By Jordan Sensi

 

For the 12th edition of the Adidas Eurocamp, the organization invited 20 auto eligible players for this year’s NBA draft out of the 49 overall participants. Some players seduced and improved their draft stocks, and now it is time to have a quick review about them.

After a single season at Texas University, Ioannis Papapetrou decided to join Olympiacos in his home country. The Greek wingman only played on Saturday and stayed in the gym on Sunday only for interviews with NBA teams, but in one day he displayed enough strength in his game to secure a second round selection next week. Papapetrou’s body is NBA-ready, standing at 6’7 with 233 pounds. Even if his wingspan is just good, 6’9.25” inches, and without a great verticality, he will be able to compete in the American league. His scoring instinct is really good, mainly in the paint thanks to an excellent ball protection, soft hands and a solid frame which helps him a lot. Papapetrou has a slashing potential, both on half court and on transition where he was great at the Eurocamp showing off a great body control. He can score from the outside, even if his lack of balance is a problem in his jump shot mechanic. He was not only interesting on the offensive hand but also on the defensive hand. Bringing a lot of energy and intensity, and with very active hands, Papapetrou managed to hide his poor lateral mobility.

Another auto-eligible player seriously increased his chance, Axel Toupane. He really took advantage of this Italian trip to shine in front of scouts and NBA decision makers. The French shooting guard impressed all three days long with his on-the-ball defense and his defensive IQ, being one of the best defender at the Eurocamp. He owns all needed tools to be a stopper, and his ability to defend all three outside positions was enjoyed by coaches. Toupane also surprised with his measurements, he had the second best no step vertical and approach tests (respectively 35 & 40 inches), and an excellent wingspan of 6’10.25” for a 6’5” height. On the offensive hand, Toupane used his basketball IQ and his feeling for the game. Even if he did not score a lot, he was able to take the point guard duties very well during some sequences, and was very effective, as usual. Axel Toupane is an excellent role player in a roster and he is the kind of player every team needs to have in his roster. Nevertheless, his limited upside, the doubts about his killer instinct and mental, and the fact he struggled for a long time with his outside shooting range will penalize him when the NBA executives will make their decision.

Russian Dmitry Kulagin had a nice weekend in Treviso. With a strong body and a good verticality, Kulagin was discreet but highly effective. He is very talented and able to play at both point and shooting guard position. His fundamentals are excellent and he is an all-around player able to take rebounds in the traffic and then create a play for a teammate with a real feeling for the game. If Kulagin rose up his chance to be picked in June with all those positive aspects, several factors will play against him. First, his motor seemed limited, he clearly was one of the most tired player at the end of the last day, then, his lateral quickness and the fact he is not very effective in defense against quicker player could be a big problem overseas. The last but maybe the bigger problem for Kulagin is his problem of attitude on and off the court in the past, NBA teams really dislike this type of behavior.

The other French guy who performed in Treviso was Louis Labeyrie. For his third participation, Labeyrie maybe was the player who brought the highest level of energy. He jumped everywhere to grab rebounds, 50-50 balls and block attempts. Labeyrie is able to run the floor and defend against opponent guards after a pick and roll. Unfortunately, the French big is still thin and soft in the paint, that is why he tried to become more a stretch four player working hard on his outside shot. He scored a few long range shot in Treviso but, with a very low percentage.

The last one is Rokas Giedratis. The Lithuanian player will certainly not be picked but he has made a name in front of a lot of NBA scout and European clubs executives mainly, which is great for him. Giedratis has got a very high basketball IQ and he is always at the right place at the right moment on the floor. He is an excellent teammate and he never overplays, keep doing what he is able to do. He is the typical player good in all part of the game but not excellent in a specific one.

Two players was a bit disappointing and did not raised their stocks: Viktor Gaddefors and Philipp Neumann. Gaddefors has a great potential and seems NBA ready, but his attitude on the court and his big lack of consistency did not help him. Neumann is a very skilled big man with soft hands and good finishing abilities, but he seriously suffered against strong and massive opponents to dominate them, being somewhat soft.

Three non-auto eligible players seriously increased their draft stocks at the Eurocamp too. Vasilje Micic and Nemanja Dangubic were great during the only first two days they competed. Micic displayed a great leadership and excellent passing game, and certainly secured an early second round selection. Dangubic was excellent and earned an uncontested MVP trophy. He scored in any possible ways and was the best player at physical tests and there are a lot of chances to see him picked in the second round. The last one is Ojars Silins. Latvian wingman was very good in Treviso doing a bit of everything with an NBA-Ready body. Like Dangubic, Silins has great chances to be called in the late second round.

 

Photo: Xavi Sentís

 

Twitter of the author: @Jordan_Sensi