European Prospects

During the Easter weekend, the Pasqua Barocca Tournament has been played in Italy with four U16 National Teams competing. Our friend Danny Mills has followed the tournament and has sent us several scouting reports on the players that he liked the most. Today Danny gives us an update on the German players of which two will compete with their respective teams in the JBBL Top4 this weekend in Ludwigsburg.

David Taylor – 1m88 – Point Guard – 1995 – BBC Bayreuth

BODY/ATHLETICISM: Taylor has good size and strength for a PG at the U16 level. Has a cut physique and is very fit, being able to pressure full court on defense throughout the entire game. Has an upper body that he can add strength to quite easily and is a good athlete with quick feet and explosiveness.

SHOOTING: Has good form on his jump shot with a nice follow-through, although he doesn’t use his legs enough and tends to use too much arm creating a flat shot. Needs to get his release point higher and get more arc on his shot. When playing off the ball he sets his feet well and is ready for the pass in a catch and shoot situation and has a relatively quick release. Showed the ability to come off the ball screen and pull-up in the paint for a jumper with good footwork but needs to work on his consistency as he only shot 4/12 from the field during both games. Has range out to 23 feet and is not hesitant to pull the trigger from deep.

POSITION OFFENSE: Has a tight handle and controls the ball well both in the halfcourt and in transition. Taylor comes off ball screens aggressively and is looking to attack the basket or penetrate and pass to an open teammate. Has good vision and will hit the open man at the right time. Has very good quickness both with and without the ball but doesn’t always use this to his advantage, over dribbling at times and turning the ball over. Had 12 turnovers in 2 games. Once he gets in the lane he needs to learn when to shoot a floater or attack the basket, and when to pull the ball back out and not force the play. If he can gain consistency on his jump-shot and minimize his turnovers he will be a very hard cover for any opposing PG to contain.

DEFENSE/REBOUNDING: Posses quick feet on defense and combined with his upper-body strength is able to get up and in to the opposing guards and pressure the ball full-court. Is active off the ball on defense and uses his quickness to get in the passing lanes, averaging 4.5 spg against Greece and Spain. Is a decent rebounder for his size and position with 3 per game. If he can continue to work on improving his defense he could become a very good defender at the next level and beyond, but he cant afford to take plays off.

MISCELLANEOUS: Doesn’t show much leadership skills on the court and this is something he needs to improve being a PG. Taylor has a lot of natural talent and good court awareness but needs to play consistently hard every possession and not only for short periods.

OVERALL RATING: 7 – If Taylor can continue to develop his PG skills, make his jump-shot more consistent and be a lock down defender he has the chance to play at a high level in Europe in the years to come. Has good potential for the future.

Gavin Schilling – 2m05 – 1995 – Power Forward/Center – Urspring

BODY/ATHLETICISM: Great body, is very athletic and has a strong ripped physique. Has a good reach and is very explosive for an U16 player being 6’9” playing above the rim a lot of the time. Has wide shoulders and should fill out his upper body and be able to add strength quiet easily. The best athlete in this tournament.

SHOOTING: Has good technique on his shot for a big man, although it is quite slow. Follows-through well on his release but plays too high and most of his misses are short resulting from no power in his shot from his legs. Doesn’t have great touch around the basket as his game is built around his strength and he does not play with too much finesse. His range is limited to around 15 feet and he needs to increase this to keep the defense honest.

POSITION OFFENSE: Gains good position in the post due to his lower body strength and quick feet, but does not posses a go-to move when he has the ball and tries to use his strength to shoot over his defender which becomes an issue when matched up against opponents that are equally as strong as him. He relies a lot on being in the receivers spots off of dribble penetration and he goes up strong trying to dunk it when he gets it. Plays well above the rim and is not afraid to dunk in traffic with one or two hands which he showed against both teams. Is active on the offensive boards because of his athleticism, but not all the time and needs to do this consistently.

DEFENSE/REBOUNDING: Schilling has great timing on defense and averaged 2 bpg. He has good instincts on defense and is quick to get to loose balls. He plays too high when defending the low post which makes him slower than he really is and foul prone. Needs to learn to stay low and not jump at fakes which put him out of position. Is a good rebounder for his size but not great, and needs to work on boxing out every possession and attacking the glass for every ball.

MISCELLANEOUS: Has patience and good vision when on the low block, and will read the double team coming and pass to the open man. Has the physical tools to dominate the game at the U16 level, but needs to play hard every possession and not only every second or third possession and take plays off.

OVERALL RATING: 8 – Schilling is a great athlete and shows a good feel for how to play on both ends of the floor. He needs to expand his game and develop a consistent jump shot and also a go-to move in the post. If he can develop a good motor and play hard all the time, he has the chance to reach his potential. He has an NBA body and with continued improvement could be on NBA scouts radars soon.

Robyn Missa – 2m05 – Center – 1995 – IBBA Berlin

BODY/ATHLETICISM: Long, tall, athletic big man. Has a big wing span, 7ft plus, and is quite athletic and coordinated for his size. Has a slight upper body, but has wide shoulders and the ability to add more bulk and strength in the coming years, but will never be really strong up top.

SHOOTING: Missa posses a soft touch for a big man around the basket. Has nice form on his jump-shot and free-throws although nearly all of his shots come from within 6 feet. Needs to work on his range out to 18 feet so he can knock down the jump-shot off of pick n pop situations. Needs to stay lower in his stance as he is too upright on offense which causes him to lack some of the speed he has.

POSITION OFFENSE: Is patient in the low post when he catches. Needs to bury his man deeper in the paint and stay low as he tends to get pushed off the block by stronger defenders. Sometimes holds the ball too low where the help defense can reach in and get it. Does not have a go-to move from the low post but attacks the rim strong for his size and will try to dunk over people which shows his aggressiveness. He does a good job of being ready for the pass off penetration and scores most of his points this way at the moment. Needs to become a better offensive rebounder and fight for position every possession.

DEFENSE/REBOUNDING: He is quite active on the defensive end of the floor and uses his length to his advantage keeping his arms wide and taking up space. Hedges well on ball screens, and then recovers back to his man quickly. Again he plays too high when defending and lacks the quickness to stay with smaller quicker forwards/centers with whom he is guarding. Needs to become a better rebounder for a guy his size.

MISCELLANEOUS: Missa is a raw talent, but his length, good touch and athleticism are all pluses which form a good basis on which he can develop from. He doesn’t seem to have fully developed and looks as though he will grow at least 2-3 inches taller. Needs to really concentrate on getting a stronger base and having a lower center of gravity so he can hold his own position inside.

OVERALL RATING: 7 – Missa has a high ceiling due to his physical attributes. He has great potential and these next 2-3 years of his development will be the most crucial to see whether he taps into that potential. Definitely a player to keep track of as if he continues to grow and get stronger he will be a sought after prospect both in Europe and the States.

Danny Mills is an Australian born coach who played at the well known Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 2002 alongside Andrew Bogut and Aleks Maric to name a few, before heading over to the US and playing his college ball at Oregon Tech. In 2009/10 he was a Graduate Assistant at the University of San Diego and is now currently an Assistant Coach with UPEA Orlandina Basket in Capo d’Orlando, Italy. He can be contacted by email at millsdanny@hotmail.com