By Eurohopes
After spending three days in Rome, Italy evaluating some of the top 1995 and 1996 born prospects in European basketball at Nike International Junior Tournament, we report back with our thoughts. Let’s start with MVP of the tournament, Doko Salic (’95) as well as All-Tournament Team including: Berk Ugurlu (’96), Aleksej Nikolic (’95), Andreas Obst (’96), Nedim Buza (’95) and Ruben Guerrero (’95).
Berk Ugurlu, 6-1, Point Guard, Fenerbahce Ulker, 1996
Not overwhelmingly impressive from a physical standpoint at this stage, Ugurlu stands around 6-1, with a skinny frame, a short wingspan and average athleticism. Lack of great tools Ugurlu makes up for at this level with his skill set level, smartness and feel for the game. He’s extremely confident playmaker and despite lacking blow of quickness, he does an excellent job of playing at different speeds to keep defenders off-balance, relying more on timing and smart than explosiveness or lateral speed. Although he shows nice follow-through and proper release, Ugurlu is quite limited outside shooter (2/10 from beyond the arc), particularly off the dribble, looking very off-balance with his attempts at times. On the other hand, 17 years old playmaker was Fenerbahce’s scoring leader (with 16.5 points per game) on terrific 64,7% rate from the field. He possesses in his repertoire really reliable one-handed shots - thanks to his timing and smartness Ugurlu was really competitive in the paint, finishing with polished floaters above higher opponents. Very creative with nice body control Ugurlu likes to push the ball in transition and shows nice court vision. He runs the game well in half-court, controlling pace with an accurate rhythm. In addition, Ugurlu possesses a complete point guard package. He takes care of the ball, plays with shot clock and possessions, however tends to turn out the ball with risky decisions in a traffic with his limited frame. Defensively is where Ugurlu may struggle the most at pro level, as he doesn’t shows appropriate tools with his average size, frame and length. Due to poor lateral speed, Turk had some problems defending pick&roll, being forced to switch and causing mismatches. Nevertheless, Ugurlu puts nice effort, defending well on the ball and avoiding committing fouls.
Aleksej Nikolic, 6-2, Point Guard/Shooting Guard, KK Spars, 1995
Decent passer and an acceptable ball handler, Nikolic is much more scoring guard than true point guard. He doesn’t possesses outstanding size standing at 6-2 with decent frame, however he makes it up with smartness, high basketball IQ and decent decision making under the pressure. Playing in uber talented KK Spars team alongside MVP of the event, Doko Salic (’95) or MVP of the latest Basketball without Borders Nedim Buza (’95), Nikolic was a bit in a shadow, however he was the main facilitator and the one who was taking responsibility in crucial moments. Despite lacking more than average athleticism, Nikolic gets easily to the line with his crafty ball handling, aggressiveness and quick feet, drawing fouls, checking in free throw line 30 times in 4 games. As a playmaker, Nikolic is really patient and shows nice court-vision, getting all his teammates involved with skip passes to the weak side and breaking first line of defense on a dribble. Worth to mention, that he scored 35 from his 70 points from the downtown, most from spot ups. He didn’t use ball screens too often and didn’t go to isolations, waiting in corners on outside pass from his big men with ready hands and set up feet. Nikolic made 10/22 of his 3-pointers showing nice follow-through and quick release, even with a hand on his face. Defensively, he’s really active in man to man, putting good pressure and attacking the passing line quite often. Moreover, he is decent in team defense and helps a lot in rebounding, crashing the glass aggressively.
Andreas Obst, 6-3, Shooting Guard, Brose Baskets, 1996
17 years old Obst wasn’t the most skilled nor talented Brose Baskets’ player, however he deserved being voted to All-Tournament Team. He was team leading scorer with 16.8 points on terrific 15/26 rate from beyond the arc. Obst possesses only average athleticism, length and quickness, however he knows his limitations and bases all his game on one significant skills, which is shooting. Listed at 6-3 German sharpshooter would be a bit undersized at small forward position at higher level. On the offensive end, Obst is really one-sided. Possessing decent ball handling, he lacks quick first step and cannot beat off the dribble more athletic guards in one on one. However he shows great off-the-ball movement, using screens well and losing his guard in order to take open shots. With his bookish setup of feet, Obst releases quickly while receiving the ball. Scoring mostly from spot ups, he should work on his slashing abilities to become more creative with a view to play on shooting guard spot at higher level. Defensively, Obst is proper, trying to make up his average explosiveness, lateral speed and length with big effort. He tries to contest shots and helps well in rotation, however doesn’t engage himself in rebounding too much, grabbing only 2 rebounds per game in Rome.
Nedim Buza, 6-7, Small Forward, KK Spars, 1995
Being voted to All-Tournament Team and advancing to final round of NIJT is another big milestone in Buza’s career, after receiving MVP title of Basketball without Borders in September 2012. He has a great size at 6-7 to go along with long wingspan and strong, promising frame. He doesn’t possesses elite explosiveness and shows only average first step, but is very fluid and smooth athletically. Buza’s biggest strength is brilliant scoring instinct. He possesses polished jumper, displaying great footwork catching the ball on the perimeter. Due to lack of an explosive first step, he doesn’t get to the rim too often, what prevents him from easy baskets and getting to the free throw line on high rate (4.5 attempts per game). With his 3-point range Buza is really dangerous outside, but he still isn’t yet prolific deep shooter (only 1/6 from downtown in final). Anyway, he’s an outstanding shot-maker and should continue his improvement in that area with the greater spacing at higher level, playing with a point guard who can pass him the ball in right spots. Buza has to work on his creativity, ball handling and passing skills. For a player who has ball so often in his hands and a freedom to make players he averaged only 0.8 assists in almost 34 minutes per game. Defensively, in clearly undersized KK Spars team Buza was forced to go into head-to-heads with power forward from opposing teams. However, with his length and size he possesses perfect tools to defend small forwards. He isn’t the best on-the-ball defender, however he moves well literally, reads game well and tries to challenge all shots in his area. Buza seems to be nice teammate and shows decent work ethic.
Ruben Guerrero, 6-11, Power Forward, Unicaja, 1995
Never selected to Spanish national team, Guerrero was one of the biggest surprise of NIJT in Rome. Standing at 6-11 he possesses all necessary tools to play at the highest level. As typical late bloomer, his development is determined mostly by his physical tools. His body has been slowly but surely filling out, while Guerrero hasn’t learn how to take advantage of it yet. With skinny, but wiry frame he’s becoming more confident and intense player. With his excellent center of gravity, Guerrero shows more than average lateral speed and quickness. He runs the floor well and is really energetic, trying to be productive all the time. He’s willing to run to the transition and takes advantage of being trailer in secondary fast-break. Unfortunately Guerrero hasn’t acquired any go-to move in the post yet what affects on his creativeness on the offensive end. He does a good job setting screens and rolling aggressively toward the rim with hands ready to receive a pass. He shows appropriate toughness, finishing strong above the rim. Thanks to his soft hands, Guerrero can knock down mid range jumper, showing nice follow-through and form on his shot. Due to limited frame, he isn’t too efficient while posting up, being unable to establish deep position inside the paint. Defensively, Guerrero is a target for opposing teams to post up due to his lack of experience and strength. He is an excellent pick&roll defender, hedging well and covering ball handler on the top of a screen. With his lateral speed, length and wingspan he does a great job challenging shots in the paint, committing 2.5 blocks per game. He impresses with hustle plays, crashing the glass aggressively.
MVP: Doko Salic, 6-9, Center, KK Spars, 1995
Salic was undeniably the most dominant player of NIJT in Rome, averaging 21.8 points and 10.5 per game, taking advantage of his incredibly strength. With his strong lower body and broad shoulders, Salic does a great job of using his frame in the low post. He impresses with either mental and physical toughness, posting up deep on the block and asking for the ball. Reached almost his full maturity, Salic with his 6-9 frame will be not considered anything more than average athlete by Euroleague standards. He can get off the floor, but doesn’t possesses great lift (only 0.5 block in 36:15 minutes per game). His post moves seems to be simple and basic, however he’s extremely effective (62.5% from the field goals) executing it. He doesn’t impresses with passing skills (0 assists in 4 games), however does a nice job kicking the ball outside being double-teamed. Nonetheless he turns the ball out quite often (4.8 times per game) showing somehow questionable decision-making process and only an average basketball IQ. He is capable of create his own shot with his soft hands, however most of his damage in paint comes from hook shots after posting up deep in the paint. Defensively, Salic is great rebounder, relying more on fundamentals than athleticism. His man-to-man defense is decent and he displays ability to stop a dribble penetration, but is struggling defending pick&roll. He barely steps outside the paint, preferring to go under the screen instead of putting pressure or hedging on the ball. With his toughness and strength he’s very good post up defender, however his help defense is not so good. Standing somewhere between 6-8 and 6-9 Salic could be a bit undersized for a center spot at the highest level.
Photo: basketincontro.com
