By Francesco Cavalli
Today finish the recap of the Final Stage of DNG, played in Torino from May 25th to May 31st, the top youth competition in Italy.
STELLA AZZURRA ROMA
Andrea La Torre (’97, 6’8”) Swingman, was named in the All-Tournament Team and made a name for himself as a legit MVP: he was always ready to step up and take responsibilities on both ends of the floor, and hit a good number of big shots in the last two pivotal games. A largely scouted prospect over the years because of his ability to create off the dribble and his impressive frame, he looks now as a solid shooter with his feet set but will need to further work on his pull-up shot and his off hand. Looks like he wants to play at the point guard spot, but despite his dribbling and passing ability he seems to lack proper playmaking instincts and the pace of the team looked better when point guard
Alberto Cacace (’96, 6’5”) Small forward, was one of the best defenders in Torino, with really strong physique and quick feet; on offense he’s an excellent spot-up shooter and a powerful straight-line driver, is always effective on cuts and a constant threat on offensive boards, but he’ll need to work a lot on his off hand, as he has always the tendency to dribble and score only with his right one.
Lorenzo Bucarelli (’98, 6’5”) didn’t play much during the first four games, also because hampered by foul troubles, but had a pivotal role in the last two games and particularly against Pistoia, playing defense on different type of players in the backcourt and relentlessly pressuring the ball. On offense he’s able to play all backcourt positions, scoring easily on cuts, being able to play the pick-and-roll and showing nice confidence in his mid-range pull-up shot, but his shooting range looks still inadequate and his three point accuracy doesn’t seem much improved.
Tommaso Guariglia (’97, 6’9”) Center, was dominant in the paint: he piled up offensive rebounds and scored tons of points off second chances or simply by taking position in the paint and pushing around his defender; but he also almost didn’t find any opponent who could match his size and his strong frame, and actually he struggled more in scoring against the length of Casalpusterlengo and Pistoia, which were able to better clog the paint against him. Could be good for him to extend and strengthen his shooting range outside the paint.
Kristinn Palsson (’97, 6’5”) Wing from Iceland, Palsson brings in above average toughness and high energy level; he lacks the ball-handling to play the shooting guard spot, but is a great spot-up shooter and has solid potential as a 3&D type of player.
Todor Radonijc (’97, 6’6”) from Montenegro. Radonijc is a smart face-up player who still seems to lack a proper role, as he’s kind of stuck between the 3 and the 4, but fared pretty well as a power forward thanks to his shooting touch and rebounding presence.
AQUILA BASKET TRENTO
Diego Flaccadori (’96, 6’4”), a top ’96 player in Europe, was playing Serie A playoffs and therefore missed the first game, joining the team shortly before the second one. The lefty guard didn’t look at his best and had some trouble to fit into the flow of the team, struggling a bit with decision making and shot selection. Anyway he showed many flashes of his impressive talent off the dribble, looking both crafty and explosive and being able to create with ridiculous ease both for himself and his teammates.
Andrea Picarelli (’96, 6’4”) Shooting guard, was the team’s top scorer, averaging 16,5 points per game while shooting 40% from long range. A tough competitor and intense hustler, Picarelli is a gifted scorer off the ball with the ability to create off the dribble as well, despite not being particularly flashy or crafty. His upside seems to be limited, but he was surely one of the most reliable players in Torino.
Andrea Bernardi (’97, 6’2”) Point guard, left mixed impressions, as he was outstanding in the first two games but struggled badly in the last two: he has high-level physical and athletic tools for his position, and his upside looks great giving his ball-skills, IQ, shooting touch and ability to play at different speed, but had tough time against the length and physicality of Stella Azzurra and Biella, and wasn’t able to consistently score contested shots at the rim.
Simone Bellan (’96, 6’5”) Swingman, also looks interesting, rarely changing his pace but with good physical tools and ability to play off the dribble.
PALLACANESTRO REGGIANA
Andrea Rovatti (’96, 6’6”) swingman, Rovatti has excellent physical tools, athleticism and ball skills for his position, and was literally unstoppable when committed to create off the dribble. He could easily be a top Italian prospect in his generation, but he could not be able to play up to his huge potential if he doesn’t work on his attitude and doesn’t increase the amount of intangibles on the court: he’s not always focused and has a lot of ups and downs in his game and level of effort, sometimes he has the tendency to settle on threes or look for the fancy play.
Arnold Mitt (’98, 6’10”) from Estonia, didn’t get much playing time but was able to show good instincts and an intriguing soft touch from the top of his lanky frame.
Alessandro Lever (’98, 6’9”) Lever also has nice hands and looks like he has improved his level of effort and activity in the paint.
Marco Lusvarghi (’97, 6’8”) Lusvarghi seems to have grown since the ANGT Tournament in December, probably closer to a full 6’9” than the 6’7” he was listed. A further growth would make him an intriguing prospect giving his length, coordination and running ability, despite being still a project on the offensive end of the court.
VIRTUS BOLOGNA
Tommaso Oxilia (’98, 6’6”), one of the top talent in Italy and the team’s leader, missed the first two games and was therefore able to play only the last one against Reggio Emilia.
Lorenzo Penna (’98, 5’11”) Point guard, is small but has huge personality and impressive quickness and ball-handling skills; he’s fearless in attacking the basket and able to beat his man off the dribble, even though he struggles in absorbing contacts at the rim. He’s an excellent shooter and scores mainly on pull-up shots.
Roberto Vercellino (’97, 6’8”) Power forward, was the best rebounder of the tournament (13,3 per game, 6.7 on the offensive end) and also the best shot-blocker (2 per game): not particularly long or athletic, positioning, timing and instincts are what make him so valuable in the paint. He’s not a pure scorer and sometimes has the tendency to slow down the pace, but he’s a highly valuable player because of his IQ, understanding of the game, defensive effort and amount of intangibles.
Stefan Nikolic (’97, 6’7”) Serbian forward, wasn’t physically at his best, but looked also sloppy, with a poor motor, and never changed the pace of his game. Still, he has good potential giving his size, face-up fundamentals and shooting touch
OLIMPIA MILANO
Andrea Pecchia (’97, 6’6”) Small forward, Pecchia is a tough, aggressive forward with above average physique and athletic ability: at the youth level he plays 2/3/4 and is able to guard four positions on defense. He’s not overly talented on offense and lacks the ball-handling to play the shooting guard spot at the pro level, but he’s an impressive scorer in transition and an above average rebounder. He’ll need to further improve as a shooter, as his 5/7 from beyond the arc against Biella seems to be an outlier giving the total 1/8 in the other three games.
Davide Toffali (’98, 6’4”) Shooting guard, Toffali has the highest upside in the team, as a quick, athletic and explosive guard with the ability to beat his man and score off the dribble. In Torino he was relatively quiet, playing mainly off the ball and handling a lesser amount of possessions: this is an interesting step in his development, since when he had to handle the ball a lot and play the point guard spot he was prone to turnovers and bad shooting selection, seeming to lack proper court vision and passing instincts.
PISTOIA BASKET 2000
Davide Moretti (’98, 6’2”) Guard, is one of the brightest talent in Italian basketball and also had an heck of a tournament, as he would have deserved a spot in the All-Tournament Team. Able to play at both guard spots but probably better suited for the shooting guard position despite his still light frame, he’s a quick guard with high-level ball-handling, so natural in playing off the dribble and create in ISO sets as well as in moving off the ball and using ball screens. He averaged 15 points per game with ridiculous 61,7% eFG and 70% free throw rate.
Luca Severini (’96, 6’8”) Center, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had an outstanding performance in Torino and could easily be considered the MVP; he averaged 16 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, while shooting 60% from the field and grabbing 20 rebounds in the final. He’s not particularly strong but he’s quick and has great length, coordination and footwork, can play both frontcourt roles and score both in the low post and facing the basket. He struggled a bit in finishing through contacts, but never shied away from contacts and successfully fought against all the big men he had to face.
PALLACANESTRO BIELLA
Sandro Mamukelashvili (’99, 6’8”) American/Georgian small forward, played well during the first four games, but was a bit shy in quarterfinals and semifinals after missing the first couple of shots, looking hesitant and passing some open looks. He took 53% of his shots from beyond the arc, but was more confident on cuts and in transition, where he increased his offensive production. The most impressive things anyway were once again his natural ability to put the ball on the floor and change direction with the ball, as well as his above average length and coordination.
Carl Wheatle (’98, 6’6”) British forward, had some trouble to score but was elsewhere a major factor, collected lot of rebounds, defended multiple positions, made some key play on both ends of the floor and brought a lot of intangibles to his team. He has to work a lot on his three point shot and post moves to be a reliable threat on offense, as right now he scores mostly on drives, cuts and offensive rebounds, but he’s very crafty and has excellent instincts with the ball.
Luca Pollone (’97, 6’5”) Guard, an interesting all-around player who can impact many aspects of the game despite average athletic tools. Pollone was a key ball-handler and facilitator, averaged 6.9 rebounds per game and had often to guard the best opposing guard; he’ll need to further work on his outside shot, which hasn’t bad form but is pretty streaky, and just slow down sometimes, as he has the tendency to be frenetic and turnover prone.
Federico Massone (’98, 6’2”) Point guard, in his first season in Biella, looks really intriguing giving his frame, IQ and craftiness with the ball; he averaged only 5,3 points per game but came up big in quarterfinals to score 22 points and propel the upset.
BLU OROBICA BERGAMO
Nicholas Dessì (’98, 6’6”) Small forward, is the best prospect of the team: he had a bad tournament on offense, as he lacked the spot-up shots he need to score and had to take too much possessions off the dribble, but showed impressive effort and high-level potential on the defensive end.
Eugenio Beretta (’96, 6’10”) Center , a big body with poor athletic tools and lateral mobility, but still interesting giving his fundamentals, IQ and rebounding presence. Beretta is willing to fight in the paint and is difficult to push because of his massive size, and has nice length and soft touch to easily score with both hands over the defender. Despite not having good mobility outside the paint and awkward shooting mechanics, he can also hit comfortably shot from mid-range and score occasionally from three point range.
Photo: fip.it
