By Rafal Juc
Day one of the Nike International Junior Tournament has gone. The top stories were Nedim Buza ('95) leading KK Spars Sarajevo to win 77:70 over Unicaja Malaga scoring 31 points on 6/8 from beyond the arc, Unicaja's Romaric Celemene-Dzabatou ('97) showing terrific athleticism and upside and James Birsen ('95) as well as Adam Pechacek ('95) didn't impress that much you would expect from NBA-caliber prospects.
Buza keeps shining
Coming off incredible offseason, Nedim Buza ('95) keeps improving with his rare package of skills, size and athleticism. At first 6-7 swingman led Bosnia and Herzegovina to winning European Championships U18 Division B, then he was named MVP of the Basketball without Borders,the event for best under-18 European prospects. Being already highlighted and under high pressure, Buza has been struggling with finding his own game and rhythm, finishing with 11 points on 5/14 field goals and 6 rebounds in 74:68 win over Stella Azzurra Roma. Then he showed his best in by far the most exciting game of the event, Sarajevo's win 77:70 over Unicaja - Buza scored day-high 31 points on 6/8 from the 3-point line, adding 7 rebounds and 3 steals. No doubt he possesses incredible upside and is already quite skilled, but there's still plenty of work ahead of him in order to prove he's NBA-caliber prospect. On the other hand, due to his size in pretty undersized Spars lineup he's matched up on a PF spot, what does influence his game a lot, mostly at the defensive end. Nevertheless, standing at 6-7 Buza shows great center of gravity, can get low on the dribble, is correct in decision-making process and impresses with a deep range, particularly in catch and shoot, including NBA 3-point line. He still needs to polish his ball handling, gets to the line more often and become more tough, stepping in when it comes to crucial moments of the game, what he basically did against Unicaja.
Youngster impresses in Unicaja
Romaric Celemene-Dzabatou ('97) is by far the biggest surprise of the Nike International Junior Tournament in Rome. Despite being only 16-year old, Celemene-Dzabatou impresses with terrific athleticism (what is natural for most of the Afro American players), but shows also some polished and significant skills. After two games (1-1 record) he's averaging 15.5 points (4/8 from beyond the arc), 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 24:30. Standing at 6-8 he's capable of playing on both wing positions, displaying maturity, incredible athleticism and natural feel to the game. He feels the best in all-around role, making a little bit of everything - he can finish fast-break with effective dunk, can hit 3 in transition, can create his own shot, put the ball back after crashing the glass aggressivelly and so on. Thanks to his brilliant length, wingspan and more than average lateral speed he's also kind of lock down defender, closing out shooters well, contesting all shots in his area and staying active on the passing lines.
Top prospects
James Birsen ('95) and Adam Pechacek ('95) are both clearly most recognizable prospects of Nike International Junior Tournament, either being ranked in top10 of our 1995-born ranking. Watching them durinng the first day we just had an impressions that they're just continuing right where they left off last year. In his only game of the day, Birsen went for 4 points on 2/7 field goals, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist in 15 minutes. Previously taking advantage of being so skilled in so young age and solid athleticism, Birsen is struggling to find his own game on more organized level. Obviously he still possesses all tools to become big-time player, but to fulfil it you a consistent improvement is necessary. Birsen didn't find his target position yet - he isn't neither point-foward nor power forward. While game level is higher and more athletic, including taller players as well, Birsen lost his advantage of rare connection of ball handling, size and agility, not improving his frame at all. In Bologna's win 76:69 over Siena, Pechacek collected some decent statline including 14 points on 6/14 field goals and 9 rebounds. However, you would expect more from NBA-caliber prospect. It refers particularly to his decision-making, poor post game inside the paint and his pleasure to hit midrange jumpers while being open. Standing at 6-8 Pechacek could be too short for NBA up-front player, but on the other hand he doesn't show too much hope to improve into small forward or at least stretch four in the nearest future.
Photo: Stella Azzurra Roma
