Euroleague NBA Prospects Part One, the Veterans
#1 Nicolas Batum
6-8, Small Forward, 1988, Le Mans (France)
Luis Fernandez
After blossoming in the youth categories over the past few months (earning MVP honors in the European Junior Championship this summer), the timing couldnt be any better for his team Le Mans to make its debut in the Euroleague. It will be a perfect scenario for Nicolas Batum to showcase his excellent abilities and terrific potential. We should be able to see him enjoying already regular minutes despite his youth, not only considering the limited talent that Le Mans enjoys, but also because Batum is already a useful guy for this team.
If we combine his skills and physical set, Batum has little competition among international prospects. Hes a long and very athletic wing, still a bit skinny, but who enjoys a very nice frame. At 6-8, hes even capable of playing in the backcourt, although he seems better suited for the small forward position.
Most of the stuff Batum does on the court seems to come effortlessly. Hes a very fluid player, fundamentally sound, able to find good solutions in most situations thanks to his very complete skill set. A nice ball-handler, Nicolas can take the ball to the hoop showing a good first step, footwork and quickness, and finishes near the basket either with layups or dunks, taking advantage of his athleticism and body control while in the air. Batum is a solid passer who also shares the ball after splitting defenses and shows criteria moving it in the offensive flow. Hes a smart guy with nice basketball IQ. Not the best shooter around, he is at least a very decent one and enjoys really solid foundations nevertheless. Showing good mechanics and the ability to shot off the dribble (with a move thats really hard to stop), he will likely become a very productive player in this area.
Defense is not a problem for Batum either. Perhaps he can eventually get outmuscled at the Euroleague level, but he has terrific tools to match up against his rivals, as hes a quick guy in terms of lateral movement, is really long with an excellent wingspan that can be very annoying for his rivals, and shows the right attitude.
The biggest point of concern for Batum revolves around his coolness on court. He tends to disappear too often. He can enchain a bunch of spectacular plays and then go completely unnoticed. Hes not the most active guy on the basketball court when it comes to taking responsibilities. However, its not that much of a problem at this level, as he wont be asked by any means to assume a very significant role. He only needs to play good defense (which he usually does), be smart on the offensive end (not a problem for him), commit as few mistakes as possible (hes quite a reliable player) and take advantage whenever he has a good scoring opportunity (well see how he fares here).
Alongside Ricky Rubio, hes perhaps the player with the biggest potential in the Euroleague.
If we combine his skills and physical set, Batum has little competition among international prospects. Hes a long and very athletic wing, still a bit skinny, but who enjoys a very nice frame. At 6-8, hes even capable of playing in the backcourt, although he seems better suited for the small forward position.
Most of the stuff Batum does on the court seems to come effortlessly. Hes a very fluid player, fundamentally sound, able to find good solutions in most situations thanks to his very complete skill set. A nice ball-handler, Nicolas can take the ball to the hoop showing a good first step, footwork and quickness, and finishes near the basket either with layups or dunks, taking advantage of his athleticism and body control while in the air. Batum is a solid passer who also shares the ball after splitting defenses and shows criteria moving it in the offensive flow. Hes a smart guy with nice basketball IQ. Not the best shooter around, he is at least a very decent one and enjoys really solid foundations nevertheless. Showing good mechanics and the ability to shot off the dribble (with a move thats really hard to stop), he will likely become a very productive player in this area.
Defense is not a problem for Batum either. Perhaps he can eventually get outmuscled at the Euroleague level, but he has terrific tools to match up against his rivals, as hes a quick guy in terms of lateral movement, is really long with an excellent wingspan that can be very annoying for his rivals, and shows the right attitude.
The biggest point of concern for Batum revolves around his coolness on court. He tends to disappear too often. He can enchain a bunch of spectacular plays and then go completely unnoticed. Hes not the most active guy on the basketball court when it comes to taking responsibilities. However, its not that much of a problem at this level, as he wont be asked by any means to assume a very significant role. He only needs to play good defense (which he usually does), be smart on the offensive end (not a problem for him), commit as few mistakes as possible (hes quite a reliable player) and take advantage whenever he has a good scoring opportunity (well see how he fares here).
Alongside Ricky Rubio, hes perhaps the player with the biggest potential in the Euroleague.