European Prospects

In our scouting reports on the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament 2014, we will only talk about players from European teams. We start traditionally with the guards so here we go if you want to know more about Frederico Mussini, Ludde Hakanson or Furkan Korkmaz.

Frederico Mussini – 1m90 – PG – 1996 – Italy

The Italian guard played a superb tournament in Mannheim and was the main candidate for becoming the MVP of the event next to Ethan Happ. Not only that he scored mostly at will, Mussini controlled the tempo extremely well and was present both in rebounding and in defense. The long distance shot of Mussini was falling throughout the tournament as he finished with an incredible 52.5% from behind the line. His shot execution is really fast with a great quick release both out of the dribble and in catch and shoot situations. Because of his limited height, he needs to have a quick execution as he does not jump much when taking his shot.

Next to his shot, Mussini showed great ball handling skills keeping the ball really low when dribbling it which reduces the number of turnovers. He is doing a good job in using the Pick and Roll where he is dangerous because of his shooting skills and attracts the defense out on him. His passing technique allows him to create good situations for the roller as he can use the wrap around pass with both hands. Overall, he is a very good passer but relied more on his scoring options during the days in Mannheim. Overall, Mussini was probably the best PG of the tournament but he needs to work on his physical presence in order to be ready for the next level. His body was quite frail and athletically he was just average. His speed though is good and working with the professional team will help him certainly to become a interesting PG for Italy down the road.

Stats: 20.3ppg (52.0% FGs – 52.5% 3FGs), 3.9repg, 3.4apg

Diego Flaccadori – 1m90 – SG – 1996 – Italy

Diego Flaccadori was the partner of Mussini in the Italian backcourt. Both players put a lot of defenses in trouble with their quickness and scoring instincts. Flaccadori was more of the driving player as his jump shot from behind the arc was not as effective. The problem on his jump shot is that his elbow is not in the perfect direction which might explain why a large number of his shots do not hit the target. The left handed guard showed a great first step when putting the ball on the floor with excellent speed and good finisher qualities in the paint. With his penetrations, he generates a lot of help situations where he can find the open shooter on the kickout or the cutter coming from the weakside.

Stats: 16.9ppg (46.6% FGs – 23.3% 3FGs), 3.7rpg, 3.1apg

Tolga Gecim – 2m03 – PG – 1996 – Turkey

Tolga Gecim was an impressive showing during the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament as the Turkish guard played most of his minutes as a PG despite being 2m03 tall. With his excellent height, Gecim handled the ball really well and was nicely creative in Pick and Roll situations. He has a good court-vision where once again his above average height for his position helps him a lot as he might lack the great creativity that you expect from a top level PG. Next to his good Pick and Roll reading and passing, Gecim was not very present as a scorer or passer. He has the range to shoot from behind the arc, also out of the dribble or after a hand off. His overall three-point shooting though was not great but his role was more to feed the inside and outside scoring power that Turkey had. In the end, the overly talented team did not even win a medal as they lost in the decisive games and Gecim was not really present in the crucial moments with big plays.

Stats: 11.0ppg (52.3% FGs – 33.3% 3FGs), 2.9rpg, 4.9apg

Furkan Korkmaz – 1m97 – SG – 1997 – Turkey

The best scorer of the talented Turkish team has been a year younger. Furkan Korkmaz, a 1997 born SG showed superb elegance on the court moving extremely fluid and displaying a picture perfect jump shot. The shot of Korkmaz has a really high release point because of his height but also because of a good jump and perfect release point. Because of his long distance threat, Korkmaz can also use his driving skills well. He has nice ball handling skills that allows him to go around help defenders under control and find the way to the basket against nearly any kind of defense. He has an excellent touch from the mid-range territory when using floaters but he can also bring the ball to the baskets because of his good length. Defensively, he is a very active rebounder where he shows good athletic skills to catch the ball high in the air. He is seeing the passing lanes well so that he is very present stealing the ball and create fast break opportunities. You did not really see that Korkmaz was a year younger than the competition and he will certainly develop into one of the most promising scorers of the 1997 generation all over Europe.

Stats: 16.1ppg (49.3% FGs – 36.1% 3FGs), 3.9rpg, 1.4apg, 2.4spg

Lars Kamp – 1m90 – SG/PG – 1996 – Germany

The German guard had an all in all good tournament despite not having great shooting percentages. The quite experienced 96 born, who has played already with the professional team in Paderborn, was the main scoring option for Germany in the backcourt. Quite strong physically, he shied away though a little bit from the contact as he was not very efficient when he attacked the basket. His jump shot is looking really well and he can knock down shots in series. He is really efficient from the corner in kick out situations when he has his feet set. Kamp is also able to create his hot out of the dribble and likes to penetrate on Pick and Roll situations where he is capable of passing with either hand to the roller. In fact, Kamp played a lot of minutes on the SG or even the SF position for the short German team but he has the potential to play in scoring PG role in the future as he has also the lateral speed to defend shorter and faster playmakers.

Stats: 15.5ppg (39.2% FGs – 40.7% 3FGs), 1.8rpg, 1.2apg

Stefan Peno – 1m97 – PG – 1997 – Serbia

The Serbian PG from Barcelona had a good tournament in his role as PG knowing that he was so far not really high on my list because of a too-selfish play and not great skills in controlling the game speed. However he showed much progress in this part of his game even if he could not lead Serbia to the Final. His overall shooting percentages were great in the tournament which underlines a better shot selection and a focus to what he can do well. Peno is an aggressive penetrator who has excellent body control and can also score against a defender when attacking the rim. He reads the holes on defense quite well and can also come up with a pass to the big man on the help situations. However, he prefers a bit too much the spectacular play or forces the finishes a bit too much at times still.

Stats: 11.6ppg (54.9% FGs – 46.7% 3FGs), 4.0rpg, 2.4apg

Jovan Starincevic – 1m90 – PG – 1996 – Serbia

Starincevic improved his status in the team throughout the tournament to become the most important PG of the Serbian team in the Medal phase. Despite finishing with poor numbers in the shooting percentages, Starincevic controlled the tempo at best for his team and knew exactly when to accelerate or slow down. The Serbian likes to take the shots in the decisive moments and is capable to create his own attempts out of the dribble. Not that athletic, Starincevic is though able to finish with the contact or on acrobatic moves with a surprising hang time in the air. However, his upside remains limited as he is already quite mature in his physical development and does not seem to be a really great shooter from outside the three-point line.

Stats: 8.9ppg (37.5% FGs – 30.4% 3FGs), 2.4rpg, 2.1apg

Ludde Hakanson – 1m90 – PG – 1996 – Sweden

The Swedish guard played an amazing tournament and lead his team to a great fifth place in Mannheim. Hakanson did everything for the Swedes in the back court. He scored at will and when needed but could also find his team mates with great court vision and good passing technique. Mainly using the three-point shot as scoring threat, Hakanson attacked the basket only rarely but he created nicely reading the gaps to get positions in mid-range. The drive and stop game of Hakanson was extremely effective as he could beat his defender easily and read the help situations so well that he always could find an open team mate without forcing any tough shots.

From outside, Hakanson can score in multiple ways. He has deep range for the three-point shot that allows him to come up with shots out of the dribble even 1 or 2 meters behind the arc. In catch-and-shoot situations, he has a picture perfect execution and shooting mechanics but even under defensive pressure, this does not change. Hakanson knows extremely well how to create the necessary space for his jump shot by going into his defender and coming up with a great step back execution. When he attacks the basket, the Barcelona player is quite a surprising athlete with correct leaping abilities (he tried to dunk on two defenders once) and good hangtime to finish against taller opponents. He uses his athletic abilities also on defense to be present in rebounding from where he can push the ball up the court quickly. His fast break game is good, always bringing the ball to the middle in order to find his wings running the sidelines.

All in all, Hakanson was probably the most important individual asset for any team in the tournament. He is really a special guard for Sweden and it will not last long until he will take over the job as starting PG in the Swedish Senior National Team. I expect him to get already quality minutes in the ACB from next season on as he has the physical package to play against adults and his game understanding is far ahead of most competitors at the youth level.

Stats: 25.5ppg (49.0% FGs – 45.6% 3FGs), 3.8rpg, 6.0apg

Sheriff Drammeh – 1m86 – PG – 1996 – Sweden

The second player of the Swedish backcourt was the combo guard Sheriff Drammeh. The 1996 born displays a great body with a superb wingspan and nice athletic abilities. With his slashing style, Drammeh likes to attack the basket where he tried to finish with either hand but it not really effective on the left side. His ball handling is good but he overdoes it at moments when trying the cross over too much. His shot is still in the making but he has a good release point. During the game for the fifth place, he had a big smile on his face when hitting a couple of shots from outside. It might still be a long way for Drammeh but with his physical profile, he is quite an interesting player is he is capable of stabilizing his shot. His future has to be on the PG position as he lacks the size to play the SG on the professional level and he showed some leadership skills when Hakanson was on the bench for the Swedish team being the main man in the team huddle.

Stats: 8.7ppg (30.6% FGs – 25.0% 3FGs), 3.7rpg, 2.0apg

Jules Akodo – 1m95 – PG – 1996 – England

The English guard did not really excel during the days in Mannheim as a major shooting slump plagued the offensive game of the player from Ljubljana. Despite having a clear leader role in his team and getting most of the offensive touches, Akodo was not very efficient in his offensive execution as he was unable to score from behind the arc, his mid range jump shots were not falling as they were often out of control and he struggled to execute close to the basket. His driving skills remain his main asset on the offensive end as he has a good first step and nice athletic abilities with good hangtime to finish in the paint. However, he had some problems against taller inside defenders coming for the help as he was not a threat in mid-range territory and had to go to the rim all the time. He had some problems as well to read the defensive situations well to find his team mates so that in the end, Akodo was not at the expected level for the English team.

Stats: 9.5ppg (38.9% FGs – 6.3% 3FGs), 4.7rpg, 3.3apg

Pharroh Gordon – 1m95 – PG – 1996 –  England

Pharroh Gordon did an excellent job in the English back court in a role as scorer next to Akodo. Quite long with a correct handle, Gordon has a good feel for scoring the basketball and knows when to attack the hoop and when to take the outside shot. His three point shot has a nice form with a good high release point and stable execution. He can play both guard positions but is more of a scorer than a passer. The 96 born player can create out of the dribble as well as he attacks the basket with long strides and has the ability to knock down the shot out of the dribble. A great presence in the defensive rebound because of his height, Gordon is also able to defend up to the Small Forward position which makes him a valuable asset on the defensive end as well.

Stats: 12.5ppg (56.9% FGs – 41.7% 3FGs), 4.3rpg, 2.0apg