Christian Eyenga (1m95 – G – 1989 – DKV Joventut Badalona)

Eyenga did not see that much minutes with DKV Joventut Badalona through out the season. So at a first look, his presence here may be a surprise. The move behind this is however that Eyenga wants to go either undrafted or for a 2nd round spot which would give him more opportunities when being able to move to the NBA one day. First of all, he needs to crack the rotation of Joventut though.

Current mocks: Draftexpress #56 – NBA Draft.net undrafted

Rodrigue Beaubois (1m86 – G – 1988 – Cholet Basket)

Beaubois showed his great combination of athleticism and basketball skills at the Reebok Eurocamp. His shooting remains however a bit suspect at the moment even he has made a great move forward in that area this season. He has definitely nice upside but I have some doubts about his abilities to turn into a PG in the future. The team that will draft him will get a scoring guard with great athletic abilities.

Draftexpress #30 – NBA Draft.net #50

Nando de Colo (1m94 – G – 1987 – Cholet Basket)

Still being listed at more than 2m by some outlets, the guard from Cholet has been officially measured at 1m94 without shoes in Treviso. This does not take away from him his great creativity and passing skills that make him on of the most interesting PG prospects in Europe. He has already signed a deal with Pamesa Valencia according to different reports so that there is the possibility to park for a year or two in Europe. Lacks the athletic potential of Beaubois but has a great shot out of the dribble with a quick release.

Draftexpress #54 – NBA Draft.net undrafted

Omri Casspi (2m04 – F – 1988 – Maccabi Tel Aviv)

The Israeli forward has impressed quite a lot of people during his workouts with his toughness. He got used to play physically by getting lots of minutes with a Euroleague powerhouse. His good speed helped him to beat his man of the dribble in Europe but is this enough for the NBA when his shot does not fall? He looks currently as one of the most promising wings of the draft and he may be the first Israeli player to get drafted and actually play in the NBA.

Draftexpress #26 – NBA Draft.net #23

Henk Norel (2m12 – F/C – 1987 – DKV Joventut Badalona)

Norel was hyped a lot more one year ago and several minor injuries have slowed down his development this year. You have here a hard working big guy who can run the floor extremely well and is a fighter in the paint. He has a very nice shot from outside which he does not use that much for the moment but that gives him interesting offensive potential. Despite showing good athletic abilities, he needs to gain some weight in order to have an impact in the NBA.

Draftexpress #55 – NBA Draft.net undrafted

Milenko Tepic (1m98 – G – 1987 – Partizan Belgrade/Panathinaikos Athens)

The Serbian guard is not what you call a typical NBA prospect. Still he remains eligible due to his age but I doubt that any team will go after him especially as he has signed a deal with Panathinaikos Athens a few weeks ago. Tepic is a tall guard who can play all the 1-2-3 positions. He is a correct athlete but his main asset is his versatility and he has become a correct shooter from behind the three point line.

Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net #57

Emir Preldzic (2m06 – F – 1987 – Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul)

The SF from Fenerbahce had a nice run in the middle of the season for his team. He displays excellent ball handling skills and creativity for a player of his size, something that made his coach play him as a PG during stretches. Currently, he is not really considered as a NBA prospect as his game and physical abilities translate more into the Euroleague type of basketball.

Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net undrafted

Gasper Vidmar (2m10 – C – 1987 – Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul)

Vidmar has not seen the same development than Preldzic with Fenerbahce. Vidmar plays the Center position and his statistical progression has stopped this year in the Euroleague. This has of course not helped him to improve his draft stock and most of the observers don’t see a future for him in the NBA right now.

Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net undrafted

Victor Claver (2m04 – F – 1988 – Pamesa Valencia)

The Spanish forward had his season shortened by a broken leg but he is however in the Draft this year. His newly signed deal with Pamesa Valencia indicates also why he has chosen this option, getting drafted below the first round in order to be able to sign an open deal with a NBA team when he ever joins the league. He has the tools to do so but the next season in Spain will show how strong he can come back after this year.

Draftexpress #33 – NBA Draft.net #24

Sergio Llull (1m90 – G – 1987 – Real Madrid)

The Spanish guard showed a great season this year and he may end up in the Draft this week. Llull has tremendous speed and leaping abilities for a European player and his three point shot has made some interesting breaks for Real Madrid this season. His is very present in defense and offensively can create a lot of scoring in shots stretches. He may become a very interesting role player for a NBA team that creates the right situation for him.

Draftexpress #42 – NBA Draft.net #44

Ricky Rubio (1m92 – G – 1990 – DKV Joventut Badalona)

The top European talent in this Draft and even for the whole decade is Ricky Rubio. Everything has been said about the Spanish phenomenon already; great defensive instincts, fantastic drive and creativity and difficulties to shot out of the dribble. The question that remains is if Rubio will be able to lead a NBA team at his young age.

Draftexpress #4 – NBA Draft.net #2

Jonas Jerebko (2m06 – F – 1987 – Angelico Biella)

The Swedish forward has developed into a very interesting player over the last years. Being 2m06 tall and playing the SF, he has all the tools to be successful in the NBA. He has grown step by step by concentrating on his role, long distance shooting and aggressiveness attacking the basket. Jerebko may stay another year in Europe though to progress with a Euroleague team before joining the NBA.

Draftexpress #29 – NBA Draft.net #28

Rudy Mbemba (1m81 – G – 1987 – Vanoli Soresina)

The tiny PG is the second Swedish player that is available for the NBA Draft this year. He has been a player observed for years now and still the doubts remain if he can ever develop enough to be a player to be asked to run the PG. His outstanding athletic abilities are a major asset for him in Europe but don’t make him that special in the United States.  His decision making and shooting selection has improved this year but is it enough to see a team make a gamble on him?

Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net undrafted

Sergiy Gladyr (1m96 – G – 1988 – Mykolaiv)

The Ukrainian sharp shooter had one of the better showing during the Reebok Eurocamp which probably was the reason for him to stay in the Draft. Being represented by Comsport as agency is probably another reason as the team around Bouna N’Diaye is known for getting players in the right light to be drafted. Gladyr is a great scoring guard with interesting athletic capabilities but who has currently a certain lack of experience of high level basketball as he only played for a medium-level Ukrainian team.

Draftexpress #49 – NBA Draft.net #48

Vyacheslav “Slava” Kravtsov (2m12 – C – 1987 – BC Kyiv)

The Ukrainian Center may have a decent chance to hear his name called on Thursday as he offers a good physical built and jumping abilities to play as a role player in the NBA. He can make the difference with his rebound and shot blocking on the defense end while his offensive game is still improving.

Draftexpress #60 – NBA Draft.net #52

NBA Draft 2009: the European candidates is a post from: European Prospects
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Mbemba still impresses with a great physical built which is clearly above average for European standards. In a recent interview with a our friends at Svensk Basket Television, he admitted that he even gained 12kg of muscles in order to be ready for the NBA challenge.

Next to his short size (1m83), the main question on Mbemba is of course his understanding of the game and the possibility to play the Point Guard position. His shooting percentages have developed into a very good territory right now from what they have been the previous seasons; he turns currently at a correct 55.9% from 2FG and a good 37.5% from behind the arc. However, his FT shooting is dramatic with only 46.2%.

A first thing that you see is that Mbemba has improved his shooting selection, at least in the games I saw. And the improved percentages show that he only takes shots that he feels comfortable in. His three point shot in catch and shoot fashion looks correct right now and you don’t see him too often to go for these out-of-dribble shots anymore. The association with Troy Bell, who is another typical scoring guard forces Mbemba to play a pass first guard and you see during the games that Mbemba tries to force himself into a role that is not his inborn type of playing basketball.

And sometimes, his out-of-control style of play comes back again. Mbemba has no problem to beat his man of the dribble, but what comes out of these situations is often not a positive thing for the team. He sees his cutters pretty well, the problem is though that he tries to go for difficult passes for himself or for the cutter to catch. Several times, he tried to find back door alley-oop passes in traffic for his wings. These attempts ended more often out of bounds than in a high light real.

Out of his penetrations, Mbemba barely tries to go for the score as he has no real move to score of the drive. You never see him go for a running floater or tear drops, nor for a controlled jump shot. This lack in his offensive play limits him badly as he can not really play as a scoring guard because of these difficulties. With the gained muscular mass, he looks also a bit slower than he was before but still this is not really a handicap right now.

Finally, Mbemba probably needs to develop into a defensive stopper if he wants to become a better player than he is right now. He has all the tools to do so but he looks not all that focused on that side of the court. Being caught in pick-and-roll situations on LegaDue level shows that he really needs to improve in this area but it may be the specialty that he needs to develop to raise his level. The positive thing is that you see him progress, step by step. The control of the game is however still the part that he needs to develop the most if he wants to become a PG on a higher level.

With the LegaDue Finals going on to at least a fourth game to be played on Sunday 7th June, Mbemba’s presence at this year’s Reebok Eurocamp is excluded so that he can not use his year-long showcase to impress the NBA scouts. However, the NBA teams interested in him and present in Europe because of the camp will certainly take the opportunity to make the trip inside Italy to go scout Mbemba in a competitive setting.

Rudy Mbemba is finally in the Draft is a post from: European Prospects
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France-Germany

Nando de Colo is probably one of the most interesting names out of this list when it comes to NBA Draft chances, at least according to the Mock experts. After a summer between rumors sending him to Dynamo and his first game with the French NT (28pts 9/9FG), de Colo has to come back to Cholet and drive his team to the same success than it had last year with winning the Semaine des As.

Johannes Lischka is the main man when it comes to 1987 talent in Germany. The strong forward from Giessen 46ers is an important rotation in the system of head coach Simon Cote on the SF position and he showed during the preseason some very impressive stretches on the court. Nowhere close to be an NBA talent but certainly an interesting player for the future.

Nicolai Simon is a special case and also a personal favorite. The 1987 born PG signed a few years ago at ALBA Berlin and had a very promising first season. But a severe injury stopped his progression totally and now after nearly a 1 year break, Simon is back… in the third division. After he made some interesting games with the German B National team during the Summer, ALBA let him go back to Ehingen to gain some playing time this season and then come back. And Dirk Bauermann has high hopes of bringing Simon to the Senior NT soon as he explained in an interview today.

Spain-Italy

Luigi Da Tome is currently not sure about where he is going to play next season. He is still under contract with Montepaschi Siena but it is not sure if he comes back to Mens Sana Basket this season after his loan. The thing is that Roma wants to buy him out of the remaining two years of his contract and MPS can not guarantee him the necessary playing time probably. So we have to see how his situation continues.

Henk Norel is stepping up big in the preseason for Joventut Badalona. It looks like the Dutch Power Forward can make an interesting impact in the Euroleague right from the start. His versatile play may give him some backup minutes behind the experienced Hernandez-Sonseca and Pops Mensah-Bonsu. On the other hand, his correct shot may give him also the opportunity to play on the wing together with Jan-Hendrik Jagla.

Jonas Jerebko comes of a very successful Eurobasket campaign with the Swedish National team in Division B where he was the best rebounder and 2nd best scorer of the team. Now he tries to use the gained confidence in order to improve with Angelico Biella in Italy this season.

Sergi Llull may be on the edge of his development into a Euroleague players this season. The athletic guard of Real Madrid should see some minutes after the departure of Kerem Tunceri as back-up of Pepe Sanchez and Raul Lopez when Real plays against bigger guards.

Pau Ribas will discover the Euroleague this season with Badalona and form an excitingly young back-court at Joventut together with Ricky Rubio. His driving and good pick and roll play will help him as well as his excellent long distance shot.

Greece-Turkey

Dimitris Verginis made a big step by signing with Panathinaikos this summer. Now the question is if he sees any minute with the Euroleague powerhouse because the roster is so packed on the guard positions that I personally don’t see a lot of room for him. However, a year practicing with some of the best PGs in Europe is not the worst thing to happen.

Oguz Savas is slowly but steadily improving his numbers in the Euroleague with his unathletic but very effective style. With Omer Asik out and Semih Erden apparently injured too, Savaz remains the only true center on Fenerbahce’s roster and should see extended minutes in the beginning of the season.

Other countries

Rudy Mbemba is now moving to Italy after a season in his home country Sweden where he put up big numbers. Now he tries to finally translate his talent to the next level and Rieti will offer him the opportunity. Still considered by some as an NBA prospect, Mbemba struggles as PG and is too short to play as SG. We will see if he improves in this area this season after playing a whole season as PG in Solna.

Season Preview: 1987 generation (Part 2) is a post from: European Prospects
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Oleksandr Kolchenko (1m96 – Shooting Guard – 1988 – Khimik)

The Ukrainian Guard did a good job during the days in Treviso and showed why he is considered as one of the best pure shooters in Europe. With his picture perfect shot from behind the arc, he came up with solid performances throughout the camp and exploded with one 22pts performance where he hit 5 out 7 3pt attempts. He has already a very well developed upper body and big arms. He can hit multiple threes in a row and has long range. Due to correct athleticism, he can also shoot over bigger guys if needed.

Kolchenko also showed several drives to the basket where he mostly tried to come until the rim. He never really showed some in-between game or any kind of out of the dribble mid-distance jump shot. But his big scoring capabilities from behind the arc and his still young age make him a sure bet for a good Euroleague role player with his shooting skills.

Mantas Kalnietis (1m96 – Point Guard – 1986 – Zalgiris Kaunas)

Kalnietis started the camp a bit shaky with some bad decisions and bad shooting. But with the days going on, the days became better for the Lithuanian PG who is automatically eligible for the NBA Draft this year. Easily one of the best athletes in his generation, Kalnietis excels in the drives to the basket where he can score in traffic with his great leaping ability and dish it of when the help comes. Still, he sometimes struggles to make the correct choice in the right moment. When he goes to the basket, he can score with both hands with good touch of the glass.

Kalnietis started to take better shots the last days of the camp and also knocked them down. His game will however remain more penetration-driven than being a huge threat from outside. Another thing to add is that Kalnietis did not display real leader skills, something he should acquire and use in such situations where he is one of the most experienced players.

Alexey Shved (1m95 – Guard – 1988 – CSKA Moscow)

Alexey Shved was once again amazing and show his incredible feel for the game of basketball. With his sweet shooting touch, he came up with several impressive games and saved the best for last and a 8/15 effort from behind the arc. He can hit the threes in every way, out of the dribble or catch and shot are no problems for him. Despite a still very thin and underdeveloped body, Shved can drive and score against the big guys using a good leaping ability. He can even go for some surprising dunks in the traffic.

What Shved is still missing is the experience. After one season on the bench for CSKA, next year Alexey needs finally to get some serious playing time on a good level in order to develop his excellent skills and fulfill his potential. A loan to another Russian team like for Ponkrashov could help Alexey to develop. But also some changes will be made in CSKA rosters so that Shved’s role could increase during the next season.

Anton Ponkrashov (2m00 – Point Guard – 1986 – Khimky Moscow)

Another player that started the camp badly was Anton Ponkrashov who forced a lot of plays. Is it some pressure he puts on himself in order to impress the NBA scouts or has his game changed that much over the season in Khimky? Because his court-vision and passing skills were nowhere to be seen and the Russian guard relied mainly on his scoring skills during the games.

Because he has excellent playmaking skills, and he knows how to use, but unfortunately, he only showed them in a few rare moments. The other time he tried to impose a game that seems not to be his instead of playing what he really excels in. You could also see him several times being very loud on the court and talking aggressively to his team mates when they did not catch a pass or did something wrong.

Jaka Klobucar (1m98 – Shooting Guard – 1987 – Geoplin Slovan)

Klobucar is a favorite of the author for several years now but that is not the only reason why I mention him here. The Slovenian guard showed once again his excellent basketball fundamentals which means nice left handed long distance shot and great court-vision and passing skills. Klobucar is perfect when he comes off screens and receives the ball from his left to catch, turn and shoot the three pointer even with a defender in his face.

Because of his great size, he has a pretty good court-vision and can go for nice two handed passes for cutters or the big guys. Neither the fastest, nor the most athletic guy in the camp, his all around physicals are great. Klobucar will probably move to a bigger team next season despite still being under contract with Geoplin Slovan in Slovenia since his youngest days.

Dusan Mladjan (1m98 – Shooting Guard – 1986 – Lugano Tigers)

One of the big surprises in the camp to me was the Swiss-Serbian guard Dusan Mladjan. Having never heard anything about him before, Mladjan showed a nice arsenal of scoring skills with 3pt range, mid range jumpers and fast breaks. On the downside, Mladjan has some problems in the ball handling area which makes him limited when it comes to drives. Still, it was a good showing by him in Treviso in general and he could be interesting for some bigger teams than his actual Swiss squad.

Rudy Mbemba (1m81 – Point Guard – 1987 – Solna Vikings)

The years go by and Rudy Mbemba is still in Treviso. And the problem is that you don’t see any real progression in Rudy’s game. Still, he is extremely athletic and has incredible speed. But what about some game control, improved shooting or playmaking duties. Mbemba will probably remain an athletic phenomenon if he does not work on his game. Because he has the tools to develop into an excellent player as he has the handles to play the point. But he needs to use his quickness in a more effective way in order to reach anywhere the potential he is.

Goran Dragic is also worth to be mentioned but he did only play one day in the camp. The game he was on the floor, he showed all what we knew from him before. Excellence in running the fast break, huge athletic skills and a long distance shot that is still not his force. However, he can be considered as having showed the best performances of the camp in the guard area together with Alexey Shved.

Reebok Eurocamp Treviso 2008: the Guards is a post from: European Prospects
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• Rudy Mbemba is once again the highest jumping (38″ vertical) and the fastest guy (2.51 sec for the half court sprint) in the camp. But he is also once again showing that he still struggles to make the difference between precipitation and speed in game situation.
• Serge Ibaka is probably the best combination between size and athletic skills here in Treviso. If he adds now at least a bit of ball handling skills, he can be a very interesting player in the future.
• The Reebok All-Stars of today’s game against the French U20 team were: Rudy Mbemba, Ivan Paunic, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Serge Ibaka, Dusan Katnic, Henk Norel, Vladimir Dasic, Jaka Klobucar, Semen Shashkov and Viacheslav Kravtsov.
• The players that gave a good impression to me today were Vladimir Dasic (showing a nice mix between basketball skills, physical build and shooting touch), Oleksandr Kolchenko (nice jump shooter, especially from three point area with big upper body), Nikita Kurbanov (all around skills, great defense and good basketball IQ) and Alexey Shved (perfect high shooting mechanics, great work in rebound and control of the game).
• Thomas Heurtel showed with the French U20 why he was the MVP of the Trophée du Futur and how he made an astonishing 25pts, 15asts and 7rebs performance in the Finals. He came up with a very interesting showing today against the Reebok All-Stars.
• For me, it is the first time that I attend such a camp. It is really a good possibility to see a lot of different prospects. But still, the game situations are not comparable with real match-ups as you see that lots of players prefer to go for the nice plays instead of playing “real” basketball.

Today’s picks (live from Reebok Eurocamp Treviso) is a post from: European Prospects
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Rudy Mbemba

Rodrigue Beaubois

Giorgi Shermadini

Euro-workouts in Portland is a post from: European Prospects
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Alexis Ajinca
Outlook: will stay in the Draft and will probably go in the 1st round

Nicolas Batum
Outlook: will stay in the Draft and can go for a lottery pick. According to the different mocks, his stock was dropping however the last weeks.

Rodrigue Beaubois
Outlook: is in the pool for the 2nd time after his surprising declaration last year which gave him a huge buzz. This season, Beaubois is doing pretty well and could stay in if he gets a promise

Mikheil Berishvili
Outlook:???

Omri Casspi
Outlook: boosted his stock during the season with some very interesting performances. But will take his name out probably and go for another season playing in Europe

Victor Claver
Outlook: testing the waters in my opinion and we will see his name dropping out before the deadline

Nando de Colo
Outlook: probably testing the waters to see how high he can go. Played an outstanding season so his stock may be at its highest point right now.

Danilo Gallinari
Outlook: lottery pick

Serge Ibaka
Outlook: has to go for a good camp in Treviso in order to keep the buzz on him alive.

Sergey Ilin
Outlook: unknown but 7″6 tall

Jonas Jerebko
Outlook: a little surprise to see his name here. Jerebko will only test the waters and show his skills at the Reebok Treviso Camp and drop out

Mladen Jeremic
Outlook: another surprising name in this list. The same that coutns for Jerebko will also count for Jeremic: name advertising, Treviso, drop out

Maxym Korniyenko
Outlook: ???

Luc Louves
Outlook: did not see any minutes in France but could go for a Beaubois-like buzz 2008 edition

Rudy Mbemba
Outlook: has been in the Draft process for ages and played a great season in Sweden. But is that enough to stay in the candidate list?

Henk Norel
Outlook: Steady progess over the last years for the Dutch big man. He can use Treviso to show his potential and maybe some team falls in love with him like Joel Freeland

Maxim Sheleketo
Outlook: I am very surprised to see him here but this maybe the Latvian VEF Riga attack to the NBA.

Giorgi Shermadini
Outlook: has a promise for the 1st round according to his agent so he will stay in the Draft

Ante Tomic
Outlook: is this year the year of Ante Tomic? Maybe a 2nd round spot is the ideal for him so that he can develop 2 more years in a top European team.

Maksym Vilkhovetskyi
Outlook: name dropping and testing the waters. He will hit some threes in Treviso and take his name out.

Ronalds Zakis
Outlook: cf. Sheleketo

European Early-entrants for the 2008 NBA Draft is a post from: European Prospects
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Danilo Gallinari (8th)

The Italian forward is improving his Draft stock with the different mocks and moved several places higher in the Ranking. He is definitely the Number 1 pick from Europe right now according to the different sites in our review. NBAdraft.net is still having him behind Batum but “il Gallo” is the man right now.

Nicolas Batum (11th)

Not a lot of changing for Batum who remains with a predicted averaged 11th place but sled behind Danilo Gallinari. The last four games in the French league were impressive for the 1988 born forward as he averaged 14ppg 6.3rpg and 4.5apg to lead Le Mans to a 10-1 streak over the last weeks. Since the end of the Euroleague, his mediatic presence may have decreased but he is now preparing to lead Le Mans to the French title.

Omer Asik (37th)

A big gap between the two top prospects and the rest and we have a new third highest ranked player with Omer Asik. Pretty unknown before this season, Asik is constantly moving up the different Mocks and is now even a first round pick for some of them. His still improving performances in the Euroleague are certainly not passing the eyes of the NBA scouts and he might end up around a 30th place in June.

Nikola Pekovic (40th)

The weeks follow and the performances of Pekovic maintain as well. Also in our review, he improved just one spot from 41 to 40 and he is considered throughout the panel as a legit early second rounder. He has one of his most important games ahead this week in the Euroleague as he can help Partizan to qualify for the Top8 playoffs which would be a big surprise.

Serge Ibaka (41st)

Still not considered as a Draft pick this year for Draftexpress and Basketdraft, Ibaka remains a consensus second rounder for 2008 even if those that have him in their Mocks see him at the end of the first round. Far away from dominating in the 2nd Spanish league, the Congolese born forward is still all about potential right now. The next season may be determinant for his future if he moves up to a higher ranked team in European hierarchy eventually.

Semih Erden (45th)

Yet another member of the impressive Fenerbahce Ülker frontcourt and also a nice progression over the season for him. Moving up from 51 to 45 is nearly the top performance of this month in the different Draft boards. Erden, who is back from his little injuries is still contending for a Euroleague Top8 spot and his athletic play should help his team to move to the next round.

Goran Dragic (47th)

Despite still lots of ups and downs, Dragic has maintained an interesting scoring level over the last few weeks in the Adriatic league. Still not a major assist deliverer, his athletic capabilities are interesting on the European level but average for a NBA point guard. It is Draft year for him, so he will probably be present at some workouts but they will coincide with the preparation of the Slovenian NT for the Olympic qualifier in Athens.

Rodrigue Beaubois (48th)

Another upmover in the person of Rodrigue Beaubois who is coming seriously back from his injury at the beginning of the season. Heavily athletic,he averaged more than 20 minutes per game over the last weeks with Cholet and he is now a regular contributor for the surprising French team. Still not being considered by half of the Mocks, he will probably enter the race when the Draft is approaching.

Anton Ponkrashov (52nd)

Another nice move up for the Russian guard who is playing a great season away from his hometeam CSKA Moscow in Khimky. While Draftexpress and NBADraft.net are particularly high on him, some other Mocks do not have him at all in their Top 60 predictions. As he is automatically eligible this season, Ponkrashov comes up with his best basketball in the right moment.

Ante Tomic (53rd)

The talented big guy from Croatia is still not being considered as one of the top prospects in Europe despite a perfect set of basketball skills. He is playing in the somehow anonymity of KK Zagreb and so his individual performances are not at the top of the radar of the media coverage. However, he came up as DX’s European Prospect of the week but still he is not on the board for a lot of people as the consensus goes for a 2009 Draft for him.

Alexis Ajinca (58th)

Still only one Mock that has him in for 2008, and that even in the First Round. NBA Draft.net is particularly high on him and his limited performances since the Semaine de As did not hit his stock as one could expect. He has of course still high extremely intriguing athletic potential, now he has to become a regular contributor on the French national level.

Mantas Kalnietis (59th)

Kalnietis’ numbers are improving the last weeks and so does his Draft stock. Undrafted in our latest consensus, he has now entered the board. Also a 1986 born player, he has to come up big in the next weeks if he wants to remain in the race for the Draft spots.

Undrafted: Peja Samardziski, Rudy Mbemba

The European Prospects Mock Draft Review is a post from: European Prospects
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For the 1986 born players, I want to select this week Luca Vitali. His numbers are probably not overwhelming but he is leading a small team to a great second place in the first Italian league for the moment. The 2m01 tall guard is displaying very regular performances and averaged 12.0ppg over the last four games and also added 2.0apg in the tough Italian league. Probably not the best athlete in the world, Vitali lives from his excellent size for the guard play and a very high Basketball knowledge. (UPDATE:Vitali’s game winning shot in Pesaro from the 17th February)

For the 1987 category, it is actually very tough to make a choice as there are several players that would be worth of mentioning. Last month’s winner Nando de Colo is continuing at his actual pace. The dynamic duo of Sibenka Sibenik Luka Drezga-Zoran Vrkic is demolishing anything that comes on their way in the Croatian league at the moment. But one guy I want to point out here for his actual numbers is the Swedish PG Rudy Mbemba. We talked already several times about his ups and downs but he has established himself now as one of the top performers of the Swedish league. He led his team to a 15 victories in a row until the defeat this weekend against Akropol. 18.3ppg, 5.6rpg and 5.3apg speak in his favor at the moment and his three point shooting has attended an acceptable percentage with 34.6%. Still turning the ball over like 3 times a game but with the huge minutes he is getting, his experience should have increased significantly.

As you probably see, I go this month for some unusual choices and I continue in the 1988 category. Of course, I could have chosen Nicolas Batum or Danilo Gallinari. But I wanted to mention the interesting performance of Adrien Moerman in the 2nd French division. The 2m00 tall forward is actually playing in Nanterre and sees very big minutes which he uses at will. 15ppg and 10rpg are the numbers that he is putting on the board over the last weeks. His move from Roanne in the ProB was probably the right choice for him, even if he could not feel the Euroleague this season for this. But he showed what his actual level is and he should come back to the ProA next season and play a major role.

For the 1989 born players, of course the actual stand out is Serge Ibaka. The athletic forward from Congo is being hyped a lot around the net for the moment because of his excellent size-athleticism combination. He had a career game this month with 27pts, 11rebs and 4 blocks in a tough home loss against Alicante. There are still a lot of ups and downs in his games, but he is only born in 1989 and playing in the LEB Oro at that age is already a huge recognition.

Finally, the youngest players in the voting are always the 1990 born kids. While we still have here Ricky Rubio who is above all, I want to go for another kid that was shining in the month of February. Being elected Youngster of the month in Germany, Maurice Stuckey had an astonishing month with 17.6ppg in the third German league. His improvement was excellent in the half year he is now with Ehingen and he should be ready to be one of the leaders of the team next season. He will also be one of the leaders of the German U18 team at the AST later this month.

Prospect of the month: February 2008 is a post from: European Prospects
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Rudy Mbemba was actually known for being an undersized PG who can not control the game and has no shot. He excelled more with his incredible athletic abilities. So seeing him make 7out of 11 three point attempts, dishing out 7 assists and only turning the ball over 3 times in 33 minutes must have been one of his best games in his career.

What made this even more interesting was the fact that this game is available as a stream on the website of the Swedish basketball league. (BTW, there are weekly games available as Stream of the Swedish League) And Rudy started the game like I knew him with some difficult drives on put back attempts. But then he started netting his shots.

The game also features another interesting player in the person of the 1986 born US-British forward Oladapo “Dee” Ayuba, who is a former University of Missouri – Kansas City student.

Rudy Mbemba with a career night is a post from: European Prospects
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