By Artau Pascual
The last 2004-born 2024 Eurohopes players ranking update is out. This strong age group saw how five players were drafted this year, joining Victor Wembanyama, the generation headliner, in the NBA. However, there are still many big names available and ready for an exciting future. While our current ranking is led by Danny Wolf and Milan Momcilovic, who have been in Draft conversations for a while since the season started, there are a few more names who have done really well over the last months and have raised some positions in our lists. Check below some words on a few 2004-born late standouts that are worth keeping an eye on.
Eli John Ndiaye (6'8, PF/C, Real Madrid)
The most visible change in the 2004-born players ranking is Eli John Ndiaye, who didn’t appear in the last TOP-5 and now does. The Real Madrid PF established himself in an Euroleague powerhouse rotation during the injuries outbreak the Spanish team suffered, and right now, he looks as a valuable role player in a high-level rotation.
There’s some low-hanging fruit in Ndiaye’s game, mostly in all tasks that come related to size and energy. Ndiaye fills any gap needed to fill and doesn’t demand a high usage on the offensive side, so he’s not difficult to fit in a lineup. His next steps will be heavily related to two areas that determine a ceiling for players like him: spot-up shooting, which has gone through many ups and downs over the last months even though there has been an increase in terms of volume and confidence in shooting, and team defense, which should be one of the selling points for a player like him. If he’s unable to turn into a reliable, smart, disruptive and well-timed element in this register, he will struggle to earn more playing time in the future. This, added to finding out the viability he has at the 4 and the 5 spots, will be swing factors for him.
Malick Kordel (7'1, C, Frankfurt)
Kordel has been one of the most interesting names in Germany during the first stretch of the 2024-25 season. Standing at 7’1, Kordel is a player with a particular story who is still in the first stages of his basketball story. So far, he has already made the debut with Frankfurt’s first team at BBL level, but he spends the vast majority of the time competing at Pro B level with 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as an average.
Kordel mainly stands out because of his mobility and ability to produce. He fits the mold of a play-finishing, rim protecting big with a solid vertical leap, long strides in straight-line and enough strength to finish through contact. Kordel plays hard and has size, which is something you can’t teach. Even though there is still significant room for growth in key areas such as spatial awareness, communication and even expanding his shooting range, Kordel projects as a player who will be able to operate as a pick&roll threat and an element that will create second thoughts to players that attempt to drive against him.
Matija Samar (6'6, SG/PG, Ponferrada)
The brother of ALBA Berlin’s Ziga Samar is building a strong status at Segunda FEB level. The 6’6, 2004-born Slovenian Guard surpasses the 20 PPG mark and hits three-point shots at a very high clip, most of them off the dribble or off movement. At this point, he projects more as a scoring-minded guard, so he benefits from sharing playing time with another initiator that provides him some freedom to create advantages early in the possession.
Samar’s areas for improvement for the upcoming levels are heavily related to driving, contact absorption and physical development. He understands the amount of gravity his playing style creates, and he uses it to place his teammates in successful spots, so he’s a main focus for offensive creation. If he’s able to add to his unpredictability, some finishing through contact, and he keeps working on mid-range game, his ceiling will keep growing.
Vangelis Zougris (Peristeri, C/PF, 6'8)
Zougris was one of the TOP performers for the Greece U20 NT last Summer because of the energy and spirit he put in the game, and right now, he’s also an important rotation player for a Greek fine team as Peristeri. Zougris game is fueled by energy and willingness to be amidst all the actions that happen in the game when he’s in the court, and that’s why he projects as a nice type of small ball big who can harm defenses by rolling at a high pace to the rim, challenging offensive boards all the time and creating chaos by switching, contesting shots and creating deflections just by activity and effort. If he’s able to add some shooting to his repertoire, he will be even more impactful in the game.
The last 2004-born 2024 Eurohopes players ranking update is out. This strong age group saw how five players were drafted this year, joining Victor Wembanyama, the generation headliner, in the NBA. However, there are still many big names available and ready for an exciting future. While our current ranking is led by Danny Wolf and Milan Momcilovic, who have been in Draft conversations for a while since the season started, there are a few more names who have done really well over the last months and have raised some positions in our lists. Check below some words on a few 2004-born late standouts that are worth keeping an eye on.
Eli John Ndiaye (6'8, PF/C, Real Madrid)
The most visible change in the 2004-born players ranking is Eli John Ndiaye, who didn’t appear in the last TOP-5 and now does. The Real Madrid PF established himself in an Euroleague powerhouse rotation during the injuries outbreak the Spanish team suffered, and right now, he looks as a valuable role player in a high-level rotation.
There’s some low-hanging fruit in Ndiaye’s game, mostly in all tasks that come related to size and energy. Ndiaye fills any gap needed to fill and doesn’t demand a high usage on the offensive side, so he’s not difficult to fit in a lineup. His next steps will be heavily related to two areas that determine a ceiling for players like him: spot-up shooting, which has gone through many ups and downs over the last months even though there has been an increase in terms of volume and confidence in shooting, and team defense, which should be one of the selling points for a player like him. If he’s unable to turn into a reliable, smart, disruptive and well-timed element in this register, he will struggle to earn more playing time in the future. This, added to finding out the viability he has at the 4 and the 5 spots, will be swing factors for him.
Malick Kordel (7'1, C, Frankfurt)
Kordel has been one of the most interesting names in Germany during the first stretch of the 2024-25 season. Standing at 7’1, Kordel is a player with a particular story who is still in the first stages of his basketball story. So far, he has already made the debut with Frankfurt’s first team at BBL level, but he spends the vast majority of the time competing at Pro B level with 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as an average.
Kordel mainly stands out because of his mobility and ability to produce. He fits the mold of a play-finishing, rim protecting big with a solid vertical leap, long strides in straight-line and enough strength to finish through contact. Kordel plays hard and has size, which is something you can’t teach. Even though there is still significant room for growth in key areas such as spatial awareness, communication and even expanding his shooting range, Kordel projects as a player who will be able to operate as a pick&roll threat and an element that will create second thoughts to players that attempt to drive against him.
Matija Samar (6'6, SG/PG, Ponferrada)
The brother of ALBA Berlin’s Ziga Samar is building a strong status at Segunda FEB level. The 6’6, 2004-born Slovenian Guard surpasses the 20 PPG mark and hits three-point shots at a very high clip, most of them off the dribble or off movement. At this point, he projects more as a scoring-minded guard, so he benefits from sharing playing time with another initiator that provides him some freedom to create advantages early in the possession.
Samar’s areas for improvement for the upcoming levels are heavily related to driving, contact absorption and physical development. He understands the amount of gravity his playing style creates, and he uses it to place his teammates in successful spots, so he’s a main focus for offensive creation. If he’s able to add to his unpredictability, some finishing through contact, and he keeps working on mid-range game, his ceiling will keep growing.
Vangelis Zougris (Peristeri, C/PF, 6'8)
Zougris was one of the TOP performers for the Greece U20 NT last Summer because of the energy and spirit he put in the game, and right now, he’s also an important rotation player for a Greek fine team as Peristeri. Zougris game is fueled by energy and willingness to be amidst all the actions that happen in the game when he’s in the court, and that’s why he projects as a nice type of small ball big who can harm defenses by rolling at a high pace to the rim, challenging offensive boards all the time and creating chaos by switching, contesting shots and creating deflections just by activity and effort. If he’s able to add some shooting to his repertoire, he will be even more impactful in the game.
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