For the second consecutive year, Valencia held the first ANGT tournament of the season. Our Director of Scouting, Albert Robledillo, and our Editor-in-chief, Biel Colominas, attended the tournament won by Gran Canaria (Spain). Unicaja (Spain), Valencia (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), Asvel (France), Olympiacos (Greece), Tofas (Turkey) and Cibona (Croatia) were the rest of the participants.
Jean Montero (’03). Gran Canaria, 6’2, PG/SG, Dominican Republic
Montero was named MVP of the tournament after averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.8 steals. He is a compulsive scorer who has a ridiculous ability to create his own shot with excellent ball skills, quick change of pace and amazing feel. He always finds the way to finish at the rim thanks to his high-level body control and craftiness, being able to score against contact and to find angles around the basket. He didn’t connect with his shot in Valencia but he can hit shots from deep range both off the dribble and off the catch. His commitment on defense comes and goes, and he usually gambles too much just relying on his quick hands and anticipation.
Ruben Lopez (’02). Gran Canaria, 6’7, PF, Spain
Lopez was placed in the All-Tournament Team after averaging 19.5 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 6 fouls drawn per game. Lopez was extremely productive for his team thanks to his motor and toughness. He loves physical competition, seals his man inside the paint and uses his strong body to easily score against contact. He is able to attack closeouts in a straight line with proper quickness and body control. Lopez can hit shots from distance off the catch. An extremely tough defender hard to be moved in the low post. Excellent rebounder on both ends.
Yannick Nzosa (‘03). Unicaja. 6’10, PF/C, RD Congo
Nzosa was named in the All-Tournament Team after averaging 15 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks. His physical tools are astonishing thanks to his length, fluidity and ability to run the floor. He is not super athletic but his motor and size makes him a decisive player at this and further stages. Has great instincts on defense: is a tremendous shot blocker and he is aware of everything off the ball, brave and doesn’t shy away the contact. Also, has a great timing for rebounds. Nzosa is working on his skills in offense; still needs to improve his touch but has improved his midrange shot.
Jeffrey Godspower (‘02). Unicaja. 6’5, SF/PF, Spain
Godspower can guard multiple positions thanks to his quick lateral movement, great motor and wingspan. He became the second top rebounder in the tournament which is ridiculous for a 6’5 player. In offense, did everything what his team needed: filling up empty spaces, attacking the offensive rebound and feeding his teammates with a more than decent court vision (3,5 assists per game). He still needs to improve his shot, an area where already made a big step forward.
Alonso Faure (‘02). Valencia Basket. 6’9, PF/C, Spain
Faure averaged 20 points and 11.8 rebounds, entering in the All-Tournament Team. He is a late bloomer in terms of physicality and skills development so he has room to improve in many areas. Has length, is strong, athletic enough and mobile especially running the floor where is a pain in the ass for the rivals. His hands are impressive, catches everything in almost every circumstance and executes pretty quick with a soft touch. He is developing a reliable three-point shot. Good rebounder thanks to his length and activity, needs to improve as a rim protector.
Millán Jiménez (‘02). Valencia Basket. 6’5, PG/SG, Spain
Really competitive combo guard with a great mentality and stamina. Jiménez has a decent size for his position, a good motor and a high basketball IQ. Really productive for his team because he can adapt to many roles: as a scorer, has a bag of finishes and a soft touch near the rim; as a creator, he is very skilled handling the ball; as a facilitator, reads pretty good the defense. Does a great job running the pick and roll but needs to improve his passing execution. Jiménez improved a lot his shot (from 12,5% last year to 33% this year in three-pointers).
Pau Tendero (’02). FC Barcelona, 6’5, SG, Spain
Tendero earned All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting a 63.2% from inside the arc. He is an aggressive slasher who is at his best attacking on the move or in transition, showing an impressive ability to score absorbing contacts. Tendero is very active off the ball, always cutting or trying to receive the ball to attack closeouts with his explosive first step. He is able to make easy reads going downhill. He is a good perimeter defender, has quick lateral mobility and plays physical. He also has good feel to force offensive fouls.
Daryl Doualla (‘04). ASVEL. 6’3, SG, France
Doualla’s extraordinary physical tools, tremendous athleticism and his promising skills made him unstoppable averaging 20 points per game, 4 rebounds and 2,5 steals. Doualla was dominant from a physical standpoint but his body doesn’t look completely built up yet so he can add some inches in the future. Right-hand dominant, has a soft touch near the rim, his explosiveness makes him really difficult to guard especially thanks to a very quick first step. Tremendous on ball defender: uses really good his long arms, moves his feet very quickly and doesn’t shy away of contact
Iosif Koloveros (’02). Olympiacos, 6’0, PG, Greece
Koloveros was the top scorer of the tournament with his 23.8 points per game. Small and premature point guard who doesn’t have major physical upside. He is a talented player off the dribble, being able to use extremely well changes of speed to blow by his defender and create separation. He has an excellent pull up from mid-range and he doesn’t hesitate to shoot if his defender goes behind the ball screen. Koloveros proved to be also a good finisher close to the basket, where he has great touch with both hands and is not afraid of contact.
Roko Prkacin (‘02). Cibona. 6’8, PF/PF, Croatia
Extremely strong, Prkacin has a great coordination, athleticism and explosiveness. Runs the court very well and doesn’t shy away the contact. His mobility helps him to attack the basket from the perimeter where shows an improved skillset. A creator when posting up, reading properly the defense; he can also pass the ball making creative feeds when leading the transition. At this stage, can easily defend any player in the paint and he also showed some glimpses switching and guarding perimeter players. Excellent rebounder thanks to his physical tools, a great attitude and work in the paint.
Batin Tuna (’03). Tofas Bursa, 6’6, SG/SF, Turkey
Wing with average size for his position who already has a quite developed body. Tuna is a high IQ player who excels running the P&R: shows great passing ability after turning the corner and has terrific vision and timing to find the weak side. He looks more confident and effective shooting off the dribble rather off the catch. Defensively, he struggles to guard backcourt players due to his lack of lateral quickness. He is a great rebounder thanks to his instincts and good positioning.
Photo by: Isaac Ferrera
Jean Montero (’03). Gran Canaria, 6’2, PG/SG, Dominican Republic
Montero was named MVP of the tournament after averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.8 steals. He is a compulsive scorer who has a ridiculous ability to create his own shot with excellent ball skills, quick change of pace and amazing feel. He always finds the way to finish at the rim thanks to his high-level body control and craftiness, being able to score against contact and to find angles around the basket. He didn’t connect with his shot in Valencia but he can hit shots from deep range both off the dribble and off the catch. His commitment on defense comes and goes, and he usually gambles too much just relying on his quick hands and anticipation.
Ruben Lopez (’02). Gran Canaria, 6’7, PF, Spain
Lopez was placed in the All-Tournament Team after averaging 19.5 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 6 fouls drawn per game. Lopez was extremely productive for his team thanks to his motor and toughness. He loves physical competition, seals his man inside the paint and uses his strong body to easily score against contact. He is able to attack closeouts in a straight line with proper quickness and body control. Lopez can hit shots from distance off the catch. An extremely tough defender hard to be moved in the low post. Excellent rebounder on both ends.
Yannick Nzosa (‘03). Unicaja. 6’10, PF/C, RD Congo
Nzosa was named in the All-Tournament Team after averaging 15 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks. His physical tools are astonishing thanks to his length, fluidity and ability to run the floor. He is not super athletic but his motor and size makes him a decisive player at this and further stages. Has great instincts on defense: is a tremendous shot blocker and he is aware of everything off the ball, brave and doesn’t shy away the contact. Also, has a great timing for rebounds. Nzosa is working on his skills in offense; still needs to improve his touch but has improved his midrange shot.
Jeffrey Godspower (‘02). Unicaja. 6’5, SF/PF, Spain
Godspower can guard multiple positions thanks to his quick lateral movement, great motor and wingspan. He became the second top rebounder in the tournament which is ridiculous for a 6’5 player. In offense, did everything what his team needed: filling up empty spaces, attacking the offensive rebound and feeding his teammates with a more than decent court vision (3,5 assists per game). He still needs to improve his shot, an area where already made a big step forward.
Alonso Faure (‘02). Valencia Basket. 6’9, PF/C, Spain
Faure averaged 20 points and 11.8 rebounds, entering in the All-Tournament Team. He is a late bloomer in terms of physicality and skills development so he has room to improve in many areas. Has length, is strong, athletic enough and mobile especially running the floor where is a pain in the ass for the rivals. His hands are impressive, catches everything in almost every circumstance and executes pretty quick with a soft touch. He is developing a reliable three-point shot. Good rebounder thanks to his length and activity, needs to improve as a rim protector.
Millán Jiménez (‘02). Valencia Basket. 6’5, PG/SG, Spain
Really competitive combo guard with a great mentality and stamina. Jiménez has a decent size for his position, a good motor and a high basketball IQ. Really productive for his team because he can adapt to many roles: as a scorer, has a bag of finishes and a soft touch near the rim; as a creator, he is very skilled handling the ball; as a facilitator, reads pretty good the defense. Does a great job running the pick and roll but needs to improve his passing execution. Jiménez improved a lot his shot (from 12,5% last year to 33% this year in three-pointers).
Pau Tendero (’02). FC Barcelona, 6’5, SG, Spain
Tendero earned All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting a 63.2% from inside the arc. He is an aggressive slasher who is at his best attacking on the move or in transition, showing an impressive ability to score absorbing contacts. Tendero is very active off the ball, always cutting or trying to receive the ball to attack closeouts with his explosive first step. He is able to make easy reads going downhill. He is a good perimeter defender, has quick lateral mobility and plays physical. He also has good feel to force offensive fouls.
Daryl Doualla (‘04). ASVEL. 6’3, SG, France
Doualla’s extraordinary physical tools, tremendous athleticism and his promising skills made him unstoppable averaging 20 points per game, 4 rebounds and 2,5 steals. Doualla was dominant from a physical standpoint but his body doesn’t look completely built up yet so he can add some inches in the future. Right-hand dominant, has a soft touch near the rim, his explosiveness makes him really difficult to guard especially thanks to a very quick first step. Tremendous on ball defender: uses really good his long arms, moves his feet very quickly and doesn’t shy away of contact
Iosif Koloveros (’02). Olympiacos, 6’0, PG, Greece
Koloveros was the top scorer of the tournament with his 23.8 points per game. Small and premature point guard who doesn’t have major physical upside. He is a talented player off the dribble, being able to use extremely well changes of speed to blow by his defender and create separation. He has an excellent pull up from mid-range and he doesn’t hesitate to shoot if his defender goes behind the ball screen. Koloveros proved to be also a good finisher close to the basket, where he has great touch with both hands and is not afraid of contact.
Roko Prkacin (‘02). Cibona. 6’8, PF/PF, Croatia
Extremely strong, Prkacin has a great coordination, athleticism and explosiveness. Runs the court very well and doesn’t shy away the contact. His mobility helps him to attack the basket from the perimeter where shows an improved skillset. A creator when posting up, reading properly the defense; he can also pass the ball making creative feeds when leading the transition. At this stage, can easily defend any player in the paint and he also showed some glimpses switching and guarding perimeter players. Excellent rebounder thanks to his physical tools, a great attitude and work in the paint.
Batin Tuna (’03). Tofas Bursa, 6’6, SG/SF, Turkey
Wing with average size for his position who already has a quite developed body. Tuna is a high IQ player who excels running the P&R: shows great passing ability after turning the corner and has terrific vision and timing to find the weak side. He looks more confident and effective shooting off the dribble rather off the catch. Defensively, he struggles to guard backcourt players due to his lack of lateral quickness. He is a great rebounder thanks to his instincts and good positioning.
Photo by: Isaac Ferrera
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