Agusti Sans – 1m94 – PG – 1995 – Joventut Badalona

The left handed but tall point guard improved throughout the event after a relatively slow start. He was the heart of the Badalona offense as he could do everything from the defensive end to finish close to the rim. With his size and relatively good athletic abilities, Sans often took the defensive rebound to start the fast break immediately with his good speed. Very much oriented on his left hand, he was most of the time crossing the ball over to be able to attack the basket on his strong side. Only very few defenders were able to take his strength away so that he could penetrate often at will. This gave him excellent shooting percentages as he was able to finish close to the rim with ease.

Sans can also create his own shot either from mid-range or from behind the arc. Despite his good jumping ability, he does not elevate a lot when taking a shot which can become a problem against longer defenders. His mechanics though are very fluid and his overall shooting flow looks good. He needs though to become more regular from outside the three-point line as his shot remains streaky. Sans has all the tools to become a good PG on the professional level as he combines size, decent athletic abilities and a good scoring potential. It should not last a long time until he sees minutes on a regular basis for the Badalona pro team.

Stats: 10.3ppg (66.7% 2FGs – 27.3% 3FGs), 4.5rpg, 5.5apg, 2.0topg

Xavier Assalit – 1m85 – PG – 1995 – Joventut Badalona

The backup of Sans was an excellent complement as his style was quite different from the starting guard. Assalit was shorter than Sans but what a speed. The 1m85 tall right handed guard was certainly the fastest player of the whole NIJT in London. Extremely aggressive on both ends of the floor, Assalit attacked the basket without any fear and drew a large amount of fouls (5.5 per game). As he was doing an excellent job from the free-throw line, he could really improve his numbers compared to the NIJT in l’Hospitalet. Assalit has not only great speed on the fast break but he accelerates so well against set defense. On the negative side, despite being excellent from the free-throw line, Assalit has no shot at all from behind the arc. This is a problem for him if he wants to make it to the next as defenses will give him no chance of beating them easily on the drive.

Stats: 8.3ppg (43.8% 2FGs – 19/21 FTs), 3.0rpg, 2.9apg, 1.5topg

Nikola Rebic – 1m85 – PG – 1995 – Crvena Zvezda

It was not really a great tournament for Red Star who could never really find their rhythm in London. Nikola Rebic looked to be the only one playing on his real level as he finished with strong numbers. Due to the extended coverage of the NIJT in Belgrade, we did not check that many minutes of the Zvezda team as the schedule did not allow to watch full games. Rebic showed an improved finishing against the defense when attacking the basket which is also underlined by his excellent shooting percentage from 2 point territory. However, he played only 2 games so that these numbers have to be handled with care.

Stats: 17.0ppg (76.9% 2FGs – 25.0% 3FGs), 3.0rpg, 5.0apg, 2.5topg

Ludde Hakanson – 1m93 – PG – 1996 – FC Barcelona

It has not been a great tournament for the Swedish guard but he looks to be among the more interesting PG prospects of the 1996 generation. Not very lucky with his shooting, Hakanson showed good reads of the defense in Pick and Roll situations to get the open jump shot. Not very creative in his passing though, Hakanson looked more like a scoring than a distributing point guard on this level. He showed some good control of the game speed but was outmatched by Joventut’s quickness in the Final of the tournament. Overall, the Swede looks to be a good shooter. He has a lot of confidence and asks for the ball when he is open and nails the jump shot from around the arc. Hakanson is a player that matured quite early so that it is difficult how much upside he still has. Physically, he is already well developed and technically, he has the level. Having another year at the U18, it will be interesting to see how much of the leadership role he can take over next season as he looks to be quite a vocal person on the court.

Stats: 6.5ppg (26.1% 2FGs – 33.3% 3FGs), 3.0rpg, 2.5apg

Luke Nelson – 1m90 – PG – 1995 – England U18

It looks like UC-Irvine got a massive steal with the signature of the English guard Luke Nelson as the athletic and mobile playmaker looked to be one of the best PGs in the tournament. Nelson has excellent ball handling and uses it well to beat his man on the dribble with often wide crossover moves. Additionally, he seems to have a good wingspan which allows him to be very large in his plays. He has a preference for the jump shot out of the dribble which is certainly not the easiest shot to make but Nelson scored several of them also in the decisive moments. Nevertheless, his shot selection was a bit hazardous at moments but overall he looked to be a nice fit for NCAA-type of basketball.

The 1m90 tall player has good speed and nice acceleration moves when he is attacking the basket. He can find his team mates well on help situations but looks mostly for his own score first. He can make some points especially out of the dribble where he can also attack the rim hard. On the other hand, Nelson misses high-level experience in controlling the game speed and looks to play without changing the rhythm of the offense. This is a part of the game that he still has to learn next to becoming a more regular player from behind the three-point line. Nelson should be able to get minutes right from the start with UC-Irvine and it will be interesting how far he can go in the NCAA experience.

Stats: 15.7ppg (38.9% 2FGs – 30.8% 3FGs), 3.3rpg, 5.7apg, 3.7topg

Aleksej Nikolic – 1m83 – PG/SG – 1995 – OKK Spars Sarajevo

Nikolic was the main ball handler for the somehow disappointing OKK Spars team during the NIJT in London. After dominating the tournament in Rome, Nikolic played correctly in London and was in our eyes the best player of the big-three from Sarajevo. Quite versatile and a good rebounder, Nikolic though was mainly used in a role of scoring guard that he seemed to like. Despite having not the greatest size, Nikolic lives from his quick feet and very quick shot that he can get up against nearly anyone on defense. Overall, Nikolic looks like an interesting prospect but it would be good to see him with a real team to better analyze how he operates in a situation where he does not have the ball all the time.

Stats: 15.7ppg (50.0% 2FGs – 33.3% 3FGs), 7.0rpg, 4.7apg, 5.0topg

Joventut Badalona came to the Final as a favorite after their stellar performances during the group phase. But nobody probably expected that in the end, the result would be that clear. Barcelona had no chance whatsoever to win this game as Joventut executed so well on both ends of the floor. Driven by a balanced team where nobody with the exception of Jose Nogues played more than 25 minutes, la Penya showed how beautiful basketball can be when it is played intelligently and as a team.

Alberto Abalde was once again the main scoring threat from outside for the Catalans while Agusti Sans was everywhere with his 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Nogues was a little calmer as he netted only 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds but his overall presence on both ends of the floor was determinant. For Barca, it was the same story than the previous games. Marc Garcia was super effective in corner threes while the versatile Adria Catenys came up with some scores from everywhere. Mario Hezonja was playing but did not have much impact and could not help his team in any way.

The selection for the All-Tournnament team was more or less a joke in our eyes as two player from the disappointing Spars Sarajevo got honored. While we can agree with the selections of Marc Garcia, Alberto Abalde and Agusti Sans, there was no reason to put Djoko Salic and even less Nedim Buza into the All-Tournament team. A player like Jose Nogues was clearly more valid as an All-Tournament team member while also players like Luke Nelson, Milovan Draskovic or Dusan Ristic would have desserved a spot.

In the game for the third place of the Euroleague Final Four, Alex Abrines and Marko Todorovic saw good minutes and used the possibility to score. We will come back on these two later on. The Final game was a beauty. After being down 17 points, Olympiacos came back and won their second Euroleague title in a row. Well deserved and great team basketball.

Badalona needed a win over China to qualify for the big game on Sunday but the Catalans had some trouble to get ahead in this game. China resisted well in the first quarter but foul trouble of their main drivers put them in a difficult situation. Agusti Sans on the other hand was dominating the game on both sides of the court. The left handed guard finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks which made him the best player of the day. Jose Nogues also had a good game despite starting on the SF spot where he struggled against the Chinese defense. Nogues finished with 21 points.

In a game that we barely followed, Crvena Zvezda easily won against Lietuvos Rytas and used the difference to give minutes to their bench. Nikola Rebic did not even play but it were the usual suspects finishing well with Dusan Ristic, Brano Djukanovic and Marko Guduric. On the Lithuanian side, noboody even managed to score in double figures so that they travel back home without a victory.

There were some expectations for the game between Barcelona and INSEP as the French could still qualify for the Final while Barcelona absolutely needed to win to advance. However, and despite the absence of Mario Hezonja, there was not really a contest here. The Barcelona offense and defense looked so well-oiled that INSEP simply had no chance to win this game. Marc Garcia was once again one of the main players for Barcelona as he scored 21 points. On the other hand INSEP could not stop Milovan Draskovic and his size as the Montenegrin inside player had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Damien Inglis showed a bit of his talent by finishing with 15 points and 9 rebounds but he could never only touch to his stellar performances from Belgrade. Yven Smock scored 14 points as well for France.

The last game of the day gave Team England a good win over Spars Sarajevo behind a superb second half where they totally dominated the winners of the NIJT Qualification Event in Rome. Djoko Salic struggled mightily in the second half to put the ball in the basket and turned it over 8 times while Aleksej Nikolic could connnect to a few baskets to keep the honor safe. England on the other hand showed a superb team effort with Luke Nelson once again running the show scoring nice baskets and finding his team mates well. Additionally, the English big guys played nice inside defense with Bigby Kavell doing an excellent job to use the open positions he had to score the ball. England had a great 20-5 last quarter to get their deserved victory.

After the tournament games, the English boys were not done yet as they were the team that was used for the two coaching clinics organised by the Euroleague. First, Donnie Nelson of the Dallas Mavericks gave some basic instructions of hoow to construct a fast break and an early offense. After him, Simone Pianigiani showed how offense has to move depending on the defense choice in a ball screen situation. Both clinic were quite interesting in their own way and the organisation of such a clinic during a Final Four seems a good idea to me even if it was probably not the most atteneded event of the weekend.

In the first game of the day, Lietuvos Rytas had to play against Team China. The Lithuanians came to London without their best prospect Edvinas Seskus and you could see this immediately. Rytas had certainly one of the weakest performances of all the NIJTs I have seen without any team play or creativity. Norbertas Giga showed some basic stuff but it was Deividas Kuelis who finished as top scorer of the Rytas team. On the Chinese side, the scouts were hoping to see Zhou Qi but the seven-footer did not make the trip. So there is nothing really interesting to report about the Chinese team either so that we could focus quickly on the second game of the day.

Joventut Badalona came up with a terrific team effort to overcome Red Star and the Catalans made a big step to reach the Final on Sunday. There was no real star player standing out but you have to mention the big baskets scored by Alberto Abalde while Jose Nogues showe his versatility and ability to run the court. The unexpected star of the game though was Xavier Assalit who finished with 17 points on just 5 shots. The guard drew 10 fouls and scored 13 out of 15 free-throws. On the Serbian side, Nikola Rebic showed a good scoring game with 23 points but he could not lead his team to a victory. Dusan Ristic showed his limitations against a physical defense as the Serbian center struggled to impose his length in the paint. He only had 12 points and 4 rebounds while Marko Tejic finished with only 3 litte points too.

In a quite strange game, FC Barcelona won against Spars Sarajevo after several ups and downs during the contest. First, Mario Hezonja got injured in the 2nd quarter but the Croatian sensation did not show much except some bad shots until that moment. It was more of a team play effort afterwards of the Spanish team where Marc Garcia stepped up with his three-point shooting while Milovan Draskovic put Djoko Salic in much trouble on defense. Salic could not dominate in the paint as expected and finished with 5/14 FGs and 2/8 FTs. He grabbed 16 rebounds but it was not enough against the Barcelona inside defense that showed him his limitations by doubling him in multiple situations.

The last game of the da was probably the most exciting as Team England was looking for the upset against INSEP. Driven by Luke Nelson, England could get up to a double-digit lead in the second half but was unable to hold on. INSEP took over before the final horn but Nelson tied the game again in the final seconds to bring it to overtime. Here however, INSEP brought the game home and this once again wihtout a dominating Damien Inglis. On the other hand, Ywen Smock finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks.

The Euroleague Final 4, to which the Euroleague did not want us to get access was in the end not that interesting, at least during the semi-finals for NBA Scouts. The two only draft candidates, Marko Todorovic and Alejandro Abrines did not play much. I want to thank however all the people who made it possible for me to get in despite the decision of the Euroleague.

Dear Mr Bertomeu

As every year, your main event is coming closer and the fans are getting excited about the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four. This year, London will be the host of the party but Europeanprospects.com, Eurohopes.com and In-the-game.org have been denied an accreditation for the event. This is particularly sad to not use other words as these websites are covering European Basketball for more than 7 years, more than any other English-speaking blogs about European basketball and other than Eurobasket.com and Sportando, nobody spreads the magic of European basketball to the world more than us.  We are not that much into self-marketing but we can proudly say that our websites are true pioneers in reporting about Basketball in Europe – each in its own way.

We totally agree to your position in terms of security so that you can only give credentials to a limited number of journalists but wonder how come, year after year, there’s no space for our websites. We don’t wish to point at other media who were approved and say we should have won their spot. This isn’t our style.  We have readers throughout the world and the fact that we can not report properly about the Final Four is not something to overlook. We believe it’s common knowledge that sites like ours – who are fully and solely dedicated to European basketball – should be accredited for the biggest celebration of our sport. We challenge you to count how many websites that are fully and solely dedicated to European Basketball, in English or any other language, are out there.

In our eyes, it is a scandal that people who are innovating in their coverage of European basketball get banned from covering the main event. During the Final Four, you are organizing an “Innovation in Sports” summit but on the other hand, you deny the accreditation request by some of the most innovative websites in Europe. Europeanprospects.com posted a first message on Twitter back in 2008 and is certainly one of the first Twitter users in European Basketball at all. Today, the websites of Europeanprospects.com, Eurohopes.com and in-the-game.org combine more than 10.000 followers on Twitter and our Tweets cover European Basketball in an analytical way like only very few other writers in the world.

We are in 2013 and Social Media have a major importance in the communication of young people and basketball fans in general. Our Twitter followers include multiple GMs, Coaches, Scouts and other executives from Euroleague, NBA or NCAA teams. We invite you to check our websites and see how In-the-game.org is a true and only innovator in analyzing the statistics of the Euroleague, covering your league in a way that NOBODY else does, and far more advanced than most of the teams in your league. How Europeanprospects.com and Eurohopes.com cover the future stars of European basketball in a more thorough way than most teams in your competition do. The added value to the fans of the game should be clear.

Eurohopes.com was founded in October 2009 and has basketball fans from 187 different countries from all over the world, including the United States, Spain, Serbia, Italy and Turkey in the Top 5. Although the website has been growing systematically as evidenced by our subscribers, such as NBA franchises, Division I NCAA schools and top European clubs, unfortunately we have never been approved by the Euroleague to cover the Final Four.

In-the-game.org was founded in December 2008 and has basketball fans from 190 countries with the United States, Greece, Germany, Turkey and Spain as its top visitors. The site’s articles and statistics database are regularly visited by fans and journalists as well as scouts, coaches, video- and statistical analysts from both Euroleague and the NBA.

Europeanprospects.com was founded in September 2005 and has readers from 193 countries in the World. The United States, Germany, France, Spain and Italy are the main locations of its readership which is composed of mainly club executives, coaches, agents and scouts from all levels of professional basketball.

We have never been dismissed to any event, is it by FIBA, FIBA Europe or by Euroleague clubs, while this isn’t the first time we weren’t approved for your event. Though granted a media pass for the Istanbul Final Four 2012 and the Charleroi EuroCup Final 2013, in-the-game.org was originally denied media credentials for the London Final Four, before being approved as a substitute (thanks to the lobbying of other media members) when a vacancy occurred due to the absence of one media member.

We think that it’s time to change your accreditation policy, open your mind and give a possibility to those websites that make European Basketball move ahead and who are not just limited to pure reproduction of press releases or rumors  to cover the Final Four. Denying us takes away quality coverage of your spearhead event which is not only a pity for you but for the coverage of European Basketball fans in general.

We will publish this open letter on our websites on Tuesday to inform our readers about the situation. We will also invite other websites to support us in our cause as it is our legal right to share our opinion of this unacceptable situation. We strongly believe that it is in favor of European Basketball and of Euroleague Basketball specifically to adapt your accreditation policy and re-think your decision.

After a full Euroleague season where Neumann saw good minutes in the regular season and the Top16, the German big guy had to step back a bit in the rotation when A.J. Ogilvy got healthy again. But the slight injury of Maik Zirbes brought Neumann back on the court and he even started some games. He had though his best game of the season this weekend when the Brose Baskets played against ALBA Berlin. Coming from the bench to replace Zirbes, Neumann immediately established good positions in the low post against the French National Team player Ali Traoré. Not afraid at all to attack the French big on the first touch, Neumann score out of a back-to-the-basket situation going on his left hand to connect on the layup.

Neumann continued to dominate Traoré in the low-post, scoring also on the left handed hook shot. He made the ALBA big guys run as he was going hard on the fast break as a trailer as well. The 1992 born player has improved his positioning and showed that he has learned how to draw a charge in Euroleague style. In the second half, Neumann missed an open mid-range jump shot that he took with full confidence after having scored the tough one-handed dunk with the foul. The German prospect is really focusing on the things he can do and has dramatically improved his attitude to the game compared to his youth days. Additionally, he has found the necessary concentration to be regular from the free-throw line. He made 30 out of 36 free-throws overt the last five game which is not only a great percentage for a big guy but also an excellent capacity of drawing fouls on the offensive end.

On the downside, you have to notice that Neumann is still not a good enough defensive rebounder for his position. Over the season, he is only averaging 1.8 boards on the defensive end which is subpar for a center. Even when he is playing more than 20 minutes per game, his defensive rebounding average remains low with 3.0 rebounds. Even though, Neumann is doing an excellent job boxing out and hustling to get the boards, his overall numbers remain low in this part of the game. His low-post defense has improved during the Euroleague season too and he can now hold his own in the Bundesliga against the best centers of the league. Avoiding to use his two arms, Neumann likes to establish good positions and take the charge when the offensive player lowers the shoulder.

Overall, Neumann looks to be on the right way. Still not being considered as a serious NBA prospect because of his lack of outstanding athletic abilities, the 2m09 tall inside player will most likely have to move back to the PF position if he wants to have a chance in the big league. Before that is going to happen, he needs to become the regular contributor on the German League level and help his team to improve their record in next season’s Euroleague. He will automatically eligible for the NBA Draft in 2014 where he should be able to draw some attention at least in the second round as mobile and scoring big men close to seven feet are still rarity on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.

Click on the image to see it in full size.

The probably biggest event of the weekend has been played in the French basketball city Cholet where the traditional Cholet Mondial Basket tournament for U18 teams has been played. In the end, Elan Chalon won the trophy by dominating Krka Novo Mesto in the final behind 32 points and 7 rebounds of Axel Bouteille. However, the MVP trophy of the Final went to Mathias Lessort who finished with 18 points, 19 rebounds and 6 blocks. On the Slovenian side, they had to play without their top scorer Martin Krampelj. Domen Janc took over with 16 points and 5 assists but it was not enough to win the trophy.

The game for the third place has been won by SLUC Nancy where Lenny Charles-Catherine had 23pts and 6 rebounds. For Cholet, Leo Maginot had 18pts in the game for the Bronze Medal. Bayern Munich finished at the 5th spot of the Ranking. The MVP trophy of the tournament went to Mathias Lessort, the 2m00 tall inside player of Elan Chalon (see some highlights below). The 1995 born also won the trophy of best rebounder of the event. The top scoring award went to Axel Bouteille, also from Chalon while Theo Lefebvre from Chalon as well won the best passer trophy.

Paris-Levallois have won the title in the Cherbourg U18 tournament by beating Manchester Magic in the final 56-41. The third place went to the English U17 National Team that won against Tunisia in the Bronze Medal game. Bradley Jomard has been elected MVP and he was a member of the All-Tournament team together with Pharroh Gordon (Manchester), Randon Grueninger (Switzerland), William Olugbege (Paris) and Emryss Mormin (Paris)

In the Holland Nordic Basketball Tournament for U18 teams, it was the Sabonis Academy from Kaunas that took the trophy home by winning against the English U18 National Team in the Final. The third place was for BK Ventspils who beat the locals GasTerra Flames. The Dutch U18 National Team finished fifth by beating Israel. The MVP trophy was given to Tyrell Isaacs from England, the best offensive player was Edgars Stelmahers from Ventspils while Jan Kurpas from Slovakia was selected as best referee (!!).

In Tourcoing, Team USA won the event by beating Unics Kazan in the final in front of 3000 spectators 95-87. The Belgrade selection finished at the third place while the Canarias Basketball Academy was fourth in the end. See below for a 20 minutes video extract from the Final.

Crvena Zvezda won the traditional U16 Massagno tournament in Switzerland by beating a selection from Zagreb in the final 67-46. Crvena Zvezda’s Vojislav Stojanovic won the tournament MVP and was the leading scorer with 25.5ppg. Unelco Tenerife finished 3rd after beating Cantu. In the U14 event, Zagreb won the tournament after beating Casteggio in the Final.

Several Youth National Teams started their preparation for the summer during the Easter break. Serbia and Germany met in Belgrade to play two games with their respective U16 squads. Both teams went home with one victory. In the first game, Serbia was led to victory by 98 born Milos Glisic (21pts) and Stefan Peno (17pts) while Niklas Kiel scored 19 points for Germany. In the re-match, the Germans could beat Serbia in a more defensive game. Marvin Omuvwie had 13 points for the guests while the hosts saw Glisic come up with 19 points.

Germany also traveled to Spain with their U18 team but came home with several large defeats. Spain dominated both games easily and was driven by their inside forces Juan Alberto Hernangomez, Ilimane Diop and Jose Nogues while Agusti Sans had a 20 points outing in the first clash. For Germany, who played without several key players (Taylor, Akpinar,…), coach Blümel tested some new names like Konstantin Kovalev or Lars Schlüter.

Spain also played against the United Kingdom with their U16 teams. The players from Great Britain had no chance whatsoever despite the addition of German born Malik Eichler to the squad. Spain won 84-52 and 89-38.

The main characteristics of Mam Jaiteh at first sight are his physical attributes. The 1994 born inside player displays a greatly developed body far away from the typical European  thin frame at that age. With long arms and a chiseled built, Jaiteh has still some upside potential in terms of physical development which would make him one of the “largest” prospects in Europe. On the other hand, during the games I have scouted, Jaiteh did not really look more athletic or mobile than before. He has never been a very explosive guy that plays above the rim. He can jump and dunk of course but overall, he is not an elite athlete compared to other French prospects.

Jaiteh is currently mainly used as a low post presence. With his large body, he can post up anyone on this level and once he gets the ball, he likes to go for the jump hook of his right hand. The other move we saw from him in low post situations is a baseline drop step move. Next to these two go-to moves, Jaiteh has still a quite unpolished game in the low post on the professional level. His length and physique are matched here and he can not beat somebody on the dribble either. In general, Jaiteh’s finishes are executed quickly despite being not that fast in his moves overall. He has to do so as he will not “outjump” his opponents and therefore needs quickly executed finishing moves.

Jaiteh certainly needs to work on his decision making as it is his first season on the professional level. You could see him come up with some costly turnovers in the money time or take a jump shot out of the dribble when receiving the ball on the three point line. However, his passing is not too bad as he can find the weak side shooter out of the low post which is one of the most important passes for a big guy. Additionally, Jaiteh should improve his overall intensity and aggressiveness on the court. He rarely dunks the ball even when he has open looks in the paint. However, he can finish strong with two hands when the defense forces him to chose this option in order to be sure to finish it. But overall, he should go for more aggressive finishes close to the rim and not shy away as he has the body to dominate in the paint.

On the defensive end, Jaiteh has still some weaknesses. He gets stuck in screens on a regular basis but this is once again something that he will most likely learn in the next years as he is not used yet to play against professionals. Additionally, Jaiteh is a good rebounder but he is not boxing out his man on a regular basis. You can often see him follow the ball on defensive rebounding situations instead of checking his man and keeping him away from the basket. He needs to work on this if he wants to be as competitive as a rebounder on a higher level. Despite his length, Jaiteh is only an average shot blocker which can be explained by his above mentioned lack of explosiveness. The good thing though is that he has even raised his numbers when moving up from Nationale 1 to ProB this summer. This is a positive sign for the next steps that Jaiteh will make in his career.

Jaiteh is supposed to play the Nike Hoop Summit in a few weeks where he will match-up with the very athletic US team. It will be highly interesting to see if he can handle this athleticism and how he will adapt his game to the American environment. The 2m08 tall center is rumored to put his name in the NBA Draft 2013 but the recent match-ups with Rudy Gobert and Alexis Ajinca in the French Cup have shown him that it is still a long way to go and some additional steps before moving over the Atlantic would certainly not be an error.

Abdoulaye Loum came to Boulogne on loan during the season. The 1991 born forward was a last second addition to the Adidas Eurocamp last spring where he had a so-so showing not exactly knowing on what to focus during the games. The game we saw from him this season with Boulogne was quite remarkable as the the 2m08 tall player was very effective on both ends of the court. Offensively, he showed a very good three-point shot nailing 5 out of 7 attempts from behind the arc. He is shooting at 53.1% (17/32 3FGs) so far this season in ProB which is an excellent value. His mechanics look fluid even if they are not yet fully stable.

Loum is a superb athlete who plays very vertical. He can run the floor well and likes to play above the rim. However, this does not make him an outstanding rebounder on the defensive end as he has also some flaws in boxing out his man or finding good positions. But Loum is really long and can compensate his lacks in the understanding of the game with a great energy level and tentacle-like arms. Offensively, he needs to find some other options than just the three point shot as Loum was only scoring on the long-range attempts or after an offensive rebound. We could not see if he has improved his ball handling as he just went for catch-and-shoot situations when he received the ball on the three-point where he was probably waiting a bit too much instead of using his size in the paint.

Dusan Ristic – 2m07 – C – 1995 – Crvena Zvezda

Dusan Ristic won the MVP trophy of the Nike International Junior Tournament 2013 in Belgrade as he was the most dominant player on the most dominant team. This award was certainly deserved but you have to add that on his position, the strongest other players were certainly on his own team. So Ristic did not really face any super-hard competition in the paint so that he could score easily most of the time. But let’s start at the beginning.

Ristic was dominating in the low post. He could establish position quite well and was very good on the jump hook turning to the baseline. The 2m07 tall big guy executed this move with either hand and good precision up to 2.5 meters away from the basket. Occasionally, he went for other low-post moves where he showed improved footwork. Even under high defensive pressure, he was able to execute his moves well and stay alert for avoiding the helpers. He looks to be already quite experienced as you could see him check the 24 seconds clock before starting a move for example. He posts up really deep which helps him to finish moves quickly without using a dribble and take away the chances to smaller players to get the steal.

On the defensive end, Ristic shows some good lateral speed for a big guy. His quick feet help him on that side as well. However, his defensive impact needs to be bigger if he wants to play on the professional level. His rebounding is good but not great and he is more relying on the feel than seriously boxing out his man. Shot blocking is not one of his strength but he is not a defensive go-to match-up either. With his understanding of the game, he does a good job overall in the team defense.

The main question for Ristic though is what is his potential for the next level. With 2m07, he might lack the top-level size to play at Center. Additionally, he did not show much of an outside game which does not mean that he does not have it, he simply did not need it against this competition. With the skills that he showed in Belgrade, he should be able to become a player who is able to put the ball on the floor from outside. He showed for example some high-low passing when he got the ball at the top of the key. But only on very rare occasion, the initiated plays for himself from outside the three-point line.

Stats: 18.6ppg, 9.4rpg, 1.0bpg, 23.0PIR

Marko Tejic – 2m08 – PF – 1995 – Crvena Zvezda

Marko Tejic played an excellent tournament as Power Forward and second big guy for the winners of Crvena Zvezda. More versatile but less dominating than Ristic, Tejic was a bit in the shadow of the MVP. 2m08 tall and left handed, Tejic can play from outside and also hit the long-range shots. He has grown stronger than we remember him from the previous years which is a massive help for him when fighting in the paint. He likes the hustle plays and is present in multiple disputed possessions. The Serbian forward showed some good understanding of the game and underlined his multi-usage on the nice passes or his usage of spacing on the court. However, Tejic does not really have a right hand, either in the dribble or to score from close.

On the defensive end, Tejic showed some poise and was quite present in shot blocking. He needs though to become a better rebounder and be able to defend in the low post. His outside defense is ok for a player of his size but there is still some room for improvement. Tejic’s future looks interesting as he can develop into a a good role player in the future. He should be able to use his shot to stretch the floor and be an instant offensive threat coming from the bench. He needs though to improve his technical skills and especially his right hand in the next years.

Stats: 9.6ppg, 4.8rpg, 1.6bpg, 11.8PIR

Djordje Kaplanovic – 2m09 – PF – 1995 – Crvena Zvezda

Not the most known prospect of the Crvena Zvezda team, Djordje Kaplanovic used the NIJT in Belgrade to boost his stock among the scouts. The physically strong forward showed excellent rebounding skills and a nice inside game on offense. He grabs the rebounds effectively with 2 hands and immediately puts the ball back strong on offense. Looking a bit stiff when moving on the floor, Kaplanovic is though quite mobile. He showed some nice moves when putting the ball on the floor going for a spin move or the jump shot out of the dribble. His playing time remained limited compared to Ristic and Tejic so his numbers can be considered as excellent. He might be the sleeper of the three Zvezda big guys so we will follow him well in the next years to analyze his development.

Stats: 7.6ppg, 7.0rpg, 13.2PIR

Nikola Jokic – 2m07 – C – 1995 – Mega Vizura

Having started to play basketball only recently, Nikola Jokic looked like a very interesting prospect for the next years. The 2m07 tall Jokic played most of his minutes at the Center position but his future looks to be clearly on the PF spot. First of all, he showed some very good back to the basket scoring potential even if he has not real go-to move. He likes to bang down low which is already a great start. However, Jokic was also able to play with his face to the basket and even capable of going out to the three-point line. He only made 1/12 shots from behind the arc but you could see that it is only a question of time before he can become more consistent from behind the 6m75 line.

Jokic also has the feel to draw fouls on offense, especially when he puts the ball on the floor. He needs to become more stable on his jump shot which he looks to be able to do. With his relatively young basketball experience, Jokic has some very interesting upside potential for the next years. When he can improve his ball handling, the 2m07 tall can really develop into a high-level Power Forward in the future.

Stats: 12.4ppg, 8.4rpg, 1.0bpg, 14.8PIR

Milenko Veljkovic – 2m12 – C – 1995 – Mega Vizura

The tallest player in the tournament, Milenko Veljkovic did not show outstanding basketball skills but he was an important factor on the Mega Vizura team. The right handed player has some basic back-to-the-basket moves but overall does not look very polished in his game (yet). He has great length with huge hands and pins his man well because of a strong physical built. On the other hand, he is not very mobile or a good runner but when he finds his position close to the basket, he is quite effective. On the defensive end, he showed a good presence and rebounder and especially as shot blocker. There is still a long way to go for Veljkovic but he has some good basics to work with in the next years. If he can improve his footwork and overall mobility, he can develop into a very interesting long-term project on the Center spot.

Stats: 10.0ppg, 7.0rpg, 2.2bpg, 14.8PIR

Nemanja Djordjevic – 2m02 – PF/C – 1995 – Partizan Belgrade

Certainly not the biggest talent or the biggest upside in the tournament, I wanted to mention Nemanja Djordjevic though because he is one of these kind of players that you have to like. Totally undersized and rather big/overweight, Djordjevic used his skills to the maximum playing very hard and putting some defenses in trouble. A typical floor player who does his work with positioning, timing and strength, Djordjevic showed a good feel for the game and rebounding. When he gets the ball close to the basket, he was able to score, even against taller opponents. Additionally, he showed some interesting passing skills. However, his overall potential looks rather limited as he lacks the necessary size to play in the paint on the professional level and has not really the athletic potential to develop an outside game.

Stats: 9.4ppg, 5.6rpg, 10.2PIR

Niklas Ney – 2m08 – C – 1995 – ALBA Berlin

The German big guy showed his usual strengths and weaknesses during the days in Belgrade. Quite big and not afraid to bang in the low post, Ney has still a bit slow feet and is not very mobile. He can take the jump shot out to the three-point line but his mechanics are a bit strange and the ball has a very high flying curve. Good in his decision making, the 2m08 tall inside player has some basic moves to play in the low post but he also showed some face-up game and even beat his man on the dribble here and there. If he continues to work on his athletic abilities and becomes more regular from outside, he can develop into a role player for the professional level as he seems to understand the game and has the necessary will.

Stats: 7.8ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.3bpg, 9.3PIR

Dominik Heinzl – 2m02 – PF/C – 1995 – USK Future Stars

In a similar style to Ney, Dominik Heinzl played the inside position for USK despite his short size. Quite physical, the 2m02 tall player did not show any fear and tried to score against the taller inside players of the opposing teams. He works very hard in the paint to get good positioning and his hands seem good to score from within 2-3 meters from the basket. Not very athletic, Heinzl is the typical floor player who can use his strength on this level but will probably struggle when coming to the professionals.

Stats: 8.5pg, 7.5rpg, 13.8PIR