European Prospects

Today started the practices for the Jordan Brand Classic 2011 in Charlotte. Next to two games with American players, there will also be an International game again this year. After the German Malik Müller won the MVP of the International game last year, let’s check who are the Europeans that will compete in the International Game on Saturday.

Dusan Ristic – 2m07 – Serbia – FMP Belgrade

The Serbian big guy from FMP Belgrade earned already some interesting minutes on the NIJT level during the recent tournament in Belgrade. He averaged there 4.0ppg and 3.2rpg. He should be considered as one of the first options inside for the International teams. With FMP, he won also the Serbian U16 championship last weekend and had 19.4ppg and 8.2rpg during the 23 minutes he spent on the court.

Mario Hezonja – 1m98 – Croatia – KK Zagreb

The Croatian forward was one of the sensations of the NIJT Qualification Event in Roma during the winter where he played together with Ubertalent Dario Saric for KK Zagreb. Hezonja averaged impressive 19.5ppg and 10.0rpg while being two years younger than the competition. He gets compared by Croatian media to a mixture of Sarunas Marciulionis and Marko Tomas. He is certainly an MVP candidate.

Vasily Martynov – 1m85 – Russia – Khimki Moscow

The Russian guard had an interesting tournament with the Russian U16 National Team in spring where he averaged 14.0ppg. 3.3rpg and 2.9apg against some of the best European teams. He is mainly scoring from behind the arc and looks to be more a scoring guard than a pass-first guy.

David Taylor –  1m86 – Germany – BBC Bayreuth

The son of former Louisiana State and Bundesliga standout and now coach Derrick Taylor is considered as one of the most promising talents in German basketball. He averaged 13.6ppg, 3.9rpg and 4.1apg in the German U19 league being three years younger than the competition. In Turkey with the National Team, he had 11.1ppg, 3.4rpg while dishing out 3.4 assists per game.

Filip Pruefer – 2m10 – Poland – UKS Kormoran Sierakow

The Polish big guy got a spot on the team after Spaniard Augusti Sans had to step out because he has been retained by his team to play the local championships. Pruefer is a physically strong player who needs to improve though his defensive presence. However, he should be one of the youngest guys in the team being born in 1996 only. Pruefer averaged with the Polish U16 National Team 8.3ppg and 6.5rpg in the Iscar Tournament in December being a year younger than the competition.

Adam Pechacek – 2m04 – Czech Republic – Virtus Bologna

The Czech forward is considered as one of the best European prospects of his generation. He played with the successful Czech U16 National Team that won the Gold Medal in B Division last summer being a year younger than the competition and averaged 8.5ppg and 4.0rpg in his 20 minutes on the court.

Aleksej Nikolic – 1m83 – Slovenia – Zlatorog Lasko

The Slovenian guard was an important factor for his National Team during the Turk Telekom Tournament in February as he averaged 13.4ppg, 3.4rpg and 2.9apg. He was a member of the All-Tournament Team at the U16 B European Championship last summer where he had 10.5ppg, 3.0rpg and 4.0apg. He lead his team to a third place which was however not enough to move up to the A Division again.

Konstantin Kulikov – 2m07 – Russia – CSKA Moscow

The second Russian of the team is the 2m07 tall big guy Konstantin Kulikov. He was also a member of the Russian U16 National Team that played in the Turk Telekom Tournament. He averaged 8.4ppg, 7.6rpg and impressive 3.4bpg during he 7 games he played in Turkey. He is also averaging 5.8ppg and 5.7rpg in the Russian Junior League with CSKA Moscow.

Cedi Osman – 1m93 – Turkey – Efes Pilsen Istanbul

The only Turkish player in the Jordan Brand Classic this year is Cedi Osman from Efes Pilsen. He had 9.3ppg and 3.9rpg with his National Team at the TTT in February. Osman is originally from the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia.

Edvinas Seskus – 1m88 – Lithuania – Perlas

The Lithuanian guard from Perlas Vilnius plays already 18 minutes per game in the 2nd Lithuanian division NKL. He scored there 4.2ppg and 2.5rpg playing against much older competition.

Check below the Highlight Video of the Qualification Event of the Jordan Brand Classic in London that has been produced by our friends at HoopsFix.com. You can see a multitude of the nominees for Charlotte in action.