By Simon Dresden
12/16/07
Studs/ Rising
Eight weeks into the season, Nicolas Batum finally realized his vast potential. The stud of the week showed why scouts are so high on him with 24 points on a perfect 10/10 from the field and 3/3 from 3 with 4 boards and 4 dimes in heavy minutes against Maccabi Elite. He put it all together in this game and it is scary what he can do when his shot is on. There is no way anyone can defend him and a showing like this should give him momentum as his confidence grows. His combination of athleticism and skill is unrivaled in Europe.
Goran Dragic had a showing worthy of stud of the week but Batum edged him out. 22 points, 3 boards and 3 assists filled up the statsheet. 34 minutes gaining a lot of experience and leadership, even better. This kid is becoming an impact player before our eyes.
Danilo Gallinari wasn’t quite the player we’ve become accustomed to, but 16 points and 3 boards in 38 minutes are well worth a stud ranking nonetheless.
Oguz Savas picked up where he left off last week 16 points in 24 minutes and a couple of rebounds and assists. He had his way inside with whomever was guarding him and that is a good sign since he seems to be on a roll right now. He picked up the slack for his teammate Semih Erden who wasn’t with the team this week.
Marc-Antoine Pellin was steady as ever as his team won a decisive game against Bamberg to stay in the hunt for a top 16 qualifier. He played disruptive defense on the opposing backcourt and produced across the board (9p, 4r, 6a) in 30+ minutes.
Omer Asik made his Euroleague debut this week after changing clubs and he continues to have a monster season. He had 7 points and 5 boards in 16 minutes, which alone is an excellent showing regardless that this was his first game under the bright lights of the Euroleague.
Andrey Vorontsevich‘s stock is on a steady rise. He made it onto the floor for a whole half and got 8 points while doing so. If you consider Coach Messina’s Blog about how youngsters should act to get playing time (http://www.sports.ru/blog/messina/3812589.html). He is a hot commodity considering he is on one of Europe’s best teams.
Uros Tripkovic was hot again hitting shots from everywhere and he is a force when he shoots like that. If he can add consistency to his game, his stock will rise in a hurry.
Okay/Even
Nikola Pekovic was in foul trouble once again and this clearly affected his game. He had 7 points and 5 boards but most of his time was spent on the bench, which obviously hinders his effectiveness.
Antoine Diot is getting more and more accustomed to big league play. 20 meaningful minutes with 3 points and 5 assists proved he is getting better every game. He is a real leader, even at this young age, and is willing to sacrifice a lot for winning, close to stud ranking.
Milenko Tepic had 5 points and 4 boards but he should have more than 1 assist in his role with the team especially considering his 27 minutes.
Michal Chlynski has established himself in the rotation with his quality showing in the past few weeks. He is a regular contributor right now with 10 minutes and 5 points. Nice to see a youngster use his opportunity well.
Jan Mocnik got 13 minutes but scored no points, he was productive in the rebound and assist departments nonetheless.
Artem Zabelin finally flashed some of his potential. He played a small 4.5 minutes but managed 6 points and a board. Calculate this for a 40 minute stint…okay he had 4 fouls in this time too but it’s a start.
Alexey Shved got 6 minutes to prove himself and was equally productive with 4 points. Its good to see CSKA’s young guns in action for once.
Mantas Kalnietis is getting his groove back. 13 minutes for 2 points and 4 dimes means he is playing himself back into the mix.
Sergio Llull got 4 points on FTs and a couple of dimes and boards in 9 minutes of action, a nice and productive showing from the youngster.
Gasper Vidmar in the same game got 4 points but less production in the other categories as Llull, so he as well ranks in okay territory.
Milos Teodosic had plenty of playing time but managed just 3 points and little production in the other categories. An okay showing but nothing more.
Paulo Prestes saw action for the first time in the league and did what he does best, which is rebound. He didn’t even try to score a basket in 9 minutes of action but got 2 boards. The game seems to be bit fast for him right now but it’s a start as he gets acclimated.
Tim Ohlbrecht got 8 minutes and a rebound in the first half but the game was so close and important that his coach didn’t even play him in the second half, which proved to be a bad decision since they lost and had no one to rebound and defend against opposing stud-scorer Salyers. First time he’s gone scoreless this year.
Donatas Motiejunas was back and saw a few minutes in which he managed a rebound, but for this young stud, every opportunity is good.
Emir Preldzic got 20 minutes of chance while Erden was out but all he did was 2 points and zero rebounds, a rather disappointing showing.
Albert Moncasi is back in the mix with his 1 point, 1 rebound showing.
Jeremy Leloup got a little playing time and managed 1 assist and a steal, which is nice for the kid.
Anatoly Kashirov got 6 minutes of playing time in a reserve role but managed only 1 rebound. Considering the big CSKA win, an uninspired showing for a 7-footer.
Pablo Aguilar got a minute and made a basket in garbage time.
Raphael Wilson made it out for 3 minutes but the game was so important that he had no real chance to produce.
Pietro Aradori didn’t make it off the bench this time, as did Moustapha Diop. Can Maxim Mustaf was with Fenerbahce for this game but didn’t play.
Duds/Falling
Martynas Gecevicius cant seem to get off the snide right now, he had 4 minutes and 2 points but his team Lietuvos Rytas brought in American guard Jared Jordan and this may cut into his playing time this season.
Omri Casspi is out of the rotation right now, it seems.
