European Prospects

In a new collaboration with www.futurestars.uk.com we exchanged content for a series of articles of the Top10 1992 born players in the Spanish professional basketball. Check the first part below to see 5 of the players the experts from Future Stars see among the 10 most promising players from the Iberian peninsula.

El Hadji Malick Fall – 2m10 – Center – 1992 – Clinicas Rincon

Born in Senegal, El Hadji Malick Fall began to play in Spain with C.B Granada but soon he was recruited by Unicaja Malaga, where he’s still developing his career and refining his game. He obtained Spanish citizenship on July 2009, and subsequently played with U-18 Spanish national team. The main attribute of this player is his great physical conditions for the game; moreover, his ability to learn and improve his game makes him an interesting prospect to keep an eye on in the near future.

General     

• Very good in physical conditions: can effectively finish fast breaks
• Large wingspan
• Has a real born fighter spirit, will contest every ball
• Larger frame would make his game more effective
• Needs to improve his consistency

Offense

• Has a solid game back to basket, strong right hook shot
• Shows correct passing skills from the paint, finding the open man outside
• He’s able to play well above the rim in offense rebounds
• Good concepts in pick & roll action
• He needs to work his left hand, improving his low post skills
• His free throw percentage is very low
• Increasing his shooting range would make him more versatile

Defense

• Very active in rebounds
• Good at intimidating the shot
• He suffers in the low post against players with more weight
• Has to improve his help defense
• Has to work his footwork while boxing out during free throws to guarantee the rebound

Watch Malick Fall with #7

Victor Arteaga – 2m08 – PF – 1992 – Read Madrid

Artega is Real Madrid player since 2004 and last season he had a promising first season in Real Madrid 2nd team playing EBA-B league. He’s held in high regard as one of the best PF domestic prospects. He has played with U-16 & U-18 Spanish National Team. He plays an effective game, with a clear trend towards finish actions turning right side, his hook shot produces a lot of points. In the last years, he has improved his physical conditions and this is bearing fruit in low post and rebounding actions. His strengths and potential makes him a solid player for ACB league in the medium term.

General

• Large arms, 7’1″ wingspan
• Showed good physical development in recent years
• Has to raise his consistency during the season

Offense

• Great effectiveness in low post actions, dominant half-hook after right turn
• His aggressive approach to rebounding and physical conditioning, helps him to win a good number of offensive rebounds
• He creates plays and openings from the high post passing the ball
• Almost always choosing the right decision, finding both the open man and center in the paint
• Good basketball IQ using his body to open spaces
• Fast in transition from defense to offense, he’s a strong dunker
• He can improve shots beyond 3-4 meters
• He needs to work left hand to be more decisive in low post actions
• Sometimes shows soft hands which makes him lose balls
• His free throw percentage can be raised with work

Defense

• Innate skill to block shots
• He’s a solid low post defender
• Very good concepts in zone defense
• He needs to improve his lateral movement
• His defensive concentration could be improved

Watch Victor Arteaga with #10

Jose Pozas – 1m85 – PG – 1992 – Clinicas Rincon

Unicaja player since 2002, he had a meteoric promotion three years ago when he made his debut in EBA-D. In the 09-10 season he showed immense progress by doubling his average statistics on the previous season. In 10-11 season he had a very good performance in LEB Gold league, combining this with his learning capacity and great natural talent as point guard makes him a prospect for the future Unicaja first team.

General   

• Powerful lower body gives him explosive footwork
• He’s an immensely talented all round player
• Needs to work to be more focused during all games

Offense

• Great court vision and IQ basketball
• Excellent ball handling with both hands
• Great variety passing skills, emphasizing excellent utilization of bounce pass
• He’s making progress controlling turnovers
• Good shooting streak from 3-point line
• Reluctant shooter at mid-range
• Must work on free throws

Defense   

• High activity in all court defense
• Quick hands
• Very effective in pick & roll against bigger players
• Sometimes his defense activity leads him to foul trouble
• Has to be more decided in zone defense

Watch Jose Pozas with #4

Ondrej Balvin – 2m16 – C – 1992 – Cajasol Sevilla

Ondrej Balvin began to play basketball with USK Praha and stood out in 2010 European U18 Championship Div B named MVP, best center and best defender of the tournament. In April 2010 he was signed by Cajasol Banca Civica  and played in EBA D league where his good performances took him to the Cajasol first team within one season. Ondrej is a big center with good athletic conditioning and high basketball IQ who is nearly ready to play in high level competition making him a top center prospect.

General           

• Huge size
• Big man with good coordination
• High basketball IQ
• Needs to continue physical work to raise his stamina
• Needs to compete in a higher level league

Offense                 

• Effective player in back to basket and low post actions
• Knows how to use his body to open spaces off the ball
• Good passing skills and fluent game
• Outstanding player in pick & roll and blind screens
• Effective passer in high-low post action
• Sometimes shows soft finishing in low post
• Has to decrease his turnovers and avoid travelling in low post
• Needs to work on his left hand

Defense                 

• Very defensively minded player
• Fights for every rebound and space under the basket
• His size and wing span helps him to be a good shot blocker
• Slow in lateral movement, he suffers against short players
• Has to improve his help defense

Joan Tomas – 2m01 – SF – 1992 – CB Prat Joventut

Tomas was born in the Balearic Islands like other prolific players Rudy Fernandez,  Joan Sastre and his brother Pere Tomas (FIATC Joventut  ACB player). Joan Tomas was labeled as a top prospect in the younger age categories, however last year he struggled to live up to his reputation. He remains a very interesting prospect at the forward position, especially after improving his three point shot with help from coach Josep Maria Maragall.

General    

• Very good physical conditioning
• Plays with big maturity and winning attitude
• High basketball IQ
• Needs to be more confident in his game

Offense

• Very good in penetrations and has an aggressive first step to his dominant right side
• Great in fast breaks
• Offensive threat who is able to score and assist
• Can create his own shots from mid range
• Is able to utilize low post moves
• He’s improving his three point shots but has to raise his consistency in it
• Poor left hand dribbling
• Relatively poor passer

Defense

• Good defensive rebounder
• Quick hands allows him to steal the ball
• Good defender in blind screens
• Can defend in the paint in zone defense
• His lateral movement could be faster
• His positioning in zone defense has to be improved to be a solid defender

Watch Joan Tomas with #13