against Cholet stands out among his stat-lines, while he reportedly played excellent defense on Cholet’s star Nando de Colo.
Everybody is aware by now that you’re likely not getting a real star in Batum, a go-to guy to anchor a team. But at the same time, he’s just a more consistent stroke away from virtually guaranteeing to become an excellent role player for any team picking him in the draft.
If Le Mans loses in the semi-finals, there is a possibility Batum will come to Treviso for a private workout with NBA teams. Otherwise he will come to the States and begin criss-crossing the country. According to his agent, his will be staying in the draft regardless of where he’s projected to go.
Alexis Ajinca
Ajinca enjoyed a confidence boost right after the Hoop Summit, which was followed by his best season performances, but the campaign finale was not to be remembered. An early exit in the French playoffs, with decreasing importance on the team, put an end to a very inconsistent season. Only 2 points in 19 minutes in the first game, no rebounds in 8 minutes of the second, he definitely wasn’t a big factor in the series against Lyon-Villeurbanne, although he left his mark with 6 blocks in the opening game.
Some people say Ajinca doesn’t bring it every night, which results in that great inconsistency (fuelled by his obvious rawness); others point to his extremely limited playing time, which would have hampered him from getting into rhythm and building his confidence, and his excellent per minute production. Considering the lack of game action seen this very same season, I can’t honestly take sides in the matter, but I would be shocked if he had developed enough during this season to escape from the D-League for the next campaign. Although that’s a pretty concerning assessment for any player in the first round, the good news is that there’s actually a D-League that might help him improve and get into the NBA.
Ajinca is currently touring the country for private workouts at the moment. He started off in Miami on the 3rd, will continue to Toronto on the 5th, and then goes to New Jersey on the 7th.
Omri Casspi
The season finished a few days ago for Omri Casspi, virtually in tragedy. That’s the only possible description for Maccabi Tel Aviv losing the national championship in the final against Hapoel Holon. Capable of the best and the worst, it’s seriously hard to find a more inconsistent campaign for any single team across the Continent, as it has been for the Euroleague runner up.
Casspi has been an integral part of the debacle, staying as unsteady as his team, and enjoying a starting role in the domestic competition. His performance in the Final Four was pretty weak, going scoreless in the semis, and collecting just 3 points in the final, despite playing a combined 35 minutes in the two games. However, the season has also left plenty to drool about –such as his improved ability to defend perimeter players- while showcasing first-round calibre talent. Still, the depth of this draft could push him to the second round.
 | | MaccabiFans.co.il |
Casspi is already in the States working out for NBA teams. His first workout was in Miami on the 3rd, followed by Detroit on the 4th and Memphis on the 5th. He will not participate in the Eurocamp, instead opting to squeeze as many NBA workouts as he can before the 16th. If he cannot secure a spot in the first round, he will likely remove his name and head back to Europe, where he may or may not return to Maccabi Tel Aviv. He will surely make a big impact next season regardless of where he plays.
Omer Asik
Asik and his team Fenerbahce Ulker are fresh off securing the Turkish League championship, as they just today knocked off Turk Telekom in the playoff finals. As usual this season for the Turkish powerhouse, its deep inside rotation hardly allows their players to showcase great statistical consistency. With Asik, his great limitations to create his own scoring opportunities come into play too. In the end, he’s averaging 7.8 point, 7.8 boards and 1.8 blocks during the playoffs. However, his rebounding and shot-blocking production look excellent considering his 21 minutes average. Besides, he’s fresh off a 16 point, 10 rebound and 6 block performance in 24 minutes in the third game of the finals.
All in all, there’s nothing much we can say here about his game that we hadn’t anticipated in previous reports. His strengths and weaknesses are rather defined, and his game has remained pretty stable all season long.
Asik is getting looks in the late first from a few teams, but is more likely to go in the second round, where his camp prefers him to land (as far away from the rookie scale as possible). He will arrive in the States somewhere around the 16th.
Nikola Pekovic
Leading Partizan to the Serbian semi-finals, the top Balkan team this season hasn’t needed much from its starting center to lead the SuperLeague regular season. Playing less than 23 minutes per game, Pekovic has averaged 14.4 points and 4.7 rebounds (he’s still struggling with the defensive captures), proving again his superb ability to finish near the basket.
Pekovic has already signed a mammoth three year contract (with NBA outs) with Panathinaikos, the top team in Greece and one of the richest teams in Europe. His camp has done everything in its power to discourage teams from wanting to draft him in the first round (again due to the rookie scale), even though it’s clear that on talent and especially production, he is more than deserving. We’d be shocked to see him in the States working out for anyone.
Semih Erden
Recently awarded the Turkish league title alongside Asik, Semih Erden is another victim of Fenerbahce’s depth, and even if probably more talented, a less reliable player on the court. Averaging 7 points and 4.9 rebounds in the playoffs, his 14 point, 6 rebound effort in the last game of finals opener was probably his highlight this post-season, but there’s nothing great to write home about.
Somebody will likely pick him in the second due to his upside, hoping that he figures out how to put everything together and become a solid ball player down the road.
Serge Ibaka
Delivering a pretty strong run late into the campaign, Ibaka couldn’t stop his team L’Hospitalet from being relegated to the 3rd division after finishing last in the LEB Oro. The forward from Congo averaged 18.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in the last four games of the season (three of them against the very top teams in the league), with a 25 point, 13 rebound, 7 block performance in the closing act.
If Serge was already thinking about taking a step forward for the next season (perhaps the NBA, but more likely the ACB League), now that L’Hospitalet has gone down to LEB Plata (third division), he will do everything to get out of there. For the moment, he has been working with Joe Abunassar in Las Vegas, and he’s expected to play in Treviso. His performance there will likely determine his immediate future (draft-wise, to keep his name in or withdraw).
Ante Tomic
Not surprisingly (it’s not the first time it happens), Tomic has statistically stepped up in the Croatian championship, emerging as the top ranked player in efficiency during the regular season, where he averaged 16.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. However, he couldn’t help his team Zagreb avoid losing in the quarterfinals against Zadar, despite delivering 15 points and 11 rebounds per game. In the end, and regardless of his solid production and remarkable skill set, he’s still suffering from some serious softness that raises concerns about his ability to adjust to more demanding settings, especially the NBA. He would probably be better off playing in a tougher league somewhere in Europe, and there are already rumours about some wealthy clubs being interested in him, such as Maccabi Tel Aviv. The problem is the length of his contract, which features no exit clause for Europe or the NBA. It’s possible some team decides to draft him in the late first round, but he could just as well pull his name out of the draft.
Rodrigue Beaubois
Not only has the buzz around Beaubois refused to die down from last season, it’s actually more alive than ever. Still, it’s not because he has blown away anybody this season with his playing level. Nevertheless, his playoff outing was rather intriguing, managing to combine for 18 points in the 32 minutes he spent on the floor during the two games that Le Mans needed to send Beaubois’ Cholet home.
People just love his potential, his athleticism, wingspan, defense, ball-handling or even his pretty decent shooting touch. I still question his stature as a playmaker, his ability to create, to run a team. He has made strides during the season, but he’s likely not ready to take the NBA step.
Beaubois is in the States right now, working out for as many teams as possible until the June 16th deadline. He will not be participating in the Treviso Eurocamp this week. If he does not receive a promise in the first round, he will pull his name out, and hope to translate his strong momentum into a very good season in France next year. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
luisfernandez@draftexpress.com |
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| Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso Confirmed Participants |
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| by: DraftExpress |
| May 13, 2008 |
 | | reebokeurocamp.com |
Eurocamp Director Pete Philo announced the confirmed players scheduled to attend the very prestigious "unofficial European pre-draft" camp in Treviso, Italy from June 7th-10th, an incredibly impressive list of players encompassing basically every player of note in the 1986-1990 European classes.
Official Website
The Reebok Eurocamp has established itself as a mandatory stop on the scouting trail for any NBA or European team serious about keeping tabs on the top international players in the world, staged in an extremely comfortable atmosphere at the training facilities of Benetton Treviso. Players conduct drills under the tutelage of an excellent coaching staff in the morning, and participate in 5 on 5 games later on in the day. Every NBA personnel member who attends is extremely fond of the event as it brings together a large group of players who are often tough to reach and thus saves teams a great deal of time and resources. Former participants include Andrea Bargnani, Rudy Fernandez, Marco Belinelli, and many others.
This year's roster might be shaping up as possibly the best ever so far. Highlights include Danilo Gallinari (shooting only), Nicolas Batum (tentative), Serge Ibaka, Joe Ingles, Nando De Colo, Vitor Faverani, Nicolo Melli, Alexey Shved, Donatas Motiejunas, Henk Norel, Artem Zabelin and many others.
NBA Draft Early Entry Players
1) Danilo Gallinari 6'10 (shooting only)
2) Nicolas Batum 6'8 (only if team loses in semi-finals on June 7th)
3) Rudy Mbemba 6'0
4) Serge Ibaka 6'10
5) Joe Ingles 6'9
6) Henk Norel 6'10
7) Giorgi Shermadini 7'1
8) Jonas Jerebko 6'9
9) Luc Louves 6'9
10) Nando De Colo 6'5
11) Ronalds Zakis 6'9
12) Maxym Korniyenko 6'7
13) Maxsym Vilkhovetskyi 6'3
14) Sergey Ilin 7'5
15) Mladen Jeremic 6'6 (if team not in playoffs)
NBA Draft Eligible (players born in 1986)
1) Anton Ponkrashov 6'7
2) Tadija Dragicevic 6'9 (if team not in playoffs)
3) Uros Tripkovic 6'6 (if team not in playoffs)
4) Mantas Kalnietis 6'5
5) Vladimir Golubovic 6'11
6) Rafael Hettsheimeir 6'10
7) Damjan Rudez 6'9
8) Manuchar Markoishvili 6'5
9) Nikita Kourbanov 6'8
10) Roland Hendlein 6'9
11) Andrija Stipanovic 6'10
12) Michelle Antonutti 6'8
13) George Tsintsadze 6'4
14) Ryan Read 6'3
15) Sam Van Rossom 6'2
"Next Generation"
1) Nemanja Aleksandrov 7'0 (if not in playoffs)
2) Boban Marjanovic 7'2 (if not in playoffs)
3) Vladimir Dasic 6'9
4) Vitor Faverani 6'11
5) Semen Shashkov 6'9
6) Nicolo Melli 6'9
7) Alexey Shved 6'6
8) Adrien Moerman 6'8 1/2
9) Slava Kravtsov 6'11
10) Ivan Paunic 6'4
11) Donatas Motiejunas 7'0
12) Luigi Datome 6'6
13) Jakub Wojciechowski 6'11
14) Jaka Klobucar 6'6
15) Chavdor Kostov 6'5
16) Oleksandr Kolchenko 6'6
17) Marko Keselj 6'9
18) Elemden Kikanovic 6'10 (if not in playoffs)
19) Stefan Markovic 6'4 (if not in playoffs)
20) Artem Zabelin 7'0
21) Andrey Vorontsevich 6'9
22) Aboubakar Zaki 7'2
23) Vladimir Stimac 6'11
24) Maxim Krivosheev 6'9 |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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| Euroleague Final Four: Nike International Junior Tournament |
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| by: Luis Fernández - Director of International Scouting, Jonathan Givony - President |
| May 11, 2008 |
A recap of the top prospects seen at the Nike International Junior Tournament played parallel to the Euroleague Final Four in Madrid last week. FMP Zeleznik, led by Bojan Subotic, Dejan Musli and Andrija Milutinovic continues to crush any competition they face at the junior level in Europe. Cibona Zagreb's Tomislav Zubcic and Zalgiris' Donatas Motiejunas were standouts.
Tomislav Zubcic, 6-11, SF/PF, Cibona Zagreb, 1990
 | | Jonathan Givony/DraftExpress.com |
Arguably the most impressive performance of any prospect at the Nike International Junior Tournament might have come from 6-11 Croatian forward Tomislav Zubcic. It’s not like this came by surprise—we’ve been talking about how talented this kid is since he was 16 years old, but he just hadn’t quite put everything together in an international tournament yet like he did here in Madrid, at least not from a mental standpoint.
We’ve written about Zubcic’s physical tools before—he’s long, athletic, with great size (listed at 7-feet here), but with a game more reminiscent of a small forward. He did everything on the court for Cibona—breaking the press, moving the ball around unselfishly, knocking down 3-pointers and blowing past his man with a very nice first step—his versatility is pretty extraordinary for a player this age, particularly at his size. Zubcic can execute advanced moves that players much older than him struggle with until much later in their career—coming off screens and creating sharp separation off the floor with a fluid pull-up jumper for example, and banking the shot in from a tough angle off the glass for good measure.
Zubcic’s feel for the game is what sets him apart at this point, along with his excellent skill-set, and he regularly showed that by making pinpoint passes from the perimeter into the post with absolutely no hesitation. He sees the floor extremely well at his height, and showed no problem moving the ball around the court fluidly, despite clearly being his team’s most talented scorer. Zubcic likes to shoot the ball from the perimeter—he went 5/15 in three games from behind the arc—and also showed great touch from the free throw line knocking down all 16 of his attempts.
In the post, he doesn’t have much footwork to speak of--mostly preferring to attempt turnaround jumpers, and looking too skinny and a bit too soft to use his size effectively enough here. He’s an excellent ball-handler with either hand, particularly in the open floor, and is capable of creating his own shot from the perimeter with a nice first step and solid creativity. He does struggle finishing in traffic at times, partially due to his lack of strength, and partially due to his lack of toughness.
Zubcic’s biggest issues have always been his rebounding and poor defensive play, along with the lack of intensity and assertiveness he shows to fully take advantage of his terrific talent. Rebounding definitely wasn’t a problem here in Madrid—he averaged nearly 16 rebounds per game in this tournament—and we can attribute a lot of this to the improved intensity he brought to the floor. He made a conscious effort to crash the glass as much as he could despite his skinny frame, and showed really nice timing (and excellent hands) in the process to go along with his already promising quickness and length. Defensively he struggled at times, not doing a great job on the pick and roll and getting bodied up inside. He lacks the lateral quickness to effectively guard small forwards, but still isn’t strong enough to function as a full-time power forward yet either. “Who is he going to guard exactly?” will be the operative question here, we can already predict.
NBA teams have seen European prospects in this mold (the perimeter oriented, but soft combo forward who does everything except defend) emerge over the past few years—Toni Kukoc comes to mind, but Andrea Bargnani’s struggles are a lot fresher in people’s minds. That’s why people will be very skeptical about Zubcic moving forward, until he proves otherwise, which is why he’ll probably have to have some real success in Europe first if he’s to reach his full potential draft-wise. He could get drafted very high sometime down the road, but we’ll have to wait and see how his frame and especially his all-around game develops first. It’s a healthy thing to be carefully skeptical about players like this these days, and there is really no reason from his end also why he should be in any real rush.
Donatas Motiejunas, 7-0, PF/C, Zalgiris Kaunas, 1990
 | | Jonathan Givony/DraftExpress.com |
There was nothing surprising about Motiejunas’ performance in the Nike International Junior Tournament, meaning that he delivered his usual stuff-- emerging as one of the very top performers, while looking like arguably the most promising junior seen in Madrid. Besides, his team Zalgiris was the only squad able to give a serious fight to the almighty FMP Zeleznik, following his leadership.
Motiejunas showcases a dreamed combination of length and skill set. Visibly standing in the seven-feet area, he also enjoys a nice wingspan and an excellent frame to build upon. If he’s not a super bulky inside player, he’s still a lengthy big with enough strength to operate in the paint and the athleticism to fuel his versatility.
In this tournament, Motiejunas operated mainly in the low post, exhibiting a superb ability to score around the rim. The Lithuanian shows very nice footwork and footspeed, the will to seek for physical contact, and a phenomenal ability to put the ball in the net with either hand. Indeed his touch with his off hand is a thing of beauty, which makes him virtually ambidextrous around the rim. The way the ball leaves his hands gives the expression ‘soft touch’ a whole new meaning, gently dropping it on the basket so if it hits the rim, there is a good chance it will still go in.
His jumper was another story. Usually a pretty reliable spot-up shooter, he suffered an awful tournament in this regard, even looking frustrated at times. The lefty also went for some off-the-dribble attempts, that he can also knock down with excellent mechanics, but obviously didn’t work either. He did put the ball on the floor, not as often as in past occasions, but still showing his excellent quickness and coordination (he performed a few great reverse moves).
Motiejunas makes basketball look easy, not only when he goes for his points, but also finding his teammates within the flow of the game. He has no trouble delivering passes from a variety of situations, and even tries behind the back dishes and stuff like that. Defensively, he’s not the most consistent player; but he showed nice activity. Obviously, he does have not any problem of mobility and length, he just needs to stay more focused and physical with his opponents (which will be easier for him as he fills out his frame.)
Anyway, the Lithuanian keeps showing a peculiar character. He gets way too easily frustrated with calls or game situations, which probably make him lose focus. Besides, he doesn’t always stay equally intense, sometimes depending on the momentum of the game. Which looks pretty clear is that Motiejunas still needs to gain a degree of maturity on court.
Dejan Musli, 7-0, Center, FMP Zeleznik, 1991
 | | Jonathan Givony/DraftExpress.com |
Really not a whole lot has changed with Dejan Musli since the last time we saw him, and despite his extremely tender age of 17, there are question marks regarding whether much will change in the near future as well from what we can tell. We’re still talking about the same skyscraper of a teenager, with a body reminiscent of a 25-year old. He was able to produce effectively in this tournament in short stretches, before exploding in the final game for a 25 point, 14 rebound, 4 block outing that landed him MVP honors.
Fairly slow, not super fluid, and lacking some aggressiveness, Musli doesn’t have much of a problem regardless dominating in a setting like this due to his terrific size, combined with his excellent hands and very solid finishing ability. He was a very reliable presence in the paint for his guards to drop the ball off to on drive and dish plays, and therefore was able to knock down 24 of his 43 shots in four games (56%). He also stepped outside from time to time to attempt a mid-range or long-range jump-shot, and saw mostly mixed results in the process. The fact that he almost took out a ball-boy by air-balling a free throw badly tells you that this part of his game is still being developed—he only hit 11 of his 24 attempts at the line.
Musli might not be the most active player you’ll find (he looks a bit bored or apathetic at times running up and down the court), but he has solid reflexes and surprisingly good passing ability, as he showed from time to time with some Sabonis-esqe bounce passes. He also averaged 12 rebounds per game over four days, looking very solid going after everything in his area, but not being quite as dominant as you might think considering his huge size and strength advantage. Defensively, his extremely heavy feet limit his potential staying in front of quicker players or stepping outside to hedge a screen, and he also lacks the explosiveness to project as a great weak-side shot-blocker down the road—also he did his part and then some in this tournament, with nearly 4 blocks per game.
Clearly an outstanding prospect for Europe, Musli will surely play in the NBA if he so desires, but there are some question marks about how high his ceiling is. His physical maturity and ridiculous strength advantage make you wonder about his long-term upside, even if it’s clear that at age 17, he still has quite a bit to improve upon.
Ryan Richards, 6-10, PF/C, Real Madrid, 1991
 | | Jonathan Givony/DraftExpress.com |
Considering that the other top prospects here were pretty well known, Ryan Richards was one of the most interesting features in advance of this Nike International Junior Tournament. And while he had some productive games, he didn’t blow away people with his performances, leaving some mixed feelings about his talent and feel for the game.
First of all, we have to always take into consideration his youth, as Richards is a 1991-born player, but still he surprised with a pretty strong frame for his age, especially his upper body, despite being reportedly a rather skinny guy not long ago. He stands 6-10 and could be done growing (he looks physically rather mature); it’s nice size, but not outstanding considering his array of skills and his average athleticism, although he does enjoy a mammoth wingspan.
Left-handed, Richards showed a decent perimeter stroke, displaying increasing consistency as the tournament advanced, from the mid-range area and out to the three-point line. However, he didn’t look like a face-up player, and if he’s not shooting the ball, chances are you will see him bruising in the low post. Not a finesse player, he relies on his strength, his length, some basic footwork and a certain ability to finish with his left hand, to get the job done. His footwork is pretty raw, and he really doesn’t have much in the ways of moves at this point.
On defense he looked again pretty physical, and was probably the most successful player guarding the MVP Dejan Musli all tournament long. His length and size also makes him a very solid rebounder. In the team setting, his poor awareness stood out at times, though, particularly when forced to step out and hedge a screen or rotate in the post. He’s not the most reactive player you’ll find.
You can feel the game doesn’t come easily to Richards. He doesn’t look like the most naturally gifted player, and his decision making often looks underwhelming. He’s not much of a passer, and generally speaking, his team Real Madrid had a pretty disappointing showing compared to what we had witnessed in L’Hospitalet. Despite his very solid production, Richards might be partially to blame.
Bojan Subotic, 6-8, Power Forward, FMP Zeleznik, 1990
From a pure production standpoint, there was no better player in this tournament that Bojan Subotic. Extremely mature despite being six months shy of his 18th birthday, incredibly smart and superbly versatile, there is absolutely no question that Subotic will find a way to become an outstanding basketball player one way or another down the road. He’s an undersized power forward in the Eddie Najera mold, but with a developing perimeter game that might give him a chance to become a Linas Kleiza type power-wing in time.
Subotic does everything you can ask a player to do on the floor—he can take his man off the dribble, knock down 3-pointers, score inside seeking out contact and using his body superbly, pass the ball, rebound in traffic or play solid pick and roll defense. He is confident, extremely aggressive, and savvy enough at his age to already know the little tricks he needs to utilize to get by as an undersized 4-man. He’s surely not a great athlete, but has the timing, toughness and feel for the game to get by at this level without a problem. His footwork is excellent, as is his body control, and he’s constantly fighting to gain his team advantages on the floor.
Not particularly big, strong or explosive, Subotic doesn’t project as a future NBA player on first glance, but he’s also not the kind of guy you want to write off. He has four more years until he’s automatically eligible for the draft, and he’ll definitely have to become a lights out shooter (which he’s not at this point) and an extremely productive high level European player to have a real chance. One way or another, you’re definitely going to hear his name again.
Nikola Mirotic, 6-10, Power Forward, Real Madrid, 1991
Mirotic came to the Nike IJT bearing some very high expectations after his outstanding showing last January in the prestigious L’Hospitalet Tournament. And while he wasn’t quite able to live up to them, he wasn’t a disappointment either.
Mirotic again showed his excellent ability to operate facing the basket, mostly to put the ball on the floor with his dominant left hand, knock down 3-pointers, and shoot turn-around jumpers. He has an excellent feel for the game, a high skill level, and is extremely aggressive trying to make things happen for his team.
He struggled a little bit trying to adjust to the presence of brand-new teammate Ryan Richards (which forced him outside even more), and looked a little predictable at times using strictly his left hand. He has good length and a decent frame, but doesn’t enjoy the upside of some of the other big men here due to his limited athletic ability. He had trouble defending the pick and roll, showing poor lateral quickness, and seemed to lack some quickness and explosiveness to get himself high-percentage looks at the basket on a regular basis. This probably wasn’t the best weekend he’s had, but some scouts we talked to who were very familiar with him said it will take a lot more than this to erase the excellent impression he left at L’Hospitalet a few months back.
Papa Abdoulaye, 6-10, PF/C, Axa Barcelona, 1990
Showing up in Madrid without his inside African buddy Michel Diouff, Papa Abdoulaye enjoyed more chances to showcase his abilities, but ended up exposing his extremely raw game.
Nobody will argue about his superb physical tools. Enjoying nice size, he possesses a terrific wingspan and a nicely built and already pretty strong frame, a lot better than your typical skinny African. On the other hand, his well-developed body only fuels the uncertainty about his real age.
Anyway, when it comes time to play basketball, Abdoulaye has little to offer. The most intriguing part about his game is probably his jumper, which he seems to be working hard on, having delivered pretty orthodox mechanics with a high release point while showing decent accuracy (actually solid if we talk about the charity stripe). He also tried to produce from the low post, but struggled here noticeably to get anything going, as he doesn’t enjoy the footwork and the basketball IQ to take advantage of his body. At least, when he managed to release the ball, he did show a very raw jump hook that he could actually deliver with his left hand also.
On defense, he stands out with his intimidation skills, especially his ability to elevate really high for blocks on defensive rotations, showing nice timing in his leaping efforts. However, he’s not a solid player here, easily being baited with pump-fakes, his positioning is not the best around, and he’s neither particularly physical in the paint.
We’ll see what the future is for Abdoulaye. History unfortunately tells us that African players in this mold struggle to develop and overcome their lack of knowledge of the game, especially those taking up basketball as late as Abdoulaye (he has reportedly been playing basketball for not much more than a year).
Andrija Milutinovic, 6-6, SG/SF, FMP Zeleznik, 1990
 | | Jonathan Givony/DraftExpress.com |
Steady, but not really dominant at any point in time, Andrija Milutinovic picked his spots efficiently while helping his team come away with the Nike IJT championship. He’s a fairly mature wing player, with good size, a nice frame, and solid athletic ability, along with some pretty nice skills.
Milutinovic is an excellent shooter first and foremost, but he’s also a very effective slasher when he puts his mind to it. His body control and ability to change directions with smooth hesitation moves is pretty unique amongst European wing prospects, and will surely help him overcome the fact that he’s not the most fluid or explosive player you’ll find. He’s also crafty and pretty aggressive when he puts his mind to it, which makes him capable of making some impressive plays from time to time. He had an emphatic dunk in traffic in the championship game for example that seemingly came out of nowhere, and also made strong moves spinning into the paint and finishing or pulling up off the dribble from mid-range to continue and drop glimpses of potential.
The problem is that it didn’t always seem like Milutinovic was playing all that hard. Whether he was deferring to his teammates or just coasting against weaker competition (no one could touch FMP at this tournament, or in all of European junior basketball for that matter) remains to be seen, but it would be nice to see him play aggressively for the entire time he’s on the floor. His coaching staff wouldn’t stand for anything less than 100% from him on the defensive end, though, and he seemed to put in a solid effort and always compete trying to stay in front of his man. He seems like a pretty tough kid all in all, and is definitely a name to keep in mind for the future.
Others:
Agustin Ambrosino is a 6-7 Argentinean power forward who will eventually make the transition over to playing the 3 we imagine, and he has some pretty nice tools to do it if he keeps working hard. He’s long, fairly athletic, and has decent skills facing the basket, making him someone to at least keep an eye on for the future. Nimrod Tishman won’t turn 17 until later this month, but he still managed to leave a pretty strong impression playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in an almost impossible group. He has great size at 6-5 for a point guard, solid athletic ability, a decent stroke and a nice feel for the game. He created a lot of opportunities for his teammates while drawing some inevitable Yotam Halperin comparisons, but struggled on the defensive end and finishing around the basket due to his obvious lack of strength. His teammate Daniel Rom has all kinds of talent—good size for a power forward, decent athleticism, and the ability to create his own shot from the perimeter or with nifty pivot moves in the lane. The problem is that he looks incredibly apathetic running up and down the floor, and like almost all Israeli players seemingly, doesn’t play a lick of defense. Carmel Bouchman, also of Maccabi Tel Aviv, hit a late growth spurt supposedly and is now listed at a shade under 6-9. He’s fairly athletic and likes to face the basket and hit 3-pointers. He’s too skinny and soft at the moment to be anymore more than a defensive liability, but he will rotate over at times from the weak-side and come up with a blocked shot. Nemanja Nedovic (6-3, 1991, Red Star) won’t turn 17 for another month or so, but he has some tools that make him worthy of keeping on the radar for now. He can put the ball in the net getting to the rim or from long range, and looked pretty pesky getting in the passing lanes as well. He’s not a bad athlete either. 15-year old Vytenis Cizauskas of Zalgiris was one of the youngest players at this tournament (born in September of 1992), but he had some very nice moments, particularly attacking the basket. He emerged as Zalgiris’ most reliable scorer at times, and also showed all kinds of toughness sticking his nose in places they didn’t belong. He plays a bit out of control at times (our impression from watching him last month at the Jordan Brand Classic practices and game in New York), but has decent tools to work with. |
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| Blogging through the Euroleague Final Four (Part Two) |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| May 4, 2008 |
 | | Reuters |
This year’s Euroleague season is officially in the books, after CSKA Moscow knocked off Maccabi Tel Aviv 91-77. The Euroleague might not have been more than a blip on the city of Madrid’s radar, judging by the sights and scenes found outside the arena (except one Maccabi Tel Aviv pep rally in Puerta del Sol last night) , aided greatly by the fact that legendary soccer team Real Madrid was able to clinch the Spanish league championship tonight, which will make for a very rowdy celebration. It will be interesting to see how things look next year in Berlin, the sight of the 2009 Euroleague Final Four as was announced this weekend. Regardless, the Euroleague did an excellent job putting together a very well organized event, and everything went fairly smoothly this weekend as far as we could tell.
Nike International Junior Tournament
 | | Euroleague.net |
FMP Zeleznik came away the runaway winners of the Nike International Junior Tournament in unsurprising fashion, pounding Barcelona 80-70 (it wasn’t really that close) behind 25 points from Dejan Musli and 21 from Bojan Subotic. This Zeleznik team is just leaps and bounds better than anything European junior basketball has to offer at the moment, both in terms of talent and depth, but also in execution and their overall “professionalism.” Make no mistake, this team of 17 and 18 year-olds would most certainly pound any American high school basketball team we’ve seen all season (and we’ve seen all the best)—they are just that well coached, but also bring to the table an excellent combination of athleticism, team-play and fundamentals.
Buzz
Theodoros Papaloukas has apparently not yet given up on the possibility of playing in the NBA this summer, and has even hired a new American agent to help him with that cause. He was reportedly extremely close to signing with the Milwaukee Bucks last year, but Mo Williams’ large contract didn’t leave enough money on the table for him to justify the decision. Papaloukas will be looking for a deal in the 3-year, 20 million dollar range this summer. Considering his age, the way he played this weekend and in the season as a whole, that looks like an extremely long shot. A number of teams are hot on the trail of Ramunas Siskauskas reportedly, including the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. That’s what the word here amongst European basketball insiders is at least.
On the coaching front, we’re about to see a great deal of musical chairs go on amongst Euroleague coaches. Ettore Messina has signed a two year contract to stay in CSKA Moscow reportedly, preferring the stability of the #1 organization in European basketball than the mess that Barcelona is apparently becoming. Sergio Scariolo is apparently the frontrunner for Barcelona now, but Pini Gershon and Simone Pianigiani are also being mentioned. After blowing a very winnable game in the Euroleague semifinals against CSKA, finishing in fourth place eventually, and also losing the Copa del Rey to Joventut, Neven Spahija will surely be on the outs from Tau Vitoria if he doesn’t win the ACB championship. Rumors all season had Dusko Ivanovic returning to take the job there, but recently it appears that Svetislav Pesic might be the frontrunner. In Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zvika Sherf will be staying another season for sure unless something incredible happens in the Israeli League playoffs. Don’t be surprised to see David Blatt’s name come up in the next few weeks for some of the open NBA head coaching jobs. We heard some rumblings about that here in Madrid, and none of the NBA executives we spoke with sounded shocked to hear that he’s quietly being mentioned as a candidate. It seems like Avery Johnson will be taking his sweet time to decide on his next destination. Don’t expect him to sign on to coach anywhere all that soon. If Omri Casspi decides to stay in the draft, that likely means two things. One, he has found a promise in the first round, and two, that is likely coming from the San Antonio Spurs. They’ve been out to see him in Tel Aviv far more than any other NBA team, and reportedly really like the way he plays. He would stay in Europe for at least a season or two, though.
The Final—CSKA Moscow 91- Maccabi Tel Aviv 77
Maccabi started the game again with an unconventional lineup—with Will Bynum at the point, Halperin at the 2, Casspi at the 3, and Terrence Morris and Nikola Vujcic manning the front line. The first half was an extremely entertaining affair—fast, up-tempo basketball, which is exactly the type of pace Maccabi likes to play at. Trajan Langdon was on fire for CSKA in the first half, hitting all four 3-pointers he took and scoring 14 total points. Maccabi got great minutes from Esteban Batista off the bench, with 10 points and 7 rebounds in just 7 minutes, and an extremely active Omri Casspi doing major damage in the first quarter. Casspi brought great energy to his team, moving off the ball beautifully, getting out in transition, cutting hard to the rim constantly, and doing plenty of damage scoring at the rim or drawing fouls. Neither Ramunas Siskuaskas or Theodoros Papaloukas were able to stay with him and his fresh legs, and he really did a good job showing off his biggest strength—his aggressive nature.
The second half brought us a style of play that clearly favored CSKA—a much more slow, deliberate pace that exposed Maccabi’s lack of playmaking ability and disciplined defense. Maccabi coach Zvika Sherf seemed dead-set on playing David Bluthenthal and Alex Garcia as many minutes as possible, and both came up with extremely disappointing efforts that really hurt their team. Garcia was awful in particular, jacking up and missing contested shots, displaying bad decision making, and even blowing a completely wide-open layup in transition that may have been the game’s turning point, as well as an intentional foul by Esteban Batista. Will Bynum did what he did best throughout this game—create offense and get to the rim, but his extremely ball-dominant style worked against his team to a certain extent, as it froze out his teammates and really made his offense look stagnant. To his credit, Maccabi looked unable to score in any other way today, and Bynum was extremely effective getting to the rim like a freight train and either scoring at the basket or drawing fouls (but rarely kicking the ball out). Once CSKA adjusted to him, Maccabi looked pretty awful. It was surprising to see Maccabi’s best player for much of the season, Yotam Halperin, spend about 25 straight minutes on the bench from the middle of the 1st quarter to the middle of the 4th, often in favor of Vonteego Cummings, who has given Maccabi virtually nothing in the past few months. Casspi, who was so good in the first half, wasn’t able to get anything going in the few minutes he played in the 2nd, still making aggressive moves, but being unable to finish at the rim when CSKA’s defense rotated over. It was nice to see him trying to make things happen, even if he may have rushed things a little bit.
 | | ACB.com |
CSKA’s veterans were the key to the victory, as their different stars took turns stepping up and making huge plays, starting with Langdon in the first half, followed by J.R. Holden in the 3rd quarter, followed by David Andersen in the 4th, and mixed in with steady and heady play from Ramunas Siskuaskas and Matjaz Smodis throughout. At the end of the day, there really isn’t any comparison when you look over their roster and stack it up against Maccabi. The Israelis were able to find lightning in a bottle at key points throughout the season thanks to their terrific bench and maybe a little bit of luck, but in the end, the best team clearly won this game deservingly. What might have been surprising here is how loud and enthusiastic their fans were. They weren’t huge in numbers by any means, but they made their voices heard throughout the game, even more-so than Maccabi’s fans in large stretches. This is not how we remembered them being last year in Athens. Trajan Langdon was named MVP, finishing with 21 points and 7 rebounds on 6-7 shooting from the field. Check out CSKA’s scoring balance—Papaloukas 12, Andersen 13, Smodis 13, Siskauskas 13, Holden 14.
For Maccabi, Will Bynum had 23 points, 4 assists and 5 turnovers. Terence Morris chipped in a quiet 13 and 7, and Batista had 14 points, 7 rebounds in just 14 minutes. Halperin had 9 points in 11 minutes, and Casspi had 9 in 12. |
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| Blogging through the Euroleague Final Four (Part One) |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| May 2, 2008 |
DraftExpress is on hand in Madrid to take in the most important event on the European basketball calendar, the Euroleague Final Four. Maccabi Tel Aviv erased a 15-point deficit to knock of Montepaschi Siena in shocking fashion in the first game, while CSKA Moscow outmuscled Tau Vitoria in a brutally physical game to claim the second spot in the finals. There is some buzz coming from the many NBA scouts in attendance, while the junior tournament is also occupying our time nicely as well.
 | | Euroleague.net |
The Euroleague Final Four in Madrid
Just in case there was any doubt, have no mistake that Madrid is one of the best cities you’ll find in all of Europe. This is our second time spending time here in the last nine months (last time for the Eurobasket in August), and it doesn’t take very long to figure that out. Clean, convenient, friendly, and absolutely gorgeous this time of year, you won’t find anyone here complaining about the Euroleague deciding to host the Final Four here. It’s funny to see how incredibly packed the streets are with people until the wee hours of the morning, only to walk along the “busiest” sections of the city at 8:30 AM and not see a single soul. Good luck finding anything open that time either.
The Scene
As basketball people always find a way do, there is some nitpicking going on as well. The process of distributing tickets drew the ire of quite a few people here, as many people were apparently forced to purchase all-inclusive package deals costing 2,000 Euros (over 3,000 dollars) just to get their hands on a ticket. Many of the tickets went through a Greek travel agent apparently, and in the end the Euroleague had to open up their box office for a few hours to unload the unsold inventory. There were a good deal of empty seats in the arena unfortunately, which is truly a shame when considering how many fans stayed home because they were unable to find tickets. There were a good 50 courtside seats that were not used at all, along with plenty of empty patches scattered around the arena, especially in the sections holding the Euroleague VIPs. Not exactly “feeling” my seats on press row, or the smell of the “journalist” sitting next to me, I took off for a seat in the fifth row courtside, which just happened to be behind my good friend David Blatt. Even here the Head Coach of the European Champion Russian National team was focused on explaining the fascinating nuances of the game to me, his son, and anyone else that was interested.
Unsurprisingly, it was Maccabi Tel Aviv fans the one who dominated the arena, controlling at least 1/3rd of the 13,000 seats, and clearly being the most vocal supporting their teams. The support of the team was nothing short of amazing, and it was hard not getting goosebumps as they serenaded the two most veteran players on their team, Nikola Vujcic and Derrick Sharp, with personalized songs. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call them the best fans in basketball.
The Buzz
The Nike Junior tournament running parallel to the men’s event gave us a great chance to meet quite a few NBA scouts and executives and pick their brains about various topics, specifically this year’s draft. We talked to representatives of at least 10 teams, giving us a decent sample size from which to evaluate the stock of a few different prospects. Danilo Gallinari seems to be holding pretty steady at this point in the 5-12 range—we couldn’t find anyone that has him ranked below that here at least. Rudy Fernandez is apparently set to join the Portland Trailblazers according to word we got from well-placed local sources here in Spain. Some teams surprisingly have Alexis Ajinca ranked ahead of Nicolas Batum, and there was some quiet buzz about a few surprise early-entry players who could make solid second round picks, such as Nando De Colo and Henk Norel. Most of the people I spoke with here agreed with the notion that Andrea Bargnani’s terrible season and the imminent assertion that he is looking more and more like a total bust of a #1 pick could psychologically affect the way some of the less secure GMs evaluate international prospects in this draft.
In the junior tournament, FMP Zeleznik is unsurprisingly undefeated, having knocked off Zalgiris today in what could have very well been the tournament’s final game. Barcelona and the scrappy, overachieving Lietuvos Rytas will fight it out to play the “real” final on Sunday against FMP tomorrow. Not surprising as well is the fact that Donatas Motiejunas is the most intriguing NBA prospect at the junior tournament, even though he struggled today against FMP, followed by Tomislav Zubcic, who has strung together two very strong games so far. Ryan Richards has made an appearance here, but has been extremely underwhelming. We’ll have a full report on the top prospects here as soon as we get back.
The Games
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Montepaschi Siena
Things got off to a very sloppy start in the first contest. Maccabi looked especially nervous, making careless mistakes on defense, committing foolish turnovers (10 total in the first half), giving up offensive rebounds, and just not being able to hit shots, scoring just 7 points in the first 8 minutes of the game. Siena jumped out to a 15 point lead fairly quickly, mostly led by the incredible play of their point guard Terrell McIntyre, who scored 16 points in 12 first half minutes (4-6 3P), to go along with 3 assists and no turnovers. Lior Eliyahu kept Maccabi in the game almost singlehandedly, with 8 big points in a 10 minute spark off the bench. Maccabi went to the lockerroom down 45-33. They were a bit lucky that Siena missed 16 of their 22 3-pointers, many of them open looks.
Terrell McIntrye continued to play well in the second half, as Siena’s plan of outletting the ball to him at half-court in stride and allowing him to operate and make decisions in semi-transition before Maccabi could set their defense worked to perfection. His legs started giving out a bit mid-way through the third quarter, though, (he spent the last month out after arthroscopic surgery) and that combined with their glue guy Shaun Stonerook’s fourth foul gave Maccabi a chance to chip away at the lead.
It was here that Maccabi’s superior bench began to reap dividends for them, as guards Derrick Sharp and Alex Garcia caught fire and combined for an amazing 21 points in the third quarter alone, and made some incredibly important hustle plays. Garcia was incredible aggressive all game long, while Sharp, a legend in Tel Aviv by now who was relegated mostly to figurehead status as of late in old age, provided a huge leadership boost and incredible clutch play on both ends. Will Bynum also found redemption for the problems he suffered on and off the court this season, shredding apart Siena’s defense with drive and dish plays and scoring quite a bit himself via layups or shots from the free throw line. Terrence Morris and Yotam Halperin have been arguably Maccabi’s two most important players all season long, but they were not really needed all that much as Maccabi slashed the huge deficit and built up a lead of their own, to their delight of their screaming fanbase. This was not a game for young guys--Omri Casspi only ended up playing 4 minutes and 29 seconds total, all in the first quarter as part of the starting unit. Fellow starter Vonteego Cummings suffered the same fate.
 | | Reuters |
Maccabi finished the game off winning 92-85, scoring 84 points in the final 30 minutes after starting out the game down 20-8. Derrick Sharp scored 17 points in 23 minutes, while Alex Garcia added 19 in 26. Terrence Morris had 13 points and 7 rebounds, while Will Bynum contributed 13 points and 7 assists. David Bluthenthal also had a very nice game with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. For Siena, Terrell McIntyre scored 26 points with 5 assists, Romain Sato had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals, and Ksistof Lavrinovic had 17 points and 2 rebounds.
CSKA Moscow vs. Tau Vitoria
This one looked like a much slower, more thought out game than the up and down pace of the previous game. Tau Vitoria jumped ahead to a surprising 39-33 lead in the first 20 minutes, mainly behind the inside presence of Tiago Splitter (10 points, and 6 missed free throws), and the surprisingly aggressive play of Zoran Planinic. Ramunas Siskauskas carried CSKA early, making shots and creating opportunities for Matjaz Smodis, but foul trouble limited his play, as well as Langdon’s—with 3 fouls each. Tau’s defense did a great job early on of forcing CSKA into taking bad shots, and the Russians clearly lacked a spark off the bench from their once great playmaker, Theo Papaloukas. He’s been fairly invisible so far, not trying to initiate anything, and clearly lacking the athleticism to get by anyone or finish when he did. This was not a pretty game in the first half, and the atmosphere clearly fell off a bit once Maccabi’s fans exited the building to begin the celebrations. CSKA is relying too heavily on JR Holden to carry them offensively, which is making them a bit predictable.
The second half was an all-out war, as both teams pounded on each other incessantly inside, on every drive, post-up and box-out for rebound, while there were only so many fouls that the ref could have called. David Andersen was excellent for CSKA, scoring 12 points in the half (16 total) on a series of mid-range jumpers, being particularly clutch in the closing minutes when his team took the lead and held onto it until the very end. He played nearly the entire second half, and did not miss a shot inside the arc the entire game, going 8-8 from the field. His last basket might have been his biggest, a huge put-back dunk off an offensive rebound to put CSKA up by 7 with just over a minute to go. We wondered if the Hawks would be here, and indeed the man responsible for drafting him seven years back, Mark Crow, was in attendance and looked quite pleased with the way he played, as he should have been. Theodoros Papaloukas woke up in the second half, reeling off 8 points to finish with 10, and stringing together two huge transition baskets in the fourth quarter that were extremely important to his team’s win. Ramunas Siskauskas finished with a “quiet” 16 points, always within the flow of his offense, slaloming in between defenders and finishing either hand, knocking down shots, drawing plenty of fouls and knocking down 7 of his 8 shots from the line, including two huge ones at the very end to seal the game.
The final score was 83-79 CSKA. The Russians are going to the Euroleague final for the third straight year in a row. This is their sixth straight appearance in the Final Four. They had five players finish with double digit scoring. Tiago Splitter had 17 points for Tau on 5-7 shooting from the field. He was terrific with his back to the basket inside, commanding double teams and finding the open man, using nice pivot moves and even hitting a pretty swooping hook shot in the lane. Maybe the 7-14 he shot from the free throw line will convince him to work on getting rid of the ugly hitch he has in his mechanics from the line, but regardless, there is no question that the San Antonio Spurs got a huge stud—a player worthy of a top 10 pick fall to them at the end of the first round. Zoran Planinic was solid with 17 points, and Igor Rakocevic had 19. |
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| Euroleague Final Four Preview |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| April 30, 2008 |
| | Euroleague.net |
The most important in-season event on the European basketball calendar will be conducted this weekend in Madrid, Spain, and for the third straight year, DraftExpress will be represented. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Montepaschi Siena, Tau Vitoria and CSKA Moscow will battle it out for the prestigious title of being considered the best team in Europe. Alongside them, eight of the top junior teams will compete in the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament, featuring teams such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, FMP Zeleznik, and Zalgiris Kaunas. Considering the location, and the fact that there are plenty of intriguing NBA prospects to take in both at the senior and junior level, we’d expect a large contingency of NBA scouts and executives present in Madrid. In this preview, we take a look at some of the most interesting players that NBA teams will be watching.
The Schedule
SEMIFINALS, May 2
6:00 PM CET (Noon EST) Montepaschi Siena - Maccabi Elite
9:00 PM CET (3 PM EST) Tau Ceramica - CSKA
3RD PLACE, May 4
6:00 CET (Noon EST) Loser SF1 - Loser SF2
FINAL, May 4
9:00 CET (3 PM EST) Winner SF1 - WinnerSF2
All games will be broadcasted LIVE in the US by NBA TV
The NBA Prospects
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Omri Casspi- The only player in attendance eligible to be drafted this June, Casspi will receive a fair share of attention from every NBA team present in Madrid, as he is on the early-entry list, and has been playing some of the best basketball in his career over the past six weeks or so. He’s trying to work his way into the first round at this point, and what better stage to help accomplish that than with the eyes of the entire NBA on him this weekend? We’ll be watching his progress closely and breaking his game down in much more depth, so stay tuned.
Yotam Halperin-Although he already has two Euroleague titles underneath his belt at age 24 (of which he played minor roles), Halperin has blossomed into one of the top guards in European basketball this season, providing an incredible lift to Maccabi at some key moments with his terrific outside shooting, playmaking ability, and overall basketball IQ. He might be considered the most important player on the roster along with Terence Morris, and will be heavily scrutinized by various members of the Seattle Supersonics (who drafted him in 2006 under a different regime), including GM Sam Presti. He may be viewed as a Beno Udrih type, a skilled and savvy combo guard who can play a supporting role in the NBA. We’ll be keeping an eye on him.
Terence Morris- The former 2001 2nd round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks has revived his career over the past two seasons in Israel, going from sitting at home for an extended period without a job to possibly being the most coveted American big man on this summer’s free agent market. He’s a smart, athletic, and fairly skilled power forward who rebounds extremely well, can hit a spot-up 3-pointer, and is a presence in the paint defensively—all things that are in very short supply when you are talking about long 6-9 guys with great intangibles. As far as the NBA is concerned, considering his age, and the fact that he still hasn’t made that one killer contract that will set him up long-term, it would be hard to envision him passing up the extremely lucrative deals that will be thrown his way from the top-tier teams in Europe—although a big performance this weekend could go a long ways in changing that.
Will Bynum- Like a many players on Maccabi’s roster, Bynum already played in the NBA, spending some time with the Golden State Warriors after leading the D-League in scoring. Considering the way he’s looked this season, though, it seems like he’s in the right spot at the moment. A freakishly athletic undersized combo guard with limited perimeter shooting and playmaking skills, Bynum is still adjusting to European basketball, so you never quite know what to expect from him on any given night. He does put in a good effort, though, even if he’s very turnover prone, but at this level he’s a great weapon to have considering his shot-creating ability and game-changing athleticism.
Nikola Vujcic- If there was a Euroleague hall of fame, Vujcic would surely be inducted into it after he retires. His basketball IQ, passing ability and overall skill level has made him somewhat of a legend in Tel Aviv, and he is really the most recognizable piece remaining on the roster of that incredible Maccabi team that went on a dynasty run a few years back alongside the likes of Anthony Parker, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Maceo Baston. Vujcic missed considerable time this year with all kinds of various injuries (particularly knee problems), and considering how fragile his body is at this point, the NBA can’t considered anything more than a pipe-dream. That shouldn’t take anything away from what he’s accomplished thus far in his career, though, and surely doesn’t mean he can’t help Maccabi out this weekend.
Lior Eliyahu- Eliyahu has spent the better part of this season glued to the bench, as he just doesn’t seem to bring what current head coach Tzvika Sherf is looking for in terms of toughness, defense and rebounding. He’s a flat-out scorer who probably needs a change of scenery at this point to show the Houston Rockets that he is capable of playing in the NBA after he was drafted by them in 2006.
Esteban Batista- Batista spent two non-descript seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, and is now in his first season playing high-level European basketball. It’s been somewhat of an adventure for him and his team, as he’s had good games and bad ones, but is clearly a force to be reckoned with offensively inside the paint if you catch him on the right day.
Big, strong, but not particularly athletic, he uses his body extremely well to establish position for himself in the post, where he has plenty of ways to create shots for himself and good touch to finish. He has a great drop-step move, and beautiful pivots. He plays way below the rim, and can finish with either hand. He does a great job with pump-fakes, and is very skilled in the post, although he’s somewhat of a black hole and fairly predictable at times. Defensively, he is furthest from being an NBA player, just not having the agility to stay in front of quicker post players and getting absolutely roasted when forced to step outside on pick and rolls. He’s probably in the perfect spot as far as his level is concerned, and may have a breakout year next season if he’s utilized more.
Montepaschi Siena
Ksistof Lavrinovic, 6-11, PF/C, Lithuania- We’ve written about him many times before, including a very in-depth scouting report just two months ago. Lavrinovic is a big and athletic scoring big man who is very skilled facing the basket. He averages an incredible 29 points per 40 minutes pace adjusted in the Italian league, while that number drops to “just” 25 in the Euroleague. He’s probably too well compensated to consider going to the NBA at this point, but you really never know. According to his agent Kenny Grant, Lavrinovic “is in the 1st year of a 3 year contract…[with] no NBA out,” although one can be negotiated. On the other hand, Grant did inform us that his twin brother Darjus Lavrinovic (who is coming off a monster season in the ULEB Cup and is equally as interesting) will be a free agent this summer. He believes they “would both be interested in the NBA, if a team is seriously interested.”
Romain Sato- A former 2nd round pick of the San Antonio Spurs, Romain Sato never made it out of NBA training camp, but has developed into quite a reliable player at the top level of Europe since then. He’s a very solid scorer here, but is extremely efficient at the same time, having improved his perimeter shot considerably since his time at Xavier. Sato measured out at just 6-3 in shoes at the NBA pre-draft camp, but has a ridiculous 6-11 wingspan to compensate for that. He’s still not much of a ball-handler, and generally isn’t the most creative player you’ll find, but he knows how to maximize his strengths to the benefit of his team, and will rarely force the issue. Although there might not be that much separating himself from some bench players in the NBA, at the end of the day, he’s probably found the perfect level to showcase his skills with Siena. We’ll take a look regardless.
Drake Diener- The brother of Travis Diener has overcome some serious health problems right after graduating from DePaul to emerge as a very interesting prospect for European basketball, with the perfect combination of basketball IQ, perimeter shooting and playmaking skills to make him an ideal cog in a disciplined half-court offense, such as Siena’s. He hasn’t been much of a factor in the Euroleague with Siena thus far (he started the season in Sicily but was bought out mid-season), but might be able to come off the bench and give them some quality minutes if they are lacking inspiration at some point. His NBA prospects are pretty murky considering his below average athleticism and especially his poor lateral quickness, although if he continues to improve the way he has over the past two seasons, there may be something to talk about at some point.
Benjamin Eze- 6-10 players with a ridiculous 7-6 wingspan like Eze will always get consideration from the NBA, especially when they athletic enough to earn a nickname like “the Helicopter,” for his acrobatic displays. He’s a limited offensive player with fairly poor hands who is mostly known for his rebounding and interior defense, but we will take a look at him too to see if there might be something more to talk about. He has an Italian passport.
Bootsy Thornton, Terrell McIntyre and Shaun Stonerook also play extremely important roles for Siena, but are not likely to get much NBA consideration. Ironically, they might be Siena’s three best players on any given night.
CSKA Moscow
Ramunas Siskauskas- Ranked as the #1 player in our overseas free agents rankings, there will be a lot of NBA eyeballs watching the play of Ramunas Siskauskas this weekend in Madrid. Arguably the most complete player you’ll find outside the NBA, Siskauskas has established a reputation as being a phenomenal shooter, ball-handler, passer and defender, as well as one of the smartest guys you’ll find around. He has quietly (and finally) been piquing the interest of several NBA teams reportedly, and that’s something we are going to try and get to the bottom of here in Madrid. This is an important weekend for Siskauskas for a few reasons. Not only will he have a chance to win his second straight Euroleague title with two separate teams (a feat that’s never been done), a very prestigious thing indeed, but he also will give himself a free exit-clause for the NBA if he indeed wins it, as stated in his contract. If he has a great individual showing, similar to the way he played last year, he’ll probably win himself quite a few more fans as well amongst NBA executives. We’ll keep you posted…
Theodoras Papaloukas- Just as he was beginning to become unanimously considered the best player in European basketball, Theodoras Papaloukas seemed to have hit a pretty bad slump this season, having what might be considered his worst season statistically in the past three years. A pesky ankle problem is partially to blame, but his performance in last summer’s European Championship in Madrid already began to hint that the 31 year old wizard point guard might be slowing down a notch. This is yet another thing we need to get to the bottom of in Madrid.
Never considered a great shooter, Papaloukas’ jump-shot has become even streakier this season, hitting only 24% of his 3-pointers, 67% of his free throws, and 50% of his field goals (his lowest total since 03/04). He is getting to the free throw line less, but is still distributing the ball at a phenomenal rate, dishing out 9.4 assists per-40 minutes pace adjusted, mostly thanks to his mastery of the pick and roll, while maintaining a very steady 2.46/1 assist to turnover ratio. His ball-handling skills and hesitation moves are nothing short of fantastic, and he’s still an excellent finisher around the basket, more so thanks to his terrific touch and overall craftiness than any incredible athleticism, but still extremely effective nonetheless. An extremely clutch player, with a flair for the spectacular as he showed everyone last year, Papaloukas is still a player any team in this Final Four would love to have on their side. The enthusiasm around his NBA prospects may have dimmed somewhat (not that he probably cares), though, as his style of play of was never going to be a seamless fit for most NBA teams.
David Andersen- Although he isn’t playing quite as well as he was when we last wrote about him in February (in extreme depth), David Andersen is still having a career year in CSKA, and will be relied on heavily to help his team win one last Euroleague championship before they probably all go their separate ways. It’s been widely reported that CSKA head coach Ettore Messina will be leaving Moscow for Barcelona when the season is over.
Andersen is in the last year of his contract himself, according to his agent Kenny Grant, and media reports in Atlanta indicate that Billy Knight and the Hawks have spoken about finally bringing him over this season, seven years after they drafted him in the second round. It will be interesting to see if Knight shows up to watch Andersen in Madrid. There is no question that he can play in the NBA right now, and he would probably actually be a terrific compliment to Al Horford on both ends of the floor.
Tau Vitoria
We’ve dealt with Tau Vitoria and their prospects in considerable depth over the past few months and years, especially at the Copa del Rey just this last February. Click through on their profiles and check their latest updates in the “player blogs”.
Tiago Splitter
Igor Rakocevic
Mirza Teletovic
Zoran Planinic
[url=/profile/Pete-Mickeal-5227/]Pete Mickeal[/url]
Will McDonald
The Junior Tournament
In conjunction with the Final Four, the Euroleague has also invited eight of the top junior teams in Europe to participate in a mini tournament lasting four days, where a number of interesting prospects will participate. Donatas Motiejunas (Zalgiris Kaunas), Dejan Musli (FMP), Nikola Mirotic (Real Madrid), Papa Abdoulaye (AXA FC Barcelona), Michel Diouff (AXA FC Barcelona), Nihad Dedovic (AXA FC Barcelona) and Tomislav Zubcic (Cibona Zagreb) are some of the bigger name guys early on—but there will surely be others to emerge. The favorites to win will clearly be Serbian powerhouse FMP Zeleznik, the unquestioned top junior team in Europe over the past few years.
Participating Teams:
AXA FCB
Cibona Zagreb
Red Star
Lietuvos Rytas
Maccabi Teddy
FMP
Real Madrid
Zalgiris Kaunas
Follow the tournament here |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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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, p | | |
