When the name of Pape Sy got called during the NBA Draft ceremony, there was a bit of confusion as nearly anybody had the French guard on its radar. Nobody except the Atlanta Hawks which was also the only Franchise that worked him out before the Draft. Who is this guy that got even “big man” comparisons as his height or position was not even known by some of the major news outlets.

Pape Sy was born in the small North-Western France city of Loudéac which is described as a “very pretty market town with many traditional buildings and mediaeval streets to enjoy” by Wikipedia. This does not really sound like the typical background of most of the French athletes that often come out of the suburbs of Paris or from French oversea territories. However, Loudéac has now among its most famous personalities two basketball players which indeed are siblings. Penda Sy is a French women international player and Pape Sy has been drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. Basketball is in the genes of the family, there is no doubt about it.

After learning the game in the local club, Pape Sy moved first to Massy before entering the Youth Teams of Le Havre in 2004 at the age of 16. The guard, who was known for his excellent shooting touch already at a very young age continued to grow in his game but also in height and reaches now an excellent 1m97 or 6 feet 6 without shoes. After several seasons in the U21 League, Sy earned a roster spot on the professional squad in 2009 and 2009/2010 was his first real season in the French top League LNB. After a slow start, Sy earned more and more minutes and was a clear back-up option on the PG position at the end of the season. You can watch some highlights of his year with Le Havre here or check out the video below of the excellent French InternetTV show “Vis mon match” of Poitiers Basket which features footage of the game versus Le Havre from approximately the 9minute of clip. (Pape Sy can be seen with #10 on the white team).

Athletic, good shot, great size; all the ingredients for a high-potential are there. But the limited stats for a 22 year old (he averaged 5.2ppg 1.7rpg 1.3apg and 0.6spg in just 14.2 minutes on the court) were certainly the reason why no NBA Team showed interest in him. He even got refused to play at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso unlike his team mate Ousmane Camara who was an early-entry candidate with 2.8ppg. However, at the total surprise for everyone even in France, Sy got a 2-day-workout with the Atlanta Hawks on the 15th and 16th June, a workout that he has however paid all the expenses by himself. After this only workout, Pape Sy did not really look impressed with the opposition he got by the two other guards and had enough time to explain his strengths to the Hawks TV.

The Hawks themselves seemed very impressed as well as they told Sy that they are going to draft him in the second round but he needs to remain discreet. They probably have not seen so many athletic, tall PGs with an excellent shooting touch over their workouts. Therefore the team from Georgia wanted absolutely secure their pick on him. Sy did not do any other workouts and the absence in Treviso helped the Hawks to be the only team really aware of his potential. Coach Larry Drew was more than happy that it worked out like this as he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution before.

I’d never heard of him. I thought those guys (Darington Hobson and Stanley Robinson) would eat him up, but this guy challenged those guys. He didn’t back down.

And then, the incredible for most outsiders happened. The Atlanta Hawks picked Pape Sy with their 53rd pick in the NBA Draft 2010. The French kid has arrived where nobody expected him to be, his name was called in the Madison Square Garden and he got interviewed by Craig Sager for NBA TV. You could really see a young man that was so happy and proud about what has happened to him.

After the Draft, the Hawks staff could also come up with what they really knew about Pape Sy and coach Larry Drew revealed why he wanted the guard from Le Havre come over absolutely to Georgia.

I was really really impressed by Pape Sy’s workout. I was very intrigued with his size, he has a great body and he really plays hard, being very aggressive defensively.

Now it is up to Pape, whose first name in French means Pope, to have a better experience in Atlanta than fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw who never really broke out with the Hawks. But as several blogs related already, the last 6-7 tall player coming out of France and playing for the Hawks was Dominique Wilkins. The goals are high for Sy who now has to grow another step from his rural hometown Loudéac to the multi-million metropolis in the South of the United States.

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Kevin Seraphin – #17 by the Bulls – most likely traded to the Wizards

Seeing the French Big Guy from Cholet in the first round is not really a surprise but he was not foreseen to be drafted that high as most observers saw him between 20 and 30. It will now be interesting to see if Seraphin will stay in France and play the Euroleague with Cholet or if he decides to come to the United States immediately. The PF/C is on the list of France for the upcoming World Championship in Turkey but on the other hand, the Wizards will most likely try to bring him over to play the Summer League as well which looks like a first conflict situation.

Bouna N’Diaye and his team have once again showed that they can place a player in the first round. The future will tell how Seraphin will adapt to the NBA where his skills and physical built are not as special as they are in Europe.

Tibor Pleiss – #31 by the Nets – traded to the Thunder

With the first Pick of the Euroleague players Draft, the Nets select Tibor Pleiss from Brose Baskets Bamberg. With Nikola Pekovic in 2008 and the German Center this year, the #31 spot is looking more and more to become the best place to get future high-level Euroleague talent as the top pick in the second round gives the team all possibilities in terms of salary to sign the player in the future. Pleiss has declared several times that he will not come over immediately and at least play one year in the Euroleague which he can do with his team next season.

Additionally, he will be a member of the German National Team this summer and play major minutes during the World Championships in Turkey. It would be a surprise for me if he comes over this Summer to do some workouts or Summer Leagues. The Oklahoma Thunder got what they wanted in Pleiss as the rumors were around that Sam Presti was really high on him and they even thought about bringing him in at #18. But at #31, they go their big guy that may end up as the better player than their #11 pick Cole Aldrich.

Nemanja Bjelica – #35 by the Wizards

With the rumors around his signing with Benetton Treviso being denied by the player himself, Bjelica looks to be very open in terms of possibilities for next season. The 2m09 tall forward found an NBA home with the Wizards now but it is not so sure about what he is going to do. Several European teams are chasing him as well and Bjelica will most likely be a member of the Serbian National Team for the World Championship which prevents him from participating to some Summer Leagues.

Bjelica has interesting tools for the NBA and seems to be a late developer as coach Luka Bassin explained in our Draft countdown. With Seraphin, he is the second European selected by the Wizards in this year’s Draft but he will most likely remain in Europe for some time. At least, everything else would be a surprise for me.

NB: Bjelica has been traded to the Wolves

Ryan Richards – #49 by the Spurs

The Brit got what he wanted, he is drafted by an NBA team. Even if he was announced “not falling lower than #33”, he ended up with the Spurs at #49. The team from San Antonio is known for drafting high-reward long-term prospects and Richards may be in the same mold. The fact that the British player wants to absolutely stay in the United States, most likely means that he will go to play for the Austin Toros, the Spurs NBDL team. With the rumors of the Spurs bringing Tiago Splitter over, the roster seems a bit stacked on the frontcourt and it would be a major surprise to me if Richards will crack the rotation immediately.

Pape Sy – #53 by the Hawks

The big surprise of the Draft from a European point of view is Pape Sy. He did exactly one workout, at least that is what we heard and he got selected by the Hawks that have seen him play in their facilities on the 16th June. Sy is a tall guard (1m97) that takes the PG spot during moments and is an interesting three point shooter. But still, this does not make him an NBA player nor do his stats: 5.2ppg and 1.3apg in the French League. But the Hawks must have seen something special in him as they were the only team inviting him for a workout and finally also drafted him. Maybe their scouts were present in France on the 27th February where Sy had his career game with 17pts, 7rebs and 4asts.

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With the NBA Draft 2010 being held this week, it is about time to check the current situation of the automatically eligible Europeans.

Miroslav Raduljica would probably be a mid to end-of-first round option if the Serbian Center would not have declared and shown that he has no real interest to play in the NBA. Raduljica did not attend the Adidas Eurocamp and cancelled a workout specifically setup for him. He did not work out either for any NBA Team so far and will probably move to a top-level Euroleague team next season. However, there are certainly NBA Franchises that will take a closer look at him when he is still available during the Draft ceremony because the number of skilled and physical seven-footers is always limited. Raduljica averaged 13.7ppg at 57.6% in the Adriatic League where he added 6.4rpg in 26 minutes. The absence of NBA caliber athletic abilities and poor shot blocking presence combined with his “no-NBA-attitude” are probably the reasons why in the end, he may not get drafted at all.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: #45 by Minnesota, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Alexey Shved has been a mystery on the Senior level for a lot of years as his talent level was uncontested but as he has been stashed on the CSKA Moscow bench over the last seasons, it was difficult to see what his real potential is especially as he lost several years of experience but not playing. But his move to Dynamo Moscow in December 2009 helped him to immediately get minutes on the highest level (Russian League and Eurocup) and show that he can play basketball against professionals. Shved should be able to play the PG spot in the NBA with his excellent size (1m96) and fundamentals and he has also the athletic abilities to compete. He finished his season in Russia with 10.3ppg at 55.7% 2FG together with 2.7rpg, 3.7apg and 0.8spg in 22 minutes on the court. He is probably the European played with the most potential upside of the 1988 born automatically eligible players.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: #49 by San Antonio, NBADraft.net: #58 by Los Angeles Lakers

Nemanja Bjelica is probably one of the most interesting players in this draft as the 2m09 tall Serbian forward is really a versatile player that probably impressed several teams during his workouts with his skills. He has been reported to not be the most regular player in terms of production which is underlined by his stats of the past season. However, the Crvena Zvezda player is a talent on its own and can be used in different positions on the court and could be a match-up creator with his great size when used on SF for example. Together with Shved, he is the only 88 born player currently considered by the two main Mock Draft websites, both having him in the second round where he probably will end up. The question remains if he would try to gain a roster spot this summer or stay in Europe. His presence in the United States for workouts shows however that the NBA is in his mind and a goal for him.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: #50 by Dallas, NBADraft.net: #40 by Indiana

Vladimir Dasic is another player that may have 1st round potential but the Montenegrin has shown serious mental problems over the last years that generate a lot of doubts about his professional career. After having signed a 3 year deal with Real Madrid last summer, Dasic could never fulfill the hopes that Madrid had in him and he moved away to Gran Canaria during to get ejected as well. He played only the first day of the Adidas Eurocamp because he was apparently injured and he did not appear in any NBA workouts over the last days. From the talent level alone, Dasic can be described as a physically strong wing who can score both from inside and outside. But the current situation implicates that the main topic for Dasic is to find a team whatsoever for next season.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Ludovic Vaty has done a multitude of workouts for NBA Teams in preparation for the NBA Draft and he was also present at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso. The French big guy did not impress though with any particular skills and remained in his rebounder role. He can score close to the basket but has no really go-to-move when playing in the low post. Vaty will probably remain undrafted as neither the talent level nor the athletic abilities are good enough to have a role in the NBA.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Paulao Prestes played his first full ACB season in 2009-2010 with CB Murcia and is a player that has not really drawn a lot of interest by NBA teams or international media. Draftexpress had a long article on him a few weeks ago and we have never covered him so far which may be also due to his Brazilian nationality. His ankle injury from end of April put him out of the Adidas Eurocamp as well as unable to do some workouts with NBA teams previous to the Draft. If there are NBA franchises that have done their homework, they have scouted him in the ACB over the season and are aware of his potential. Draftexpress sees him in the second round.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: #44 by  Portland, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Stefan Markovic is a Serbian PG that is rumored to have signed already a two-years deal with Benetton Treviso this spring and not really considering the NBA as an option. He has not participated to the Adidas Eurocamp nor to any NBA workouts so far but several teams have certainly seen him play with Hemofarm this season and may consider him. However, Markovic is not really the prototype of the NBA Pointguard and it would be a major surprise if he gets selected on the 24th June.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Boban Marjanovic is probably an option that some NBA teams are thinking about as the 2m22 tall Serbian Center has played a fairly correct season with Hemofarm. However, Marjanovic’s name has not been mentioned in any NBA Workouts so far. Marjanovic brings fantastic size with him and is quite a nice basketball player, even if he is a bit stiff and slow, even for his size. But there may be some teams that take some bet on him and draft the Serbian giant. Remember Slavko Vranes who has been drafted also? This player is certainly a bigger talent on the offensive end.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Marko Keselj is yet another Serbian player that is automatically eligible in this year’s draft. Considered as a top-talent a few years ago, Keselj had made some choices in his early career that probably stopped his development when he saw no serious minutes with Girona. After a year in Germany, Keselj plays now an important role for Crvena Zvezda in Serbia where he averaged 9.1ppg in the Eurocup. The 2m09 tall wing was present in the United States for some workouts but we did not hear anything particular out of it and which teams may be interested in him. Keselj himself would like to play for the Los Angeles Lakers according to the presentation on his agent’s website.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Artem Zabelin played at the Reebok Eurocamp in 2009 and is currently in the United States to do some workouts with NBA Teams. The 2m15 tall Russian has however never really seen important minutes on the Senior level with CSKA Moscow so that it is hard to judge his real value. From a strict talent level, he has everything you need as the 7 footer is mobile, can shoot the ball, run the floor but remains however a really thin player who prefers to play on the wing than battling in the post. Maybe some franchise likes his potential and will spend a second round pick on him.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

Tim Ohlbrecht has preferred to do his Draft preparations exclusively in the United States and did not participate to the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso. We did not hear anything particular on how this choice has impacted his Draft potential. Ohlbrecht comes of a good season after a disaster in the last year he was in Bamberg. He can have a role a shooting and shot-blocking big man on NBA level as he has the necessary athletic abilities to compete. However, Ohlbrecht has not really developed a serious back to the basket game yet but his progress curve has again turned upwards over the last months.

Current Mock Situation (20th June 2010): Draftexpress: undrafted, NBADraft.net: undrafted

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Today we continue our review of the players from the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso with a few additional names that we are thinking are worth to be mentioned.

Nihad Dedovic – SG – 1m97 – 1990

The Bosnian guard had one of the fastest shot releases of the whole camp. The release is so quick that it looks like he does not really prepare his shot. But he needs to fire the ball that quickly as he has the ball a bit before his face when taking the shot and therefore is always at risk of being blocked in his attempts. He likes to come of the screens and immediately fire the ball from any distance. Coming of the curl on the weak-side and receiving the diagonal pass is one of the situations in which Dedovic excels and scores with high percentages.

Additionally, he is very active on defense with his hands and steals quite a few balls. Dedovic is doing a nice job on the fast break as he can accelerate nicely and score the layup with the foul as he is a correct athlete. A first season on the ACB level with regular playing time behind him, the Bosnian will now make the next step forward and knowing that he came back from a injury recently, there are some nice things ahead for him in the next years. It may not be enough for NBA level but we should see him play on Euroleague level in a few years time.

Josep Franch – PG – 1m87 – 1991

Josep Franch played a very interesting camp and is considered already as the future PG of Joventut Badalona. The fast Spaniard broke the defenses on multiple occasion with his hesitation moves or accelerations and was not afraid at all to go against the big guys to score on a multitude of different underhand lay-ups. He looked to be more of a scoring guard in the camp as he did not particularly show amazing passing skills and mostly went for his own options.

Pietro Aradori – SG – 1m93 – Auto-Eligible – 1988

The Italian guard had an up-and-down camp and showed that he is not really NBA material at the moment. Aradori had some limits when it came to the NBA three-point line as his shot did not look regular when going for an attempt from that distance. Athletically, he is not quick enough to defend SGs despite correct leaping abilities for a European player. His skill set is a lot more adapted to European basketball and he will certainly do a lot of damage in the next years. With his scoring skills and understanding, Aradori will probably be among the major scorers for the next years in European basketball.

Dairis Bertans – PG/SG – 1m93 – 1989

The Latvian guard showed an interesting scoring talent in Treviso combined with good athletic abilities. More of a scoring guard than a pure play maker, Bertans has already some high-level experience due to the minutes he plays with Ventspils. Bertans’ main offensive options are his three point shot and driving hard to the rim. He is not afraid to dunk on the big guys and got some severe rejections during the camp that did not de-motivate him to try again. He likes to go for several cross-over moves to create the necessary space for his shot. The Latvian guard is able split defenses with his speed and is high-percentage long distance shooter.

David Jelinek – SG – 1m94 – 1990

One of the younger players that I really liked was David Jelinek. The Czech guard showed excellent athletic abilities and a real will to score the basketball. He has already NBA three point range in catch and shoot situations, which he executes particularly well. Jelinek can speed up the fast-break and finish on highlight-reel like dunks. He has already a nice arsenal of ball and pass fakes when driving that give him the opportunity to score the ball close the basket. He needs to develop his mid-range game a bit and probably get a bit stronger but the minutes he gets on ACB level are certainly helping him in his development.

Nikos Pappas – PG – 1m91 – 1990

The Greek guard looked improved this year compared to what we had in mind of him. Still not a NBA or European top-level athlete, Pappas has the feel for the game and he is far from losing it. His dominance from two years ago on U18 level is not there because he can not outsmart the players on every occasion anymore. But his passing skills are excellent even if he forced too much the highlight play in the camp which gave him a terrible amount of turnovers. As we heard, he did quite well in the Greek League this season on the Senior level so it will be interesting to see what is next for him.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas – SF/PF – 2m03 – Early Entry – 1989

The Lithuanian early entry candidate played a camp where you could barely see him, somehow similar to last year. But he has a very interesting arsenal of offensive moves and showed in Treviso that he has NBA three-point range as well. Kuzminskas can put the ball on the floor and finish with two-handed dunks against the defense when attacking the basket. He is doing also a lot of the dirty job that is not seen in the stats which is a bit different to his role he has with his team in Lithuania. This shows that he is a guy who can easily adapt to any situations.

Dejan Musli – C – 2m11 – 1991

The best Center in the camp was the Serbian Dejan Musli who looks better and better when it comes to his body structure. Still not a very explosive or elegant player, his moves look a bit smoother right now and he feels a lot more confident when putting the ball on the floor. During the camp, there was nearly anybody that could stop him once he has found his position in the low post and received the ball. He can finish here with either hand on the jump hook but most of his moves look a bit soft. His hands are great and he nearly catches all the passes he gets out of the Pick and Roll situations to finish.

Musli has clearly improved in his game when he needs or wants to dribble the ball. He can easily bring his man down to the low block when he receives the ball on the wing by backing him up with a few dribbles and moving closer to the basket. He is also not afraid to start the fast break with several dribbles, even if this is not really his role. As he is not the fastest player, it would also be a better decision making if he shares the ball on these moments and runs the break as a trailer option. He needs to finish stronger though when he is close to the basket to become a really dominant player on this level but being born in 1991, there is still a lot of progress margin left.

Ousmane Camara – C/PF – 2m04 – Early Entry – 1989

One of the more unknown players in the camp was the French Center Ousmane Camara. Even if he has only limited offensive skills because of poor hands, the player from Le Havre showed an extreme will and massive presence on the rebound. He worked very hard throughout the camp in this aspect of the game and nearly score all his baskets on offensive rebounds or after good passes of his team mates. His Free-throw shot looks very bad and underlines his current weaknesses. Camara can score the basketball only when being very close to the basket and the question is how much upside he has when it comes to his shooting touch. Physically, he has all the tools to become a high-level player, but he needs to work on his basketball skills and fundamentals if he wants to have an impact on the next level.

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The German All-Star Day 2010 was on the schedule this Saturday in Bonn. With the move from Mannheim to the Telekom Dome, the BEKO BBL has made an excellent decision as the arena was sold out and a great atmosphere throughout the event confirmed the popularity of the sport in Bonn. Even Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu flew in for the day to check the situation of the Bundesliga (and eventually check the Telekom Dome as a potential EuroCup Final 4 arena, who knows?).

The day started with the very interesting NBBL All-Star game that was however once again played in 4*10 minutes where the first three quarters had an unstopped clock. After some turnovers in the beginning, the game developed very well and finished with a big show in the end. A long three point shot to force OT and a MVP performance by Patrick Heckmann in the 3 supplementary minutes marked a huge game for this type of event where both teams wanted to win . There have already been about 5000 (!!) fans in the arena and the youngsters made them go crazy in the final moments of the game. The German youth system is progressing very well, the talented 1992 generation is looking very promising and may be at the same level than the already succesful 89s. With the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament and the U17 World Championship coming later this year, the German basketball fans are not lacking major youth competition either in the next months.

Patrick Heckmann (1m97 – Guard – 1992 – ASC Theresianum Mainz)

Patrick Heckmann was one of the players in this game who I have not seen before. This has changed now and I must admit that it was about time. The 1m97 guard, who is listed as a forward but played most of the time as PG, is definitely among the most talented players in the NBBL and in Germany in general. After a year with Cheyenne Mountain High School in the US, where he transformed a losing team into a Play-off participant, the athletic guard came back to Germany and plays an outstanding season with the ASC NBBL team but is also one of the team leaders of the ASC Seniors in the Regionalliga (4th German division).

Heckmann displays a rare combination of basketball understanding, leadership qualities, athletic abilities and a winning spirit. He led his NBBL to a surprising 8-1 record and showed also in the All-Star game why he is considered as a top talent, he scored 7 of the 9 points of the South team in the overtime to secure the win and earn a deserved MVP trophy. In the beginning of the game, Heckmann showed some nice drives out of the catch immediately beating his opponent with either the left or the right hand. He finished those penetrations very well and close to the basket where his good athletic abilities helped him. He can create for his team mates, this is why he should play Point Guard on the professional level.

The guard from Mainz showed all his leadership and basketball skills in the three-minute long overtime where he decided the game nearly all by himself. A nice drive on the break finished from 45 degrees of the glass with the foul, another drive finished with a finger roll and a ultra tough 3pt fade-away jump shot to seal the deal were the plays that earned him the MVP award. He finished the game with 19pts (7/8 FGs, 4/5FTs), 1reb, 2asts, 3stls and 1blk. With his basketball skills and a good body structure to build on, Heckmann looks right now as a very interesting prospect. Several professional teams tried to sign him after his year in the USA, but he returned to his hometown Mainz where he will stay until 2012 and get his high school degree. Afterwards, everything should be possible for him.

NBBL Stats: 25.7ppg (47.7% FG 89.3% FT), 5.5rpg, 2.3apg, 2.4spg, 0.7bpg

Besnik Bekteshi (1m86 – Guard  – 1993 – BBA Ludwigsburg)

The youngest player in the game was far away from being shy. The team leader of BBA Ludwigsburg showed interesting scoring skills, especially from behind the arc where he can knock down the threes easily. Despite looking a bit frail and not very explosive, Bekteshi created himself always the necessary space to get the open shots either by the dribble or by moving off the ball. His shot does not look super quick but the mechanics are very regular and he is not afraid to fire it up.

The guard is also driving to the basket and finishing the moves in a soft but intense way. He has some nice fakes that give him the necessary opportunities to score but he may lack a bit of the playmaking skills to become a real PG. However, as this was just an All-Star game, it is important to see how he acts when the normal regular games are going on. Despite being not too tall, he recognizes well when he is guarded by smaller players to go post them up and finish against them in the low block. His All-Star stats looked excellent though with 18pts (4/7 3s) and 7rebs. With two more seasons to go in the NBBL from this summer, Bekteshi has yet a long way to go, but he will probably be one of the main players of the German U17 National Team this summer.

NBBL Stats: 23mpg 15.6ppg (54.1% 2FG, 45.7% 3FG), 3.7rpg, 3.0apg, 3.6spg

Philipp Neumann (2m06 – Center – 1992 – Breitengüssbach) took the game pretty serious as the German Center was as happy as no one else on the final buzzer that his team has won. Playing as physical as ever, the 2m06 tall player did not show that much of progress in terms of forcing it inside tough. With his outstanding physical and athletic skills, he was very present in the low block where he saw several double or even triple teams on him and managing to score anyhow. Several of these moves looked forced but they worked. The main problem for Neumann is that he does not know yet when to give the ball back out and when to play it inside. However, he gave some passes back out yesterday which shows that he is working on this. It is important for him to do so if he wants to make the next step. Right now, he is still a very impressive player on this level, showing excellent scoring skills and big presence on rebounding and shot blocking. He may add some long distance threat in the future too but did not show much of face-up plays though. Most of the scores came from powering in the low post. He finished the game with 12pts (6/9 FGs), 7rebs and 5blks.

NBBL Stats: 22.0ppg (76.7% 2FG), 13.8rpg, 2.2bpg

Dennis Ogbe (1m97 – Forward – 1991 – Franken Hexer) was one important player for the South team as the PF from Franken Hexer did a lot of dirty work in the paint which you may not recognize like setting screens, boxing out and playing strong defense. It was always his task to defend the best scorers of the North team and he did a good job there. Offensively, he emerged in the last quarter where he hit two big baseline shots in the money time, one was a tough 3 pointer from the corner with 1.2 seconds on the clock to force the overtime after having seen his previous drive rejected badly. Ogbe needs to progress in his ballhandling as he is only 1m97 tall which limits him to play the PF spot in the future.

NBBL Stats: 21.4ppg (55.8% 2FG), 9.1rpg, 2.0spg

Niels Giffey (2m00 – Forward – 1991 – ALBA Berlin) is definitely back. After having missed several months because of a mononucleosis, the forward from ALBA Berlin showed in Bonn that he is still one of the most talented players in Germany. He can do it all, rebound, score and win games, even if the last did not happen yesterday. But it was him that had the big plays for the North just before the overtime with a huge three-point shot with Ogbe’s hand in his face from about 7.5 meters and 2 clutch free-throws made several seconds before the end of the regular time. His shot looks improved and he showed nice range throughout the game and can vary the outside-inside game pretty well. With his shooting improving, Giffey is on the right move and the long-time illness seems gone. He finished the game as top scorer with 22pts (8/11 FGs and 4/5 3FG) and 4rebs.

NBBL Stats: 13.6ppg (61.8% 2FG, 44.4% 3FG), 4.4rpg

Daniel Theis (2m05 – Center – 1992 – Braunschweig) came up with a very nice game in Bonn. The highly athletic and explosive center had several highlights in the game like a two handed slam over Neumann and Ogbe as well as an impressive rejection above backboard square height in the money time. He is very present in the paint with good work and he did a nice job on defending Neumann, giving him a hard time to score. Close to the basket, Theis tries to finish strong with the dunk and draws a lot of fouls with this presence. He is going hard for the rebound on both ends of the floor and showed also some correct skills for attacking the basket on the drive. The shot looks improvable but he can make the mid-range jumper correctly. He finished the game with 12pts, 8rebs and 2blks.

NBBL Stats: 18.7ppg (79% FG), 9.2rpg, 2.7bpg

About the Senior All-Star Game, there is not that much to say. Tim Ohlbrecht missed it with a last-minute illness and was not replaced. Robin Benzing did not see a lot of offensive opportunities as one of the Rookies in the game. And when the few attempts he got do not fall, it is hard to judge on what he did, especially in an All-Star Game. What can be said, is that he did quite a good job defending the smaller and more athletic forwards of the North and he had a very nice drive and dish in the beginning of the game. But it will be more interesting to come back on him once later in the season after having seen more of him in normal game action. Per Günther, Benzing’s team mate in Ulm, was voted into the Starting Five by the fans, but the small guard did look a bit lost among all the highly physical and athletic US born players around him. He did a correct job without a score tough but he is probably not the right player for an All-Star game as he is not particularly flashy or known for producing for the highlight reel.

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The German Bundesliga is still a US-dominated League but more and more young players are earning their minutes and showing good progress. Today, I discuss two young Shooting Guards that come from very different backgrounds. Both are having their first real impact season on the highest professional level and both are set for improving in the next years.

Karsten Tadda (1988 – 1m92 – Brose Baskets Bamberg) is the perfect example of a player that is earning minutes from hard work. The German SG is currently playing 20 minutes per game in the German Bundesliga and has the starting job for Chris Fleming’s team. Tadda has never played U16 or U18 national team and has only emerged on the highest German level during the 2008/2009 season where he saw his first regular minutes with Brose Baskets. He never caught one’s eye with athletic abilities or extraordinary talent during his young years. However, Tadda is an extremely hard worker, being the first guy in the gym and the last one to leave. Through these hard efforts, he has risen the steps of his career ladder one-by-one, from being a member of the local youth teams to the NBBL, Pro B, ProA and now Bundesliga. He is at the edge of the German senior national team and is probably the secret star of Bamberg

Tadda excels first of all as a defensive stopper. With his relentless effort, he can push his opponent full court and use him physically. He is not a outstanding ball stealer, but he can play the deny-defense at his best and run through the screens. He is also improving in drawing charges as he is not afraid to offer his body in the lane. Offensively, the shooting guard is mainly used as a catch-and-shoot player coming of the screens or in dish outs. He is feeling very comfortable in that role, nailing currently 34% (18/53) of his three-point attempts in Bundesliga and an amazing 66.7% (10/15) in the Eurocup where his team reached the Top16. While playing ProB last season with Breitengüssbach, Tadda also saw minutes as a PG and could connect for 3.8apg. Right now, he has not to fulfill these duties with Bamberg but he may grow in this role in the future with hard work. He is currently at the step from being a role player to become a team leader and it would not be a surprise see him reach that level in the next years.

Stefan Tapuskovic (1989 – 2m00 – LTi Giessen 46ers) is having a very different background as the Serbian guard has gone through the talent school of Partizan Belgrade, played with the Serbian U18 National Team and was highly praised as an outstanding shooter with great size. However, he never could crack the rotation of Partizan Belgrade’s senior team so that he played for the Junior team in the 3rd Serbian league until last season. He managed to lead the team to the 2nd division though and had a career game during the Serbian Korac Junior Cup Final with 48pts. Giessen’s head coach Vladi Bogojevic brought him as a total unknown to Germany this summer and he is now a member of the Bundesliga team of LTi Giessen 46ers.

Tapuskovic struggled a bit in the beginning of the season as he was benched a lot or even did not play at all. Even now, his minutes are really like a roller-coaster (26 against Oldenburg to DNP against Hagen), but he can always erupt with nice scoring efforts like he did in the heart-breaker against Frankfurt recently with 15pts in 19 minutes. His main offensive weapon is his long distance shot which he fires up with a nice quick release, even against the defense because of his good size for the SG position. He has very good fundamentals and recognizes well the situations when to alternate between drives and shots. He can attack the basket with both hands but mostly prefers to finish the plays in mid-range through floaters, jump-shots or with a pass. Defensively, he suffers in the athletic German league in one-on-one situations but compensates through good positioning and understanding of the defensive team concepts. Tapuskovic, who has signed for two years in Germany needs to improve his physical presence to become a more regular contributor on this level, something that he should be able to do in the next seasons.

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With the year 2009 coming to an end, it is time to look back at what happened during the last months. The EuroCup season is quite shorter than the Euroleague but the teams playing here are stuffed with interesting talent. So it is time to take a quick look at those players that are emerging in the 2nd best European competition.

Antoine Diot is currently playing his best season of his career. The 1989 born French guard of Le Mans is doing a great job leading his team and could also improve his statistics consequently. I had a long report on him this summer which I can only recommend to read as it describes the progress he has made, especially in the reading of pick and roll situations and with his long distance shot.

Stats: 7.8ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.0apg

Stefan Markovic is another PG that has made a big step this summer playing with the National Team and being now the leader of a Eurocup team. However, Markovic still struggles with his long distance shot these days as he is turning just around 18% from behind the arc. His all-around presence through strong rebounding and good defense overcome his decreasing scoring average over the last two years.

Stats: 7.0ppg, 4.3rpg, 5.5apg

Milan Macvan had one big game in this season’s Eurocup against Le Mans where he finished with 14pts and 6rebs. The 1989 born forward is imposing himself as a key player for Hemofarm, even he could not yet reach the level he played on last season.

Stats: 8.0ppg, 3.0rpg

Boban Marjanovic is still the 2m22 giant in the middle who has a major impact on both sides of the court. He is automatically eligible for the NBA Draft in 2010 so we could see him being a interesting pick down the road for several teams looking for a real big guy. Having a pretty nice shooting touch and a huge frame, Marjanovic has all the tools but currently is not yet making the next step in his development

Stats: 7.0ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.3bpg

Mindaugas Kuzminskas is one of the major surprises of the beginning of the Eurocup season. Kuzminskas who signed a long term deal with Zalgiris this summer but was loaned back to Siauliai is doing a great job as starter for the Lithuanian team. Being present both as a scorer and rebounder, Kuzminskas is doing an all-around job in his second Eurocup season. The 2m05 tall and 1989 born player is currently hitting his three point shots with great accuracy. His shooting mechanics look excellent with a quick release. He understand the game pretty well and he can use his size to post up smaller defenders when playing SF. He is also very effective when driving to the basket as he attracts the help defense and knows how to dish the ball to his open team mates. Fundamentally, he is at a very high level and athletically, he is above average for European standards. On the downside, he looks to be kind of a soft player when it comes to contact, especially in the lower body. He loses his balance in the air easily when going for the layup against defense and struggles to convert his attempts then. However, he is one of the most promising players in the Eurocup this season and I won’t be surprised to see him playing Euroleague with Zalgiris in 2010.

Stats: 12.5ppg (63.6% 7/11 3FG), 3.5rpg

Deividas Gailius is the 2nd player of BC Siauliai in this report and the electric combo guard born in 1988 is doing a great job in his first season with the team. Gailius is a highly energetic guard that displays a relentless effort on the court. He is more of a scorer, that’s why Siauliai uses him a lot on the SG position, even if he is starting most of the times at PG. The 2m00 tall guard pushes the ball very hard on the break and tries to go for the score against anybody. He looks like being always at full effort, it is not sure if he can really slow the speed down. In general, he has all the tools to become a very good player, he can shoot the ball in catch-and-shoot situations or out of the dribble. He is not afraid to drive hard and tries to dunk the ball when possible.

Stats: 10.3ppg, 4.5rpg

David Jelinek saw some playing time in the beginning of this EuroCup campaign and he used the limited minutes to show his scoring talent. The Czech born forward from 1990 will probably have more impact in the coming years as the 2m03 tall player has the talent to become an interesting rotation on ACB and EuroCup level.

Stats: 5.5ppg, 2.5rpg

Pere Tomas is improving his numbers throughout the competition as the 2m01 tall forward gained the starting lineup position for the last two games. The versatile 1989 born player is showing his all-around talent combined with his athletic abilities make him a prospect that should fulfill all the promises during the next years.

Stats: 5.3ppg, 2.8rpg, 1.3apg

Tim Ohlbrecht has been featured in a very recent report here on the website so I suggest you to read that piece.

Dimitry Khvostov seems to be there for years, he was present with the Dynamo Moscow team back in 2006/2007 already with similar stats to today. For me it is difficult to say anything else on him as I did not see him play in EuroCup action for several years.

Stats: 4.0ppg, 2.5apg 2.3topg

Alexey Shved has made the move that finally will give him the playing time to showcase his talent. Coming to Dynamo Moscow during the season, he exploded immediately in the EuroCup behind 16pts and 8rebs. In the year of his automatic eligibility for the NBA Draft, it is important for him to put some numbers on the table that are in line with his incredible talent. Hopefully, we will have more on him later in the season.

Stats: 10.5ppg, 7.0rpg

Marko Keselj is doing a good job this year with Crvena Zvezda but still does not live up to the major hype that was built up around him several years ago. Being born in 1988, the long forward who excels from behind the three point line, is probably not on the board of a lot of NBA teams at the moment. The financial situation of his team though brought him in a situation where is looking for a different club as he has not received his salary since March.

Stats: 9.7ppg (5/11 3FG)

Elmedin Kikanovic has not been discussed that much recently but the Bosnian 2m10 Center is once again producing excellent numbers with Crvena Zvezda. Living mostly from his excellent jump shot, the 1988 born player is not a massive physical force which does not make him that interesting for NBA teams. However, Kikanovic will certainly be a major target for Euroleague teams in the future.

Stats: 14.3ppg, 3.3rpg

Nemanja Bjelica is more interesting in terms of NBA potential as the 2m09 tall forward is showing excellent athletic abilities and large versatility in his game. Bjelica is also an excellent defensive player and one of the best rebounders on the forward position. Bjelica is however struggling with his shot at the moment as he connects only 34% of his attempts.

Stats: 4.5ppg, 6.8rpg

Donatas Motiejunas raised some eyebrows this summer when he announced that he will sign with Benetton Treviso. But the move seems pretty clever right now as the Lithuanian top talent is having a good role in the rotation of the Italian team and plays around 20 minutes every game. After the Euroleague qualifiers, I had no opportunity to see him play in the Eurocup thus far, so I hope to get a bit more on him later on in the season.

Stats: 7.5ppg, 2.3rpg

Alessandro Gentile is probably the biggest surprise of the whole Eurocup as the 17 year old player has cracked the rotation of Benetton and is putting on a scoring show during the minutes he is on the court. He scored 16pts in just 21 minutes against Dynamo Moscow and did better than the highly regarded Shved on the same game. Gentile plays with the Benetton Junior Squad at the Stella Azzurra tournament these days, so I will get a more complete report on him in the next days when I am back from Rome.

Stats: 7.3ppg, 4.3rpg

Kevin Seraphin has been covered recently in a longer report which you can find here.

Stats: 7.0ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.3bpg

Carl Ona Embo is getting some back-up minutes at the PG in Biella. He is currently doing a correct job as his three point shot is falling in the Eurocup competition. Still, Ona Embo is not a real PG but more of a scoring combo guard combined with PG size which makes it quite difficult for him to find the right position for the future.

Stats: 4.3ppg, 1.8rpg, 1.5apg

Pietro Aradori is simply among the best players of the competition. I had a long report on him a few weeks ago which you can read here.

Stats: 16.7ppg (65% 2FG), 5.0rpg, 2.3apg

Karsten Tadda is probably the best example to see that hard work pays off. The defensive specialist has worked himself into the heavy rotation of Brose Baskets Bamberg during last season and has progressed ever since. Being used mainly as a defensive stopper, Tadda is able to hit the three pointer with ease when being open as shows his current percentages in the Eurocup where he is at an incredible 72.7% from behind the arc. Tadda is starting now for his team at SG and may also see minutes on the Point Guard in the next years. The 1m90 tall and 1988 born guard may be limited in terms of pure basketball talent but he is the perfect role player and shows this already now on the Eurocup level.

Stats: 8.5ppg (72.7% 3FG)

Tibor Pleiss has been covered this week in a long report.

Stats: 10.5ppg 6.3rpg 1.3bpg

Janis Strelnieks (Stats: 12.3ppg 4.0apg), Lauris Blaus (Stats: 2.5ppg 1.8rpg) and Dairis Bertans (Stats: 4.0ppg 2.0rpg 1.3apg) have been covered during the Euroleague qualifiers and confirm their talent level in the current Eurocup competition.

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Back in 2006, at the beginning of this website, Pietro Aradori was one of the first players that I covered as he was a major factor for the Italian team at the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament. I scouted him later on again in 2007 at the U20 European Championship in Gorizia and now, at the edge of 2010, Aradori is living up to the high expectations I had on him back then.

When I read what I have written in 2006 on Aradori, some of the characteristics could be copy/pasted like this to a current scouting report.

Physically, he looks well developed and showed some interesting athleticism. He can pull up the three point jumper off the screen with ease. He can connect to the open player but goes more for his own shot. Near the basket on post up moves, he can go either with the left or the right hand.

When I saw now recent games of Aradori in the Italian League with Biella, most of this is still valid. The 1m93 tall guard looks pretty mature physically, not being a typical athlete type but strong and present on the court with a certain aura. The 1988 born player, who is automatically in the NBA Draft 2010, is the major offensive threat of his team, as he is simply the best Italian scorer in the whole Lega. His scorer qualities are really above average and he has a full arsenal of possibilities to put the ball through the net.

First of all, he has a shot that has a nice and quick release and that he can take out of every situation. When he has the ball, he can create his own shot either by using the pick, by driving against his opponent in one-on-one situation or after a good cross-over dribbling. His shot looks even better when he can fire it up in catch-and-shot situations when he had the time to prepare. His release is however a bit in front of his face at moments which is a little problem when playing against taller player. But his quick mechanics make this not that important.

His drives are pretty powerful and he can conclude them close to the rim with underhand scores on unorthodox “euro-steps” or by going for some running floaters. His good offensive fundamentals help him in those situations as he can go strong to the basket with both hands. His confidence level right now is pretty high so that even the tough lay-ups and scores fall for him.

A very interesting part of his game is that he has quite a good back-to-the-basket arsenal. You can see him several times go to the low post as soon as he gets defended by a smaller player. He recognizes these situations well and sends away his team mates to play the isolation on one side. He backs them up then and can score either with the hook or the turn around fade-away jump-shot, a jump shot that has a nice high flying curve.

Aradori excels also in the open court as he likes to run and finish strong at the basket. You can see him not afraid at all going for the dunk on the break even with a defender on him (watch No3 play of the Top 10 plays here for an example). On this particular play, you see also the flair he has on defense to go for the steal. But when talking about the defense, we have to mention also the downturn of the Italian guard.

His lateral speed is far from being good and he gets beat on one-on-one situations easily. Additionally, his defensive positioning is improvable as you can see him getting lost quite some times in defense not seeing the ball and the man. This brings him in difficult situations in the defensive rebound where he can not box out his man all the time. However, he is still a decent rebounder for his size as he shows a good feel for the ball and excellent timing. If he improves in his defensive orientation, he can become even a great rebounder for a guard.

A negative point that could be added on the offensive end is that Aradori tries most of his passes out of the jump, an error that he absolutely needs to overcome in the next years as it ends up several times in a turnover. His court-vision is decent but he needs to use it better and not going always for these jump-passes. Because he sees the open man and also recognizes double-team situations on post-up for example. He also needs to work a bit more off the ball, as he is clearly a player that wants the ball in his hands and feels a bit lost when not implicated in the offense.

After several different teams over the last years, Pietro Aradori has now found the perfect situation in Biella to develop in the season of the NBA Draft. If he gets a look at in the 2nd round is however questionable because of his limits in athleticism on NBA level. However, there are not that many scoring talents like him currently in the 1988 generation. Together with Marco Belinelli, Andrea Bargnani and Daniel Hackett, the Italian National Team is at least sure to have enough scoring power for the upcoming years.

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Approximately one year ago, EuropeanProspects.com made an introduction to several Finnish prospects together with our friend Hippo from Finland. Today, we will check who are the players that emerge in the season 2009/2010 up North.

The level of Finnish Korisliiga at the moment might be a lot better than many people think. The recession has been bombing sports clubs in Finland just as much as the other countries, but so far no club has collapsed within last year and a half because of lack of money and sponsors. Stand-out American players such as Corey Belser, Carl Elliot, Obie Trotter, Tyray Pearson and Ajene Moye have quite surprisingly found their way into Finland and the league also sports a record number of professional coaches and domestic professional players. National team cornerstones like Hanno Möttölä, Tuukka Kotti, Jukka Matinen, Ville Kaunisto, Samuel Haanpää, Petri Virtanen and Sami Lehtoranta are currently leading their teams in playoff hunt. (Side note: there are seven Finnish national team players playing professional basketball in European pro leagues and three young Finns starting in the NCAA.)

But since this is a youth basketball website, this might be the perfect chance to take a look at the young guns (born 1988 or later) making noise in Korisliiga. We begin from league-leading Pyrintö and stroll all the way to the bottom of the standings.

1. TAMPEREEN PYRINTÖ (14-1)

Pekka Setälä (1m85 – Guard – 1990)

A natural scoring guard. Not too versatile or defensively oriented, but isn’t afraid to take the big shots when the team needs him. Despite pedestrian scoring numbers, has been very effective in some games (17 points with 5-7 3pt shooting @ Lappeenranta, 15 pts with 4-6 3pt shooting @ KTP.)

Stats: 7,4mpg 4,8ppg 47,1% 3FG

Jesse Niemi (1m93 – Forward – 1990)

Won Korisliiga Rookie of the Year awards after 2007/08 season, but didn’t really get off the bench last season. Niemi has gotten rid of his baby fat and become a strong intimidator who can power his way to the hole with ease and perform well on 1-on-1 defense. Reads the game well, which leads to steals and transition points. Bit of a tweener.

Stats: 21,3mpg 6,3ppg 3,7rpg 1,6spg 62,9% 2FG

2. KOUVOLAN KOUVOT (11-4)

Antto Nikkarinen (1m85 – Point Guard – 1991)

Starting point guard of Finnish U18 national team has become a profile player in Korisliiga quicker than anybody expected. Has even broke into coach Toijala’s starting rotation in experienced Kouvot team. A strong, smart and quick floor general who has gained a lot of confidence from last season. Occasionally freezes the game with over-dribbling, but getting better all the time.

Stats: 23,2mpg 6,4ppg 1,1rpg 2,0apg 1,3spg 51,5% 2FG 41,4% 3FG 92,9% FT

Antti Kanervo (1m92 – Shooting Guard – 1989)

To put it simple: smart and reliable. Compensates his lack of athleticism and speed with timing, ball smarts and extremely good shooting. Won the Korisliiga Rookie of the Year award in 2008/09 and has been able to eliminate his ups and downs. Less than two years ago scored whopping 64 points in Division 1 game with 14-18 3pt shooting and punished Azerbaijan with 43 points in 2008 U20 game.

Stats: 25,0mpg 9,2ppg 1,5rpg 1,1apg 51,6% 2FG 41,4% 3FG 92,6% FT

3. TOPO, HELSINKI (11-4)

Michael Pounds (1m88 – Guard – 1988)

A pure energy guy. Has developed from a hustler and on-ball defender into a surprisingly good scorer, who combines self-confidence, toughness and fundamentals. Isn’t too much of a threat from outside and doesn’t perform well as point guard under on-ball pressure, but has also developed into a very good substitute player. Is currently averaging 11,0 points a game in November.

Stats: 16,1mpg 7,4ppg 1,4rpg 60,4% 2FG 79,3% FT

4. LAPPEENRANNAN NMKY (10-5)

Aleksi Koskinen (1m83 – Point Guard – 1992)

Young and skinny Koskinen hasn’t seen big minutes this season, but was surprisingly ready when coach Laitinen entered him into Lappeenranta’s line-up in the middle of last season because of injuries. Koskinen was able to net double digits a couple of times, minimize the number of turnovers and roll the offense smoothly. He was eaten alive by American guards in the defensive end, but I guess that’s what happens to most 17-year olds.

Stats: 6,6mpg 1,1ppg 1,0rpg 0,4apg

5. UU-KORIHAIT, UUSIKAUPUNKI (10-5)

Bojan Sarcevic (1m90 – Point Guard – 1988)

Strong Bosnian floor leader gets a lot of playing time and responsibility by coach Lehtonen, a former pro guard himself. Sarcevic’s ability to score from inside and outside are well known and his footwork and strength have made him a good defender as well. Took quantum leaps in 2008/09, but hasn’t shown that much of a progress this season.

Stats: 31,4mpg 12,0ppg 3,3rpg 3,2apg 1,4spg

6. KTP BASKET, KOTKA (8-7)

Sami Ikävalko (1m87 – Point Guard – 1989)

Ikävalko surprisingly developed into a reliable back-up guard last season with his fundamentals and ability to read the game. That encouraged coach Ray Ailus to insert Ikävalko into KTP’s line-up as the starting point guard. So far, Ikävalko hasn’t been flourishing under pressure, but he’s been very effective when he has had another guard (Eric Washington, Mikael Holme) sharing the point guard duties with him in the line-up.

Stats: 21,1mpg 5,6ppg 2,2rpg 1,3apg 0,6spg

7. ESPOON HONKA PLAYBOYS (7-8)

Sasu Salin (1m90 – Shooting Guard – 1991)

Fearless Salin is a natural scorer who has shown glimpses of greatness in his first two seasons in Finland, like netting 35 points in league game against Lappeenranta last season. Even though Salin was out from national team games last season because of injury, he has come back as hungry as ever and flourishing as the starting shooting guard of Honka Playboys. Has reached double figures ten times this season and also developed into a rather good defender. Still a little reckless and can disappear totally on bad nights.

Stats: 25,3mpg 10,1ppg 3,1rpg 0,7apg 0,9spg 41,3% 3FG

Carl Lindbom (2m04 – Forward – 1991)

Lindbom pretty much came out of nowhere and became a U18 starter last summer. Not too flashy or fundamental, but a very reliable shooter from behind the 3pt line and long distance 2′s. Lacks physicality and the will to rough it up inside and is in trouble with both quicker and stronger opponents on defense, but if he keeps evolving, he has the tools to become a pro.

Stats: 12,2mpg 5,2ppg 1,5rpg 54,2% 2FG 60,0% 3FG 85,7% FT

Lauri Toivonen (2m00 – Forward – 1991)

Toivonen never does anything fancy, but all the old school fans always appreciate his hard work, defense and wits. Reads the game very well for a big guy, excels as a post defender and seems to be in right place all the time. Has a couple of good post moves, but while they work on the U18 national team level, they are pretty easily taken away by Korisliiga defenders. Plays like a veteran and understands the value of hard work, a true college coaches dream.

Stats: 14,1mpg 2,2ppg 1,8rpg

8. NAMIKA LAHTI (5-9)

9. FORSSAN KORIPOJAT (5-10)

10. VILPAS VIKINGS, SALO (5-9)

Roope Ahonen (1m87 – Guard – 1990)

Spent 1,5 seasons in ToPo before returning to his home town Salo and dragging the team Vilpas Vikings into Korisliiga. Ahonen has a green light to shoot and execute as a starting guard in Vilpas roster and so far he has responded well. While Ahonen is still a subpar defender and can become a hothead when his shot isn’t falling, he’s capable of draining big numbers (18, 22, 28 in the league so far this season) because of his exceptional offensive capabilities. Ahonen can become a national team rotation player and a professional if he wants to.

Stats: 30,3mpg 10,9ppg 2,0rpg 2,1apg 0,6spg 37,1% 3FG 100% FT

11. JOENSUUN KATAJA (3-12)

12. KAUHAJOEN KARHU (1-14)

Sad Niskanen (1m96 – Forward – 1988)

The cellar-dwelling Karhu really has no other option but to give playing time to youngsters. The way the kids have been playing is by far the brightest spot in Karhu this season. Niskanen has been underachieving a little in his first seasons in Division 1 and Korisliiga, but he already showed glimpses of improvement last season with Korihait and has been able to perform well in over 20 minutes a game with Karhu. Willing to fight for rebounds and dive for loose balls.

Stats: 21,3mpg 6,9ppg 3,7rpg 0,8apg 50,0% 2FG 70,0% FT

written by Hippo

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The Lithuanian guard is on fire during the beginning of this season so it was time to take a closer look at the Lietuvos Rytas player. Martynas Gecevicius, who I follow for quite a few years now is finally getting the playing minutes with Rytas to show what he is able to do on the highest European level.

The first thing you see when Gecevicius is on the court is of course his shooting skills. The 1m93 tall player has probably one of the quickest shot releases in the Euroleague, even if he is firing up a bit low, the ball not being above his head when taking the shot. But despite doing so, he is able to make the long distance bombs even with a defender on him. This does not change the mechanics he has on his shot which are totally automatic and consistent what ever happens. His open three point shot from the corner falls right now nearly automatically too; even with a poor 1/6 long range effort, he is at 50% from behind the arc in the ongoing Euroleague season.

Another important thing about Gecevicius’ shot and release is that he can go for an immediate shot after the catch. He does not really need to prepare his shot as he is always waiting in the perfect position to take it. This is highly helpful for him in order to knock it down during the short moment he will be open after the catch. He is mainly a catch-and-shoot player from behind the arc for his team, but he can convert he mid-range jump shot as well, also on the fast break. He moves very well without the ball in order to be in the perfect passing angle for the dribbling player and to get the open position against the defense.

When it comes to the penetration plays, Gecevicius looks a bit more limited as he barely has a left hand. A large majority of his drives go over his right hand, where he can create the open spot for himself or for a team mate. His ball handling on those occasions is quite ok, you can see him go for cross-over or spin moves, but mostly on his right hand alone. When going to the left, he does it for getting the one-dribble jump shot, where he is not that automatic right now.

During certain moments, Lietuvos Rytas uses him as PG, a role where he is still learning and that may be his future. Despite being quite a good but also fast passer on the swings for example, his limits on his left handed dribbling make him quite predictable in what he does so that the defense can put a lot of pressure on him and force the turnovers. You could see him however score an underhand floating layup of the glass out of such a PG situation where he use a horn-setup to get open.

Gecevicius is not a liability on defense at all. He has improved his lateral speed and can now guard quicker guards. He may not become a lock-down defender probably, he misses the athletic abilities to do so, but his long minutes on the court show that his coaching staff is not using him just as a pure offensive player. If he continues his Euroleague season on the level where he started it, he may be a hot candidate for the Euroleague Rising Star trophy this season, a nice symbol in a year where he is automatically eligible for the NBA Draft.

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