By Fede Ojeda
This big event organized by the NBA was held last week in Gran Canaria (Spain). Close to fifty players born in 1998 from more than twenty different countries all over Europe played during four days in the modern and newest arena in the island, the Gran Canaria Arena (house of the Herbalife Gran Canaria).
Players had a busy schedule as they had to practice and play games between 4-5 hours per day.
The training camp was divided in:
-Skill practices, where the players were divided in four groups (Point Guards, Guards, Forwards and Bigs).
-Team practices, where they had time to build up some plays and get to know each other. Four teams were made to compete during those games.
-Scrimmages, between 3 to 6 games of 16’ every day were played.
Both practices, Skill & Team, were hard and dynamic. A lot of coaches and NBA players were involved, so the rhythm and intensity was high during all the time.
The scrimmages started a bit “cold” with some good highlights and moments from different players, but as the days passed we could see better basketball as they knew better their teammates and the way coaches wanted them to play.
In the list below, you can read a bit about the players who made a biggest impact in the games:
Omer Yurtseven (Fenerbahce / Turkey). Camp MVP. This Turkish center made a huge impact during the games, from his 6’11’’ he dominated in both ends. Even though his body is not muscled, he has the strength and the power to jump high playing above the rim (rebounding the ball, blocking shots or finishing on offense). Offensively he is good playing with the back against the rim (finishing right hand almost always). Good in P&R situations. Defensively he blocked and changed many shots of the opponents, but the biggest problem he may have is his lateral move, where he struggles to move his feet fast.
Mate Kalajzic (Omis-Cagali / Croatia). He is a Point Guard of 6’3’’ and seems that his body is already done growing as he has a great muscular tone (not a problem because his size and physical tools are great). He understands the game really well, detecting the needs of the team and fixing those issues straight away. On the defensive end he was great in 1-1 situations & passing lanes thanks to his amazing legs that makes him fast and explosive. On the other end, the offensive one, he was smart putting the ball where it needed to be. He is a complete player, good shooting range, drives to the basket, mid-range touch... Best PG during the camp.
Omer Al (Besiktas / Turkey). This small Turkish point guard (5’11’’) was the other “playmaker” who was really good from day 1. He is a great competitor, showing pride and desire to win, and a great leader as he was communicating and giving instructions to his teammates all the time (on or off the court) during the games. Great IQ, good and accurate shot with a huge range, nice passing ability... Great legs to play 1-1 defense, all the other point guards had troubles to dribble the ball and run their teams when Omer was on them.
Richard Freudenberg (Munich / Germany). Incredible all-around player, he can do everything on the court rather on offense or defense. He has a great size to play as a Small Forward (6’9’’). He was able to play good defense on all the players of the tournament, no matter bigs or guards. He helped rebounding the ball and was great in help situations. It was really nice to see him playing offense as he could do everything, nice jumpers or finishes close to the basket with dunks or different lay-ups, good passing ability...
Tim Lambrecht (KBGO Duva / Belgium). Skinny and long Power Forward (6’11’’), he was impressive in the offense end. He is really skillful and has an amazing touch to put the ball in. As he still a little bit light (195lbs) he struggled against heaviest players as Yurtseven, Hartenstein or Japhet-Mathias but thanks to his quickness and size was able to avoid drives or easy shots in switch-situations against smaller players.
Isaiah Hartenstein (Dragons / Germany). Amazing prospect, he had one of the best bodies of the camp. He has a mix between size (7’), speed, agility, coordination... Really hard to find. He played as a four and five during the games, but where he was more comfortable was facing the basket. He could put the ball on the floor and move really well, sometimes he used too much his left hand in the drives but still had many advantages. Long shooting range, way far from the three point line and nice game in post-ups plays. He almost could guard anyone on the camp, but he was more effective with players of his size as he was stronger & quicker.
Borisa Simanic (FMP / Serbia). Another “strange” combination of physical tools and basketball skills. He is tall (6’11’’) with a good wingspan, but even with that height whenever you see him playing you can think that you are watching a backcourt player as he shoots, dribbles and moves as one of them. He can shoot the ball in many different ways (catch&shoot, off the dribble, pick & pops...). Nice driver to the basket, especially in straight lines. Decent defender on the man with the ball and great from the help side blocking and changing shots.
Kevin Cham (Montverde / France). All-Star MVP. This French combo guard was a great player in transition game as a finisher or passer (17 points in the All-Star, which 13 of them came out of fast-breaks and transitions), otherwise when he needed to set up the plays and organize his team he struggled a bit more in the decision process. Strong and quick with good individual skills. Defensively he could do more and a better job with the legs and strength he has.
For more information, sign up and check the updated profiles of the 1998 players.
Photo: Basket Insular
Twitter of the author: @fede_og
This big event organized by the NBA was held last week in Gran Canaria (Spain). Close to fifty players born in 1998 from more than twenty different countries all over Europe played during four days in the modern and newest arena in the island, the Gran Canaria Arena (house of the Herbalife Gran Canaria).
Players had a busy schedule as they had to practice and play games between 4-5 hours per day.
The training camp was divided in:
-Skill practices, where the players were divided in four groups (Point Guards, Guards, Forwards and Bigs).
-Team practices, where they had time to build up some plays and get to know each other. Four teams were made to compete during those games.
-Scrimmages, between 3 to 6 games of 16’ every day were played.
Both practices, Skill & Team, were hard and dynamic. A lot of coaches and NBA players were involved, so the rhythm and intensity was high during all the time.
The scrimmages started a bit “cold” with some good highlights and moments from different players, but as the days passed we could see better basketball as they knew better their teammates and the way coaches wanted them to play.
In the list below, you can read a bit about the players who made a biggest impact in the games:
Omer Yurtseven (Fenerbahce / Turkey). Camp MVP. This Turkish center made a huge impact during the games, from his 6’11’’ he dominated in both ends. Even though his body is not muscled, he has the strength and the power to jump high playing above the rim (rebounding the ball, blocking shots or finishing on offense). Offensively he is good playing with the back against the rim (finishing right hand almost always). Good in P&R situations. Defensively he blocked and changed many shots of the opponents, but the biggest problem he may have is his lateral move, where he struggles to move his feet fast.
Mate Kalajzic (Omis-Cagali / Croatia). He is a Point Guard of 6’3’’ and seems that his body is already done growing as he has a great muscular tone (not a problem because his size and physical tools are great). He understands the game really well, detecting the needs of the team and fixing those issues straight away. On the defensive end he was great in 1-1 situations & passing lanes thanks to his amazing legs that makes him fast and explosive. On the other end, the offensive one, he was smart putting the ball where it needed to be. He is a complete player, good shooting range, drives to the basket, mid-range touch... Best PG during the camp.
Omer Al (Besiktas / Turkey). This small Turkish point guard (5’11’’) was the other “playmaker” who was really good from day 1. He is a great competitor, showing pride and desire to win, and a great leader as he was communicating and giving instructions to his teammates all the time (on or off the court) during the games. Great IQ, good and accurate shot with a huge range, nice passing ability... Great legs to play 1-1 defense, all the other point guards had troubles to dribble the ball and run their teams when Omer was on them.
Richard Freudenberg (Munich / Germany). Incredible all-around player, he can do everything on the court rather on offense or defense. He has a great size to play as a Small Forward (6’9’’). He was able to play good defense on all the players of the tournament, no matter bigs or guards. He helped rebounding the ball and was great in help situations. It was really nice to see him playing offense as he could do everything, nice jumpers or finishes close to the basket with dunks or different lay-ups, good passing ability...
Tim Lambrecht (KBGO Duva / Belgium). Skinny and long Power Forward (6’11’’), he was impressive in the offense end. He is really skillful and has an amazing touch to put the ball in. As he still a little bit light (195lbs) he struggled against heaviest players as Yurtseven, Hartenstein or Japhet-Mathias but thanks to his quickness and size was able to avoid drives or easy shots in switch-situations against smaller players.
Isaiah Hartenstein (Dragons / Germany). Amazing prospect, he had one of the best bodies of the camp. He has a mix between size (7’), speed, agility, coordination... Really hard to find. He played as a four and five during the games, but where he was more comfortable was facing the basket. He could put the ball on the floor and move really well, sometimes he used too much his left hand in the drives but still had many advantages. Long shooting range, way far from the three point line and nice game in post-ups plays. He almost could guard anyone on the camp, but he was more effective with players of his size as he was stronger & quicker.
Borisa Simanic (FMP / Serbia). Another “strange” combination of physical tools and basketball skills. He is tall (6’11’’) with a good wingspan, but even with that height whenever you see him playing you can think that you are watching a backcourt player as he shoots, dribbles and moves as one of them. He can shoot the ball in many different ways (catch&shoot, off the dribble, pick & pops...). Nice driver to the basket, especially in straight lines. Decent defender on the man with the ball and great from the help side blocking and changing shots.
Kevin Cham (Montverde / France). All-Star MVP. This French combo guard was a great player in transition game as a finisher or passer (17 points in the All-Star, which 13 of them came out of fast-breaks and transitions), otherwise when he needed to set up the plays and organize his team he struggled a bit more in the decision process. Strong and quick with good individual skills. Defensively he could do more and a better job with the legs and strength he has.
For more information, sign up and check the updated profiles of the 1998 players.
Photo: Basket Insular
Twitter of the author: @fede_og
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