Euro Prospect: Stock WatchBy:

By: Borko Popic

With the European leagues getting underway, it is time to take a closer look
at some of the prospects and how their draft stocks are doing…

 

1987

Rising

 

	Nando De Colo Fiba Europe/Stefano Selvestri

Nando
De Colo 6-5 190 PG/SG Cholet (France)

He had a very good summer starting for the French NT where he
had some big scoring games. This year, after the departure of a couple key players,
he looks to become the leader and focal point of the team. In the first four
games he has not disappointed, having scored 20, 26, 18 and 10 points. In his
last game along with the 10 pts, he added 7 rebounds and 6 assists, putting
together a complete stat line that shows his willingness to silent those saying
he is not much of a playmaker. He has also shown the ability to hit the long
range shot as well as get to the rim to draw contact. He has already displayed
the talent and skill to get drafted, if he can prove that he is becoming a more
dedicated defender and that he can cut down on mistakes he may very well hear
his name called in the 1st round.

Milenko
Tepic 6-7 200 PG/SG Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

Very crafty player has had a very solid start to his season.
He has become the go-to option on offense and has flourished. He might not be
the quickest or the most explosive player, but his intelligence and court savvy
allow him to be extremely effective. Even though he has been shooting the ball
a lot more this year, he is by no means selfish, in fact he is a very good team
player and an underrated passer. His vision and decision making are best displayed
when he gets into the lane and then finds open teammates off of drive and kicks.
Had a great showing in the most recent Euroleague game against Real Madrid,
where he not only made clutch shots down the stretch but delivered timely passes
to help lead his team to victory. He finished the game with 16 points (4-8 from
3pt.) and 5 assists.

Emir
Preldzic 6-8 220 SF Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul (Slovenia)

Very skilled and long perimeter
player, he has been given a lot of freedom and has excelled. Although he
is still fairly skinny, he has worked on his body and it shows in his ability
to absorb contact. He can handle the ball and does so while pushing it in
transition or attacking in the half court. He lacks great explosiveness,
but his 1^st step is deceptive because he is so long. He is a
very good passer and as a result at times plays spot duty at the point guard
position. In his last Euroleague game his stat line shows his complete
all around game to the tune of 9 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 1
steal. In two Turkish league games he is averaging 13 points, 3.5
rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Sergio
Llull 6-2 180 PG/SG Real Madrid (Spain)

Extremely quick and fast player that is getting serious playing
time. He can play either backcourt position as he is a very good ball handler
and also a very dangerous shooter. He may be a bit undersized for the SG position,
but he is very explosive and can finish above the rim. He is extremely fast
in the open court and is tough to defend because he is always under control
even when weaving in and out of the defense. In the most recent and very exciting
game against Parizan, Llull led all scorers with 19 points on 8-9 shooting.

Dragan
Labovic 6-10 240 PF FMP Zeleznik (Serbia)

He has been very effective scoring
the ball early on in the Adriatic league. Scoring over 20 points in all 5
games, Labovic is the second leading scorer thus far. For a big man, his
ability to shoot from three point range is very impressive as he is
11/25. He has a great understanding of the game and for a player his
size, his passing is definitely a rarity.

Luigi
Datome 6-8 210 SF Lottomatica (Italy)

Has proven that if given consistent playing time he can contribute
not only in the scoring department but also as a rebounder. He is a dependable
spot up shooter and also has a good feel for the flow of the offense which allows
him to score quick points. At this point he needs somebody else to create his
opportunities as he is limited as a one-on-one player, but his consistent shooting
touch will continue to garner him attention.

No Change

Jonas
Jerebko 6-9 200 SF Angelico Biella (Sweden)

Having gotten some great experience
playing for the Swedish NT, he is ready to show his game in the always tough
Italian League. In his first three games he has shown steady improvement,
going from 2 to 7 to 10 points. His rebounding has also been fairly
consistent and as he gets more comfortable, bigger things are expected as he is
a very versatile and talented player.

Oguz
Savas 6-11 260 C Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul (Turkey)

He has good size and a nicely built
body. His mobility and footwork are limited, but he knows how to use his
body to create space and establish position. A soft touch allows him to
make shots even when he is well defended. He has been getting consistent
minutes and has performed fairly well.

Gasper
Vidmar 6-11 251 PF/C Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul (Slovenia)

A solid big man, gets lost in the
shuffle as far as getting touches, but he still gets a decent amount of playing
time and he makes the most of it. In 2 Turkish league games he is
averaging 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Pau
Ribas 6-4 PG DKV Joventut (Spain)

Has been playing fairly well in the ACB and he had a solid showing
in his 1^st Euroleague game, finishing with 11 points, unfortunately
in the 2^nd game he only played 13 minutes and he finished with 3
points.

Vyacheslav
Kravtsov 7-0 260 C BC Kyiv (Ukraine)

His playing time has been very
limited, but he has shown that he can be effective when given a chance.
Earlier in the season he had a game where he only played 10 minutes but he was
able to score 11 points on 5-6 shooting. He is still a ways from being
comfortable in the post, but given some time that should naturally change.

Falling

Henk
Norel 6-11 PF/C DKV Joventut (Netherlands)

Has underachieved so far this
season, even with his poor performances he has been starting for the most part,
until the last Euroleague game against Lottomatica where he only played 7 minutes
and contributed zeros all across the board. He needs to step up, or his
hopes of getting drafted will disappear very quickly.

Milos
Teodosic 6-4 190 PG/SG Olympiakos (Serbia)

Has been getting playing time, but
his productivity is unimpressive. He has shown his nice passing ability
in the Euroleague, but aside from that he has been very passive and hesitant.

1988

Rising

 

	Victor Claver

Vladimir
Dasic 6-9 220 SF Buducnost (Montenegro)

After having a subpar season last
year, Dasic had a great summer playing for the Montenegro U-20 NT where he lead
the tournament in scoring and took his team to a very strong 5^th
place finish. So far this season, he has been on a mission to prove that
last season was just a down year and that he has gotten out of the funk.
He is getting plenty of playing time and he has been fairly consistent scoring
the ball. He is averaging 14.4 points and a nice 2.4 steals (5 in the
last game), but 50% from the free throw line and 4.2 rebounds leaves something
more to be desired. In his last game he put together a stat line of 14
points, 7 rebounds, which should become the norm for him.

Victor
Claver 6-10 236 SF Pamesa Valencia (Spain)

Has been playing very well thus far,
not only shooting the ball at a very good percentage from inside the paint, but
also from beyond the arc. He has 2 games already where he finished 4/4
from the 3. On a very deep team he only plays about 24 minutes per game,
but he has been able to fill up the score sheet in a number of categories.

No Change

Omri
Casspi 6-8 220 SF Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

Big things are expected of Casspi
this season, but based on his play in the ever important Euroleague he has been
a bit disappointing so far. In two games he has recorded only 7
points and 3 rebounds, not even close to what is needed if he is to live up to
the hype that he has received. Part of the problem is that he is stuck in
an offense that is based around the pick & roll action of Carlos Arroyo and
the bigs, while Casspi is stuck in the corner waiting for kickouts that rarely
happen. He has good physical tools, but he is not really comfortable
enough to play on the perimeter and he lacks the toughness to battle inside.
However, all is not bad, as he showed some of his talent in the Turkish opener
where he scored 18 points (2-3 from behind the arc) and grabbed 6
rebounds. Games like that need to happen more frequently, but once again
he may be the victim of the system that just won’t allow him to show everything
he’s capable of.

Vitor
Faverani 6-11 240 PF Unicaja Malaga (Brazil)

A very long and athletic big man has
shown his good mobility and footwork in the limited action that he has seen in
the Euroleague. He gets limited touches when he is in the game, so it is
hard to judge his offensive game, but he is very active on the boards and has
good lateral quickness to stay with people on the perimeter.

Stefan
Markovic 6-5 SG Hemofarm (Serbia)

Has been starting and getting a lot
of playing time, but his play has been very sporadic. He had a game where
he played 31 minutes, but finished with 0 points on 0-3 shooting, but he also
had a game where he finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 5
steals. He needs to become a lot more consistent, but the flashes of his
talent are definitely there.

Nemanja
Gordic 6-4 PG/SGBuducnost (Bosnia)

He is a feast or famine player,
either playing brilliantly, or playing his way to having zeros across the stat
sheet. He has proven that he has the ability and quickness to become a
very good player, but his inability to put two good games together will
continue to haunt him.

Ludovic
Vaty 6-9 240 PF Pau-Orthez (France)

Even though he has been in and out
of the starting line up, he is still seeing a nice amount of playing
time. He is becoming a reliable weapon on the inside and his 7.3 rebounds
per game are impressive (even though he only plays 23 minutes per game)

Elmedin
Kikanovic 6-11 220 PF Red Star (Bosnia)

He has started every game for Red
Star during Adriatic League play and has proven that he is a very reliable and
efficient scorer. He is averaging a solid 10.2 points in 20 minutes of
play, but very concerning is his low rebounding average of 3.6 per. Another
interesting stat is that in 5 games he has yet to register a single blocked
shot, for a player 6-11 that is pretty scary.

Miroslav
Raduljica 7-0 235 C KK FMP (Serbia)

He has been up and down so far, but
has had a few big games that show his ability to do damage. His best game
was against Vojvodina, where he finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Continuing to improve his confidence and consistency should help his stock.

Falling

Rodrigue
Beaubois 6-3 170 PG Cholet (France)

The incredibly quick and athletic PG
has already been on the draft radar for a few years, but he has not gotten off
to the best start this year as he is not starting and has not been able to find
any consistency in his play. His biggest flaw is definitely his jump
shoot, since he has no confidence in it; a lot of his options are taken away
because people play so far off of him. Unless he proves that he can be a
steady playmaker and decent shooter, he may once again be pulling his name out
of the draft.

Alexey
Shved 6-6 180 PG CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Although he is developing under one
of the best coaches, he may be stuck in the wrong situation to show off his
talent. The European power CSKA is loaded with talent and there is just
no spot for Shved to show anything. Coming off a great summer where he
showed his scoring ability by averaging 18.9 points in the U-20 Euro
Championships, both he and his stock will take a hit as he is sitting on the
bench.

Aboubakar
Zaki 7-0 230 PF/C Nancy (Nigeria)

Has not shown much in limited
action, although he was given 13 minutes in game 1 of Euroleague play, in which
he had 2 points and 3 rebounds.

1989

Rising

Pablo
Aguilar 6-9 200 SF Granada (Spain)

Playing in the very competitive Spanish
league, the young Aguilar has shown much to be pleased about. Against
Sevilla he finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds on 7-13 shooting.

Antoine
Diot 6-4 180 PG Le Mans (France)

Has been getting solid playing time
and even though he has not scored much (5.5 pts/g) he has contributed in pretty
much every other aspect. His season averages are 3.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8
steals and 1.3 blocks per game. The experience that he is getting in the
Euroleague is also tremendous for his development and confidence.

Milan
Macvan 6-9 260 PF Hemofarm (Serbia)

Because he is so young,
inconsistency is a given, but games like the 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals in
16 minutes are only going to earn him more time on the floor.

Zygimantas
Janavicius 6-3 PG Zalgiris (Lithuania)

He has started every game and has
shown nice flashes of his ability to distribute the ball. He was very
good in Game 1 of the Euroleague where he had 7 points and 2 assists.

No Change

Brandon
Jennings 6-1 170 PG Lottomatica (USA)

May be one of the reasons that
American fans become interested in the Euroleague. Unfortunately, they
will not see Jennings show off his full package because he is playing on a very
experienced and talented team and also because top level Euro basketball is not
based on ISO play, but rather on team oriented motion offenses. Jennings
has seen a decent amount of playing time and has shown his ability to shoot the
ball as well as his quickness, but he is still a bit uncomfortable in the new
setting and has become passive. He may never get a chance to fully show
off his skills, but that doesn’t mean the experience and level of play aren’t
refining his skills.

Giorgi
Shermadini 6-11 210 C Maccabi Tbilisi (Georgia)

Has not yet played because the
league hasn’t started, but is definitely somebody to watch for, as he was the
leading scorer and rebounder in the Georgian league last season.

Pere
Thomas 6-8 190 SF DKV Joventut (Spain)

Has gotten some playing time,even in
the Euroleague, where in the first game he finished with 6 points in 10
minutes. Unfortunatelly, the depth that DKV has will limit him greatly
until he is ready to contribute more.

Edwin
Jackson 6-4 190 SG Nanterre (France)

Although not starting, he is still
getting 27 minutes per game 10.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. His
play has been up and down, but playing in a lower league (Pro-B)is a good way
for him to develop and gain confidence before he can take his game to the next
level.

Adam
Hanga 6-7 SG Albacomp (Hungary)

In two games the
lanky wing player is averaging 8 points in 26 minutes of playing time.
After being the face of the Hungarian U-18 NT two years ago, he was missing in
action this summer.

1990

Rising

Donatas
Motiejunas 6-11 220 PF Aiscai Kaunas (Lithuania)

After a very busy summer playing for
the U-18 and U-20 Lithuanian teams, Donatas has started his season with a
bang. Through 5 games he is averaging 24.5 points and 9 rebounds and is
completely dominating the games. They key for him will be his ability to
stay consistent and not get into a comfort zone where his development slows.

Mario
Delas 6-9 200 PF Split (Croatia)

He is getting a ton of playing time
and is putting up stats that are very exciting for a player of his age.
In his last game, against a quality Red Star team, Delas had 25 points and 9
rebounds on 9 for 15 shooting from the field and 3-6 from three. Although
athletically his is somewhat limited, he is showing that he can score in a
variety of ways and that he is not afraid of the big stage.

No Change

Ricky
Rubio 6-4 175 PG DKV Joventut (Spain)

Has not played yet this season due to the hand injury that he
sustained in the Olympics. He has had surgery and is scheduled to miss another
month or so of action

Tomislav Zubcic 6-11 210 SF Cibona (Croatia)

The 7-foot wing is playing on
a very deep Cibona team that is looking to do damage in both the Euroleague and
the Adriatic league, this has caused him to get lost in the shuffle as the more
experienced players are getting the bulk of the minutes.

Jan
Vesely 6-11 C Partizan (Czech Republic)

The young Czech is seeing limited
playing time, but considering that he is playing with Partizan and that he has
already gotten into a game during Euroleague play, it is pretty
impressive. He is in the right place to develop and on the right stage to
show off his skills.

Michel Dioff 6-10
200 SF FC Gijon (Senegal)

Plays in the LEB Silver (3rd)
Division of Spain.
Gets regular playing time but his shooting has been very inconsistent, as a
result he has been coming off the bench in recent games.

Andreja
Milutinovic 6-6 190 PG/SG FMP Zeleznik (Serbia)

Seeing very limited time on the very
young and talented FMP team.

Nihad
Dedovic 6-6 190 SG (Bosnia)

The young Bosnian has been on the
scene for some time now and after playing very well for the Bosnian NT big
things are expected of him.