25 Aleks Maric C
25 years old, 6' 11" 265lbs.
KK Partizan Belgrade
After a ho-hum rookie season in the ACB, former Nebraska product Aleks Maric has absolutely exploded this season for Partizan Belgrade, averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Euroleague and ranking amongst the top players in European basketball in virtually every statistical category. His below average athleticism and defensive potential limits his NBA upside to a certain extent, but considering his production, he will surely be getting extensive looks from teams this summer.
26 Gerald Fitch SG
27 years old, 6' 3" 205lbs.
Ayuda en Accion Fuenlabrada
One of the early surprises of the ACB season, Gerald Fitch and his Fuenlabrada team have crashed back to earth completely over the past month or so, firing their coach after finding themselves dangerously close to the relegation zone. Fitch signed in Spain this summer after abusing flimsy defenses in Turkey to the tune of 28.2 points per game last season, and has not had much difficulties replicating his form this year. He leads the ACB in scoring at 20 points per game, but is also leading the league in field goal attempts and possessions used, which is an accurate reflection of his style of play. Considering the skill-level he shows creating his own shot, getting to the free throw line and hitting jumpers from the perimeter, as well as the way he’s producing in the very tough ACB, he may be a guy teams want to take another look at, as he’s still only 27 years old.
27 Kennedy Winston SG
25 years old, 6' 6" 215lbs.
Lottomatica Roma
Lottomatica Roma is marred in an increasingly difficult season thus far, already having replaced their head coach, after putting up disappointing results in both the Italian league and Euroleague. One guy that can’t be blamed for that is their swingman Kennedy Winston, who is having a productive and highly efficient season in the Euroleague in particular. Only 25, with solid physical attributes and a nice skill-level from the perimeter, Winston can create his own shot in pick and roll situations and sports a terrific mid-range game pulling up off the dribble. Although his defense leaves something to be desired and he’s not always the most consistent player in the world, he’s regardless an interesting prospect as an off the bench minimum contract type. [/p]
28 D'or Fischer C
28 years old, 6' 11" 242lbs.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Fischer seems to be struggling to regain the same All-Euroleague form he was showing before having a glass bottle smashed on his face last season, at which point he was looking like one of the most underrated big men in European basketball. He’s still a presence with his excellent size, above average athleticism and freakishly long arms, making him a strong offensive rebounder and shot-blocker, and thus could garner some more looks this summer from NBA teams looking for depth off the bench.
29 Sharrod Ford PF
27 years old, 6' 8" 212lbs.
Spartak St. Petersburg
Ford is a free agent now after a very brief experience in Russia with Spartak St. Petersburg, and has to be considered one of the better big men on the market. He dominated the Italian league from a rebounding and shot-blocking perspective the last two seasons with Virtus Bologna, and seemed to have improved his scoring touch somewhat as well, being a fairly efficient player. His lack of size and strength is a bit of a hindrance, but at the very least he deserves another look.
30 Bo McCalebb PG
24 years old, 6' 0" 180lbs.
KK Partizan Belgrade
Many eyebrows were raised when Partizan decided to peg an unknown American point guard out of the Turkish league to run their rebuilding team in the Euroleague. So far the results have been mixed, but there is a lot to be encouraged by from what the former New Orleans product has shown. A super quick but undersized combo with a scorer’s mentality, McCalebb gets to the rack like a pro but is still improving his perimeter shooting and decision making skills. He’s having a nice year at the highest level of European basketball, and is only 24 years old, so he’s definitely a name to keep in mind for the future.
31 Jonas Maciulis SF
24 years old, 6' 6" 216lbs.
Armani Jeans Milano
We discussed Maciulis’ NBA prospects back in 2007 when he was draft eligible, and the only thing that seems to have changed since then (beyond the uniform he wears) is his perimeter shooting, which appears to be much more consistent these days. He’s still the same strong, physical and fairly athletic small forward, not terribly skilled, but productive regardless thanks to this toughness and fundamentals. The fact that he is now a legitimate threat to make shots from beyond the arc with his feet set makes him a bit more interesting.
32 Bobby Jones SG/SF
25 years old, 6' 7" 210lbs.
Banca Tercas Teramo
Jones took a temporary break from his apparent goal of attempting to play for all 30 teams in the NBA in favor of trying the European adventure instead, and he seems to be faring quite well so far despite being a rookie at this level. Jones has physical attributes for the wing position and is finally beginning to show more potential on the offensive end than he’s typically been known for. He’s averaging 13 points per game in 26 minutes on excellent efficiency numbers (64% 2P, 44% 3P) and is still the same terrific defender he’s been throughout his career. If the improvement he’s made as a perimeter shooter is indeed “for real,” then it’s certainly not out of the question that he could be a solid rotation player in the NBA.
33 Josh Heytvelt PF
23 years old, 6' 11" 260lbs.
Oyak Renault
One of the bigger surprises of draft night last June, at least from our perspective, was seeing every NBA team decide to pass on Josh Heytvelt in both rounds. After all, 6-11 guys with skills don’t grow on trees, even if there were a number of red flags to be concerned about. He didn’t get much more interest in the summer apparently, as he decided to accept a lucrative contract offer in Turkey and has been posting strong numbers in that fairly weak league ever since, to the tune of 17 points and 9 rebounds in 24 minutes per game. Heytvelt is a guy that will surely get his fair share of looks in summer league and mini-camps, and it wouldn’t surprise us in the least bit to see him latch onto an NBA roster eventually.
34 Sean Singletary PG
24 years old, 6' 0" 180lbs.
Caja Laboral Baskonia
After a strong four year career at Virginia—likely establishing himself as one of the best players in the history of the program—Singletary was drafted in the mid-2nd round by the Sacramento Kings. He was quickly traded to the Houston Rockets and then moved onto Phoenix before again being traded, this time to Charlotte, where he saw limited playing time as the team’s third point guard. Needless to say, his initial NBA experience didn’t work out all that great.
Therefore it wasn’t a surprise to see Singletary jump on the opportunity to sign with one of the top teams in European basketball, Caja Laboral Baskonia, formerly known as Tau Vitoria. He’s mostly been coming off the bench here too, seeing 16 minutes per game in the ACB and 18 minutes in the Euroleague. So far he’s struggled badly on the offensive end, putting up paltry scoring numbers on poor percentages and having all kinds of issues taking care of the ball. None of this is really a surprise considering the learning curve involved for an extremely young and very dominant ball-handling American point guard like Singletary.
Regardless, Singletary’s talent is not in question, and it’s safe to say that he’s learning quite a bit this season under one of the strictest coaches around in Serbian Dusko Ivanovic. That should make him a popular summer league target and potentially get him back in the NBA eventually if the cards fall the right way.
35 Dee Brown PG
25 years old, 6' 0" 179lbs.
Air Avellino
36 Aaron Miles PG
26 years old, 6' 2" 175lbs.
Aris Thessaloniki
13 Gary Neal PG/SG
25 years old, 6' 4" 210lbs.
Benetton Treviso
Now in his third season in Europe after an eventful NCAA career, few American guards are thriving as much as Gary Neal is in Italy right now. He leads the league in scoring at over 20 points per game, and is managing to do so in an extremely efficient manner (65% 2P, 37% 3P, 5 FTAs per game) despite shouldering an absolutely massive offensive load for retooling Benetton Treviso.
Neal operates as Benetton’s main facilitator and is looking absolutely outstanding creating shots for himself and others on the pick and roll, being arguably the most complete offensive player in that league.
While no one will confuse him with Steve Nash anytime soon, he has improved his playmaking skills substantially while keeping his turnovers to a minimum. Neal is very effective off the dribble and possesses a terrific mid-range game, needing very little space to get his shot off thanks to his quick release and excellent body control, being equally dangerous coming off screens.
Fluid and highly versatile, yet not incredibly explosive, he gets the rim nicely and finishes well around the basket, often opting to dish the ball off to an open teammate cutting to the rim or spotting up if things are looking overly congested in the painted area.
While obviously no NBA team will be giving him the type of Brandon Roy-esqe offensive freedom he’s enjoying in Benetton at the moment, it’s legitimate to wonder whether he has the talent to translate his very intriguing game back to this side of the ocean. "I'm happy in Europe,” Neal has said in the past, “but of course I'd like to play in the NBA because it's in the United States where it's easier on the family."
The main thing he must work on is his defense, though, as he lacks great size or length and doesn’t always appear to be putting in the best effort on this end of the floor, particularly fighting through screens and such, although he is capable of making plays from time to time thanks to his quick feet and solid anticipation skills.
As far as we can tell, Neal has never participated in any NBA summer leagues (even after leading the Turkish league in scoring at 26.5 ppg as a rookie) and was not invited to the NBA pre-draft camp either following his senior year.
Is it time to amend these wrongs and give him a longer look this summer? We absolutely think so. It seems like Neal is open to that too.
“He's game for anything,” his agent David Bauman told us via email. “He'd love to be in NBA, but he won't do it if it means a big financial loss.”
"The key for Gary is he sees basketball as his profession. If he can make a good living in the NBA, he would love to go. But he won't be like many of these players today who will claw and fight in the summer league, turn down good money overseas, just to try to make a roster in October."
"He has come a long way since Towson State and being undrafted. His first job was for $55,000 in a small team in Turkey. He did so well that after 4 months, he was 'traded' to FC Barcelona for big money. He's been blossoming in Treviso for the past two seasons. He is the perfect player for Europe and has adjusted well."
"Gary is a free agent after this season, so everything is possible."
"I remember during Gary's NBA workouts guys like Leo Papile of the Celtics and Tony Ronzone of the Pistons telling me Gary is 'instant offense' for a second unit, aka Flip Murray."
"Having said that, if the right situation presented itself to Gary for the NBA, we're all ears. Otherwise, he knows he will have a long and lucrative career in Europe (similar to the trajectory of our client J.R. Holden and others...)"
14 Ibrahim Jaaber PG
25 years old, 6' 2" 170lbs.
Lottomatica Roma
Jaaber was covered in depth in an article two weeks ago, which can be found here.
Since going undrafted in 2008, all Novica Velickovic has done is develop into one of the most promising young forwards in European basketball, first as the leader of overachieving Partizan (who shockingly made the Euroleague quarterfinals) and now as a key cog in Ettore Messina’s rotation with Real Madrid.
Velickovic is not the prototype of what the NBA typically looks for at the forward position, as he’s a below average athlete who doesn’t possess an extraordinary skill level. What he lacks in pure talent he more than makes up for with his smarts, fundamentals and toughness, though, being the all-around glue-guy type that does a little bit of everything out on the floor.
Velickovic is very effective with his back to the basket, showing nice footwork and touch to compliment his aggressiveness and pure grit inside the paint. He can attack his matchup off the dribble a bit, and while he’s not what you would call a pure shooter, is capable of spacing the floor and making shots from beyond the arc when called upon.
Velickovic is an extremely efficient offensive player who executes offensively, crashes the boards hard and plays excellent defense, despite not possessing great length or lateral quickness. He reads his matchups well and does a good job of getting his opponent to settle for tough shots, and is not afraid to throw his (still developing) body around in the paint. While Real Madrid likes to use him at the small forward position from time to time in big lineups, there are some question marks about whether he’d be able to do the same in the NBA.
Having signed a three year contract this past summer after Real Madrid paid a big buyout to Partizan, Velickovic probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Another few seasons in top-level Europe surely won’t hurt him, though, and if he can find a way to become a real knockdown shooter in the near future, the NBA could be an interesting option for him down the road.
16 Qyntel Woods SF
28 years old, 6' 8" 221lbs.
Asseco Prokom
Woods appears to be slowly finding a home for himself in Poland with Euroleague team based Prokom Trefl. He’s an absolute stat-stuffing monster in Europe at the power forward position, putting up huge scoring numbers to go along with impressive rebounding and assists.
With his terrific size, length and athleticism, coupled with the success that many combo forwards in the NBA are enjoying these days, Woods should be ranked much higher than he is on this list. The problem is that he may have burned too many bridges with his off the court antics, which will likely cause some teams to shy away from considering bringing him on board. With that said, he may be ready for a second chance at this point, and on a non-guaranteed contract could end up making some NBA GM look very smart if he’s ready to put his past behind him.
17 Travis Watson PF
28 years old, 6' 8" 245lbs.
Zalgiris Kaunas
Watson has never gotten much attention from the NBA, which is a bit surprising considering his physical tools and the way he’s produced in the Euroleague over the past few years. He’s again leading the Euroleague in rebounding this season, averaging just a hair under 15-boards per-40 minutes pace adjusted, and while he’s doing it for a bad team, he’s obviously a guy that at the very least deserves an extended look.
Watson fits the mold of your undersized bruiser who likes to mix it up inside and finds a way to get the job done. He has a wide body to go along with a great wingspan, excellent hands and solid athleticism, and while he can look a bit lazy at times getting up and down the floor and competing defensively, you can’t argue with the production he brings to the table, as he’s also an excellent finisher around the basket.
He’s a tough guy who is not afraid to stick his nose in on the offensive glass, and it’s possible that in the right role with the added motivation that should come with playing in the NBA, he could be a valuable contributor at the 4/5 spots coming off the bench. He’s one of the rare big men on this list who isn’t making much more than the NBA minimum, so it’s possible that an offer of that nature could be enough to get the job done.
18 Devin Green SG
27 years old, 6' 7" 210lbs.
Olympia Larissa
Not many players can claim to have had as unlikely a career as Devin Green has over the past few years. A last minute invite to the Portsmouth Invitational tournament back in 2005—likely more due to the fact that he went to school down the street at Hampton (of the anonymous MEAC conference, where he played mostly power forward) than because of any real NBA interest—Green shockingly made the Lakers roster the following year and managed to stick all season long.
He spent the next few years alternating between thoroughly dominating the D-League, toiling in NBA summer leagues and training camps, and bouncing around places like Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Ukraine, never really sticking around in one place for very long and likely missing out on establishing himself as a legit NBA player in the process.
Green has regardless looked like an interesting prospect pretty much every time we had a chance to fully evaluate him, as he possesses terrific versatility to go along with a very NBA friendly profile with his excellent physical tools. He can create his own shot effectively, defend multiple positions, make plays for others, and make shots from the perimeter at a good enough rate to wonder why he hasn’t gotten another chance.
He’s playing in mid-level Greece this season and is clearly one of the better American players in that very competitive league, again making you ponder whether he can’t play at a much higher level. He has a reputation for being overly unselfish at times, but is still young and talented enough to get yet another look this upcoming summer, if he hasn’t already tired of waiting for the NBA that is.
19 Chris Warren (Bilbao) SG/SF
28 years old, 6' 5" 220lbs.
Bizkaia Bilbao
A very interesting story in his own right that we covered in-depth last year, Warren is the kind of abnormally late-blooming American player you tend to find at times in the European ranks.
He has NBA size, bulk and athleticism, and has shown that he can defend his position, create offense and put the ball in the net at the highest levels of European basketball. That alone should be enough to garner some looks from teams as a potential minimum salary candidate. There is not much to say about the way he’s played this season thus far after moving from Avellino in Italy to Bilbao in Spain, as he missed six weeks with an injury and only recently returned to action. A strong season in the ACB may be just what he needs to get him over the hump, especially if he can dispel some of the question marks about his game, particularly his shot-selection and pedestrian shooting percentages.
20 Stephane Lasme PF
27 years old, 6' 7" 213lbs.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Coming off a phenomenal rookie European season with overachieving Partizan Belgrade, Lasme is settling into a smaller role on a bigger team in Maccabi Tel Aviv. He continues to be an absolute statistical monster on defense, collecting a ridiculous 6 blocks and steals combined per game per-40 minutes adjusted in the Euroleague. He’s also a very good offensive rebounder, and does a good job playing within himself, even if he’s not much of a factor as a scoring threat. Although he’s on the small side at 6-7, there’s a chance that he could be a productive player in the mold of Chuck Hayes or Joel Anthony in the right role. The team that initially drafted him—the Golden State Warriors—obviously were never going to be a good fit seeing as they don’t value the things he does well.
21 Viktor Khryapa SF/PF
27 years old, 6' 9" 235lbs.
CSKA Moscow
A former first round draft pick who never really found his place in the NBA, Khryapa continues to stake his claim as one of the best forwards in European basketball. In the NBA he was primarily used as a small forward, but he’s proven to be much more effective as a face-up four who rebounds, defends and collects garbage offense unselfishly without any plays being run for him. If he were a lights out 3-point shooter (he showed flashes of that last year) he probably never would have left the NBA. He’s also been a bit too turnover prone throughout his career, but in a smaller role that likely won’t be as much of an issue. Khryapa is one of the highest paid players in European basketball, making 2.5 million Euros net per year, which is at least the equivalent of the NBA’s mid-level exception, something that makes it a little difficult to see him coming back to the States anytime soon. On pure talent and versatility though he surely has what it takes.
Calloway had a very nice rookie season playing for Euroleague squad Cibona Zagreb last year, and is now garnering excellent experience in the ACB with Cajasol Sevilla, one of the surprise teams of the league at 8-6. He’s struggled somewhat making the adjustment to the very disciplined Spanish defenses in the early going, as evidenced by his high turnover-rate and poor 2-point percentages, but has been absolutely lights out from beyond the arc this season. That’s a good sign since that hasn’t really been the case throughout his career, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep that up. Has terrific size for his position to go along with solid athleticism and is still young at 26 years old, so at the very least he could be a guy to keep in mind as a terrific summer league candidate, if not more than that.
23 Andre Owens SG
27 years old, 6' 4" 200lbs.
Turk Telekom
Owens was covered in depth in an article two weeks ago, which can be found here.
Jeter is settling in nicely into a feature role with Hapoel Jerusalem after starting off the season coming off the bench for Euroleague team Unicaja Malaga. We may be a bit biased in this case, but in our mind there is no reason not to think that he’s right on the cusp of the NBA with his terrific quickness and creativity. He proved as much by being one of the best point guards in summer league playing for Portland. His improved perimeter shooting ability is a major plus, as are his strong intangibles, and his size may not be as much of an issue these days considering the success that many sub-six-foot point guards are having in the NBA right now.
Bouroussis topped our list last year, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. He’s clearly the cream of the crop amongst European big men, and is young enough to still think that he may not yet have reached his peak as a player when considering his late blooming background. Bouroussis reportedly had a number of NBA offers on the table this past summer, most notably from the San Antonio Spurs, but decided that he was not yet ready to make the leap over and instead inked a lucrative 3-year, 5 million Euro contract extension with Olympiacos instead. He left the window open with a comfortable NBA buyout and quotes stating as much, meaning he’s still very much a name that NBA teams need to continue to evaluate as a potential big-time roster addition for the future. Seeing the amazing success that Marc Gasol is having this season in Memphis, and comparing their resumes, it’s not a stretch to say that Bouroussis could be a very productive NBA player in his own right.
Langford was covered in depth in an article two weeks ago, which can be found here.
4 Richard Hendrix PF/C
23 years old, 6' 8" 250lbs.
CB Granada
Drafted in 2008 by the Golden State Warriors late in the second round after a pre-draft physical uncovered potential red flags in his knee, Richard Hendrix was unceremoniously dumped by Don Nelson when he found out that he shockingly is not a fit for his system in the least bit. Hendrix seemed to have made out just fine from the deal, pocketing a cool half a million dollars in guaranteed cash for under a month of service. He proceeded to join the D-League, where he looked somewhat disinterested at times, but still found a way to average nearly 15 rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted, good for second in the league. He then played extremely well in two separate summer leagues (Orlando and Vegas) as a member of the Magic and Nuggets’ rosters, but when no NBA team came calling with guaranteed cash, opted to sign in the Spanish ACB with CB Granada.
The move seems to be paying off quite well for Hendrix, as he’s already established himself as one of the more productive big men in the league—averaging nearly 20 and 10 per-40 minutes pace adjusted—despite being a 23-year old rookie in the toughest domestic league in Europe. If anything, he’s upped his value significantly in Europe by showing that he can translate his game over to a new style of play, and he’s surely improved in his own right along the way.
What Hendrix brings to the table is quite obvious for those who have seen him or followed him throughout the years on this site. He’s a brute force underneath the basket with his terrific body, huge hands and 7-3 wingspan. He’s not a terribly skilled offensive player but is regardless fairly effective around the paint, particularly with his back to the basket. His main virtues lie in his rebounding ability, as he boxes out opponents extremely well and does an excellent job pursuing loose balls with his soft hands and long arms. He is yet to develop much of a face-up game and still a liability from the free throw line, two things he must address as his career moves on, but is a highly efficient player (leading the ACB in field goal percentage) who understands his limitations and comes off as quite an intelligent and fundamentally sound player.
Defensively, Hendrix is an undersized center who is effective guarding the post thanks to his strength, smarts and tenacity, but loses effectiveness the more he steps away from the basket. In today’s NBA, though, where players like David Lee and Chuck Hayes are thriving at the center position that might not be as much of an issue as it was in years past, despite the fact that Hendrix can’t be described as anything more than an average athlete at best.
As the Kurt Thomas’ and Reggie Evans’ of the world slowly get phased out in favor of younger big men, it’s only natural for teams to look in the direction of players like Hendrix to fill their void in their respective rotations. Considering the way he’s produced at every stage of his career thus far, it’s not out of the question that he could surprise someone and develop into a valuable asset.
After spending the entire 2008/2009 NBA season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging just under 6 minutes per game in 50 contests, Tarence Kinsey decided to head back to Turkey where he found a lot of success in 07/08 with Fenerbahce Ulker once he was cut by the Cavs in training camp. With over 100 NBA games under his belt (at 12 minutes per) he obviously won’t need any time to transition into a new role, and still has the upside of being a 25-year old wing with size and athleticism who had eight 20-point games in the span of one month while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies as a rookie in 06/07.
Kinsey is having a marvelous Euroleague campaign thus far, putting up far betters eight games into the season than he did in his previous go-around. His shooting percentages are up dramatically, as is his assist to turnover ratio, and he’s making 50% of his attempts from beyond the arc, albeit on a limited number of attempts. He appears to be shooting the ball as confidently as we can remember from the perimeter, something that will be very interesting to keep track of as the season moves on, as his shooting range has always been considered one of his bigger weaknesses throughout his career. He remains a very quick and athletic slasher who can get to the basket or pull-up off the dribble from mid-range, making him extremely effective in transition, and he also does a good job taking care of the ball and getting to the free throw line at a very nice rate.
Defensively, Kinsey has an average wingspan and is not particularly strong, but regardless finds ways to be effective thanks to his athleticism and the effort he usually brings to the table. He gets in the passing lanes at a nice rate and can put solid pressure on the ball, but tends to lose focus at times and not play with great consistency, a problem that can be reflected on both ends of the court. Regardless, Kinsey is still only 25 and may not have reached his peak at this point, particularly if he can find a way to put more bulk on his frame.
6 Bostjan Nachbar SF
29 years old, 6' 9" 221lbs.
Efes Pilsen
8 Jamont Gordon SG
22 years old, 6' 3" 225lbs.
Cibona VIP Zagreb
Gordon was covered in depth in an article two weeks ago, which can be found here.
9 Alan Anderson SG/SF
27 years old, 6' 6" 223lbs.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Anderson was covered in depth in an article two weeks ago, which can be found here.
10 Romain Sato SG
28 years old, 6' 5" 196lbs.
Montepaschi Siena
Sato was covered in depth in an article two weeks ago, which can be found here.
11 Pete Mickeal SF
31 years old, 6' 6" 225lbs.
Regal FC Barcelona
At the tender age of 31, Pete Mickael may be having the best year of his career, as he finally appears to have broken into the elite category of American players in Europe, and is having an absolute stellar season in the Euroleague in particular. Mickeal is a well-built, athletic and ultra tough small forward who operates as a sort of Paul Pierce of European basketball. He can take his man down to the block and convert shots with great efficiency, but he’s also skilled enough to face up from the perimeter and take his man off the dribble and get to the free throw line. Moreover, he’s finally become a consistent 3-point shooter, at least to the point that he needs to be respected from beyond the arc. He offers quite a bit with his defense and excellent rebounding as well, and has really blossomed into a versatile team player who is willing to do all the little things to help his team come away with a win.
Normally Pete Mickael wouldn’t show up on a list of this nature, he’s after all, already 31 years old and thus one of just two players (along with Terrell McIntyre) over 30 amongst our top 50 overseas free agent prospects. Mickeal is a bit different than your average American player, though, as he seems to have peaked a bit later on his career than most and was still expressing NBA sentiments this past summer in his Hoopshype blog.
It’s not out of the question that Mickeal could draw interest in free agency from a playoff team looking to add a tough, experienced veteran to bolster their rotation, and considering his status as one of the top small forwards in European basketball, coupled with his NBA friendly profile, he could emerge as quite a valuable asset.
A former first round pick with 143 NBA games underneath his belt in three seasons, Quincy Douby wasted absolutely no time finding his latest job in Turkey once he was released by the Toronto Raptors in mid-November. He surprisingly signed with tiny Darussafaka (a sister team of Efes Pilsen) just a few days later, and has been plying his trade for the worst team in that league (record: 0-12) ever since, predictably putting up huge scoring numbers along the way. Douby is averaging almost 24 points per game, tops in the league by a wide margin, to go along with 4.6 assists. He’s getting to the line over 8 times per game and converting 37% of his 3-pointers, none of which is a surprise considering the reputation Turkish league defenses have around Europe.
Douby is showing off his entire offensive repertoire, be it his terrific perimeter shot, his ability to get to the basket with either hand, or his outstanding mid-range game. He has phenomenal touch on his floaters and pull-ups and is extremely natural at creating shots for himself with his shifty change of pace dribbles. On the downside, he isn’t much of a point guard despite standing just 6-3 and suffers from extremely poor shot-selection at times. The main thing likely holding him back from playing in the NBA is probably his lackadaisical demeanor on the defensive end, something that is just as evident in the Turkish league in his do-it-all offensive role, and isn’t likely to change in the situation he’s currently in.
Douby is easily the type of player who could earn himself another NBA paycheck with a string of excellent summer league games (something he’s done before) or even single workout where he shows off his immense offensive skill-level. Until he becomes a better defender, though, he probably isn’t much more than a marginal NBA player, which is something he may need to work on playing on a big team in Europe that competes outside of their domestic league as well.
John Wall’s freshman season feels like one big highlight reel thus far, starting with his very first game against Miami Ohio in which he knocked down a terrific pull-up jumper to win the game for Kentucky.
Icon SMI
That continued with more late-game heroics against Stanford in a tournament in Cancun, keeping his team in the game to force overtime and win a game they probably shouldn’t have.
The legend only grew after that as seemingly the entire basketball nation tuned in to CBS on a Sunday afternoon to watch him carve up North Carolina’s defense with some incredibly athletic plays in transition, only to see his value magnified as his team fall apart the moment he was forced to leave the game with a minor injury.
As the stage got bigger—this time in Madison Square Garden—Wall’s notoriety continued to grow, as more clutch second half play and a season high 25 points gave his team yet another big win against a very tough UConn squad.
Needless to say, Wall has done everything that’s been asked of him and then some, both on and off the court, and is at this point the run-away favorite to be drafted first overall in June, regardless of who is making the pick. The question now becomes, just how good can he become in the future? And what does he need to do to get there?
Plenty of words have already been spent on the athletic gifts of John Wall, both here and otherwise. He’s in a class of his own in college basketball as far as his quickness and explosiveness is concerned, as he’s shown on countless occasions with some incredible highlight reel plays.
After all, how many NCAA teams have a set play in their offense for a backdoor cut and alleyoop lob intended for their point guard? We called Derrick Rose the “most athletic point guard we’ve ever evaluated at the college level,” and feel strongly about the fact that Wall is every bit his equal in that category, if not better.
A place where Wall might still be underrated though is in his passing ability. Not only does he rank 6th amongst all draft prospects in assists per-40 minutes pace adjusted, but more notably he ranks 8th in assists per field goal attempt ratio.
More important than the numbers is the fact that Wall is clearly showing excellent instincts as a passer, both with the creativity in which he gets the ball to teammates in different spots on the floor—he’s more than just a vanilla drive and dish point guard—and also with the willingness he displays to get others involved.
This is exactly what you want to see from a modern day NBA point guard—the ability to take over as a scorer and shot-creator when needed, to go along with the selflessness to want to make everyone around him better.
Another area in which Wall has been better than advertised is with his play on the defensive end. Not only does he have the physical attributes required to be a lockdown defender—with his terrific size, wingspan and lateral quickness—but (unlike Derrick Rose) he also shows the type of aggressiveness and intensity to take advantage of his tools.
The huge number of blocks and steals he generates immediately jumps off the page at you, but seeing the way he absolutely smothers his opponents on the perimeter with his length and his ability to cover ground and contest countless shots around the basket each game is far more impressive.
Icon SMI
The scariest thing about John Wall right now is that as good as he is—he’s clearly the frontrunner for NCAA player of the year honors—he’s still only scratching the surface on how good he might become down the road.
The most glaring weakness we can recognize revolves around his ability to operate in the half-court. According to the data we have at our disposal, Wall’s field goal percentage in transition situations sits at an amazing 77%. Once he’s forced to play in the half-court, though, his field goal percentage plummets to just 40%. Similarly, he’s been able to draw fouls in the half-court on just 10% of his possessions, as opposed to 27% in transition.
Wall’s ball-handling skills in tight spaces are currently not up to par with his amazing athleticism. His ability to change speeds and directions when creating his own shot out of a stand-still position is just average right now, as he tends to struggle if he can’t just blow by his defender purely with his first step. He overwhelmingly favors driving left (doing so in 71% of his possessions), and is mostly relegated to either passing or pulling up off the dribble if forced to drove right.
Because he’s a far better slasher at this point than he is a shooter, defenses tend to sag off him and force him to beat them with his still-erratic pull-up jumper. He’s been showing major improvement with it as the year’s moved on, though, so it will be interesting to see how he progresses in this area.
Due to Wall’s struggles and those of his teammates in the half-court, he is exceedingly turnover prone, ranking fourth amongst all draft prospects in turnovers per-40 minutes pace adjusted, at 5.2. He’s forced to carry an awfully big share of Kentucky’s offense—27.2% to be exact—and it’s clear his decision making skills still need work, something that will likely come in time with experience.
Improving his perimeter jumper should help, and Wall has already looked a little better than anticipated in this regard, making 7/19 3-point attempts, some of them coming from fairly deep, sporting solid mechanics and shot-making ability (particularly in the clutch) that leaves plenty of room for optimism regarding the future.
Despite his obvious weaknesses, Wall’s talent level has consistently been high enough to overcome any issues he’s faced thus far in the NCAA, which is in no part due to his superb intangibles.
Beyond making more clutch plays in his first nine games than most college basketball players make in four years, Wall has shown a competitive will to win that hints at great things to come in the future.
His court demeanor is excellent, knowing how to fire up the crowd and his teammates with his constant energy level, but not getting too high or low in any moment of the game, showing outstanding poise for a 19-year old.
The more up and down style that is played in the NBA will favor him—ask Brandon Jennings--as will NBA teams’ huge reliance on the pick and roll, an area Wall has shown fantastic potential in. In the limited amount of possessions we’ve been able to take in of Wall playing pick and roll, he looked far more natural and comfortable than he has in the dribble drive motion offense.
It’s possible that as the season moves on Kentucky as a whole and Wall in particular will improve in this area, though. The type of chemistry he can develop with Patrick Patterson, who is looking more and more like a top-10 pick with each game that goes by, will be key.
Right now Wall looks about as close to a can’t miss prospect as we’ve evaluated in this our 7th NBA draft. It will be interesting to see who lands the top pick in June and how they decide to approach the draft. Most of the top candidates (Utah [via the Knicks], New Jersey, Minnesota) don’t appear to have a glaring need for a point guard at this juncture, but Wall is likely just far too talented to pass up.
The following American players have probably reached the point in their career where it might be too late to justify coming or returning to the NBA—either from their perspective, most NBA teams’, or both. We’ve thus decided to remove most of their names from the list for now, even if it’s obvious that we’re talking about some of the best players in European basketball here. The ones who remain on the list are marked with an asterisk.
The number you'll see next to the player's name is his ranking from last year on the overseas free agent list. This year's list will be released shortly.
#12 Terrell McIntyre* PG
32 years old, 5' 9" 180lbs.
Montepaschi Siena
Terrell McIntyre continues to hold the title of “best American point guard” in Europe, with no clear-cut challenger in sight. He’s proven to be an incredible winner for Montepaschi Siena—as we documented in a feature article on DraftExpress –and has also vocally expressed interest in playing in the NBA. So why hasn’t it happened yet? That’s a good question, one that probably starts with his diminutive size (5-9) and advanced age (32). Still, it’s a bit difficult to see the same mediocre point guards (Jason Hart, Mike Wilks, Lindsey Hunter, Chucky Atkins, Royal Ivey, Kevin Ollie, etc etc) recycled by NBA teams year after year and not wonder if they aren’t missing or already did miss the boat on a terrific backup. As opposed to previous seasons, though, McIntyre will be a true free agent this summer, which removes at least one hurdle from the way. If he wants to come start working on his NBA pension plan, likely on a minimum contract, now would be the time.
One of the top shooter/scorers in European basketball, Green moved Euroleague addresses from Olympiacos to Fenerbahce this summer, and is continuing to do what he does best—put the ball in the net. Considering his age, massive salary and the fact that he already “did the NBA thing,” he probably won’t mind that we bump him off the list in favor of the next generation.
Probably still best remembered by casual NBA fans as just another lottery bust from Duke, all Trajan Langdon has done since then is win win and then win some more at the highest level of competition of European basketball. In Europe he’ll be remembered as one of the smartest and most productive American players of this generation, but unfortunately for NBA fans he never had a chance to redeem himself in his home country and show how much playing for a coach like Ettore Messina helped him become a more complete player. Turning 34 at the end of the season, it’s safe to say that’s not going to happen at this point.
#23 Travis Hansen SF
31 years old, 6' 6" 210lbs.
Real Madrid
A fairly athletic wing player with a very nice perimeter jumper, Hansen has reportedly had some interest in making his way back to the NBA at some point—he spent the 03/04 season with the Atlanta Hawks—but with each year that goes by that seems less likely. Hansen has a very valuable Russian passport in his possession and is fresh off signing a two year contract to play for Ettore Messina at Real Madrid this past summer. Combine that with the fact that he’ll be 32 before the end of this season and you can understand why he’s clearing his spot on this list for someone else.
#25 Terence Morris PF
30 years old, 6' 9" 221lbs.
Barcelona
Morris earned a spot on this list after his First team All-Euroleague performance for Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2007-2008. Since then he’s made a lot of money playing for CSKA Moscow and now Barcelona, but has not really shown quite the same form. Turning 31 next month, and with another year on his contract after this, it’s probably safe to take him off this list for now.
#32 Bonzi Wells SF
33 years old, 6' 5" 210lbs.
Puerto Rico
NBA teams shied away from offering Bonzi Wells a minimum contract this summer, for a variety of reasons, indicating that at age 33, his tenure in the League is likely over. He can probably only wonder now what would have happened if he accepted the reported 5-year, 38.5 million dollar contract that was offered to him in the summer of 2006 by Sacramento.
After a phenomenal rookie season in Italy in 2007-2008 playing for Cantu, Wood has been hampered severely by a knee injury, sitting out a big chunk of last year and electing to start off the 2009/2010 season at home. That doesn’t exactly sound like the credentials of a top overseas free agent, which means he’ll be clearing room for someone else. With his quickness, basketball IQ and perimeter shooting ability, it’s not out of the question that we see him back on here considering that he’s only 24 years old.
The former Indiana Pacers first round pick showed up for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas looking severely overweight, indicating that he himself may have already given up on returning to the League. Considering the type of money big men like him usually make in China (upwards of 50k per month), no one is probably shedding any tears for him.
#35 Kris Lang C
30 years old, 6' 11" 260lbs.
Turk Telekom
The former North Carolina big man has improved in a major way since his collegiate days, emerging as a physical and hustling role player who understands his limitations and does a good job defensively and on the glass. He took a leap of faith in 2007-2008 by giving the NBA another shot with a brief cameo in the D-League, but eventually finished off the year making big bucks overseas. Having just recently turned 30, and apparently struggling with some nagging injuries, Lang’s NBA window is probably closing at this point.
#38 Michael Wright PF
29 years old, 6' 7" 238lbs.
Turow (Poland)
Wright was on his way to emerging as one of the best American power forwards in European basketball during the 2007-2008 season playing for Turk Telekom, until multiple knee surgeries set him back severely. Most big teams in Europe shied away from trying to sign him this summer, but he’s proven them wrong to a certain extent by playing incredibly well in Poland thus far this year. The NBA was probably a long-shot even back then, and almost certainly is now with his 30th birthday coming up in January. Still, it’s tough not to think that had Wright been a draft prospect now rather than 9 years ago, his lack of size might not have been as much of an issue in today’s NBA.
#43 Loren Woods C
31 years old, 7' 1" 245lbs.
Iran
Woods turned down a number of strong offers in Europe (from Prokom for example) and China to instead sign in Iran just recently. Although a 10-day contract might not be out of the question considering his physical attributes, the NBA has probably moved on at this point.
#44 Andre Hutson PF
30 years old, 6' 8" 260lbs.
Lottomatica Roma
We loved what we saw from Hutson last season playing alongside Brandon Jennings in Rome, but his performance (particularly his rebounding) has fallen off this year dramatically and considering that he turns 31 next month, his future is probably in Europe at this point.
#50 Marc Salyers SF/PF
30 years old, 6' 9" 220lbs.
Le Mans Sarthe
Salyers was the #1 scorer in the Euroleague in 2007-2008, but he fell off the radar screen after getting burned by the collapse of the Eastern European economy playing for Azovmash last year. He’s back in France but is not competing in the Euroleague. Considering that he turns 31 in February, the NBA is probably not a realistic goal.
#51 Rawle Marshall SF
27 years old, 6' 6" 186lbs.
ASVEL Villeurbanne
Marshall made the NBA as an undrafted free agent out of Oakland University and managed to hang on for two seasons with the Mavs and Pacers, and he’s still young and athletic enough to garner some attention from scouts. The problem is that he seemingly can’t stop shooting himself in the foot, first with the violent and unbelievably stupid fight he incited in the Adriatic league last season with Cibona Zagreb (which earned him a three month suspension), and most recently by being cut by Pamesa Valencia head coach Neven Spahija after reportedly refusing to enter a game late in the fourth quarter.
Palacio was a revelation for Partizan in 2007-2008, emerging as one of the top point guards in European basketball in his first season playing overseas. It’s all been downhill ever since, though, as he struggled with conditioning issues after signing a fat two-year contract in Russia, and is now sitting at home waiting for his next gig. He’s the type of guy who could probably earn a 10-day contract playing in the D-League, especially if he can replicate his phenomenal play from two seasons ago.
#53 Mike Batiste PF
32 years old, 6' 8" 225lbs.
Panathinaikos
The former Memphis Grizzly continues to trudge along playing for Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos, having recently kicked off his 7th season with the team. This is a fairly amazing accomplishment in European basketball all things considered, as most American players consider themselves lucky to finish a single season with a team, let alone seven. While Batiste continues to put up points at a terrific per-minute rate on phenomenal efficiency numbers, it’s tough to see him getting anywhere near the same money he does in Europe at age 32, which is why he’ll be clearing his spot on this list for someone a little hungrier for an NBA opportunity.
#59 Mike Harris SF/PF
26 years old, 6' 6" 240lbs.
D-League
Harris is still an NBA prospect—from what we hear he could be in the League very soon actually--he just has moved from our overseas free agent rankings to our (soon to be released) D-League call-up candidate list. Harris is the only player of the 60 overseas free agents that elected to play in the D-League, which tells you something about how difficult it is to get top flight players to play for peanuts, despite the lure of a potential call-up.
Unranked Louis Bullock PG/SG
33 years old, 6’ 1” 180 pounds
Real Madrid
Unquestionably one of the best American guards in Europe, Louis Bullock continues to put up big numbers week after week in the highest levels of competition outside of the NBA. He’s now in his 6th consecutive season with Real Madrid after signing a two year extension this past summer, and considering that he turns 34 in April, he’s probably not a realistic NBA candidate anymore. In a different time and under different circumstances, Bullock surely could be doing what Daniel Gibson, Randy Foye, Ronnie Price, Luther Head or a host of other combo guards are doing in the NBA, if not much more.
Check back with us later this week as we explore some new faces in European basketball as well as some old ones that have made enough strides to be considered NBA prospects and/or we may have missed in the past.
The following European players have probably reached the point in their career where it might be too late to justify coming or returning to the NBA—either from their perspective, most NBA teams’, or both. We’ve thus decided to remove most of their names from the list for now, even if it’s obvious that we’re talking about some of the best players in European basketball here. The ones who remain on the list are marked with an asterisk.
The number you'll see next to the player's name is his ranking from last year on the overseas free agent list. This year's list will be released shortly.
Never considered the most athletic player in the world, even in his prime, Siskauskas appears to be on the downside of his career at this point. There is no question that he could have been a significant contributor had he made the NBA 2-3 years ago.
#5 Bostjan Nachbar* SF
29 years old, 6' 9" 221lbs.
Efes Pilsen
Nachbar could have and likely still could play in the NBA if he were willing to take a minimum contract. He’s after all a proven player who still has a lot to offer as a skilled combo forward. That’s why he'll remain on this list despite the fact that he turns 30 this summer.
#6 Felipe Reyes* PF
29 years old, 6' 9" 255lbs.
Real Madrid
Reyes has been one of the best power forwards in European basketball for years now, and is a cornerstone of the Spanish national team. There is no doubt that he could have been a significant rotation player in the NBA in the right situation, but it doesn’t seem like he has all that much interest in leaving the comforts of his home country. It’s arguable how much effort NBA teams put into convincing him against that, though. We’re keeping him on the list because he’s still only 29, and his contract with Real Madrid does expire this summer.
There is a significant debate regarding how Diamantidis—arguably the best point guard in Europe—would be able to translate his very unique style of play over to the NBA. It’s a moot argument, though, as he’s repeatedly stated he has absolutely no interest in leaving Europe.
#10 Igor Rakocevic SG
31 years old, 6' 3" 183lbs.
Efes Pilsen
Rakocevic flirted with the idea of returning to the NBA this summer, but ultimately was unable to turn down the significantly larger contract offers he had on the table. He’s now in the first year of a 3-year, 8.5 million dollar contract with Efes Pilsen. It should be mentioned that he’s having a fairly miserable season compared with last year’s amazing campaign, but part of that likely has to do with the fact that he’s seeing more minutes at the point and is playing for a much worse team.
After leaving the NBA following a pretty successful run with the Phoenix Suns, Giricek has done a whole lot of nothing for Fenerbahce Ulker, struggling with injuries and looking largely mediocre in the times that he was able to step on the court. At this point the NBA can’t be more than just a fond memory for him.
Smodis was a clear-cut NBA caliber player in his prime and always been known as one of the toughest matchups in European basketball, a true mismatch nightmare. Injuries have really taken their toll in a significant way the past few years, though, to the point that it’s nearly impossible to envision him making the leap over the ocean at this stage of his career.
#16 Artur Drozdov SG/SF
29 years old, 6' 6" 198lbs.
Donetsk (Ukraine)
We fell in love with the combination of athleticism, perimeter shooting and fundamentals that Drozdov brings to the table on one of our European scouting trips back in late 2007, which took us to the beautiful city of Kyiv. Since then, Drozdov hasn’t enjoyed quite the same form he did that season, suffering some nagging injuries and being forced to leave BC Kyiv due to ongoing financial problems they (and all of Ukrainian basketball) were dealing with. Although the NBA doesn’t appear to be as much of an option as he nears the tender age of 30, it’s a bit surprising that no big team in Spain or Western Europe decided to snatch him up, as he clearly still has plenty left in the tank from what we can gather.
Kaukenas was never really considered a very hot name amongst NBA types, not when he graduated from Seton Hall in 2000, and not when he was burning up the nets in the most efficient manner possible while averaging 15 points per game for one of the top teams in European basketball—Montepaschi Siena. Now he’s 32, and fresh off signing a two year contract to play for Ettore Messina in Real Madrid. He’s probably never going to play in the NBA, but we doubt he has any regrets.
#24 Boniface Ndong C
32 years old, 7' 0" 205lbs.
Barcelona
A rare case of a big man who has improved his game considerably every year despite being on the wrong side of 30, Ndong is a model for African prospects everywhere to look up to and emulate. He’s a tireless worker with a nice basketball IQ who competes on every possession and is highly unselfish. He got a fat three year contract this summer to move from Malaga to Barcelona, spurring some NBA interest along the way, and thus at the age of 32 we can probably officially close the book on his NBA career.
#36 Ksistof Lavrinovic PF/C
30 years old, 6' 11" 238lbs.
Montepaschi Siena
An All-Euroleague player for a number of years now, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that if Lavrinovic hasn’t been signed by an NBA team at this point, he probably won’t ever be. A fairly athletic big man with a terrific stroke and all kinds of scoring ability, Lavrinovic is a guy who could have been interesting as a spread-four in the NBA. Unfortunately no team ever really showed all that much interest according to what his agent told us in the past.
#40 Jorge Garbajosa PF
31 years old, 6' 9" 245lbs.
Real Madrid
Garbajosa had a really nice run in the NBA playing in Toronto in 2006/2007. Unfortunately for him, and the Raptors, he suffered a serious injury that knocked him out of most of the 2007/2008 season, and then compounded the issue by insisting on playing for the Spanish national team, which seemed to further aggregate the injury. Eventually reached an agreement with Toronto to terminate the last year of his contract, and Garbajosa limped through a pretty unimpressive 2008/2009 season in Russia with Khimki, despite being paid 3 million Euro for his efforts. This summer Garbajosa moved to Real Madrid to join forces once again with Ettore Messina, and finally appears to be close to returning to his pre-injury form. Turning 32 later this month, though, it’s probably safe to say that the NBA chapter of Garbajosa’s career has come to a close.
Other European basketball stars who would likely receive consideration if they were younger or showed an inclination to accept a minimum contract:
Vassilis Spanoulis- Although only 27 years old, Spanoulis’ lone season butting heads with Jeff Van Gundy in the NBA was likely so traumatic that it’s difficult to envision him returning anytime soon.
Sarunas Jasikevicius- Turning 34 in March, and one of the best paid players in Europe, Jasikevicius surely still has a desire to prove that he could have been a better NBA player than what he showed in Indiana and Golden State, but that has to be considered incredibly unlikely at this point.
Theodoros Papaloukas- Although he continues to get it done at the highest level of European basketball, Papaloukas is turning 33 this season and didn’t really have the type of game that would have easily translated to the NBA anyway.
Nikola Vujcic- Vujcic surely would have made a fine NBA center back in his prime, but his age has caught up to him quickly and he’s now only seeing about 13 minutes per game these days.
J.R. Holden- Not exactly a true European except for his handy Russian passport, Holden is 33 and still raking in huge money from CSKA Moscow, despite them slashing their budget substantially this summer. His style of play actually could have fit in quite well in today’s NBA, if he were only a little younger and more likely to accept a significant paycut.
Darjus Lavrinovic- Ksistof’s twin brother didn’t appear on our list last year, as he was returning from a serious back injury and looked extremely limited for most of the season playing for Dynamo Moscow. Now he’s playing for Ettore Messina in Real Madrid and having what appears to be the best season of his career. The problem is that he’s 30 at this point and still has another year on his contract (a team option) after this, meaning we can only probably wonder what if.
Jaka Lakovic- Although he’s in the last season of a 3-year contract, the NBA doesn’t look very realistic for Lakovic anymore considering that he turns 32 this summer and has seen his playing time with Barcelona reduced as of late.
Every year seemingly, a new NBA draft prospect comes out of the woodwork playing for a school that is hardly known for producing lottery picks. Our best candidate this year so far might be Charles Garcia at Seattle University.
Never heard of Seattle U? That’s not a shock, considering that this is only their second season playing Division I basketball. Although this is the alma mater of Elgin Baylor, the school is stuck in limbo as they make the transition from Division II, meaning not having any conference affiliation and being ineligible for the NCAA tournament until 2013.
Chris Joseph Taylor / Seattle University
Helping ease the transition significantly is the presence of one Charles Garcia, a junior college transfer from South Central LA who was denied entrance to the University of Washington for academic reasons, and instead decided to follow outgoing assistant coach Cameron Dollar across town to his new gig as head coach of Seattle. Garcia was initially slated to play at Sacramento State out of high school, but again was set back by academic issues that forced him to take the JC route.
Nine games into the season, Garcia ranks as the 3rd leading scorer amongst all NCAA prospects per-40 minutes pace adjusted, and has already helped his team notch solid wins over Fresno State, U.C. Davis and Utah, with the latter two coming on the road.
More impressive is the wide array of skills he’s flashed along the way, looking like a real prototype for what the NBA covets from a modern day power forward. The wow factor when watching him play is extremely high—think of somewhat of a cross between Andray Blatche and Lamar Odom. Garcia plays facing the basket almost exclusively, despite standing 6-10, and is often asked to bring the ball up the floor and act as a pseudo point guard for his team, as we saw on film in the Utah game. He’s an outstanding ball-handler who can create his own shot with ease in isolation situations and is incredibly difficult to stop off the dribble, which is something you can hardly about any other big man in this draft class.
Garcia was reportedly a guard until his junior year of high school, at which point he shot up 7 inches, which helps explain the unusual versatility he displays. It’s not difficult to see how this manifests itself, as Garcia currently ranks #1 amongst all NCAA prospects in free throw attempts by a large margin, at a ridiculous 14.1 per game.
It’s very common to see Garcia snatch a rebound off the defensive glass and bring the ball up the court (quickly) himself, often weaving his way in and out of traffic impressively. He gets extremely low to the ground when the ball is in his possession, oddly preferring to operate with his left hand despite being a natural right-hander—something that Kevin Pelton pointed out already at the beginning of this season. His first step is very solid and he shows impressive footwork and dexterity spinning and pivoting his way through the lane, although he is quite turnover at this stage.
More than just a slasher, Garcia also shows legit 3-point range on his jumper, having already connected seven times (in 23 attempts) on the season in nine games from beyond the arc. He can make spot-up and even pull-up jumpers off the dribble with deep range, showing excellent touch and mechanics along the way, although his shot-selection often leaves a lot to be desired. He hasn’t shown a great deal of a back to the basket game in the film we’ve watched, but appears to have a nice little jump-hook in his arsenal he can go to to complement his soft touch. He also appears to have an above average feel for making passes, even if there is work to do in this area as well, particularly when double-teamed in the post.
Garcia’s decision making skills aren’t up to par with his overall talent level, as evidenced by the fact that he ranks 3rd amongst all draft prospects in turnovers per-40 pace adjusted. He’s extremely aggressive looking to make things happen offensively, which can at times get him into all kinds of trouble. He tends to make lackadaisical passes and overdribble excessively in the open court, as well as force the issue running into brick walls in the half-court. He clearly favors driving left when attacking his man off the dribble, something that defenses will surely pick up on in time, especially in the NBA.
Seattle plays at a very fast pace and Coach Dollar seemingly gives Garcia unlimited freedom to do as he pleases on the court, which he sometimes takes to an extreme. It would be nice to see him take better advantage of his size against smaller matchups in the post—as he hangs out around the perimeter pretty much all game--or at least try to use his face-up game more in the 12-15 foot area rather than by pounding the ball behind the 3-point line while the rest of his teammates stand around and watch.
Although his frame is quite solid, he could still stand to get stronger and improve his balance, something that would help him finishing around the basket in traffic. While he’s an extremely agile and fluid overall athlete, he’s not what you would call a freakishly explosive leaper, which could become more of an issue down the road.
Defensively, Garcia is mostly a mixed bag, as on one hand he shows great length and instincts getting in the passing lanes (particularly on post-entry feeds) and coming up with deflections. On the other hand, his focus and intensity level seems to waver quite a bit, often looking lackadaisical defending off the ball, not really putting much effort into boxing out his man, and generally showing poor awareness.
He’s not as much of a presence as you would expect as a weakside shot-blocker considering his size, length and athleticism—especially at this admittedly poor level of competition-- although it’s possible that he might be under orders from coaching staff to save energy and not risk getting into foul trouble considering how heavily they rely on him offensively. He shows a lot of potential as a rebounder, but the fact that he hangs outside the 3-point line almost exclusively limits his effectiveness on the offensive glass.
Mark Harrison / The Seattle Times
As many NBA scouts are quietly beginning to realize, Garcia is a prospect that needs to be taken seriously. There may not be another player his size in college basketball with quite the same skill-level, which makes him extremely unique. NBA teams will want to research his background, particularly the academic issues, the less than stellar impact he made on the Junior College level, and the notion that he’s not always quite dialed in. We’ll also need to see if he can continue to play as well as the season moves on, but it’s safe to say that Garcia has established himself as a legit first round prospect, if not much more than that. Some NBA types we talked to and trust already swear by him.
He's already rocketed up our draft board, and we're sure the same will happen with the other draft outlets once they get the word.
The NBA is littered with players who spent time polishing their game in Europe before coming to America and finding considerable success. Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, Will Bynum, Roger Mason, Charlie Bell, Maurice Evans, Udonis Haslem, Andres Nocioni, the list of unrestricted free agents who were picked up on the cheap by NBA teams over the last few years goes on and on.
In this day and age of financial prudence and shorter rosters, finding excellent role players to fill gaps on team for minimal money is what separates the good teams from the average ones. In a league with 82 games at 48 minutes per, where every game is decided on average by a handful of possessions, it’s essential to have highly motivated, experienced players on your roster who understand their roles and are ready to play the moment they are called upon.
The following players were on our rankings list in its last incarnation, but have since moved up, as we’ve deemed them to be more attractive for NBA teams now than they were a season ago.
The number you'll see next to the player's name is his ranking from last year on the overseas free agent list. This year's list will be released shortly.
The athletic 7-1 center had an outstanding campaign under David Blatt with the Russian national team in the European Championships in Poland this summer, averaging 11 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23 minutes per game, helping his team far exceed expectations despite missing most of their big name players. He seems to be making big strides in his game year after year and is clearly not a finished product at this point. With his outstanding physical attributes and especially the way he runs the floor, it not out of the question that he could be a much better fit for the more up and down style of play that is found in the NBA than he is for Europe.
Right now he’s seeing limited playing time on a Euroleague team in Khimki, but is gaining very good experience against the highest level of competition to be found on the continent. His stats in the Russian league and VTB United League are generally more impressive. We will likely follow up on his progress later in the season as we acquire more film.
Mozgov is reportedly interested in playing in the NBA, but has two more years on his contract after this season. He does have an NBA out clause after 2010-2011, with a buy out. It’s doubtful that Khimki would look to sell his rights this summer considering how valuable his domestic passport is to them. Russian league rules state that two local players must be on the court at all times.
#11 Keith Langford SG
26 years old, 6' 4" 203lbs.
Khimki
Euroleague.net
The former Kansas player and Mozgov’s teammate in Khimki has emerged as one of the best American guards in the Euroleague this season, improving his playmaking and perimeter shooting skills substantially while still maintaining the same athleticism and terrific activity level that made him an intriguing player to begin with. The fact that he’s legitimately playing the point guard position, having improved his basketball IQ significantly, combined with his aggressive slashing mentality and strong defensive skills make it a practically a no-brainer for an NBA team to give him an extended look.
The only problem is that Langford signed a 2-year deal this summer for well over a million dollars per and no out clause, meaning any team that wants him would probably have to negotiate directly with the Russians. It’s possible that might keep him out of the NBA until 2011, although there is always room for negotiation in Europe.
#13 Ibrahim Jaaber PG
25 years old, 6' 2" 170lbs.
Lottomatica Roma
Reuters
Jaaber (the guy that Brandon Jennings couldn't get minutes ahead of) is having another stellar season in the Italian league (although his team surely isn’t), and has improved his perimeter shooting enough to at least make him an option for NBA teams looking for an athletic defensive minded backup. He’s clearly the best ball-thief in Europe and is slowly making the transition to being a full-time point guard. His contract with Rome is up this summer, so the time to make a push for the NBA (and vice-versa) could be right now. Jaaber has a Bulgarian passport in his possession, though, so his value for European teams (particularly in the ACB) could be substantially higher than it is for NBA squads, meaning a minimum contract just might not cut it.
#19 Jamont Gordon SG
22 years old, 6' 3" 225lbs.
Cibona Zagreb
Reuters
Gordon wasn’t ready to play in the NBA after three seasons at Mississippi State, but after an additional two years of seasoning in Europe, this latest coming in the Euroleague with Cibona Zagreb, it’s not out of the question that he might be this summer. He’s a big, long, athletic combo guard with intriguing skills on both ends of the floor. The main thing holding him back is likely his perimeter shooting, but he’s definitely improved his playmaking ability. Being only 22 years old, he clearly still has plenty of room to continue to develop.
#28 Romain Sato SG
28 years old, 6' 5" 210 lbs.
Montepaschi Siena
Euroleague.net
At the tender age of 28, Romain Sato is having the best season of his career thus far, shooting absolutely lights out from the perimeter (48% 3P through 15 games), while still maintaining the same terrific efficiency he’s always been known for, only taking good shots and rarely turning the ball over. Sato’s terrific lengths allows him to rebound the ball like a man possessed and play outstanding defense at multiple positions, making him one of the most coveted wing players in Europe these days.
At some point, you have to wonder why he can’t be playing a role similar to NBA players like Quentin Richardson, DeShawn Stevenson or Keith Bogans, as it’s not out of the question that he’s better than them. Is the feeling mutual? We asked both Sato and his agent about the chances of him playing in the NBA next season, as his contract with Siena is ending and he’ll be a (very highly sought after) free agent this summer.
“Romain has always wanted to play in the NBA,” his agent Sam Goldfeder told us. For him the issue is playing. He is not interested to come to the NBA to sit.”
Sato told us something similar, via email. “Minutes and my role on a team are my main objective. I want to be on the court to contribute. Here in Europe I have a chance to play and improve my game every day. I'm looking for the same thing in the league.”
#30 Andre Owens SG
27 years old, 6' 4" 200lbs.
Turk Telekom
Owens caught our eye on one of our European scouting trips last season playing for Red Star Belgrade. It seemed like he was playing much smarter and more under control basketball than we had remembered from him. He’s always been known for his work ethic and defensive ability, but he seemed to have made strides with his perimeter shooting and decision making skills, likely in no small part due to the guidance of ball-busting and extremely old-school Serbian coaching legend Svetislav Pesic.
Unfortunately Owens doesn’t seem to be playing particularly well to start off the year after moving to Turk Telekom of Turkey. The fact that he has a Bulgarian passport now might make it even more difficult for him to decide to return to the NBA. Otherwise, NBA teams could probably do a lot worse with a minimum contract. He’s a free agent this summer.
#57 Jaycee Carroll SG
26 years old, 6' 2" 175lbs.
Gran Canaria
EFE
We talked about Carroll in quite a bit of depth just last week, so there is no need to repeat ourselves. The main point there was that Carroll has risen up the European basketball ladder about as swiftly as an American player can, currently averaging over 18 point per game in the ACB in just his second year of playing professional basketball. So despite his obvious limitations (size, athleticism, perimeter defense, point guard skills) it is safe to wonder where the ascension of this outstanding shooter/scorer might end. He has another year left on his contract with Gran Canaria, but has a free NBA out clause and a very minimal European buyout.
#60 Alan Anderson SG/SF
27 years old, 6' 6" 223lbs.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Reuters
After struggling to reach his outstanding potential as a European Basketball player over the past few years—most people say due to his failure to accept his plight—Alan Anderson is finally emerging as a legitimate Euroleague star this season for Maccabi Tel Aviv, as their clear-cut go-to guy. He'll be making a big jump up this list for sure.
Anderson has NBA physical tools, nice size, a good frame, long arms and solid athleticism, to go along with aggressive shot-creating ability and nice scoring instincts. Maccabi gives him a lot of freedom in their offense, and Anderson is responding by showing terrific all-around versatility. He gets to the free throw line, can make plays for others and is a solid defender. On the downside, he’s a bit too turnover prone and shows poor shot-selection at times, not being as consistent a perimeter shooter as you might hope. Still, considering his physical tools and the way he’s producing at the highest level of European basketball, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that Anderson deserves another look. He has another year on his contract with Maccabi, but has a free NBA opt-out clause he can take advantage of until the latter part of July.
We take a look through our soon to be released Overseas Free Agent rankings through a variety of parameters, analyzing the players who have been added and removed from the list with a scouting eye's look at those who moved up or down the most.
Europe was all the rage last summer, as high profile signings like Josh Childress, Jannero Pargo and Earl Boykins made many around the NBA wonder whether the overseas market would soon become a major factor in free agency.
This was more than just a bunch of European players like Bostjan Nachbar, Nenad Krstic and Juan Carlos Navarro packing their bags and heading back home-- European franchises were now competing with NBA teams for coveted role-players in their prime.
All of a sudden Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were fielding questions in press conferences about the possibility that they might consider crossing the ocean as well, with those savvy superstars doing very little to discourage that notion.
Alas, the collapse of the global economy quickly brought everyone back down to earth, as those that decided to sign in Russia (Pargo, Nachbar, Krstic, etc) appeared to get burned badly as their teams could no longer afford their contracts. Thus, a number of major players in the (already limited) luxury free agent market were taken out of the mix.
With Dynamo Moscow near bankruptcy and Russian powerhouses CSKA and Khimki having slashed their budget substantially, only a handful of teams capable of spending 7-figures on players still exist. Most of them (with the exception of Olympiacos) seem to prefer signing proven veterans who have played in Europe rather than rolling the dice on a Von Wafer type--an experiment that already seems to have backfired on the Greek team that signed him.
Many of those that left last summer are now back in the NBA, which creates the first category we'll look at, players who were on our Overseas Free Agent rankings list in 2009 who are now being removed.
The number you'll see next to the player's name is his ranking from last year on the overseas free agent list.
Part One:Made the NBA:
#2 Jannero Pargo PG/SG
30 years old, 6' 2" 170lbs.
Dynamo Moscow/Olympiacos-->Chicago Bulls
As documented on this site already, Pargo took the big money overseas after failing to receive the type of offers he expected from the NBA in the summer of 2008, but wasn’t able to fully show his potential at the European level due to a combination of injuries and financial difficulties on the part of the team he played for in Russia.
Despite the setbacks, he still describes his overseas experience as being a positive one, at least in conversations with us. He quickly found a 1.99 million dollar contract in his hometown of Chicago this summer, struggling somewhat with nagging injuries early this season, but is still the same microwave scorer off the bench.
#3 Marcus Haislip PF
28 years old, 6' 10" 230lbs.
Unicaja Málaga--> San Antonio Spurs
Haislip didn’t appear to be in the biggest rush to return to the NBA when we sat down to speak with him at the Copa del Rey in Spain last February, but he nonetheless finds himself on San Antonio’s roster right now. He signed a two year contract for 1.77 million dollars, with the second year being non-guaranteed until July 1st, 2010.
Not only did Haislip take a massive pay cut to come back to the NBA—he could be making far more than the veteran minimum in Europe—but he really hasn’t enjoyed much playing time to justify his sacrifice. He’s seen a grand total of four minutes in the entire season thus far.
As we’ve discussed numerous times when profiling his strengths and weakness, Haislip was always going to be a poor fit on a team (like the Spurs) that put such a large emphasis on defense and rebounding (his two biggest shortcomings) from their role-playing big men.
The fact that San Antonio may be the deepest team in the NBA at his position (Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner are all outstanding options, besides Tim Duncan) obviously doesn’t help matters much. On a different team that values his scoring, athleticism and shot-creating ability more, Haislip would probably be in much better shape.
Right now it’s still too early to gauge whether Haislip made a mistake in passing up a much larger guaranteed contract in Europe in the prime of his career for the sake of warming San Antonio’s bench. It’s not looking good so far, though.
#20 Carlos Arroyo PG
30 years old, 6' 2" 220lbs.
Maccabi Tel Aviv--> Miami Heat
Despite the gaudy stats, Arroyo’s European adventure was mostly a bust, as it was clear that Maccabi Tel Aviv couldn’t replace him quick enough (with Andrew Wisniewski) this summer. Arroyo, a proven NBA backup point guard with seven years of experience underneath his belt, ended up signing a non-guaranteed deal with Miami—clearly a sign of how desolate the market was at the time. Things seemed to have worked out well for him, though, as he’s seeing over 15 minutes per game and is performing fairly well thus far.
#37 Primoz Brezec C
30 years old, 7' 2" 243lbs.
Lottomatica Roma-->Philadelphia 76ers
The 7-2 Slovenian center didn’t have the type of year many expected from him alongside Brandon Jennings in Lottomatica Roma, although much of that had to do with the limited playing time he saw next to Andre Hutson. He averaged under 19 minutes per game in both the Euroleague and Italian league, looking somewhat frustrated along the way, but that didn’t stop Philadelphia from offering him a guaranteed contract for the veteran minimum (1.1 million dollars) this summer. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t done much for them. Were there better candidates out there considering their rebuilding status? Possibly.
The 5-5 point guard signed a massive contract with Virtus Bologna last summer for over 3 million dollars, and for the most part did a pretty good job for them, even if there were obviously some growing pains along the way. He still wasn’t able to help the team get out of the quarterfinals of the playoffs, though.
With the 7-figure contract European market drying up quickly this summer, Boykins was left with offers that paled in comparison with the deal he had just finished, forcing him to sit and wait for something better to open up. A rash of injuries in Washington in mid-November did exactly that, and Boykins has been playing 20 minutes per game on a minimum contract since.
Also Notable:
Non-Free Agents who moved from Europe to the NBA
-Carlos Delfino- Rights were owned by the Toronto Raptors, who signed and traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks.
-Ersan Ilyasova- Rights were owned by Milwaukee, signed by Bucks for three years. Looking like a major steal for them so far.
-David Andersen- Rights were owned by Atlanta. Traded to Houston for a 2nd round pick and cash. Also looking like a very good acquisition thus far.
-Serge Ibaka- Drafted by Oklahoma City in 2008. Played the 2008/2009 season for Manresa in the ACB, and signed by the Thunder this summer after an excellent summer league campaign. Obviously a project, but shows huge potential to develop down the road.
Transferring schools might become all the rage pretty soon, if the success that Wesley Johnson at Syracuse and Ekpe Udoh at Baylor are having thus far is any indication.
Walt Middleton, Baylor Athletics
Udoh took one look at then-incoming head coach John Beilein’s methodical, perimeter oriented Princeton-type offense and decided it wasn’t for him, eventually leaving Michigan for the greener pastures of Baylor. Based off what we’ve seen thus far, he seems to have made a very good decision for himself. Not only is he being heavily featured in Baylor’s offense, but he appears to have improved his skill-set significantly in the red-shirt year he was forced to sit out.
Udoh is still the same long, broad-shouldered and athletic big man he was at Michigan, but he now is looking more and more like a true power forward. He sees plenty of touches both facing and with his back to the basket, looking fairly comfortable either way creating shots for himself.
In the post, Udoh has a very nice jump-hook he likes to turn to, even if he doesn’t always have enough girth to establish great position down low. He’s an excellent finisher as well, shooting 66% from the field on the season so far.
The place that he shows even more intrigue is on the perimeter, as he appears to have improved his footwork and shooting touch quite a bit, and has become much more effective attacking defenses off the dribble.
Baylor likes to isolate him about 15-17 feet away from the basket and let him go to work, asking him to create his own shot in pure one on one situations. This is something you don’t see all that much at the college level, particularly not with big men. Udoh shows a solid first step and intriguing footwork here, usually pivoting or spinning his way into the paint, and often converting impressively. This is obviously a part of his game that has potential.
He’s not immune to turning the ball over in these situations—either by picking up his pivot foot too quickly on his initial attack or by trying to execute too complicated a move once he’s inside the paint. His balance doesn’t seem to be all that great and he has trouble finishing through contact at times, but it’s nonetheless intriguing to see a 6-10 player flash these kinds of skills.
Udoh has also knocked down three of his six 3-point attempts on the season thus far in seven games, showing solid form and nice touch. He also made a number of mid-range jumpers in the film we took in, indicating that this isn’t a fluke and he’s indeed improved this part of his game. On the downside, he’s only made 42% of his free throws on the season, which is obviously something that needs serious work. Nonetheless, if he can continue to establish himself as a legit floor-spacer as the season moves on, his stock will certainly rise with all the other things he brings to the table.
With his outstanding length, good size and solid athleticism, Udoh has all the tools necessary to be a very valuable contributor on the NBA level as both a defender and rebounder. So far this season he’s putting them to good use, averaging 9.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocks. His timing appears to be solid, and he does a terrific job using his long wingspan to contest shots.
Baylor plays quite a bit of zone, and with Udoh manning the 4-spot we get a decent amount of opportunities to see him step out onto the perimeter, where he shows pretty good feet. He seems to have good potential as a pick and roll defender, although at the moment it appears that his fundamentals aren’t always the best. He gives up post position too easily at times and tends to get backed down in the post, not always having the bulk to fight back against stronger opponents.
Walt Middleton, Baylor Athletics
Udoh also seems to lose some focus and intensity defending off the ball, although part of this may be attributed to his conditioning, which appears to be a work in progress coming off an 18-month absence from competitive play. Adding strength and gaining experience will only make Udoh more effective on this end of the floor, as there is no question that he can develop into a very solid defender and rebounder in the NBA in time, which even without his budding offensive skills would already make him a solid rotation candidate.
Right now Udoh doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar screen, as he’s receiving virtually no attention from the national media or the other NBA draft outlets. Expect that to change pretty soon, as it’s only a matter of time until people take notice of how much Udoh has improved.
Comparing his last season at Michigan with what he’s done so far at Baylor, on a per-minute basis, Udoh has more than doubled his scoring rate, improved his field goal percentage from 44% to 62%, upped his rebounding, assists and free throw attempts considerably, maintained his shot-blocking production, and reduced his fouls dramatically.
Its possible that we've yet to see the best of him just yet as well, as most players tend to take some time to shake off the rust after sitting out an entire season the way Udoh was forced to last year.
Watching him play, it’s tough not to think about the way Jordan Hill rocketed up draft boards right around the same time last year. Udoh might not be quite as explosive as Hill, but he’s got excellent physical attributes in his own right and is much more polished on both ends of the floor.
He’s getting strong reviews off the court as well from people close to the Baylor program. Head coach Scott Drew told us he’s “a class act and a winner,” via email and raved about how he “does so many little things on and off the court that go unnoticed.”
Only 7 games into the season, it may still a bit early to be jumping to too many conclusions, but there are surely plenty of reasons for Baylor fans and NBA scouts alike to be excited about what Udoh is showing thus far.
