Third episode of U-16 Pasqua Barocca Tournament scouting reports sent by Australian Danny Mills, assistant coach and director of coaching and youth teams of UPEA Orlandina Basket. In this article he analyzes 6'11'' greek center Giorgos Diamantakos ('95), from Spartiatikos. Here we go.
BODY/ATHLETICISM: Diamantakos is a legit 6’11” and is a monster for this U16 level. Has wide shoulders and good size on his upper body and strong legs, but doesn’t use it well enough to his advantage. Is not very athletic and moves quite awkwardly up and down the court. Has a frame that can develop into a strong body but needs to improve his quickness, foot speed and jumping ability first.
SHOOTING: Has average touch for a big man close to the basket. His free-throw form is decent for a big man and he follows-through well. Does not have range much further out than 6-8 feet and his feet are slow getting into position causing his whole motion to be slow. Can use his left and right hand close to the basket, but does not show good hands and fumbles passes coming to him off of dribble penetration. Needs to work on being ready in a receiver’s position with his hands ready waiting for the ball.
POSITION OFFENSE: Is very unpolished offensively and doesn’t take advantage of his height against his opponents as he plays too high and is often caught off-balance and not in a position to power up to the rim strong and finish. He is not an aggressive type of player at the moment and does not have a go-to move in the post, although he did show a nice right-handed jump hook in the paint which looked quite fluid. He also doesn’t fight well for offensive rebounding position for his size and needs to be more active, as with his size in the U16 age group he could really dominate the glass if he wanted to.
DEFENSE/REBOUNDING: Is slow footed on defense and struggles to contain players penetration from outside of 10 feet from the basket. Greece played mainly a 2-3 zone this whole tournament but I can assume he is slow reacting to on-ball screens in hedge and recover situations. Takes up a lot of space in the paint when he uses his arms but a lot of the time he doesn’t which makes him an easier target for teams to attack him and try to draw quick early fouls. Needs to lower his center of gravity on defense which will allow him to move quicker and react faster in help situations. Is not a good rebounder for his size, goes too soft to the glass and this is something he will need to improve if he is to make an impact on the next level.
MISCELLANEOUS: Is a raw talent and still growing in to his body and understanding the game. Needs to improve his hands and quickness and staying lower on both ends if he is to realize his potential.
OVERALL RATING: 7 – You can’t teach height and Diamantakos has that, now he needs to concentrate on adding new facets to his game. Once he understands how to rebound, stay low and finish around the basket he will be a player to keep an eye on.
Photo: GD
