By Enrico Kufuor, Francesco Cavalli


Killian Hayes – FRA – PG – 6’5” – 2001 – Cholet Basket
Killian Hayes had by far the most advanced skillset out of anyone prospects invited to the Next Generation portion of the Eurocamp. The lefty point guard displayed advanced ballhandling with a great change-of-pace ability. Hayes is very deceptive with the ball in his hands, allowing him to penetrate into the teeth of the defense whenever he wanted to, where he was able to finish at a high rate. He is very creative with the ball. However, he does tend to hold the ball too long at times. Very proficient in the open court, Hayes puts pressure on the defense as soon as he touches the ball. In addition to his ballhandling ability, he has a solid jump shot, which he can get off at any time. Using pull up jumpers and step backs to create separation, Hayes has the ability to score from all the levels. He is mainly a bona-fide scorer at this point and it seems he has to improve in terms of his playmaking abilities. Defensively he is very quick on his feet, and has shown the willingness and ability to put pressure on the ballhandler and stay in front of him.
 
Tom Digbeu – FRA – SG – 6’5” – 2001 – Regal Barcelona
Arguably the best prospect in attendance at the Next Generation camp, Tom Digbeu showed out. The lefty Frenchman is an athletic wing player who has shown great versatility on the floor. Equipped with a solid shooting form, Digbeu is automatic in spot up situations. While it seems to not be completely there yet, he has shown signs of a developing pull up jumper as becoming a major asset to his game. Digbeu is a solid ballhandler who has proficient at changing pace and has the ability to sneak through the smallest of openings. His quick first step and long strides seem to allow him to get to the hoop at any given time, where he finishes well against contact and at times acrobatically due to good body control. Though more of a smooth than an explosive athlete, he is has shown the ability to finish above the rim. On the other side of the ball he plays extremely heady. He got into passing lanes, as well as blocked shots from the weakside, as he never seemed far removed the play. Also, a great positional rebounder, Digbeu seems to be everywhere on the floor.
 
Athanasios Ragias – GRE – SG – 6’4” – 2001 – Ikaros Kallitheas
Anthansios Ragias played relatively well in the game in front of all of the scouts. However, the shooting guard from Greece does not have nearly as high a ceiling than other players participating in the event. Ragias is a quick guard who mainly gets his scoring opportunities through straight line drives usually going left, although he is a right handed player. He was also show a couple decent cuts opening himself up under the basket. His jump shooter looks rather mechanical with an early set point, prohibiting a smooth shooting motion. Though his basketball IQ is not that high and he usually uses his speed to gain advantages, he did play within himself and did the things he was able to, all while deferring to his more talented teammates.
 
Kristaps Kilps – LAT – SG – 6’3” – 2001 – Sports School Spars
Kristaps Kilps is a rather unassuming player who seems to come up with plays out of nowhere. Mostly playing without the ball in his hands he moved very well without the ball, adjusting to drives from teammates and positioning himself for jump shots. As of now his greatest threat is his jump shot, as he's able to knock down shots from all levels. Although he brings the ball a little far back when pulling up, he solid off the dribble, as he seems to be able to knock them down with relative ease. However, his proficiency in catch and shoot situations is his best asset. He has the ability as a spot up shooter, but also displayed an advanced ability to shoot with great balance when coming off of screens. On the other side of the ball he has the lateral speed to keep quick players in front of him. When he does get beat he has displayed the ability to recover well, which shows he won't give up on any play. Also, Kilps is very active in the passing lanes, understanding and anticipating when he can go for the steal.
 
Hector Alderete – ESP – SG – 6’8” – 2002 – Estudiantes Madrid
Hector Alderete was one of the younger players, but still managed to make quite the impact. Diaz is very creative guard, with great size for the two-guard position. He was able to consistently display how he used creativity and "playfulness" with the ball, as well as his understanding of angles, to get by his opponents on a consistent basis, although he is not the quickest player. Diaz also runs the lanes during break extremely hard, giving him opportunities to get easy baskets in transition. His shot looks alright; nonetheless he does seem to struggle to shoot effectively off the dribble. His balance is off at times and seems to have problems transferring the energy of his legs into his upper body, as his legs are often already completely extended before his arms go into the shooting motion. His lateral speed is mediocre, which his able to combat with a pretty good anticipation ability, as well as being very active in general. He does work with hands quite a bit though, which can lead to quick fouls.
 
Pavel Zakharov – RUS – PF – 6’10” – 2001 – Zenit St. Petersburg
Already standing at 6'10" Pavel Zakharov is a very mobile big man with decent athleticism. The Russian big man is a very active player who is extremely persistent under the basket. He goes hard after his own misses, attempting to get the ball into the basket until he succeeds. In conjunction with his persistence, he's a great rebounder who goes extremely hard after the ball. He also has exceptional balance and footwork for his age, allowing him to get to where he wants, usually finishing with a hook shot over his left shoulder. He also runs the lanes exceptionally well, giving him easy opportunities for baskets. Zakharov should be able to make major improvements over time, possessing physical features suited for his position, as he has long and a great frame.
 
Kay Bruhnke – GER – PG/SG – 6’7” – 2001 – Brose Basket Bamberg
Kay Bruhnke has been able quite the improvements over the course of the last two years. A combo guard with exceptional size, he displayed good ballhandling with enough creativity to consistently create scoring opportunities for himself and others. Being a knock down shooter, it was easy for him to use the space created by the threat of his shot. Usually having a good grip on the game, Bruhnke mainly focused on setting the game up, as well as setting his teammates up, as he threw quite a few good passes during the short time he was on the court. Bruhnke had to shut down camp early as an elbow to the face forced him to go to the hospital.
 
Mario Nakic – SRB – SG – 6’6” – 2001 – Real Madrid
Mario Nakic is a very versatile player, consistently putting all of his tools on display, which was quite impressive. Equipped with a good jump shot, he has the ability to attack closeouts effectively on a consistent basis. Creative in the open court, as well as in the set play, Nakic finds angles to attack. Possessing good vision, he has shown the willingness to pass the ball in numerous situations. His decision making and timing is a work in progress though because sometimes his decisions are rather late or he overpaces, which leads to inaccurate passes. Nakic has displayed the willingness to throw his body around, as he goes hard after rebounds. Sometimes using his athleticism, other times boxing out soundly, he is an elite positional rebounder. Among all the positive attributes on negative aspect stands out though, as he doesn't seem to be a great teammate, displaying poor body language towards his teammates a lot over the course of a game and a few scrimmages.
 
Dimitrios Karaiskos – GRE – PF/C – 6’9” – 2001 – Promitheas Patras
Dimitrios Karaiskos is a big man with a stout body whose game relies more on instincts and IQ than athleticism. Often finding himself in the right spots, he moves extremely well without the ball. He gives himself opportunities to score around the basket fairly often, as he always seems to be at the right spot at the right time. Seemingly having a keen understanding for situations he can score in, Karaiskos runs the break hard, which gives him even more opportunities. Similarly he rolls hard in PNR situations, giving his teammates a big target. He does all the little things in terms of movement off the ball to put himself in the best positions. Also, although he missed his shot attempts, he takes them with great confidence and has good form on his jump shot, which should bode well for him in the future. Interestingly he displayed the ability to throw passes in fast situations, as he threw a pinpoint alley oop pass in the break. Also, he seems to have relative good lateral speed, showing the ability and willingness to keep guards in front when switching in PNR situations. Towards the end of the camp he was running somewhat gimpy, favoring his right side, as he seemed to have problems with his left knee.
 
Leonardo de Souza Colimerio – BRA – SG – 6’6” – 2001 – Sao Jose
Leonard de Souza Colimerio is a very athletic shooting guard from Brazil who consistently used quick bursts to the get to the rim. Running the lanes extremely hard, as well as pushing the ball in break situations, Colimerio puts a lot of pressure on the defense in transition. He is somewhat wild, but his relentless tenacity when attacking makes it tough for defenders to stay in front of him. Though he is not a very good ball-handler and he doesn't use a lot of dribble moves or change of direction, he was able to get to the rim over and over again, where he has the ability to finish through contact. When attacking he usually wants to score himself often not deciding to pass the ball until he is already in the air and the opportunity to score is taken away. On the defensive end he displayed the potential to become an elite defender due to his athleticism. Equipped with great lateral speed and active hands he's able to put quite some pressure on his opponent.
 
Modestas Kancleris – LTU – SF – 6’7” – 2001 – Sabonis BC
One of the best performers at Eurocamp, Modestas Kancleris is smooth shooter from Lithuania. Displaying very good shooting form, he was able to knock down shots from the perimeter throughout the course of the weekend. Moving well without the ball and knowing where to position himself on teammates' drives Kancleris found himself open behind the three point line fairly often. He has also shown the ability to convert on catch and shoot opportunities when coming off of the screen. His awareness is one the court is superb. As of now he is more of a threat with his jump shot than anything else. His progression will be interesting to gauge going further.
 
Luc van Slooten – GER – SG – 6’8” – 2002 – SC RASTA Vechta
Luc van Slooten was one of the most impressive kids in attendance. Mostly a year younger than every other player, he easily holds his own physically. Equipped with great size and athleticism, van Slooten is very far along in his physical development in comparison to other his age. Nonetheless, he still does not seem to be finished growing just yet. While struggling with his jump shot in the game, he was able to knock down an array of jump shots in the scrimmages. Though inconsistent at this point, he shows a lot of promise as a jump shooter. Van Slooten has shown the ability to knock down difficult shots, as he made a few pull-ups with the defense draped all over him. Somewhat disconcerting is that of he's not scoring he sometimes disappears. One apparent aspect is that when van Slooten has talent around him, he is able to really put a stamp on the game, as he has struggled during the season when the defense was able to focus in on him completely. An interesting aspect was that he displayed a passing ability in PNR situations, as he threw a few pocket passes to the big on a short roll.
 
Tristan Enaruna – NED – SF – 6’7” – 2001 – BC Apollo Amsterdam
Possessing great physical tools, Trsitan Enaruna’s anthropometrics alone make him a very intriguing prospect. He was very passive towards the beginning, often deferring to others, but seemed to get more comfortable on the floor as time passed. Enaruna made a few open three pointers, which seemed to build to his confidence going further. Equipped with a smooth shooting stroke, his main weapon were spot up jumpers. Withal he already possesses an elite skill. During scrimmages on the last day Enaruna showed that when he’s aggressive he’s an excellent driver, as he beats his defender with a quick change of pace. Also possessing pretty good vision makes him an even more interesting prospect.
 
Matej Rudan – CRO – PF – 6’8” – 2001 – Cibona Zagreb
The Croatian forward was among the most impressive players in the Next Generation game. Still skinny and physically undeveloped, he looks still in the very beginning of his physical development, even though he’s already a smooth and quick athlete. Rudan showed very good basketball instincts and awareness, playing mature and unselfish basketball, reading situations very quickly and using his above average passing skills to set his teammates up for easy shots. An active rebounder and excellent ball-handler for his position, he was natural in starting the transition right off the defensive rebound, passing with both hands off the dribble. He didn’t force the issue on offense, hitting open jumpers and picking the right situations to drive to the basket. Rudan was also one of the best defenders in attendance, showing good timing and quickness in rotating and using his length to block and alter shots.
 
Mihalo Musikic – SRB – PF – 6’10” – 2002 – BC Sloga
Musikic looked still very raw and in the early stage of his development, but his potential looks promising. Measured almost 6’10” in shoes, he’s still physically undeveloped and not fully comfortable in his body, moving awkwardly and not lifting his knees when running. He rolls hard to the rim though, finishing in a decent way when he has space. His mid-range jump shot looked also decent, despite an early set point in his mechanics.
 
Santiago Aldama – ESP – F – 6’9” – 2001 – Canterbury SC
The skinny Spanish player played mainly at the power forward spot, and was measured at a solid 6’9” in shoes. He’s mainly a face up player, has a reliable shot from both mid and long range and uses his mobility to naturally attack the basket off the dribble, picking his shots and not forcing the issue. He showed decent touch to finish in the paint, but his still undeveloped body makes him too easy to push away from his driving direction.
 
Luka Paunovic – SRB – SG – 6’5” – 2002 – Banjca
The Serbian guard was sometimes used to bring the ball up, but didn’t show major point guard skills, limiting himself to pass the halfcourt and give the ball to some of his teammate. One of the youngest players in attendance, he didn’t look comfortable in the Eurocamp set, being quite shy on the court and deferring most responsibilities to his teammates. In his game he showed to be way more comfortable playing off the ball and shooting off the catch, showing a very good form and quick release.
 
Aristotelis Sotiriou – GRE – SF/PF – 6’6” – 2001 – AC Doukas
Sotiriou played mature basketball, showing good IQ and decision making. He lacks elite scoring talent and still doesn’t have a preferred skill on the court, but he’s confident in his fundamentals and can impact many areas of the game, reading well different situations. He was also always focused and aggressive on the court, attacking hard the closeout, going after rebounds and playing solid defense.
 
Marko Andric – SRB – PG – 6’1” – 2002 – BC Banjika
A young and still small point guard, Andric showed impressive personality and leadership, acting as a true floor general on the court and running the offense with decent poise. A good ball-handler who can easily change speed off the dribble, he played hard and wasn’t held back from his size. He took few jump shots with confidence, even though his form is still unorthodox and he seems to lack some strength in his legs, ending up short on most of them.
 
Lorenzo Guerrieri – ITA – C – 6’10” – 2002 – Regal Barcelona
Still trying to move to a more perimeter-oriented game, Guerrieri played as a center in Treviso, also because of his actual inability to put the ball on the floor on the perimeter. He didn’t have many touches inside and had his best showing off P&R plays, being effective both as a roll man and popping out for a shot; his shooting technique is quite fluid and confident, and he has range from beyond the arc, even though he’ll need to further work to the quickness in his release. Guerrieri has intriguing mobility to work on and he showed as well a physical attitude on the court, being willing to throw his body around, going hard after rebounds and setting decent screens. He was also very vocal on defense, showing solid awareness defending screens.



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