We travelled last week to Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to follow some games of Division "B" U20 European Championship Preliminary Round. Many interesting prospects competing there and also some players already known worldwide, like NBA draftee Ryan Richards ('91). The british forward has been all the season sidelined due his shoulder problems and now he is trying to drive Great Britain to Division "A" with other intriguing players like Devon Van Oostrum ('93), from Caja Laboral (ACB), and Alasdair Fraser ('92), from Maine (NCAA). We scanned Richard's game on live and we found he has made a clear step forward in his evolution.

 

After watching the progression of the forward in the beginning of the bosnian event we've seen that the Ryan Richards we saw wasn't the Ryan Richards we watched in other international tournaments. Before, he was used to play with a lot of energy, using all his potential, but with less criterion around his teammates. Shots without timing from downtown, shots contested by two defenders at the same time, turnovers without sense,... All these things made his potential not credible from a top-level evolution's point of view. And we have seen an adjustment on his way to face the game.

 

He plays more slow, having patience on his 1x1 at low post, how he passes the ball to the opened player ready for the shot,... All these details make his game more serious and usable for his team. If the player is capable to keep evolving his game on this line in the future we can see a good player at the top-level.

 

Photo: Hoopsfix.com