European Prospects

After the analysis of the best guards of the 2014 U16 European Championship, here are some short scouting reports on the best wings of the event that include Bathiste Tchouaffé, Dzenan Musa or Rodions Kurucs.

Bathiste Tchouaffé – 1m94 – SG/SF – 1998 – France

The French wing was physically already built like a more mature player and this was certainly a good advantage for him in this competition. However, Tchouaffé was not only one of the best players of the event because of his strength but also because he was really doing well in order to create shots for himself out of the dribble. Even if he does not stretch out the arm completely on the jumper, his overall mechanics are fluid and he can knock down difficult jump shots on a regular basis, also with contact. With his good 1st step, he can beat his defender but he rarely goes all the way to the hoop, maybe because he is a little less explosive than you might think. Additionally, he sometimes avoids the finish from the left side as he feels less secure with his weaker hand. On the defensive end, Tchouaffé is really present in the passing lanes but helps out on the rebound as well. He likes to push the ball forward immediately after getting the board but his ball handling is not really great so far.

Stats: 14.7ppg (47.5% 2FGs – 35.6% 3FGs), 4.4rpg

Dzenan Musa – 2m02 – SF/SG – 1999 – Bosnia/Herzegovina

If there was a player in the event that just had talent written all over, it was Dzenan Musa, at least of those that I have seen playing. The 1999 born Bosnian was simply unstoppable over long stretches as he could beat anyone on the dribble and attack the hoop ferociously. Musa has good athletic abilities and likes to dunk even in traffic. He can also go for the eurostep finish when attacking the basket especially when he can use his strong left hand. But Musa is not only great on the drive, where he draws a large number of fouls, he has also superb shooting technique that is perfectly executed both in catch-and-shoot an pull-up situations. Musa can also create his own jump shot with the dribble and he is excellent in generating the necessary space and with his quick execution, he can fire in a split of a second. However, next to all this talent, Musa is mentally not yet on the level of his game as he gets frustrated easily and lacks sometimes the necessary will. But he is still very young and has the time to develop in his mental approach of the game.

Stats: 23.0ppg (54.2% 2FGs – 17.5% 3FGs), 6.3rpg, 3.3apg, 3.9topg

Eric Martinez – 2m03 – SF – 1998 – Spain

Eric Martinez was the main Spanish threat on the wing as the 2m03 tall forward was doing a great job as spot-up shooter from behind the arc. His mechanics are quickly and technically well executed and with his feet set, Martinez was a great scorer especially from the corner. Additionally, Martinez showed interesting footwork when putting the ball on the floor as he can attack the basket between defenders and he finished his penetration on left handed euro-steps or even after a spin move. Martinez likes to use both hands as he showed a left handed running hook out of the low post as well. With his good athletic abilities, Martinez is also an interesting vertical presence on the defensive end where he can reject shots coming from the weak side.

Stats: 11.6ppg (50.0% 2FGs – 45.5% 3FGs), 6.1rpg, 0.8bpg

Matija Radovic – 1m99 – SF – 1998 – Serbia

Matija Radovic was a key player for the Serbian team as the physically strong forward gave his team some athleticism and punch on the drive to the basket. Not the greatest shooter, Radovic excels when he can attack the basket where he can finish above the rim even against defense. He was the target on back-door alley-oop plays that he converted with impressive force for a player of his age. When the 1998 born puts the ball on the floor, he likes to go for the fancy no look plays but he sometimes does this a bit too much instead of finding the easy dish as he generates a lot of help situations. His shot from outside is correct with his feet set but he is unable to come up with a good jump shot out of the dribble, especially from behind the arc. Radovic looks to be already quite mature physically which puts some question marks on his future development as he lacks the above average shooting skills at the moment.

Stats: 7.0ppg (55.6% 2FGs – 24.2% 3FGs), 3.7rpg

Rodions Kurucs – 2m02 – SF – 1998 – Latvia

The Latvian forward was certainly an MVP candidate of the event but he did not manage to bring the Gold to his team at home. Nevertheless, Kurucs underlined his great potential to become one of the better European wings in the future. Gifted with great athletic abilities and a highlight producing jump, Kurucs was excellent in the open court where he came up with spectacular dunks. He was also a great target for alley-oop plays as he has an excellent timing on his jump that he also used for some great rejections on the defensive end. Kurucs has a very diversified offensive game. He is capable of scoring the jump shot from outside but his percentages in Riga were not great. But his mechanics are good and he should be able to become more regular in a different setting. He likes to attack the basket on the dribble where he can finish on a variety of ways by going for the dunk or even the scoop shot. He can score with the contact because of his great hangtime and he is also a correct passer both on the drive and from outside.Overall, Kurucs can be considered as one of the most interesting prospects of the event as he combined super basketball and athletic skills with excellent size to play Small Forward on the highest level in the future.

Stats: 13.4ppg (45.3% 2FGs – 26.4% 3FGs), 5.9rpg, 1.4spg, 1.1bpg

Arturs Strautins – 1m97 – SF – 1998 – Latvia

The second scoring option on the Latvian wing was the physically strong Arturs Strautins. The energetic wing was mainly using his left hand when attacking the basket but he mostly tried to finish with his right hand when close to the basket. His favorite finish was after a nice eurostep coming from the left side. However, Strautins struggled throughout the tournament to finish with good efficiency as his percentages were really bad. The absence of a reliable three-point shot will be a key factor in his future development as his physical advantages that he certainly had on this level might not help him in the future. He needs to become technically a better player in order to be a factor in the future.

Stats: 12.6ppg (34.7% 2FGs – 21.3% 3FGs), 6.7rpg

Louis Olinde – 1m98 – SF – 1998 – Germany

Not much of a scorer, Louis Olinde was however one of the more interesting prospects of the European Championship because of his length and mobility. Olinde was mainly used as a defensive stopper by the German team, a part of the game where he could use his impressive wingspan to be in the passing lanes and reduce the touches of the opposing wings. Offensively, Olinde was not much of a factor as his jump shot is still in the making and he was physically not that strong in order to go hard to the basket. He showed though some interesting skills as he sometimes brought up the ball after a defensive rebound and being a main ball handler in transition. If Olinde can develop a shot in the next years, he can lift his game to a different level as he has all the physical tools to do so.

Stats: 3.9ppg (51.6% 2FGs), 4.7rpg, 1.4apg

Vili Nyman – 1m95 – SF – 1998 – Finland

The Finnish wing had some nice moments during the European Championship as he showed an aggressive overall game by being present in a multitude of ways. Nyman likes to attack the basket where he can finish with either hand and his good athletic abilities allow him to play close to the rim. His shooting form looks good in catch-and-shoot situations even if his overall percentages from outside were not great. Additionally, Nyman is an interesting passer who has quite a nice court-vision even under pressure. On the defensive end, he is a hard-nosed defender who likes to speculate a bit too much in the passing lanes but this allows him to be front runner in transition. Nyman might not develop into a top-level player but he should have an interesting future in the Finnish National Team of the next generation.

Stats: 8.4ppg (55.2% 2FGs – 27.6% 3FGs), 4.4rpg, 2.6apg, 2.6spg

Tommaso Oxilia – 1m97 – SF – 1998 – Italy

Tommaso Oxilia was another player in the Italian team that had to play out of position. Mostly used as a PF, Oxilia’s future will most likely be on the SF if not even on the SG position. The 1m97 tall prospect has a great overall technique and his jump shot looks well developed and is quickly executed especially on kick-outs. Oxilia moves well off the ball and can come from the weak side for the mid-range pull-up jumper too. He can also put the ball on the floor to attack the basket and he likes to go all the way to the hoop where he can finish with either hand. With his good size, Oxilia can develop into an interesting scorer in the future.

Stats: 12.0ppg (42.6% 2FGs – 43.3% 3FGs), 5.9rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7spg

Oguzhan Yarol – 1m95 – SF – 1998 – Turkey

Physically strong, the Turkish forward showed a lot of different aspects of the game during the days in Riga. Gifted with a good wingspan, Yarol was foremost a great shooter from behind the arc, especially on kick-outs where he was close to being automatic. Because of his shooting threat, Yarol did a nice job in attacking the close-outs where he was able to go all the way and even score over vertical players like Killian Tillie. He moves really well off the ball, both as a weak side cutter and as a shooter finding the right position to get the ball. Because of his physical strength, he can post up a little bit and he likes to go baseline all the way to get close to the rim. Yarol helps also in rebounding on both ends of the court and has quite a good court-vision so that he can find his team mates out of the dribble-drive attacks.

Stats: 15.9ppg (50.7% 2Fgs – 41.3% 3FGs), 5.6rpg, 2.3apg

Tadas Sedekerskis – 2m00 – SF – 1998 – Lithuania

Probably the best individual player in this generation, I was however not able to follow one game of Lithuania so here is only a Video Scouting Report.

Stats: 21.0ppg (52.4% 2FGs – 37.9% 3FGs), 8.4rpg, 4.6apg, 4.9topg