By Darko Ivanovic
Final 4 of Kadets league was held in Belgrade, and the new champion of Serbia is Mega Leks, who beat Crvena Zvezda 77 to 59. Mega Leks have been doing good job last few years with young players and this is the result of their project. Mega Leks had Partizan in semi-final where they beat Belgrade team 87 to 57. Crvena Zvezda had much harder job against Sport’s World from Novi Sad, 79 to 74. There are players that affected the game more than others, here is a few to mention.
Aleksa Uskokovic (‘99, 6'1) from Crvena Zvezda was the absolute leader of his team during whole season and one of top 3 players in the country in this age. He is a true point guard, a leader on the floor. He is good handling with both hands, but passing decisions could be better. On F4 he lost the ball 10 times in 2 games, most from bad passes. He uses P&R and 1 on 1 as primary weapon. Mid-range jump shot after P&R is something that we don't see often even in senior basketball and Aleksa is great doing that. In defense he always hustles and fights for every loose ball. Great movement without the ball, and good penetration skills, no afraid of contact when he is driving in the paint. Overall impression, top potential and future of Crvena Zvezda if he continues improving and working on his skills.
Nikola Miskovic ('99) from Mega Leks is a great athlete with 6'9 frame. Most of the time he plays on position 3, but often he used his size to post up smaller defenders in the paint. This is one of great qualities of Nikola. He is intelligent and has a great feel for game. If defender is big and slow he will attack him from outside, where he can beat him from the dribble. He uses more elements to beat defense and at this moment dribble penetration and post up are the best way for him to score. Shoot is good with potential to improve. In defense he can cover 2, 3 and 4 at this age. Nikola has so many areas where he can improve skills, and with mental and skill improvement he is a national team player caliber.
Aleksa Matic (’99) is from Mega Leks too. The 6’5 captain of Mega and national team of Serbia is a true leader by example. Always giving his best and great attitude towards players and coaches. He hustles for every ball and uses his quickness to score. He improved his shoot from last 2-3 years drastically and his scoring ability is better every year. His ball handling skills can improve, there are moments where under pressure he cannot see his teammates while dribbles. With his determination, we believe he will add this skill to his basketball weapons. Aleksa is a player who can play on almost every team, because he fulfills every role that is given to him.
From champion’s team we cannot miss to mention currently best player in '00, Marko Pecarski. He is 6'9 with potential to play on position 4. Currently he is used on both 5 and 4 and he takes advantage of his good shot, but in last year he has improved his foot work and he is been a bigger presence in the paint. He is good under the basket and his contact game is better than last season. His athleticism it has improved due to his body development. His shot is excellent but on final four we have not seen it much, most because he was used in different role. He is a year younger than most competition but he has proved to be one of the best in this league. He is one of the most talented players on his generation and to play at the highest level he must continue to work on his athletic development and foot work.
Stefan Adzic ('99) from Partizan made sure he was noticed at F4 leading his team in scoring. He is a 6'4 shooting guard whose main weapon is his shot. He stretches the defense with great 3p shot and when defense is close he uses this advantage to beat them with penetrations. He is skinny for his height but he is athletic and very aggressive in defense. Sometimes even too aggressive, so he fails on defense when he reaches for a steal. He has room to improve on moving without the ball, and if you look in his position he will need it in future. For a shooter of his caliber, shooting from screens is one of elements that is most used.
Nemanja Zivkovic ('99) from Sport’s World is a pure shooter. With 6’4 body frame at the time he is one of the best shooters in the league along with mentioned Adzic and teammate Marko Kovacevic. He uses screens well and has a quick release. His level of energy on the court is very high. However for senior basketball he will need more elements to be successful. His ball handling skills have room for improvement and his penetrations can be stronger and more determinant. On final tournament he showed that he can use his passing skills in a right way and that is good indicator of his basketball IQ. He showed brave attitude and determination on the court and with this approach he can add more dimension to his game, besides shooting of the screens.
Tadija Tadic ('99) from Partizan is a national team player and big part of this season he played on position 1. He has good shot and strong body with 6’4 height and he can beat his opponent off the dribble. His mindset can be compared to Aleksa Matic's from Mega Leks. He will do everything for the team to win. Good defender who hustles for the ball. Sometimes can be far of his player, when help side is needed, so he can be late to help from weak side. Playing on point guard position over last two years in Partizan helped him to develop ball handling skills, which will help him later in his career when he will probably play on position 2.
Stefan Momirov (’99) from Crvena Zvezda had showed some interesting basketball skills during the season. He is a 6'6 guard with strong body, and can play 2 and 3 position. He has great potential with good body language on the floor and with high basketball IQ he is one of those players that can be expected to get better every year. Averaging more than 4 assists per game during Super Liga, he showed that he understands the game and he is committed to team and to find the best options for his team to score. His shoot is good, but not consistent, one of the reasons we can find is his inconsistent shooting form which can be normal for player of his age.
Late bloomers and undersized:
Aleksa Popovic ('99) from Partizan is a 6'6 shooting guard with long arms. He can play 1, 2 and 3 position. At this point he has more talents that are still not totally developed. He is good but not great shooter. Same you can say for ball handling and passing skills. Level of energy and body language on the floor could be better.
Almost the same we can say for Marko Kovacevic (‘99, 6'6) from Sport’s world. Great size and strong body with shooting touch like not many in his generation. He had played not many games this year but on F4 he showed that he can play real ball by scoring 18 points against Crvena Zvezda. In order to get to senior basketball he needs to improve athletic ability and ball handling.
Vanja Svraka ('99) from Sports World can be one of those late bloomers. He is a 6'1 point guard/shooting guard with good shoot and nice passing skills. Physically he is still weak and ball handling is solid but not at highest level for his position, but with his good mindset and hardworking ethic there is room for improvement.
Vuk Djordjevic ('99) from Crvena Zvezda is a center with 6'8 height who has great basketball understanding. He has good mid-range shot and post skills that are good but for the highest level not good enough yet. He is one of best passers on his position in his generation. It would help him a lot if he gains an inch or two to play center position on highest level, or he can move to position 4 where he must improve footwork in order to defend on that position. However height is not obstacle if you know how to play and he would not be the first one to be undersized on his position and play good on highest level, but in order to achieve this he needs to improve his body and get stronger.
Final 4 of Kadets league was held in Belgrade, and the new champion of Serbia is Mega Leks, who beat Crvena Zvezda 77 to 59. Mega Leks have been doing good job last few years with young players and this is the result of their project. Mega Leks had Partizan in semi-final where they beat Belgrade team 87 to 57. Crvena Zvezda had much harder job against Sport’s World from Novi Sad, 79 to 74. There are players that affected the game more than others, here is a few to mention.
Aleksa Uskokovic (‘99, 6'1) from Crvena Zvezda was the absolute leader of his team during whole season and one of top 3 players in the country in this age. He is a true point guard, a leader on the floor. He is good handling with both hands, but passing decisions could be better. On F4 he lost the ball 10 times in 2 games, most from bad passes. He uses P&R and 1 on 1 as primary weapon. Mid-range jump shot after P&R is something that we don't see often even in senior basketball and Aleksa is great doing that. In defense he always hustles and fights for every loose ball. Great movement without the ball, and good penetration skills, no afraid of contact when he is driving in the paint. Overall impression, top potential and future of Crvena Zvezda if he continues improving and working on his skills.
Nikola Miskovic ('99) from Mega Leks is a great athlete with 6'9 frame. Most of the time he plays on position 3, but often he used his size to post up smaller defenders in the paint. This is one of great qualities of Nikola. He is intelligent and has a great feel for game. If defender is big and slow he will attack him from outside, where he can beat him from the dribble. He uses more elements to beat defense and at this moment dribble penetration and post up are the best way for him to score. Shoot is good with potential to improve. In defense he can cover 2, 3 and 4 at this age. Nikola has so many areas where he can improve skills, and with mental and skill improvement he is a national team player caliber.
Aleksa Matic (’99) is from Mega Leks too. The 6’5 captain of Mega and national team of Serbia is a true leader by example. Always giving his best and great attitude towards players and coaches. He hustles for every ball and uses his quickness to score. He improved his shoot from last 2-3 years drastically and his scoring ability is better every year. His ball handling skills can improve, there are moments where under pressure he cannot see his teammates while dribbles. With his determination, we believe he will add this skill to his basketball weapons. Aleksa is a player who can play on almost every team, because he fulfills every role that is given to him.
From champion’s team we cannot miss to mention currently best player in '00, Marko Pecarski. He is 6'9 with potential to play on position 4. Currently he is used on both 5 and 4 and he takes advantage of his good shot, but in last year he has improved his foot work and he is been a bigger presence in the paint. He is good under the basket and his contact game is better than last season. His athleticism it has improved due to his body development. His shot is excellent but on final four we have not seen it much, most because he was used in different role. He is a year younger than most competition but he has proved to be one of the best in this league. He is one of the most talented players on his generation and to play at the highest level he must continue to work on his athletic development and foot work.
Stefan Adzic ('99) from Partizan made sure he was noticed at F4 leading his team in scoring. He is a 6'4 shooting guard whose main weapon is his shot. He stretches the defense with great 3p shot and when defense is close he uses this advantage to beat them with penetrations. He is skinny for his height but he is athletic and very aggressive in defense. Sometimes even too aggressive, so he fails on defense when he reaches for a steal. He has room to improve on moving without the ball, and if you look in his position he will need it in future. For a shooter of his caliber, shooting from screens is one of elements that is most used.
Nemanja Zivkovic ('99) from Sport’s World is a pure shooter. With 6’4 body frame at the time he is one of the best shooters in the league along with mentioned Adzic and teammate Marko Kovacevic. He uses screens well and has a quick release. His level of energy on the court is very high. However for senior basketball he will need more elements to be successful. His ball handling skills have room for improvement and his penetrations can be stronger and more determinant. On final tournament he showed that he can use his passing skills in a right way and that is good indicator of his basketball IQ. He showed brave attitude and determination on the court and with this approach he can add more dimension to his game, besides shooting of the screens.
Tadija Tadic ('99) from Partizan is a national team player and big part of this season he played on position 1. He has good shot and strong body with 6’4 height and he can beat his opponent off the dribble. His mindset can be compared to Aleksa Matic's from Mega Leks. He will do everything for the team to win. Good defender who hustles for the ball. Sometimes can be far of his player, when help side is needed, so he can be late to help from weak side. Playing on point guard position over last two years in Partizan helped him to develop ball handling skills, which will help him later in his career when he will probably play on position 2.
Stefan Momirov (’99) from Crvena Zvezda had showed some interesting basketball skills during the season. He is a 6'6 guard with strong body, and can play 2 and 3 position. He has great potential with good body language on the floor and with high basketball IQ he is one of those players that can be expected to get better every year. Averaging more than 4 assists per game during Super Liga, he showed that he understands the game and he is committed to team and to find the best options for his team to score. His shoot is good, but not consistent, one of the reasons we can find is his inconsistent shooting form which can be normal for player of his age.
Late bloomers and undersized:
Aleksa Popovic ('99) from Partizan is a 6'6 shooting guard with long arms. He can play 1, 2 and 3 position. At this point he has more talents that are still not totally developed. He is good but not great shooter. Same you can say for ball handling and passing skills. Level of energy and body language on the floor could be better.
Almost the same we can say for Marko Kovacevic (‘99, 6'6) from Sport’s world. Great size and strong body with shooting touch like not many in his generation. He had played not many games this year but on F4 he showed that he can play real ball by scoring 18 points against Crvena Zvezda. In order to get to senior basketball he needs to improve athletic ability and ball handling.
Vanja Svraka ('99) from Sports World can be one of those late bloomers. He is a 6'1 point guard/shooting guard with good shoot and nice passing skills. Physically he is still weak and ball handling is solid but not at highest level for his position, but with his good mindset and hardworking ethic there is room for improvement.
Vuk Djordjevic ('99) from Crvena Zvezda is a center with 6'8 height who has great basketball understanding. He has good mid-range shot and post skills that are good but for the highest level not good enough yet. He is one of best passers on his position in his generation. It would help him a lot if he gains an inch or two to play center position on highest level, or he can move to position 4 where he must improve footwork in order to defend on that position. However height is not obstacle if you know how to play and he would not be the first one to be undersized on his position and play good on highest level, but in order to achieve this he needs to improve his body and get stronger.
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