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Top Performers

Arnoldas Kulboka, at this point he appears to be the best NBA prospect at the camp for his specific skill that can bring at that level as he shoots it extremely well. He has good size, a good skill set and a good feel for the game but he makes the game harder for himself trying to create from off the dribble too often, putting the ball on the floor when it is unnecessary. Less dribbles for him is the key, the sooner he embraces his strengths, the sooner he will avoid certain mistakes.

Ognjen Jaramaz, the Serbian PG made his debut on Day 2 and it was an impressive one. His toughness and court vision stood out and woke up the camp. A slight injury slowed him down in the morning but he still managed to show some passess, pick and roll reads and his open court game. In the afternoon game he lead the All-Star team over USA select showing the young Americans what FIBA PG play really is about. He has sneaky athleticism, but what really separetes him from other young talented PGs is the relentless approach he has and the swag he plays with. He wasn’t the most hyped player coming into the camp but he has definetly showed something to the scouts and GMs in the stands.

 Micheal Fusek, the 7-foot-5 Slovak center, was another player who had a much better showing in day two catching lobs, using his big body to finish with contact and protecting the rim defensively.  He obvisuly benefits from playing with a strong PG and was much better when Jamaraz was next to him than when Bonga was leading his team. His high center of gravity will always make certain moves hard for him and needs to work on his hips and core strength to fully maximize his ability to change directions and control his body while catching the ball on rolls or dump downs. He has showed a really nice touch with solid mechanics, that not only helps make FTs but in opening the floor a little more. Still too skinny to be able to score on post moves at the NBA level, but could be an interesting project for a team, a la Marjanovic.

Ismael Bako was another of the better players of the day. The Belgian big man has some limitations but he is one of the most explosive athletes in this Eurocamp. He is a quick jumper and strong double jumper, and was able to do his damage running the floor really well and catching dump down passes for powerful dunks. His half court game is not very strong at this point in time to make it as an high level European guy but he plays with positive energy, has very good instincts for the game, especially defensively as a help side shot blocker and has caught the eye of scouts with his length and high energy style of play.

Honorable Mention

Emanuel Cate, the Romanian center isn’t an NBA prospect but won the morning game with a vigorous last second dunk in the middle of the paint. He knows his limits and plays accordingly, something very rare in this kind of competitions where players look more to show even qualities they don’t have. He was a little awkward in the paint but converted most of his chances, played hard and most important played for the team.

Kostja Mushidi was probably going to pull out of this year’s draft anyway but he certainly didn’t look like somebody who is hungry for an NBA spot yesterday. A lot of scouts viewed him the best draft eligible player of the camp coming in, and one that could really build some momentum with a good performance, but instead have been disappointed with his attitude above everything else. The physical tools are there, and the skills too but yesterday he was struggling shooting, was a mess dribbling in space and couldn’t impact the game on either end of the floor. There are excuses being the first day for him in a different situation but the reality is that he didn’t look like a NBA player that wants to be an NBA player yesterday. He needs to figure out what he wants to be when he grow up and act accordingly on and off the court

Isaac Bonga is clearly in a tough situation with his body growing and changing so much, and he still must gain a full grasp of what he can do, and how to move in order to be effective. He’s really not a PG, despite being packaged as one and playing the position in Treviso. He’s much better suited as a 3 man now that he is 6’9 because he does not have very good speed, instincts or feel for the game. His biggest problem right now is that he always takes one extra dribble in situations, and if you add this to his inability to shoot and trying too much to impress people with difficult passes in small windows, you can understand why he has struggled to impress. He needs time, as he must work on his shooting and not being so afraid of letting it go, because his mechanics are not as bad as others but being a reluctant shooter really limits his game in certain situations. At this point of his career, he needs to make the game easier for himself and it will help him in the future as well.

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