By Davide Bortoluzzi & Lorenzo Neri
Italian forward Achille Polonara ('91) is one of most intriguing international auto-eligible prospects for next NBA draft, as a consequence of his continuous improvements since his first season with Teramo senior team in 2008. He participated at 2009 U18 European championships, averaging almost 7 points and 5 rebounds. In 2011 he was one of the main performers of the Italian team at U20 Championships held in Bilbao (9.4 points 4.8 rebounds), where Italy won the silver medal.
After the exclusion of his former team from Italian first league, Polonara was acquired by Varese this summer, where he found Andrea De Nicolao, who shared with him the path of all youth national teams. During 2012/2013 he’s having his breakout season, averaging 10.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, elevating his status as one of the most interesting surprises of the Italian First League.
Polonara is a 6’7” lefty forward who has in athleticism his primary strenght, showing his explosiveness in multiple way on the floor. This aspect, combined with his great energy makes him one of the best athlete in Italian league.
This year coach Vitucci uses him from the bench to change the rhythm of the game forcing other teams to make some adjustments, thanks to the ability of Polonara to play on the perimeter like a sort of stretch 4. He’s able to beat bigger and slower defenders on the left side with a fast first-step, or to shot in front of them with his improved jumper, also from 3-point range, punishing excessive space given from the defender. On the open floor he’s really effective and smooth, he runs the court in few seconds covering the lanes very well, ready to receive the ball in primary and secondary transition situations.
On the defensive side he’s a great shot blocker from the weak side, thanks to his good timing and balance. He’s also a good pick&roll defender who can switch with the guards thanks to his lateral speed and wingspan, limiting the potential passing lanes for the opponents. On 1vs1 situations he struggles, due to his skinny body, against inside players or muscular guards, but he has great concentration to maintain position with his feet.
He’s an excellent offensive rebounder, he has great instincts and he knows how to move from the perimeter to surprise opponent rebounders in the paint. On the defensive rebound side he’s an effective presence even if his stats are not impressive, in fact he touches an incredible number of balls, helping teammates to take advantage of the opponents
Polonara is still a combo-forward who has some flaws to overcome in order to cover properly both forward spots. For what concerns the 3-spot he lacks a safe ball-handling, when he puts the ball on the floor he goes straight to the basket, often without changing direction or stopping the dribble for a jumper, making him predictable after the first times. On the shooting side he’s not consistent from the dribble and his slow mechanics allows fast recovery from the defense, despite his wingspan makes his release difficult to contest.
For the 4-spot he needs to work on his body, since he’s lanky with long slim arms. Plus for him is difficult to defend for many minutes on bigger players, without the risk of foul trouble. Furthermore he hasn’t a single post move in back to the basket situations, which limits his offensive contribution even more.
The best quality of Polonara is his work ethic. He’s a gym-rat who wants to improve himself and his game constantly with unique humility and great attention to coach advices. This particularity and his great potential make him a great prospect for a solid European career and also with some chances to be selected in a late second round.
Photo: pallacanestrovarese.it
