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Aleksandar Ugrinoski

Not in any ranking or draft
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Weight: 180 lbs (82 kg)
Position: PG
Hometown: Skopje, North Macedonia
Current Team: Springfield
Win - Loss: 22 - 28

Articles

2007 RBK Eurocamp: Day Two (Part Two)

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Jun 12, 2007, 06:35 am
Even though he keeps showing flashes of the great talent he enjoys, it still looks like he's wasting a big part of it. He's certainly not the player who gives the best effort all-around effort, often looking disinterested or showing poor body language around his teammates. From time to time, Ugrinoski emerged with nice passes in pick-and-roll settings or feeding cutters, while he tried to run the offense, but looked very inconsistent, lacking aggressiveness at times, rarely attacking his rivals to create offensive opportunities for his teammates, staying inconsistent with his perimeter stroke, while doing a poor job on the defensive end. He’s obviously an athletic guy with very nice tools at his disposal, but is still not able to translate that into actual production on a consistent basis.

Nike Hoop Summit World Team Player Recap (Part Two)

Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Apr 13, 2007, 02:34 am
Ugrinoski seemed to be an interesting prospect from the very first practice, mainly due to his physical characteristics. He measured out at at 6’2.75” with a solid 6’6” wingspan. The Croatian point guard also displayed good quickness off the dribble in practices, with the ability to accelerate in the lane while drawing extra defenders. More maturity will be needed in order for Ugrinoski to effectively run an offense, but he can occasionally find the open player on the drive.

As a scorer, Ugrinoski can make some crafty finishes near the basket, but has the tendency to drive recklessly into traffic. To best utilize his abilities into the paint, developing some type of mid-range move, like a floater or pull-up jumper would go a long way. It appears that the proper mechanics are in place for Ugrinoski to become a threat from behind the three point line, but consistency was his main problem in this area throughout the week.

In the Saturday game, Ugrinoski only logged 10 minutes of playing time, and didn’t receive the chance to contribute as a scorer. He made a nice read off the pick and roll for one of his assists, but this was really the only play he created throughout the game. On a transition play, Ugrinoski made a poor pass, resulting in one of his two turnovers in 10 minutes of playing time.

Aleksandar Ugrinoski has some nice tools to work with physically in addition to raw slashing abilities. Further experience running a team in Europe will help him develop more into a floor general. It is much too early at this point to start talking NBA for Ugrinoski, but the proper developmental path could certainly place him on the radar of NBA decision makers a few years down the road.

Nike Hoop Summit Practices-- World Team (Day 4)

Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Apr 07, 2007, 03:38 am
The play of Aleksandar Ugrinoski was one of the more impressive aspects of the practice today. His decision making in the half court must mature, but he did break down the defense a few times while making some really nice passes to the open player. Ugrinoski has good quickness and will be tough for smaller, less physical point guards to play against. As a shooter, he must improve his consistency, but he has the stroke to someday become proficient in this area. Defense is another area where Ugrinoski has some potential but must learn to harness it.

Nike Hoop Summit Practices-- World Team (Day 2)

Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Apr 05, 2007, 05:55 pm
Aleksandar Ugrinoski displayed very good quickness in the practice and did a good job penetrating to the basket from the point guard position. Physically, he has both great size and length to play the lead guard position. In the paint he isn’t really explosive in finishing at the hoop, but he does seem to be very crafty in this area. Ugrinoski seems to be a streaky shooter, and tends to force up some rushed shots off the dribble. He has also struggled defensively throughout the practices while trying to guard Petteri Koponen.

U-18 European Championship Prospects: Point Guards

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Sep 11, 2006, 11:32 am
As we have reported in our chronicles from Greece, Ugrinoski was probably the biggest disappointment at the tournament. We have hardly seen any kind of improvement in his game from what he showed last year. Not only that, he has showed less flair, less spark, less passion on court, less intrigue.

Of course, he’s still the same talented guy, a skilled playmaker with terrific passing ability. I don’t think any single player seen in this tournament can dish the ball better off slashing situations. His court vision is really good, keeping very well track of where his teammates are. He might lack a bit of explosiveness, but has nice handles and ability to change directions in order to step into the lane, while he can deliver some decent running shots near the basket to finish himself.

His shooting does look a bit improved, despite the poor percentages, showing more reliability from the perimeter whenever he was open than he had last summer. But he’s not a scoring type of point guard. On defense, he hasn’t delivered much effort, just in tune with the rest of his game.

This was the year that Ugrinoski was supposed to take great responsibilities in Croatia’s game, but he misses some leadership abilities. He’s not a vocal leader, and he doesn’t manage to push his team on court. Point guards are usually key players leading their teams into good dynamics; Ugrinoski hasn’t looked capable. There’s no continuity in his game. It’s really concerning that this team fared batter without him in Mannheim than it did in these championships. He’s reportedly a bit of a head case, and that’s difficult to counter.

The European Junior (U-18) Championships: The Point Guards

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Aug 15, 2005, 05:02 am
While there are no sure things in the 1988 crop, among this class Ugrinoski could very well be the most talented player seen here. Enjoying awesome skills for a playmaker, he features the physical tools to eventually deal with a high level of competition. At 6-4 he has the right size, while displaying good enough athleticism and particularly nice quickness.

Once we stop worrying about his physical gifts, what separates Ugrinoski from your everyday playmaker is his awesome ability to pass the ball, unmatched if we talk about kids seen in Belgrade (he was second only to Ohayon in this department statistically, although first in assists per minute). Perhaps where he stands out more is driving and dishing. He has good handles and the quickness to beat his matchup, forcing a defensive rotation and feeding a teammate to perfection. Besides, he can also see the pass from the perimeter without having to necessarily dribble past his defender first, finding the open man or rewarding a cutting movement from a teammate. It’s a bit of the same story in transition, showing a natural ability to find a good pass.

There are shortcomings too, of course. Aleksandar is a streaky shooter. He fails to nail his jumpers on a regular basis, although he shows good mechanics, range and the ability to deliver his shots off the dribble. Indeed, there’s nothing significantly wrong with his jumper, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to improve in this department with the proper work.

However, the biggest issue Ugrinoski has to face is his general consistency. He doesn’t always make the best decisions available to him, sometimes falling to establish the right offensive pace or forcing plays to the point that a few times his team fared better with him on the bench. Considering that he’s very young, a 1988 player, you shouldn’t expect a kid like him to play like a veteran, and he certainly has time to learn. Also, he doesn’t look particularly skilled finishing around the basket against opposition, also not looking too comfortable using his left hand in those situations.

It doesn’t matter that much. If Ugrinoski is serious about the game and works hard enough, he should develop into an excellent playmaker who is ready to step onto any basketball court, no matter the level.

Basketball Without Borders in Treviso

Pooh Jeter
Pooh Jeter
Aug 08, 2004, 01:00 am
A very young and promising PG. Already seen at the Reebok Eurocamp, where he impressed with his excellent court vision and the confidence and poise to effectively run a team made up of players several years older than him. He once again showed off his amazing ball-handling skills and passing ability, even if he was sometimes looking for the most spectacular play. The downside is that he has no jump shot at this point and as you might expect from a 16 year old, his body has a long way to go. Could be a very interesting player for the NBA in three years or so, he's first round material for sure, so we'll have more time to evaluate his progress in the future.

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