By Kostas Psimoulis
Eurohopes is currently in Rome (Italy) to cover the Basketball Without Borders an event operated under the umbrella of the NBA and FIBA. Many guys from all around Europe take part in the skills and scrimmages, however the takent pool doesn’t seem that strong as seven prospects from Eurohopes Top 10 ’97 ranking didn’t make the trip to Rome. There’s still talent around with 3-4 guys with solid pro potential and a dozen future college players. Here’s a few notes from yesterday:
6-foot-8 Amine Noua is an undersized power forward who showed both his strengths and weaknesses during the scrimmages at the Basketball Without Borders. Noua has an interesting inside game showing some decent hook shots and counters in the post, but at 6’8 he isn’t expected to post up a lot in the college level. Noua needs to improve his body and his conditioning in order to reach the next level. 2016 class Noua is an average athlete with no hops or explosiveness, however he possesses solid fundamentals and good hands. Standing at 6’8 there’s not much to expect in terms of interior defense or inside scoring, however Noua uses his 7-foot wingspan to find angles inside or contest some shots around the basket. Noua looks like a low major college player, nevertheless he’s got to keep improving his skills and body in order to make the next step.
In his first season in Madrid Emanuel Cate has already shown decent potential even though he wasn’t among the top guys in Real Madrid’s junior team playing time wise. With his 6’9, 235 pound frame, the young prospect from Romania possesses the necessary tools to be a pro power forward down the road. Cate is strong, athletic and quite skilled ; he showed a few solid back to the basket moves and a mid range shot. If he continues to build on his inside presence while honing his perimeter skills, he’d be hard to guard with those physical tools.
We didn’t have the chance to watch the whole scrimmage of Josh Steel team as we were present in the central court most of the time, however in the limited minutes we watched him Joshua emphatically showed that he’s not a true point guard. Seems that that’s not his game, Steel struggled getting his team into its sets as a result committing some avoidable turnovers. 2015 Josh Steel has made lots of noise after Barking Abbey’s trip to the US. He’s a good character guy, confident and competitive but he still has to refine his offensive skills and be more aggressive on the floor.
The player of CAI Zaragoza Sergi Garcia showed some impressive skills in today’s scrimmages. His presence with Zaragoza’s men’s team gives him a step experience wise when competing with guys of his age. Garcia knows how to play and displays high hoops IQ. Standing at 6-foot-3 Garcia doesn’t have great size for a high pro level point guard, however it’s his ability to see the floor and get others involved that gets him on the floor. Already strong, Garcia showed signs of solid defensive potential as he was fighting through screens and putting good pressure on the ball. Effective in transition, the Spaniard rewarded his teammates for running the floor by making the simple hit ahead pass.
2017 Lauri Markkanen has grown a couple of inches since last summer now standing at 6-foot-10. Markkanen is an excellent shooter off the catch with a picture perfect shooting stroke. He can also occasionally put the ball on the floor and attack in straight lines, however he’s got to protect the ball better as he displays a high dribble at times. The Finnish guy is still thin but it’s obvious that he’s gotten stronger since August’s U16 Division B championship where he was selected into the all tournament team. Markkanen is a skilled oversized small forward who needs to keep getting better and developing his skills in order to be something more than an one dimensional guy, like his countryman Joonas Caven.
Photo: NBA
Twitter of the author: @Gus_bball
