European Prospects

During the Nike International Junior Tournament, I had the opportunity to follow the Serbian League game between Mega Vizura and Metalac. In the team from the Belgrade suburbs, the 1994 born PG Vasilije Micic runs the show next to a couple of other interesting prospects.

The main focus of the few scouts that were in attendance was turned to the physically well matured Serbian guard. Remembering Micic from a few years ago in the NIJT, the 94 born has grown into his body that is nicely filled out right now. Looking like an adult already, the physical upside of Micic looks limited right now. However, he has an enormous energy on the court and really plays tough and hard throughout the whole game.

The main ball handler of his team, Micic is setting up the offense well and tries first of all to get his team mates into the game. Running most offenses for one the members of his team, Micic was not taking that many opportunities for himself in the beginning. With his strong body though, he showed that he can post up a defender, even if his opponent was quite short. With the game going on, Micic did not shy away anymore from the open looks, especially from behind the three-point line.

His shot is very fluid with a good release point and Micic can take it both in catch and shoot and out of the dribble situations. He is not afraid either to score from outside in transition and his overall good physical presence allows him to attack the basket hard where he has an nice arsenal of moves to finish at the rim. His footwork in these situations is good and gives him good opportunities to go around the help defense to find interesting angles for himself or his team mates.

Micic is doing a good job in Pick and Roll situations too. Not overly creative, he has though a great court-vision to find the rollers or cutters depending on the situation. His passes are well timed and sharp enough and he can adjust them to the speed and height of his team mates. He rarely turns the ball over on the drives and can also come up with the short jump shot from the mid-range area.

Defensively, Micic should not have a problem on the next level as his lateral speed is good and his intensity level is excellent. Playing in the passing lanes at times, the Serbian guard can immediately launch the fast break and go for the quick scores. With his height and body, Micic should also be able to defend shooting guards in the future as he has the necessary tools to be a factor against little taller players.

However, his biggest strength remains his overall court-vision and shot creating for his team mates. Micic understands really well the lanes used by his team mates and has the timing to find them really well. If Micic can play on this level on a regular basis, he should move to a Euroleague team for next season. The NBA seems a bit far right now as he lacks the super-explosiveness you can find with some guards in the United States. But his game understanding and overall skill set should help him to develop into a NBA prospect in the next 2 years.

Nemanja Dangubic had a relatively quiet game in Zemun. The athletic guard with great wingspan was a bit shying away from the offense rarely seeing scoring opportunities. Nevertheless, this scouting is based on a single so that this can not be considered as a downwards trend for him.

The surprise for me was the game of the more unknown PF Marko Lukovic. Tall and mobile, the 1992 born player had some excellent plays during the game. He has good positioning in the paint and with his quick jumps he can score the ball close to the basket with ease and against defense. When he faces the basket, Lukovic can put it on the floor and attack the rim to finish on the tough layup. Out of his penetrations, he is able to go for the dish when the help is coming. Lukovic is certainly not an NBA prospect, but he should be able to have a nice career in Europe through the next year.

Another big man prospect on the Mega Vizura team is Andrija Bojic. With his terrific wingspan and frame that has still a lot of potential to fill out, the 2m10 tall forward was used as an energizer coming from the bench. Rarely taking an opportunity from out of the paint, Bojic showed some nice plays in the low post. His jump shot is quite unstable with strange mechanics and is certainly a point to work on. The 1993 born player has still a lot of upside and if Bojic can stabilize his jump shot, he should be able to develop a face-up game as he is capable to put the ball on the floor and has a good scoring feel.