By Kostas Psimoulis
Rafael Freire measured only 6-3 in shoes in Treviso without being particularly long (sports a 6-foot-4 wingspan) or athletic (however, his not step vertical was the same with Toupane’s and Lombardi’s). The Brazilian point guard is strong and plays with toughness and aggressiveness on both ends. Strong ball pressure on the ball and tough front defense when gets mismatched, Freire is the type of guard who’d step in and make plays for his team. Good in Pick N Roll situations, recognizes angles and creates good shots for his teammates. Freire needs to keep working on his shot as a guy who doesn’t possess great size he needs to connect more frequently from outside.
7-foot-2 German center was probably the most interesting big man of the Eurocamp. Daniel Mayr (’95) has very good physical tools as he possesses huge size and interesting athleticism. He’s got a better body compared to the other bigs from Germany who were present in the camp, he’s better vertical defender and more mobile laterally. Mayr is still very young and might have the chance to grow more as his father is taller than him at the moment. Moves well for a player that big and showed promising ability of protecting the rim both vertically and by sliding left or right to deny clear path. Offensively he still is a work in progress (didn’t show any factional strength in live game) but with that size he’s a player teams should follow in the coming years.
Adin Vrabac (’94) wasn’t one of the standouts of the Eurocamp. Seems like his development has stacked as Vrabac didn’t impress neither with athleticism nor with skill. His dribble remains too high and struggles to make any moves with his right hand. Vrabac has a very nice body and perfect size for a wing but his skills offensively leave a lot to be desired. With a loose handle, inconsistent shot and not more than average athletic tools it’s hard to imagine him something more rather than an energy/motor guy off the bench.
Nemanja Dangubic -at the pic- was one of the standouts of the camp and definitely saw his stock raised. He measured at 6-foot-8 and was probably the best athlete among all the participants. Dangubic is a solid slasher and shows great explosiveness off one or two feet. He finished a lot of plays in transition or off the glass thanks to his explosion. His handle is still a work in progress and can’t be trusted as a primary or even secondary ball handler. On the other hand, Dangubic can defend all three perimeter positions. The Serbian still doesn’t possess a NBA skill but he showed that he could be a high energy player off the bench who could be a solid contributor in terms of playing off of penetration, finishing plays in transition or bringing high intensity on defense. Goes without saying that if Dangubic manages to make his three point shot more consistent he could bring more value to NBA teams. He was named MVP of the camp.
7-foot-3 Ukrainian Artem Pustovyi doesn’t look like the part of a skilled interior player. He’s the type of guy who lives out of garbage plays by running the lanes, receiving the ball off dropoffs and grabbing the misses of his teammates. Pustovyi’s got the size but lacks the offensive package you would expect from a starting center on a good team. Already 22 years old, Pustovyi doesn’t possess any particular upside, however he showed some interesting improvement from the high post by hitting cutters or making the high-low.
Even though he doesn’t sport great size or length for a point guard, Ludde Hakanson’s got great feel for the game and elite shooting potential. He didn’t showcase his skills during the Eurocamp in Treviso but that can explained as he had to go head to head against more experienced and stronger guys. Weeks ago in Mannheim the Swede was impressive against his same aged peers and showed that he’s expected to be a Euroleague level point guard in the future.
Photo: Adidas Eurocamp
Twitter of the author: @Gus_bball
