2008 Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, Days Three and Four June 10, 2008 The Swedish forward ended up having a very nice camp here, showing more offensive versatility and all-around potential than we were able to see at times in Biella this season. He’s added a great deal of weight to his excellent frame, completing a pretty intriguing physical package at the small forward position if his perimeter game continues to progress, as he is a very good athlete with great size for a 3.
Jonathan Givony, DraftExpress
Skill-wise, Jerebko looked comfortable putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim at this camp, showing plenty of confidence and aggressiveness getting to the basket, and even some nice moves adjusting his body to avoid oncoming defenders in mid-flight. He showed a lot of toughness holding his ground inside the paint when bigger players tried to post him up, and displayed decent lateral quickness staying in front of wing players on the perimeter. He’s a fairly tough guy who doesn’t seem afraid to mix things up.
Jerebko’s long-range jumper remains the final piece to the puzzle needed to make the transition to being a full-time perimeter player. His release is fairly slow and even though he can hit shots from behind the arc, it’s too streaky to count on consistently at this point. Regardless, he showed more tools than most of the players at this camp, particularly when long-term potential is taken into consideration, and is someone that teams will look at closely next season in the Italian league to decide if he’s draft-worthy. [Read Full Article]
2008 Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, Day One June 8, 2008 One of the most solid players in the first day of the camp, the Swedish prospect (who plays his ball just a few hours up the road in Biella) showed a nice skill set to go along his excellent physical build. He’s a tall and fairly strong player for the small forward position, with broad shoulders and nice wingspan, while he shows solid athleticism. In terms of skills, he showed nice ability slashing towards the basket, using both hands in the process and some touch to finish with layups around the basket. Perhaps not the most consistent shooter around, he enjoys three-point range and decent form in his shot. He does seem to understand the game pretty well. He’s also working very hard and leaving a very strong impression thus far. [Read Full Article] Blogging through Europe (Part Four: Italy) December 3, 2007 It was just our luck that we got to witness the breakout performance of 6-9 Swedish forward Jonas Jerebko. The 1987-born player has been starting consistently over the past few weeks at the small forward position, but has usually played strictly in the 1st quarter, between 6-8 minutes per contest.
Slowly but surely improving from game to game, Jerebko was able to play 23 minutes this time around, scoring 12 important points (4/6 FG) and grabbing 10 rebounds. He outplayed the more heralded Danilo Gallinari in the matchup of small forward NBA draft prospects, and surely gained a great deal of both confidence and notoriety around Europe in the process. Besides us, also here in attendance to scout him were the Houston Rockets (Sam Hinkie and Gianluca Pascucci), who were actually the first NBA team to come watch him practice this season, as well as the Seattle Supersonics (Massimo Biasin) and the Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Roth).
Jerebko is a 6-9, but physically underdeveloped combo forward who is still coming into his own as a basketball player. An excellent athlete for a European prospect, Jerebko is defined first and foremost by the energy and activity level he brings to the floor, translating into 10 rebounds in this particular game. Both in practice and in the game you could notice the fact that he was constantly around the ball, getting his hands on offensive rebounds and trying to make a difference in the passing lanes. Jerebko has long arms and a decent frame that should fill out decently over the next few years. He is immature physically even for his age group, and it’s not hard to tell his youth on first glance.
The son of an American basketball player of Russian heritage who moved to Sweden to play and later coach (and married a Swedish woman), Jerebko has received some attention already early on in his career. He was offered a contract by Real Madrid before Biella came into the picture, and also had some thoughts of playing college basketball—being recruited by prestigious programs such as Syracuse, Boston College and West Virginia. After an excellent showing in the U-20 Division B European Championships this past summer in Poland, he was offered a three year contract by Biella. He’ll become automatically eligible for the draft in 2009, and if he continues to make progress off what he showed us this past weekend, could receive some consideration to be drafted potentially.
Jerebko is a player who does many things well at the moment, but nothing outstanding yet. His perimeter shot has improved since arriving in Biella, showing good touch and nice (flat-footed) mechanics, although a fairly slow release. He hit the only 3-pointer he attempted in the first quarter, and shot the ball pretty well in practice the day before. Athletic enough to get to the basket using a screen or off one or two short dribbles going either direction, Jerebko’s ball-handling and shot-creating skills could still use work in order to be considered a full-time small forward. He has a high basketball IQ, and this shows in the way he passes the ball and generally conducts himself out on the floor—looking pretty focused for a player with such limited high level European experience. Defensively, he lacks strength in both the lower and upper body—meaning he can’t be considered a great perimeter defender, nor could he avoid being posted up in the game by players such as Danilo Gallinari or Travis Watson.
All in all, Jerebko is an excellent situation to continue to develop as a basketball prospect, and is someone that teams should take note of because of the intriguing tools, talent and upside he brings to the table. Right now he’s taking his first steps in professional basketball, and is just starting to gain the confidence of his coaching staff to be thrown out on the floor in such a demanding environment. He’s making good progress and fairly quickly as well, to it will be interesting to see how he continues to develop. [Read Full Article]
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