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Reebok Eurocamp: the NBA Draft prospects

June 10th, 2009 · 2 Comments

In our first part of the review on the recent Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso, I took a look at those players being automatically eligible or early entrance candidates and that have a correct chance of being drafted. The review contains only information on the European players, so Patrick Mills or Patrick Beverley have not been included in this report.

When starting with the guards, the names of the two French players from Cholet, Nando de Colo and Rodrigue Beaubois come into your mind as first ones. Both of them did not play the full tournament but both of them grabbed their chance to show what they are able to do. While Beaubois had to set out with a minor wrist injury after day one, de Colo still played on the second day but has left Treviso on Monday.

Rodrigue Beaubois showed in his only game of the camp the absolute will to impress the NBA executives in attendance. He was present everywhere on the court, scoring, rebounding, passing and even going for two block shots on defense. However, this high energy game produced some mistakes so that his overall performance on that game was only medium. His display of potential though impressed with next to his above average athletic abilities a real potential as scoring guard.

Even if his shot was not there, Beaubois had several more opportunities to put points on his stats line, either by driving of his left hand or going for out of the dribble jump shots. The problem is though that Beaubois struggled when it comes to PG play. Being only 1m86 tall, his size may be a serious issue to play on the 2 spot on the NBA level. His impressive wingspan and leaping abilities helps him though to play bigger than he really is.

Nando de Colo looked as the better short-term option for a PG position. Displaying a better size but less athletic abilities, de Colo looked awesome when it came to creating opportunities for his team mates. Both on set plays, where he excels in pick and roll play, or on the break, his great court vision combines with a very precise passing on the right heights for his cutters. Several highlight plays have been remembered by the assistance.

The best thing about de Colo is probably his talent in these pick and roll situations. Next to his good view for his team mates, he has a good jump shot, which however has not the highest release point, that he can take out of the dribble. If the hedging defenders are not aggressive enough to come around the screen, he can pull it up easily until the NBA three point range. If the hedging on the screen is stronger, he has the nice feel for throwing the pass in the right moment for the rolling screener to give him open looks.

Defensively, de Colo may have some trouble to match up with ultra quick guards. He knows however how to draw a charge which helps him probably more in the European game than on the NBA level. He can definitely be considered as one of the top PGs out of this talent group.

Daniel Hackett showed an interesting camp in my eyes but was a bit behind de Colo when it comes to determine the top PG of the three days. Claiming the leader position on the team, Hackett tried to make his team mates better, talked a lot to them, organized huddles and motivated them in defense. However, it looked always like he was trying to much himself in the end forcing some decisions especially when it came to his own scoring. He finished the camp with an below average 7/17 shots.

Another player using the ball a lot was the Ukrainian SG Sergyi Gladyr. The 1989 born early entrance candidate managed however to put his name on the table and NBA Draft.net gives him now a spot in the second round. Gladyr is a typical SG scorer running through the screens to get open shots. Being rather quick and athletic, he has no problems to get open and his quick and high release gives him possibilities to take the shot even when the defender is on him. But he can also create opportunities for himself, either on the drive or for example with step back three point shots. He needs to work a bit on his shot selection though as his game looks at the moment a bit too forced instead of letting the opportunities come to him. So you can see him a bit too much going for difficult shots right now. A change to a more competitive team than his current Mykolaiv team in Ukraine would certainly help him to improve in this area.

The Swedish forward Jonas Jerebko was one of the most awaited participants in Treviso this weekend. And the player from Angelico Biella arrived on Sunday to participate in all of Monday’s action. He immediately showed his great feel for the game, never forcing anything but taking his open opportunities and converting them perfectly. His jump shot looks great, having a very high release point due to his size and jumping skills. Catch and shoot threes out of inside-outside dishes look very well for him. His athleticism gives him additional possibilities on the drive where he is not afraid to finish with dunks in traffic but also go for the elegant running hook shot. Jerebko has certainly not lowered if not increased his Draft stock by his only game he played in Treviso. Svensk BasketTelevision visited the 2m06 tall forward just before the camp in Biella and had also this following interview with his current head coach in Italy.

The Montenegrin PF Vladimir Dasic started the camp on a very disappointing note but improved over the days in Treviso to show again why he is considered by several observers as a legit NBA prospect. His physical attributes are above average for the European game combined with a high quality skill set give him a great natural born basketball talent. The question mark on him is of course his mental toughness to play Basketball on the highest level.

Dasic showed a full set of tools to score, strong and powerful drives, long distance shot, footwork and ball handling. Everything is present to become a real good player. His hands are really good for a player of his size and you could see him going for finger rolls, tips ins and even some kind of miraculous baskets after having lost the ball in the air already. On his drives, he also showed a spin move going in both ways which gives him lots of opportunities to beat his opponents. His athleticism helps him to create on the fast break too where you can see him in the action from the box out situation until the transition game by bringing the ball up over mid-court.

Henk Norel came to Treviso fresh of an injury that prevented him playing for several weeks. This did not hurt him though to go for highly aggressive style of basketball. Being match with bigger and stronger players in the post, you could see him erupt for great steals out of the post play due to his great speed and arm movements. It is always difficult for Centers to play well in this type of settings, but Norel did a tremendous job to create opportunities for himself and his team mates by running with a second of rest up and down the floor, setting hard screens, working on the offensive glass and finishing on his own when an opportunity came to him.

The major asset of Norel is that he seems to understand the game very well. He sees how to create a good positioning for himself in the paint and is tough enough to use his elbows to get this done. Sealing bigger players is not a problem for him on this level. Additionally, Norel displayed a nice long distance shot even going for a camp-high 11/15 from behind the NBA three point line during the shooting exercises. It remains however rare that he takes that kind of shot in a game situation, he is more active down low on the block where he showed several interesting post moves including a left handed jump hook. Facing the basket, he prefers the jump shot out of mid-range than attacking his player on the drive which seems to be a good choice as his ball handling does not allow him to go for penetrations without risking to many turnovers.

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