By Kostas Psimoulis
Phillip Neumann (’92) measured as one of the longest guys here in Treviso with a wingspan of almost 7’4 inches. In addition to his good length, Neumann possesses a decent shooting stroke which extends almost to the three point line, solid hoops IQ and pretty good motor for a European big man. Neumann is definitely a skilled guy who can help a European team in a lot of ways offensively, however lack of athleticism and acceptable vertical defense making him a non NBA prospect. He’s not explosive enough and there had been several times that he found his shot blocked as he’s a below the rim player. Neumann still lacks the strength in order to bang inside against stronger and tougher players in the post.
Hugo Invernizzi (’93) showed once again how good a shooter he is. He sports a nice stroke and good balance and confidence when he shoots the ball. In addition to that, Invernizzi is a smart player, fine ball mover and good passer. The French man moves well without the ball, comes off screens and makes solid basketball plays. However, his upside looks limited as he’s a mediocre athlete and possesses only average size for the small forward position. Invernizzi got fine minutes this season with Le Havre but it remains to be seen if he can defend his position at the next level.
Johannes Voightmann (’92) is another interesting big man coming from Germany. The player of Frankfurt Skyliners has still room for improvement body wise and he had the most body fat of all the guys measured in Eurocamp (115 kg). If he manages to loose some weight and improve his conditioning he could be a significant player for a European team. Voightmann possesses a very nice shooting stroke and is capable of stretching the floor from the center position. He’s very effective in pop out situations as he can hit the standstill three or make the right pass . Like Neumann, he’s not athletic and is not supposed to be a rim protector at next level. Moreover, the German needs to improve his foot speed and footwork in Pick N Roll situations ; PNR coverages have become a complex thing in basketball and big men need to be flexible nowadays.
’95 Petr Cornelie showed some interesting tools during the second day of the event with the French U20 team. Standing at 6’10, Cornelie can shoot the three with confidence and possesses good length and athletic tools. He’s still very thin for an inside player thus he’s in transition to evolve as more of a power forward. His shooting motion looks smooth with decent balance and elevation. Cornelie’s got solid upside if he keeps working on his strength and fundamentals.
Erjon Kastrati (’94) is a long wing with pretty good athletic tools and feel for the game. Standing at 6’6 has got good size to play as a shooting guard at the next level while also sporting a 6-foot-10 wingspan. The player of Krka Novo Mesto hasn’t displayed any specific offensive skills but showed that he’s a good slasher and can put the ball on the floor and finish with floaters. Kastrati defends his position well and he’s smart enough to step over and take the roll man as a weaksise defender.
Axel Toupane (’92) was very active on defense during the first two days of the camp. He puts his hands everywhere taking advantage of his upper body strength and good length. He blocks shots by chasing down opponents, pokes balls away from the hands of offensive players and plays with energy and motor. He’s not an elite athlete, but his good enough to dominate athletically against European guys. His ball handling ability looks decent even though it’s high unlikely he can become a full time point guard at the next level. However, Toupane can arm some secondary ball handling responsibilities without hurting the offensive flow.
Mouhammadou Jaiteh (’94) had a very bad game against Carleton University. He had eight turnovers and struggled against double teams. Jaiteh keeps asking for the ball far away from the hoop making easy for the defense to send an aggressive double team when he dribbles the ball. Moreover, Jaiteh struggled with strength and almost never responded to the challenge. He definitely hurt his stock in from of the NBA decision makers considering that he was good yesterday only because he faced some young and inexperienced American high shoolers.
Twitter of the author: @Gus_bball
