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	<title>European Prospects &#187; Ricky Rubio</title>
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	<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com</link>
	<description>News about Young European Basketball Prospects</description>
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		<title>What&#8217;s the plan for Rubio?</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/whats-the-plan-for-rubio/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/whats-the-plan-for-rubio/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ACB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Copa del Rey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/whats-the-plan-for-rubio/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the Copa del Rey 2011 done, it is about time to take a look at some of the most regarded prospects of the last years. The same plaudits that were delivered to 20-year-old point guard Ricky Rubio today are the same ones that he was showered with at the 2009 NBA Draft: his ball-handling [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/whats-the-plan-for-rubio/">What&rsquo;s the plan for Rubio?</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
<br>
Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the Copa del Rey 2011 done, it is about time to take a look at some of the most regarded prospects of the last years. The same plaudits that were delivered to 20-year-old point guard <strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> today are the same ones that he was showered with at the 2009 NBA Draft: his ball-handling skills are uncanny, he has excellent vision and stellar court vision.</p>
<p><span id="more-2425"></span>But <a href="http://www.betus.com/sports-betting/nba-basketball/">basketball betting</a> fans know that many of the same questions about him also linger, such will his shot improve and will he ever come to the NBA? Rubio was drafted fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves and while there was – and will be – rampant speculation of a trade, he is their prospect until further notice.</p>
<p>Rubio’s value was at an all-time high at that draft and a lot of people didn’t understand the Timberwolves draft strategy to draft him, then Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn and then North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson. But then the Timberwolves traded Lawson and Rubio stayed in Europe, so the picture became a little clearer.</p>
<p>But as with most NBA teams, if their players plan to stay in Europe, they would like to see them develop and improve on their weaknesses. For Rubio, that hasn’t been the case so far.</p>
<p>There’s no question that he makes plenty of jaw-dropping plays in the open court but his shot is still weak. He is shooting just 23.9% from the three-point line in the 20 ACB games with <a href="http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/basquet/index.html">FC Barcelona</a> after shooting 40.0% last season in the Spanish League. In the Euroleague, the accuracy is even worse as the netted only 5 out of 28 attempts from behind the arc. His impact on the team is not as high as expected and the recent games during the Copa del Rey underlined this (with exception of the semi-final). The problem is that there is no visible progress on his shooting mechanics that still look very underdeveloped and the fluid jump shot is far from being there.</p>
<p>The second question is whether he will ever come over to North America. Rubio is still very young and there is definitely no rush but he doesn’t seem overly excited to play in Minnesota. Rumors have linked him to the New York Knicks and that appears to be where he wants to go to play with former European coach, Mike D’Antoni. That could potentially speed up his transition to the United States if the Knicks were able to acquire him.</p>
<p>Until then, it looks like Rubio plans to stay in Europe just working on his shot.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/whats-the-plan-for-rubio/">What&rsquo;s the plan for Rubio?</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
<br>
Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
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		<title>Euroleague 2010/2011 Preview: Group C</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/euroleague-20102011-preview-group-c/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/euroleague-20102011-preview-group-c/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Oct 2010 20:55:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bojan Bogdanovic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christophe Leonard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonas Valanciunas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leon Radosevic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mario Delas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tomislav Zubcic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Euroleague]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karlo Vragovic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maxim Can Mutaf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simas Buterlevicius]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/euroleague-20102011-preview-group-c/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Group C of the Euroleague 2010/2011 features some of the most interesting young big men in Europe and several potential NBA Draft candidates. Additionally, Ricky Rubio is also active with his FC Barcelona in this group and the games of these 6 teams will certainly attract a large number of NBA scouts over the [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/euroleague-20102011-preview-group-c/">Euroleague 2010/2011 Preview: Group C</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
<br>
Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Group C of the Euroleague 2010/2011 features some of the most interesting young big men in Europe and several potential NBA Draft candidates. Additionally, Ricky Rubio is also active with his FC Barcelona in this group and the games of these 6 teams will certainly attract a large number of NBA scouts over the season.</p>
<p><span id="more-1878"></span>
<p><strong>Lietuvos Rytas</strong></p>
<p>The number 1 big man prospect in Europe is of course the Lithuanian center <strong>Jonas Valanciunas</strong>. The 1992 born dominated the U18 European Championship this summer and won the Gold Medal in Lithuania with a stellar performance. Valanciunas will see major minutes with Rytas this season and will give them a necessary athletic component. With his presence in the rebound and shot blocking, the 2m10 tall player will try to make his first steps in the toughest European competition. The first game against Fenerbahce Ülker tonight showed that he can already be a good factor on this level despite some deficits when he has to defend or score against more physical players. But with his built, it is only a question of time until Valanciunas should be able to dominate the paint of the Lithuanian team. He is probably already an option for the Senior National team looking forward to the 2011 Eurobasket in Lithuania.</p>
<p>
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<p><strong>Simas Buterlevicus</strong> is a 1989 born forward who probably will only see garbage minutes with Lietuvos Rytas this season. </p>
<p><strong>Cibona Zagreb</strong></p>
<p><strong>Bojan Bogdanovic</strong> continues where he started last season, scoring the basketball for Cibona Zagreb. With the departure of Marko Tomas, he is the first scoring option for the Croatian team and he has responded with 23.7ppg in the first three Adriatic League games. The 1989 born forward has good control over his drives and shows some court-vision to kick the ball out to the open man when needed. He is not at his best when he needs to attack the basket against taller player and therefore mainly uses the outside and mid-range game to score. His jump shot looks really nice with a quick release but the release point is not very high as he does only jump as high as needed when taking the shot. Defensively, he needs to improve his lateral quickness in order to defend smaller players. </p>
<p>
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<p>Going a few years back, <strong>Leon Radosevic</strong> looked like an athletic but offensively pretty raw inside player. Now, he is the second scorer of Cibona Zagreb at the age of 20 by concentrating on what he can do best: rebound on both ends of the floor, fight and score close to the basket. The progress that Radosevic has made stats-wise is impressive over the last 2 years and he is just one step away from being a full member of the Croatian Senior National Team. With his constant progress, he will be on the radar of the NBA teams in the next two years as well as the number of 2m08 tall pure inside players with good athletic and scoring abilities are not that common in Europe.</p>
<p><strong>Mario Delas</strong> has been an author’s favorite a few year’s ago where he looked like a very versatile PF with excellent ball-handling skills, a good drive to the basket and great length and overall basketball understanding. After having moved to Zalgiris Kaunas last summer, he has now been loaned back home to Croatia and will play his minutes with Cibona Zagreb this season. However, he had some kind of a rusty start into the new season with his shot not falling and a lot of defensive fouls. He will share his minutes with Drago Pasalic on the PF position and this should not prevent him from getting a lot of quality minutes in the Euroleague this season. With his overall skill-set, Delas should be able to develop into a full-time Euroleague contributor already this season.</p>
<p><strong>Tomislav Zubcic</strong> has long been considered as the main talent out of the three Croatian 1990 born big guys. However, his development has not gone forward with the same speed than for the two above mentioned but this season seems now to be the one where Zubcic will finally get regular minutes on the highest level. Zubcic features excellent speed and ball handling abilities for a nearly seven footer. However, a poor shot selection and missing toughness were the characteristics that we remember as well from him. Cibona gives him the chance to show that he has improved over the last year but the first results from Adriatic League do not look really consistent as he scores only at 38.1% from 2 and did not even convert a single three pointer in the opening games.</p>
<p><strong>Karlo Vragovic</strong> is a 1989 born back-up on the guard positions with only some limited impact on the team so far this season.</p>
<p><strong>Cholet Basket</strong></p>
<p><strong>Christophe Leonard</strong> is the player to watch with Cholet Basket this season. The 1990 born forward is seeing back-up minutes for the French team and we considered him already as one of the <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/andrew-albicy/5-players-to-follow-this-season-in-the-french-proa/" target="_blank">Top5 prospects</a> of the season in France a few days ago.</p>
<p><strong>Regal FC Barcelona</strong></p>
<p>Of course, <strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> is the main prospect in Europe. Being drafted already and having major impact with the best team in Europe, he has nearly reached the status of superstar already. He needs to overcome a mediocre World championship and show that he can even improve his game to the next level and become an Euroleague MVP candidate in the next years.</p>
<p><strong>Fenerbahce Ülker</strong></p>
<p><strong>Can Maxim Mutaf</strong> will most likely see some garbage minutes with the Turkish team this season. The sharp shooting guard would probably do best to go on loan to get more playing time in order to gain some high level experience.</p>
<p><strong>Montepaschi Siena</strong></p>
<p>No prospects to talk about.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/euroleague-20102011-preview-group-c/">Euroleague 2010/2011 Preview: Group C</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Ricky Rubio MVP show</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/the-ricky-rubio-mvp-show/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/the-ricky-rubio-mvp-show/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:51:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Euroleague]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FC Barcelona]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Montepaschi Siena]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/the-ricky-rubio-mvp-show/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The regular season of the Euroleague is over and it was about time to speak about Ricky Rubio, even if I nearly never discuss drafted players on my blog. But what the young Spaniard showed this week against Montepaschi Siena was simply amazing. Watch the highlight video below to see how it is him alone [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/the-ricky-rubio-mvp-show/">The Ricky Rubio MVP show</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
<br>
Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The regular season of the Euroleague is over and it was about time to speak about Ricky Rubio, even if I nearly never discuss drafted players on my blog. But what the young Spaniard showed this week against Montepaschi Siena was simply amazing.</p>
<p> <span id="more-713"></span>
<p>Watch the highlight video below to see how it is him alone that sets up the initial scoring run of FC Barcelona and puts his team in the right way. Ricky was more or less responsible for 13 of the first 17 points and he finished the game with 14pts, 10asts, 3rebs and 4 stls while being fouled 9 times. Enjoy…</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/the-ricky-rubio-mvp-show/">The Ricky Rubio MVP show</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
<br>
Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
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		<title>NBA Draft 2009: the European candidates</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/nba-draft-2009-the-european-candidates/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/nba-draft-2009-the-european-candidates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:40:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[2009 NBA Draft Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian Eyenga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emir Preldzic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gasper Vidmar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Henk Norel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonas Jerebko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Milenko Tepic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nando de Colo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Omri Casspi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rodrigue Beaubois]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rudy Mbemba]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergi Llull]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiy Gladyr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slava Kravtsov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victor Claver]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[With the NBA Draft being held at the Madison Square Garden this Thursday, I go for a quick check of the most interesting European Draft candidates for the year 2009. Christian Eyenga (1m95 – G – 1989 – DKV Joventut Badalona) Eyenga did not see that much minutes with DKV Joventut Badalona through out the [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/nba-draft-2009-the-european-candidates/">NBA Draft 2009: the European candidates</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
<br>
Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ChristopheEPcom">Twitter</a> to get even more updates or become a fan on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EuropeanProspects/143669692330217">Facebook</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the NBA Draft being held at the Madison Square Garden this Thursday, I go for a quick check of the most interesting European Draft candidates for the year 2009. </p>
<p> <span id="more-476"></span>
<p><strong>Christian Eyenga</strong> (1m95 – G – 1989 – DKV Joventut Badalona)</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Current mocks: Draftexpress #56 – NBA Draft.net undrafted</p>
<p><strong>Rodrigue Beaubois</strong> (1m86 – G – 1988 – Cholet Basket)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #30 – NBA Draft.net #50</p>
<p><strong>Nando de Colo</strong> (1m94 – G – 1987 – Cholet Basket)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #54 – NBA Draft.net undrafted</p>
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<p><strong>Omri Casspi</strong> (2m04 – F – 1988 – Maccabi Tel Aviv)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #26 – NBA Draft.net #23</p>
<p><strong>Henk Norel</strong> (2m12 – F/C – 1987 – DKV Joventut Badalona)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #55 – NBA Draft.net undrafted</p>
<p><strong>Milenko Tepic</strong> (1m98 – G – 1987 – Partizan Belgrade/Panathinaikos Athens)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net #57</p>
<p><strong>Emir Preldzic</strong> (2m06 – F – 1987 – Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul)</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net undrafted</p>
<p><strong>Gasper Vidmar</strong> (2m10 – C – 1987 – Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul)</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net undrafted</p>
<p><strong>Victor Claver</strong> (2m04 – F – 1988 – Pamesa Valencia)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #33 – NBA Draft.net #24</p>
<p><strong>Sergio Llull</strong> (1m90 – G – 1987 – Real Madrid)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #42 – NBA Draft.net #44</p>
<p><strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> (1m92 – G – 1990 – DKV Joventut Badalona)</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Draftexpress #4 – NBA Draft.net #2</p>
<p><strong>Jonas Jerebko</strong> (2m06 – F – 1987 – Angelico Biella)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #29 – NBA Draft.net #28</p>
<p><strong>Rudy Mbemba</strong> (1m81 – G – 1987 – Vanoli Soresina)</p>
<p>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.&#160; His decision making and shooting selection has improved this year but is it enough to see a team make a gamble on him?</p>
<p>Draftexpress undrafted – NBA Draft.net undrafted</p>
<p><strong>Sergiy Gladyr</strong> (1m96 – G – 1988 – Mykolaiv)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Draftexpress #49 – NBA Draft.net #48</p>
<p><strong>Vyacheslav “Slava” Kravtsov</strong> (2m12 – C – 1987 – BC Kyiv)</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Draftexpress #60 – NBA Draft.net #52</p>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/nba-draft-2009-the-european-candidates/">NBA Draft 2009: the European candidates</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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		<title>Playoff picks</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/playoff-picks/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/playoff-picks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2009 19:43:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Joel Freeland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karsten Tadda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pau Ribas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Per Günther]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roger Zaki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergi Llull]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tim Ohlbrecht]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brose Baskets Bamberg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joventut Badalona]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kalise Gran Canaria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SLUC Nancy]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Today, I give you a few thoughts on the different European playoff games I saw these last days. Let’s start with a player that got drafted already but who is still considered as a prospect. Joel Freeland, the 1987 born forward of Kalise Gran Canaria finished his season with the Spanish team this Sunday on [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/playoff-picks/">Playoff picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today, I give you a few thoughts on the different European playoff games I saw these last days. </p>
<p> <span id="more-443"></span>
<ul>
<li>Let’s start with a player that got drafted already but who is still considered as a prospect. <strong>Joel Freeland</strong>, the 1987 born forward of Kalise Gran Canaria finished his season with the Spanish team this Sunday on a positive note despite the loss as he was the top scorer. Freeland showed a variety of ways to score from low post moves to jump shots and drives. In the post, he mostly used some kind of running hook which he executed of his left or his right hand. Additionally, he showed a nice catch-and-shoot baseline jump shot from 5 meters. He also beat his opponent of the dribble from the top of the key with very nice speed of his right hand. Freeland is also very present in rebounding where he essentially uses good positioning and boxing out go average nearly 6 boards per game in 22 minutes of play. </li>
<li>Another 1987 born player in Spain but being automatically eligible in the Draft this year is <strong>Sergio Llull</strong> of Real Madrid. The guard impresses with great speed, good athleticism and a quick shot release on catch-and-shoot plays. And it is with these kind of skills that Llull scores the most for his team where he has a role a energy back-up and booster from the bench. Additionally, he has a role as defensive stopper if needed where he can use his athleticism to overpower the often smaller or less athletic European guards. </li>
<li><strong>Pau Ribas</strong> had a good game for Joventut in the last Playoff game of the season. The 1987 born guard scored mostly on difficult shots out of the dribble or with open shots around the arc. Not much considered as a NBA prospect, Ribas should however develop into a target for several high-level Euroleague teams in the next 2-3 years.</li>
<li>It was probably the last game for <strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> in Europe and it was certainly not one of his best. Coming back from a small injury in a do-or-die game for his team, Rubio could not really make the difference as he still suffered from his leg. His defensive presence of course was not as usual and also his offensive creativity got hurt through the lack of speed he displayed. However, the overall talent level is not questioned.</li>
<li>Recently elected Rookie of the Year in Germany, the 1988 born PG <strong>Per Günther</strong> finished his first BBL Playoff series against Bonn. The former Hagen player established himself as the backup of Dru Joyce throughout the season and all the executives of the team are highly satisfied with the work done by Günther. It would not be a big surprise if ratiopharm Ulm gives him the Starting job next season. The 1m84 tall guard is in fact doing an excellent job in running the point for the team of coach Mike Taylor. Setting up the plays, giving instructions to his team mates and calling them together for huddles, he looks like the future team captain already. Besides these soft skills, Günther scores mostly of open three point shots which he is not afraid of taking despite a pretty poor percentage so far. His ball handling skills have improved nicely over the season so that he gets less in trouble against aggressive defenses than a year ago. This skills together with nice speed open him some possibilities to attack the basket but his lack of athletic abilities prevent him often from scoring against the big guys. </li>
<li>Another surprise in the German playoffs is 1988 born SG <strong>Karsten Tadda</strong>. Excellent defender (2 charges taken again this Sunday together with 13pts and 8rebs), Tadda played himself into the rotation of Brose Baskets Bamberg and is stealing the show from all the established pros of the team and also from the highly looked at NBA prospect <strong>Tim Ohlbrecht</strong>. The German PF is currently totally of and does not see many minutes with his team. I doubt he will stay in the draft or get any kind of return from his early entrance as it looks like his team will stay for a long playoff run which takes him away from possible NBA workouts.</li>
<li>Another early-entrance candidate I had the possibility to see is <strong>Roger Aboubakar Zaki</strong>. The 7-footer from Nancy saw some Garbage minutes on Friday but he did not really display a lot of will for the few seconds he was on court. He was very active cheering on the bench but once on the court, all this energy was gone as you could see him walk up and down the court instead of trying to spring to get a possible look on the break. This did not look very promising in terms of mental approach for a NBA future.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/playoff-picks/">Playoff picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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		<title>Today&#8217;s picks</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/todays-picks-20/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/todays-picks-20/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:54:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brito dos Santos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cholet Mondial Basket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jordan Brand Classic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rho International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Luka Rupnik]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victor Rho Tournament]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vilagarcia Basket Cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/todays-picks-20/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After the heavy Easter weekend, let’s go for a recap of all the action of the last days. The important Vilagarcia Basketball Cup for U18 National Teams has been won by France that has beat Russia in the Final 66-63. The MVP trophy of the tournament went to 92 born German Center Philip Neuman. Thanks [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/todays-picks-20/">Today&rsquo;s picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After the heavy Easter weekend, let’s go for a recap of all the action of the last days.</p>
<p> <span id="more-414"></span>
<ul>
<li>The important Vilagarcia Basketball Cup for U18 National Teams has been won by France that has beat Russia in the Final 66-63. The MVP trophy of the tournament went to 92 born German Center Philip Neuman. Thanks to <a href="http://www.basketenred.com/category/vilagarcia-cup/" target="_blank" class="broken_link">BasketenRed</a>, you can watch highlights of several games of the tournament. </li>
<li><a href="http://vimeo.com/4196401">Vilagarcía Basket Cup 09 / France – New Zealand</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/basketenred">basket en red</a> </li>
<li><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4196401&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=ff9933&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4196401&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=ff9933&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object></li>
<li><a href="http://vimeo.com/4223895">Vilagarcía Basket Cup 09 / Spain &#8211; Russia</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/basketenred">basket en red</a> </li>
<li><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4223895&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4223895&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object></li>
<li><a href="http://vimeo.com/4163379">Vilagarcía Basket Cup 09 / Germany &#8211; Spain</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/basketenred">basket en red</a> </li>
<li><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4163379&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4163379&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object></li>
<li>Today started the Victor Rho Tournament in Italy. You can follow the tournament on the <a href="http://rhobit2009.altervista.org/" target="_blank">new website</a> including a nice Real-Time Score Mailing List</li>
<li>I got additional information concerning the Future Stars U18 Tournament that will be played in London from the the 10th to the 12th July. The tournament will feature the U18 National Teams of Spain, Italy, Poland, Latvia, England and a Richmond College Select team (the hosts). Additionally, a highly interesting Coaching Clinic will be held during the tournament including international top coaches like Neven Spahija and Simone Pianigiani. We will come back in more detail about this tournament at a later stage.</li>
<li>Draftexpress has nice coverage of the Jordan Brand Classic including a <a href="http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/High-School-AAU/#Jordan-Brand-Classic--International-Game-3187" target="_blank">report on the International game</a> that featured among others the Slovenian U16 sensation <strong>Luka Rupnik</strong></li>
<li>The Cholet Mondial Tournament has been won by the Spanish U18 team of BC Torrejon. The Spanish team features an important number of players coming from abroad and among them the MVP of the tournament <strong>Frederico Brito dos Santos</strong> from Brazil. The 1m94 tall forward was the best scorer and rebounder of the tournament with averages of 20ppg and 10rpg</li>
<li><strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> has declared officially for the 2009 NBA Draft this Monday      </li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1990-born/guard-1990-born/ricky-rubio/todays-picks-20/">Today&rsquo;s picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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		<title>A first look at the upcoming 2009 NBA Draft</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/a-first-look-at-the-upcoming-2009-nba-draft/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/a-first-look-at-the-upcoming-2009-nba-draft/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:26:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[2009 NBA Draft Process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Donatas Motiejunas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emir Preldzic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fernando Raposo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giorgi Shermadini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Henk Norel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonas Jerebko]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ludo Vaty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Milenko Tepic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nando de Colo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Omri Casspi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rodrigue Beaubois]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergi Llull]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slava Kravtsov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tim Ohlbrecht]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victor Claver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vladimir Dasic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roger Zaki]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Today, I took a first look at the upcoming NBA Draft from a European perspective. I will check who are the players that have already declared to enter the draft and who is supposed to do so in the next days. Who are the players that are automatically eligible? I will start my roundup with [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/a-first-look-at-the-upcoming-2009-nba-draft/">A first look at the upcoming 2009 NBA Draft</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today, I took a first look at the upcoming NBA Draft from a European perspective. I will check who are the players that have already declared to enter the draft and who is supposed to do so in the next days. Who are the players that are automatically eligible?</p>
<p> <span id="more-410"></span>
<p>I will start my roundup with the players that will or may enter the 2009 NBA Draft as early entrants. They can declare until April 26th if they want to put their name on the Early-Entrants list in order to test their value for the upcoming Draft. Then, the can withdraw their name until the 15th of June if they are not happy. As an international player, you can withdraw twice from the Early Entrants list, when entering your name for a third year, you are automatically in the NBA Draft. </p>
<p><strong>Player having declared officially for the 2009 NBA Draft</strong></p>
<p>The only International player that has officially declared so far is the French-German-Portuguese forward <strong>Fernando Raposo</strong> as reports jump-shot.net from France. The 2m06 tall and 1989 born PF, who plays his first full professional season with Elan Béarnais in France this year had some interesting games in a tough sportive situation. Having signed with agent Kenny Grant this season, Raposo is probably just testing the waters to see his value and put his name on the list of the different scouts that did not know him so far. Without going for some huge workouts or a mind-blowing Reebok EuroCamp, Raposo will most likely withdraw before the dead-line.</p>
<p><strong>Brandon Jennings</strong> is a specific case as he is the first US born player to join a European professional team right out of High School. This makes him automatically a NBA Draft candidate according to a rule of the NBA Players collective bargaining agreement. His year in Italy has put him under different spotlights than the typical NCAA Freshman and gave the NBA scouts a possibility to evaluate him under professional circumstances.</p>
<p><strong>Omri Casspi</strong> has declared to be officially eligible for the 2009 NBA Draft in different reports in the Israeli press. I consider the chances for him to stay in the Draft are pretty high, but he may not want to get drafted in the first round except if he becomes a Lottery pick which is highly unlikely. Casspi certainly can sign a more lucrative contract in Europe so a low first round pick is not that interesting for him. We will see how his situation evolves. </p>
<p><strong>Players declaring highly likely during the next days</strong></p>
<p><strong>Rodrigue Beaubois</strong> will declare officially that he is in the Draft during the next days. His agent announced it already to Draftexpress, so it is pretty obvious that he will enter the early-entrants list for the third and will be in for good. Beaubois got quite some buzz over the last days and weeks due to his great play during March. If he can continue on that level, he will have good chances to see a very interesting Draft spot coming up.</p>
<p>More and more rumors say that <strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> will declare for this year’s Draft. The Spanish PG comes however from a season where his progress was a bit handicapped by a hand injury in the beginning of the 2008/2009 exercise. Still, he is considered as a top lottery pick and could even go as high as the Top3 according to the different Mocks. </p>
<p>Several sources indicate that <strong>Vladimir Dasic</strong> will enter his name to the NBA Draft 2009 during the next days. The SF from Montenegro has played a great U20 European Championship last summer but struggled a bit to put up regular performances throughout the season in the Adriatic League. He finished the season strong though with several big scoring performances but still not being accurate from behind the arc.</p>
<p><strong>Testing the waters</strong></p>
<p>Draftexpress also reports that <strong>Roger Zaki</strong> may enter his name this year in order to test the waters. Zaki comes of a season where he saw some minutes on the Euroleague level, but he showed that he is currently far away from being a factor on that level, especially defensively where he gets pushed around at will. He needs to find a team first where he can earn some minutes, and being born in 1988, he needs to do that quickly if his goal is to being drafted. Still, the potential is there, but is that enough?</p>
<p><strong>Giorgi Shermadini</strong> is probably exactly the opposite case. The Georgian big man destroyed everything in his home league and moved to Panathinaikos in November 2008 and played only 4 league games since then. </p>
<p><strong>Possible entrants</strong></p>
<p>A player that may enter the NBA Draft after his recent performances at the Nike Hoop Summit (I will talk about that in a later post) is the Lithuanian Forward/Center <strong>Donatas Motiejunas</strong>. The seven footer with the great touch played a correct for a small team in Lithuania and managed to qualify the to the Challenge Final Four of the Baltic League. </p>
<p>Players that could have been ready this year for an early entrance but got kicked back by injuries or poor play are <strong>Victor Claver</strong> (broken leg) or <strong>Tim Ohlbrecht</strong> (limited playing time and multiple injuries). They may try to put their name back on the board of the NBA scouts by entering early and withdrawing before the deadline. </p>
<p><strong>Ludo Vaty</strong> from Pau-Orthez is also a possible entrant according to several sources. The French PF played a good season and improved every season since he is with the former French powerhouse. He may have a future as a hard working rebounder and hustle guy in the big league.</p>
<p><strong>Automatically eligible</strong></p>
<p>On the list of players that are automatically eligible, being born in 1987, you will find also some interesting names.&#160; Inside players like <strong>Henk Norel</strong> or <strong>Slava Kravtsov</strong> may get a shot somewhere in the second round. These type of players can boost their stock with a good performance during the Reebok Eurocamp in June. </p>
<p>A multi-task player like <strong>Emir Preldzic</strong> may be interesting for some franchises, something that counts also for <strong>Milenko Tepic</strong>. For both of these guys, the future will however be probably in Europe as they lack some NBA typical characteristics. <strong>Jonas Jerebko</strong> is another player that may have some NBA potential due to his interesting combination of size and shooting skills. </p>
<p>Finally, you have two guards that may get a pick this year as they played both some interesting seasons in the past. <strong>Sergio Llull</strong> had his breakout party this year and boosted the Real Madrid play during stretches with his athletic and speedy drives or three point bombs. While <strong>Nando de Colo</strong> had a great last season, he slowed down a bit this year but he may be picked down the road somewhere late in the second round.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/milenko-tepic/a-first-look-at-the-upcoming-2009-nba-draft/">A first look at the upcoming 2009 NBA Draft</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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		<title>Today&#8217;s picks</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1989-born/todays-picks-6/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1989-born/todays-picks-6/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[1989 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1990 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Albert-Schweitzer Turnier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cholet Mondial Basket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giorgi Shermadini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maurice Stuckey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tournaments]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1989-born/todays-picks-6/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio has been elected Young Player of the year. Not really what I have voted. Seydou N&#8217;Joya is back in Nancy and has signed a &#8220;jeune aspirant&#8221; contract valid until the end of the season. He played with Norköpping in Sweden where he averaged 8.2ppg and 4.2apg in the 5 games he played. Giorgi [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1989-born/todays-picks-6/">Today&#8217;s picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<ul>
<li><strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> has been elected Young Player of the year. Not really what <a href="http://www.ballineurope.com/countries/spain/ricky-rubio-voted-young-mens-player-of-the-year/" target="_blank">I have voted</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Seydou N&#8217;Joya</strong> is back in Nancy and has signed a &#8220;jeune aspirant&#8221; contract valid until the end of the season. He played with Norköpping in Sweden where he averaged 8.2ppg and 4.2apg in the 5 games he played. </li>
<li><strong>Giorgi Shermadini</strong> got elected player of the year in Georgia. Not such a big surprise for somebody who averages 30ppg 17rpg 4apg and 4bpg.</li>
<li>15yr old <strong>Kevin Bright</strong>, one of the top talents of the German 1992 generation, had only his second appearance with the ProB team of Ehingen last weekend. But it was a good one. With 10pts and 7rebs, he was called the <a href="http://www.schoenen-dunk.de/basketball/bbl/article.php?sid=24262" target="_blank">matchwinner by his coach Ralph Junge</a> because he also did a great defensive job on the opposing team&#8217;s top scorer David Bunts. <strong>Maurice Stuckey</strong> also took over the scoring role with 20pts as the regular top scorer <strong>Christian Standhardinger</strong> was not playing because he was ill.</li>
<li>To stay in Germany, U18 coach Kay Blümel came up with a <a href="http://www.schoenen-dunk.de/basketball/bbl/article.php?sid=24302" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">first selection</a> of 20 players for the upcoming AST in Mannheim. A few names to remember: <strong>Niels Giffey</strong>, <strong>Erik Land</strong>, <strong>Maurice Stuckey</strong>, <strong>Akeem Vargas</strong> and <strong>Maik Zirbes</strong></li>
<li>Talking about the AST, <a href="http://www.ast-basketball.de/fileadmin/AST.wmv" target="_blank">here you can find the official Trailer video</a> of the tournament. And you may recognize some faces in there. </li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/tournaments/cholet-mondial-basket-ball-2008/" target="_blank">Cholet Mondial Basket Tournament</a> informed us that KK Split will also join this year&#8217;s edition. </li>
<li>I have also updated the <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/tournament-agenda/" target="_blank">Tournament Agenda section</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1989-born/todays-picks-6/">Today&#8217;s picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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		<title>Prospect of the month: January 2008</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/prospect-of-the-month-january-2008/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/prospect-of-the-month-january-2008/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:05:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[1988 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1989 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1990 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Danilo Gallinari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forward]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nando de Colo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarunas Vasiliauskas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Veterans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Novicka Velickovic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1986-born/prospect-of-the-month-january-2008/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[And here it is again, the Europeanprospects.com vote for the Prospect of the month January 2008. After the success of Ricky Rubio in the December 2007 vote with nearly half of all the voices, we are back now with the nominees for the first month of the new year. For the 1986 born players, the [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/prospect-of-the-month-january-2008/">Prospect of the month: January 2008</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>And here it is again, the Europeanprospects.com vote for the Prospect of the month January 2008. After the success of Ricky Rubio in the December 2007 vote with nearly half of all the voices, we are back now with the nominees for the first month of the new year.</p>
<p><span id="more-56"></span></p>
<p>For the 1986 born players, the choice was difficult to make between Nikola Pekovic and <strong>Novicka Velickovic</strong>. I chose the second one then because of his improvement over the season and his growing impact on the team in the last games. The Power Forward who lives from his fundamentals and his toughness is coming up with quite interesting figures in the Euroleague over the last month. 13.8ppg and 7.8rpg give him one of the top performing spots on the Serbian powerhouse. Being 2m05 tall, he can not be considered as a legit NBA prospect as he has the typical Serbian-Euro type of play.</p>
<p>When it comes to 1987 born players, my first thought was of course on <strong>Nando de Colo</strong>. The French guard from Cholet is playing an impressive season with his team and putting up big numbers, especially in the FIBA Eurocup. He is the second best scorer of that competition, and this of course behind his impressive showing against Riga Barons last week where he scored a career high 37pts going nearly perfect (8/13 2FG 3/3 3FG 12/12FT). He is playing more and more the role of a scoring guard, his assists numbers are dropping but his scoring is increasing at the moment.</p>
<p>A regular presence on our vote is of course <strong>Danilo Gallinari</strong> in the 1988 born category. Nobody is coming close to his performances right now. An impressive three game stretch in the Euroleague with 19.7ppg and very regular 20+ scorings in the Italian Lega make him the uncontested number one of his age group when it comes up to production. He is already the leader of his team, something not so common at his age and he has the whole package to become a lottery pick this summer. Especially knowing his deal he signed with his team which opens all doors for the next season.</p>
<p>For the most difficult category, the 1989 born prospects, my choice this time went to <strong>Sarunas Vasiliauskas</strong>. The 1m88 tall guard from Zalgiris Kauns-Sabonis School is doing pretty well in the 2nd Lithuanian league NKL where he is averaging 18.4ppg and comes up with correct shooting percentages. The NBA Basketball without Borders participant from 2006 is seeing more minutes than the normal PG starter Janavicius which shows the importance that Vasiliauskas has reached within the team. He is actually playing a lot the SG spot and cohabits pretty well with Janavicius on the 1.</p>
<p>For the 1990 born, there is still no competition for <strong>Ricky Rubio</strong>. Even if his numbers went from what he produced in the beginning of the season, he is still present with 11.3ppg 4.5rpg 3.0apg 2.8spg in the top European league ACB. He had especially a monster game in the ULEB Cup at the beginning of the month where he destroyed Turk Telekom nearly alone with 29pts at an incredible 10/11 shooting exercise together with 10 assists. So he looks once again to be the favorite for the Prospect of the month trophy but it is up to you to decide.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/prospect-of-the-month-january-2008/">Prospect of the month: January 2008</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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		<title>Today&#8217;s picks</title>
		<link>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1988-born/todays-picks-5/</link>
		<comments>http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1988-born/todays-picks-5/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:33:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christophe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[1988 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1989 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[1990 born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alexis Ajinca]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian Standhardinger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elias Harris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Florian Trmal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forward]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jorn Steinbach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maik Zirbes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Predrag Samardziski]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.europeanprospects.com/1989-born/forward-1989-born/christian-standhardinger/todays-picks-5/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ricky Rubio is still amazing (13pts 5rebs 5asts 2stls), even if his team lost this weekend against local rivals Barcelona. However, he had a very special move to score against the whole Barcelona defense. Predrag Samardziski came up with a huge statistical effort this week in the Adriatic League. He destroyed Geoplin Slovan with 19pts [...]<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1988-born/todays-picks-5/">Today&#8217;s picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<ul>
<li><strong>Ricky Rubio</strong> is still amazing (13pts 5rebs 5asts 2stls), even if his team lost this weekend against local rivals Barcelona. However, he had a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2edNh4k4C8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="broken_link">very special move</a> to score against the whole Barcelona defense.</li>
<li><strong>Predrag Samardziski</strong> came up with a huge statistical effort this week in the Adriatic League. He destroyed Geoplin Slovan with 19pts (8/11), 11rebs and 4 blocks for a total evaluation of 31. A good rebound after some <a href="http://www.adriaticbasket.com/player.php?id=605" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ups and downs</a> over the last weeks for him.</li>
<li>It is always nice to see how some of the more unknown young prospects are doing. For example <strong>Jorn Steinbach</strong> who excelled with the Belgian U18 team last summer in the European Championship of the B Division. He is actually getting serious minutes with his team Waregem in the 2nd Belgian league. Not only that the team is actually first of the division, Steinbach is also putting some scoring on the table with 9.4ppg. Other interesting Belgians in the lower divisions are for example <strong>Lorenzo Giancaterino</strong> (1990) who is averaging 16.4ppg in the third division or <strong>Jean-Marc Mwema</strong> (1989) who scores 13.2ppg on that level for a moving up candidate.</li>
<li>A career game for <strong>Alexis Ajinca</strong> this weekend in the national broadcasted game against <strong>Nicolas Batum&#8217;s</strong> Le Mans. The skinny seven footer from Hyères-Toulon finished the game with <a href="http://www.keyhoops.com/asp.net/main.stats/match.aspx?match=171388" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">11pts 8rebs and 3blks</a> in just 15 minutes on the court. Without having seen him play so far this season, one thing I want to mention is that he did not take one three-point shot since the first week of the season. Maybe DX selection as &#8220;Who&#8217;s not&#8221; in <a href="http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/International-Blog/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">their excellent weekly recap</a> motivated Alexis to show what he can do on the court <img src='http://www.europeanprospects.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';-)' class='wp-smiley' /> </li>
<li>The Clash in the German ProB between the two best scorers of the 1989 generation between <strong>Elias Harris</strong> (Speyer) and <strong>Christian Standhardinger</strong> (Ehingen/Urspring) ended with an overtime victory for the the team of Ehingen. And it was the awaited scoring festival of both standouts. Standhardinger came up with a crazy 26pts at 10/15 shooting assorted with 9rebs, 2asts and 2stls while Harris was not that lucky in his shooting but finished however with 24pts (8/19) and 12rebs. PG <strong>Frank Wiseler</strong> had also an interesting performance with 13pts and 9asts (one of them to find the open player for the overtime buzzer).</li>
<li>To continue in Germany, the NBBL U19 league features some huge statistic efforts this weekend with two great performances by two young players. To start with, I want to talk about the Austrian forward <strong>Florian Trmal </strong>(who was not selected for the All-Star game which was totally not understandable). The powerful and athletic forward totally destroyed the actual vice-champion Phoenix Hagen with 32pts 21rebs 6stls and 3blks to finish with an astonishing 55 evaluation. This was not a once in a lifetime performance for the 1989 born forward as he is actually averaging 21.1ppg and 14.8rpg. Another huge show this weekend came from Trier&#8217;s <strong>Maik Zirbes</strong> who lead his team to an important road victory with 38pts and 19rebs with a 47 evaluation. In a <a href="http://multicms.rdts.de/cgi/bin?_SID=f00730c2c50e5f6baa5db8419f39ccaedf37b9d700039119513085&amp;_sprache=de&amp;_bereich=artikel&amp;_aktion=detail&amp;idartikel=117322&amp;idrubrik=1035" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">recent interview</a>, Zirbes also informed us that during the tournament series he played with Urpsring in the States over Christmas, he got a scholarship offer from the University of Miami (ACC). However, he will stay in Trier at least until 2009 to finish his school. Since the professional team changed their head coach, Zirbes is also practicing 3-4 times a week under Coach Yves Defraigne who is particularly working hard with the Centers and the youngsters.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com/1987-born/1988-born/todays-picks-5/">Today&#8217;s picks</a> is a post from: <a href="http://www.europeanprospects.com">European Prospects</a>
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