By Kostas Psimoulis
In game against San Sebastian Gipuzkoa everything came so easily to Guillem Vives ('93) -at the pic (photo after the contest)-, without doing impressive things he managed to lead his team to the win putting up great numbers on the board (16 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists). He is the same player who wasn't on national team's roster in 2010 (U17) and 2012 (U20). However, last year was actually the turning point of his career after a solid season with CB Prat (Joventut's team in Liga Silver). He was the third best scorer in this year's U20 European Championship and now Vives finds himself as the starting point guard on an ACB team. Vives has made solid progress throughout the previous years; his body seems well developed and his quickness stands at a very good level. Ball handling is far better than in the past, Vives has polished his speeds being adept enough to explode and then stop on a dime. He is capable of running the team and setting up his teammates for easy baskets. There's still work to be done as a shooter and a defender; against San Sebastian he gave up two easy threes by biting on Salgado's fakes (he also didn't guard him closely enough on the most critical shot), while didn't show the proper effort when fighting through screens. Nevertheless, Vives is showing that he is a legit ACB-level starting guard and many Euroleague teams will be following him throughout the season.
* Vasilis Charalampopoulos (forward-'97) saw his first senior team minutes with Panathinaikos on Monday in a blow-out win against Trikala. Few days ago I had the chance to watch him live in the Athenian Junior league, in that game Charalampopoulos was given more ball handling responsibilities while also was serving as the point guard on the floor. The level of the opponent was weak and didn't put any pressure to the young Greek at all, however Panathinaikos' plan seems that is a step in the right direction. Given the weak competition it faces on a weekly basis, Panathinaikos has the chance to work with him in order to develop his handles and become more comfortable with his dribble. Charalampopoulos is a modern forward capable of playing inside and outside, he is more of a post than a shooter and stands out with an off the charts feeling for the game and impressive passing skills for his position. However, he is not comfortable with his right hand and often dribbles too upright. Developing his ball handling seems like an important step and would make him prepared come time to face the pressure and complicated defensive schemes of the senior level.
* Jusuf Nurkic ('94) is one of the better per minute scoring big men in this season's ABA league, logging in 16 minutes and scoring 12 points in Cedevita's first five games. Moreover, in two Eurocup games Nurkic has scored 9.5 points in just 12 minutes of play. Nurkic is a mobile big man who brings effort on both ends of the floor, fights for loose balls and runs the court well. Even though he lacks elite athleticism, quickness and leaping ability, Nurkic knows how to pick his spots on offense, while finding angles to finish under the rim and fighting for good positions on the block. His post-up game is not polished yet, however, when he gets the ball on the post he possesses a pretty effective right jump hook, turning either baseline or middle. His release point is a bit low but Nurkic manages to make up for that with strength and decent protection with his body.
* Mario Hezonja ('95) put up his best performance with Barcelona's senior team on Sunday, showing commitment and competitiveness. In the first half, the young Croatian brought athleticism on the floor and helped FCB to find easy points in transition, either with the pass or with his above the rim play. In addition, Hezonja used his ball handling skills and quickness to beat up opposing defenders, and getting into the lane, where he finished twice under the rim. But Hezonja's main contribution was on the glass, forcing Xavi Pascual to enter him in the fourth quarter. For the first time Hezonja was committed to help his team win in any way possible, without caring about his own numbers or ego. If he manages to buy in and show that that "new" self wasn't a fluke, but a complete change of attitude has being made, the question would change from "potential NBA player" to "potential max NBA player".
Twitter of the author: @Gus_bball
Photo: El9 Esportiu
