Nikita Khartchenkov

It was a bit disappointing that Tim Ohlbrecht wasn't in Douai with the German team, but at least we could witness an excellent shooting outburst delivered by his countryman Nikita Khartchenkov. The 6-7 small forward born in 1987 put on a show in the opener against the USA, knocking down several catch-and-shoot three pointers with the makings of a pure gunner. His terrific mechanics include a nice vertical leap that makes his shot more difficult to guard, speed turning a cut into a jumper as he receives the ball, or great quickness releasing the ball-- it was all spectacular. He even succeeded once in off-the-dribble fashion as he used a couple of static dribbles to get his match-up off guard for the shot.

Khartchenkov enjoys a nice physical set, being a fairly athletic guy with a nice frame and a ripped body. Still, he looked like too much of a one-dimensional player, as he barely could get anything done off the dribble. Besides, we've been told that he's very streaky. Unfortunately, he couldn't disprove that in the second game for us, as he sat out.