Rather unexpectedly, Winterthur F.C.Barcelona brilliantly won the tournament behind a very strong defense and multiple offensive solutions, provided by its talented, deep and expensive roster. Even more unexpectedly, Jordi Trías played his way into winning the tournament MVP. Hes a hard-working power forward who has very much benefited from the demanding style of coaching put in practice by Dusko Ivanovic in Barcelona. In a very cohesive effort, he was one of the steadiest players, and certainly the one who took best advantage of his team's creativity.
With 39 NBA scouts officially accredited from 23 different teams (even if most likely every single NBA team was represented in one way or another), the Spanish Kings Cup is a major showcase for international basketball, probably standing only behind the Euroleague Final Four concerning club competition. Its a very good opportunity for young players to show their abilities and improve their draft stock. Unfortunately, in this edition not many guys succeeded in the process. Lets check how the draft prospects fared in this Kings Cup:
Tiago Splitter
Tau Vitoria, Center, 1985, 7-0
In line with what Splitter had been showing throughout the season, his performance in the Cup could be considered average at best. The Brazilian was certainly more effective last year and even two years ago. Actually, theres no trace left of that intensity spark he used to provide Tau whenever he entered the court, while he hasnt been able to make up for it with a better skill repertoire. His level of activity has decreased, his confidence seems lower than ever and he even looks softer. Whether its his physical issues (he suffered a back injury early in the season) or just mental, the fact is his draft stock is dropping fast, and will keep dropping until he comes up with a solution to his struggles.
Going into more detail, we cant really say there was anything new about his game seen in this Cup. Tiago played mostly off the ball, showing good positioning, but struggling to get the job done once he received the ball, looking slow going up for a layup or dunk and easy to intimidate. The very few times he tried to play one on one in the low post, he didnt look bad, even scoring with a left-handed semi-hook. As expected, his mid-range shot was nowhere to be found. Regarding his slashing game, he looked hesitant a couple of times in the semifinal against Real Madrid, but finally delivered a nice move going left finishing with a short shot off the glass virtually over an opponent. Still only a drop in an ocean. On defense, he was solid as usual, but not spectacular.
Splitter had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in the quarterfinal against Caja San Fernando, improving to 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists against Real Madrid. Not enough for him, not enough for Tau. Indeed, this season he has less competition than ever in his teams inside game, as Kaya Peker is a downgrade over Kornel David and Mirza Teletovic not much more than a marginal contributor, meaning that hes a key piece in this team and the timing for his struggles are coming at the worst moment possible.
Going into more detail, we cant really say there was anything new about his game seen in this Cup. Tiago played mostly off the ball, showing good positioning, but struggling to get the job done once he received the ball, looking slow going up for a layup or dunk and easy to intimidate. The very few times he tried to play one on one in the low post, he didnt look bad, even scoring with a left-handed semi-hook. As expected, his mid-range shot was nowhere to be found. Regarding his slashing game, he looked hesitant a couple of times in the semifinal against Real Madrid, but finally delivered a nice move going left finishing with a short shot off the glass virtually over an opponent. Still only a drop in an ocean. On defense, he was solid as usual, but not spectacular.
Splitter had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in the quarterfinal against Caja San Fernando, improving to 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists against Real Madrid. Not enough for him, not enough for Tau. Indeed, this season he has less competition than ever in his teams inside game, as Kaya Peker is a downgrade over Kornel David and Mirza Teletovic not much more than a marginal contributor, meaning that hes a key piece in this team and the timing for his struggles are coming at the worst moment possible.